Syfy’s 2020-2021 New Year’s Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule

Having a Twilight Zone marathon to close out a year like 2020 almost feels redundant. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to make you feel like you’re already knee-deep in the fifth dimension.

And yet, paradoxically, I don’t think we’ve ever needed the comfort of The Twilight Zone more than we do right now.

It can be a scary place, no question. And yet it’s also a land of redemption and wonder — a universe filled with imaginative twists and thought-provoking morals. And hey, when bad things happen, at least they’re happening to fictional characters, and not you!

So if you’re inclined to tune in the Syfy channel to ring out the old and ring in the new with Rod Serling’s brainchild, you’re in luck. Sure, the marathons have their drawbacks (the cuts, the ads, etc.). But for me and for so many other fans, the pros outweigh the cons.

I’d like to thank the good people at Syfy who supplied me with this list ahead of time. This is a first-look exclusive, my friends; it hasn’t been published elsewhere yet. So, without further ado, here’s what we can look forward to seeing this year. All times are EST:

Thursday, December 31, 2020

6:00am – Where Is Everybody?

6:30am – One For the Angels

7:00am – Mr. Denton On Doomsday

7:30am – The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

Banishing Mistakes to the Cornfield: The Never-Ending Quest For Accurate TZ Info

Pop quiz: How many of The Twilight Zone‘s 156 episodes did Rod Serling write?

Not many people know off the top of their heads, but I can hear some of the more diehard fans calling out, “92!” And how right you are.

So imagine my surprise when I saw someone post an item in a TZ fan group on Facebook claiming that Serling had written 99. He then added something about what an amazingly high number that was, or how much work that represented.

Hey, anyone can make a mistake. I’ve seen a lot of them over the years. So even though I wanted to set the record straight, I didn’t want to embarrass the person who did it.

That’s why, when this sort of thing happens, I try to take a light tone and not act like a jerk. A good way to do that is to mix the correction with some genuine agreement or praise, so in this case, I said something like: “Actually, it was 92. But yes, what a workhorse Serling was! It’s incredible that he was able to write so much, and such high quality.”

If that’s all there was to it, I wouldn’t even be writing this post. Most people are like, “Oh, my mistake! Thanks.” But not this guy. He was like, nope, you’re wrong. It’s 99.