Chrissy Teigen is a charismatic social media star, but NBC can't figure out how to translate that to her and John Legend's Christmas special

Slate

A Legendary Christmas With John and Chrissy, airing tonight, seems more interested in John Legend's EGOT talent, while barely letting Teigen be Teigen. "And that points to the central problem this special can’t solve: What to do with Chrissy?" says Heather Schwedel. "Teigen isn’t a performer in the more traditional way Legend is, but while Legend may have all those statues on his shelf, Teigen is, in her way, no less a virtuoso than he is. Her instrument just happens to be an iPhone instead of a piano. If her talent is that she’s naturally funny, understands the internet, and is fun to be around, her minders haven’t exactly figured out a way to translate that charisma to other venues (and NBC certainly hasn’t brought it to TV). Teigen is famous for being raw and authentic, so of course we’d rather watch the unfiltered Instagram stories and tweets we’ve come to know her for than a highly produced dog-and-pony show’s attempt to make that work on prime time. Instead, A Legendary Christmas leans heavily on Legend’s more traditional variety-show appeal while leaving its secret weapon mostly unused."