A Russell Peters Christmas drew 2,071,000 viewers to CTV Thursday night, an early Christmas present for the private broadcaster.
The special was largely panned by critics as well as the 18- and 21-year-olds in my home, who both said they’d rather see one of his stand-up specials.
The critical response was so tepid even CTV had trouble finding supporting references in the media, pulling this quote for their ratings release from Bill Harris at The Toronto Sun: “Peters makes an effort to combine his comedy with Christmas warmth.” They left out Harris’ other observation that the special was “corny at times.”
Still, viewers seem eager to embrace even half-hearted stabs at a new Christmas special. The network claims that A Russell Peters Christmas is the most-watched Canadian holiday special ever on CTV, and did especially well in the A18-34 demo..
