The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special

Television special

A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...

 set in the Star Wars galaxy

Star Wars Galaxy

Star Wars Galaxy may mean:* Star Wars Galaxies, a Star Wars themed MMORPG platform for Microsoft Windows* Star Wars galaxy, the fictional galaxy where the setting of the Star Wars saga occurs...

. It was one of the first official Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

spin-offs

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

, and was directed by Steve Binder

Steve Binder

Steve Binder is an American producer and director. He found success behind the camera on influential TV shows showcasing music, like The T.A.M.I. Show and Hullabaloo...

. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, November 17, 1978, on the U.S. television network CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time

North American Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

 (EST), and on the Canadian television network CTV

CTV television network

CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time.

In the storyline that ties the special together, Chewbacca

Chewbacca

Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

 and Han Solo

Han Solo

Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...

 visit Kashyyyk

Kashyyyk

Kashyyyk , also known as Wookiee Planet C, is a planet in the Star Wars universe. It is the tropical, forested home world of the Wookiees...

, Chewbacca's home world, to celebrate Life Day.