Forget coming together, spreading festive cheer and decking the halls – this Christmas, we’re looking forward to snuggling on the sofa and binging a whole load of great telly.
There are festive specials of our favourite shows coming our way as the nights draw in, as well as new additions to the schedule which are sure to spice things up this season.
Whether it be terrestrial TV or streaming services, there’s enough to get you into the Christmas mood – or, distract you from the frivolities altogether with something totally different.
There are reboots of childhood favourites, new takes on acclaimed dramas, festive comedies and sci-fi series sure to satisfy all viewers.
These are our picks of the best Christmas TV series and specials to look out for.
A Very British Scandal
It was back in 2018 when Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw starred in the excellent series A Very English Scandal, exploring the Thorpe affair of the 1970s. Now, the series has been switched up to A Very British Scandal, starring Paul Bettany and Claire Foy and taking a look at one of the most notorious legal cases of the 1960s across three new episodes.
Claire will play Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, while Paul will play the Duke of Argyll – the two characters at the heart of a bitter divorce battle, which was hit with accusations of forgery, bribery and manipulation which resulted in one of the biggest media storms of its time.
Release date: December 26 at 9pm on BBC One
Doctor Who
Current Doctor Who series Flux is well and truly off and running, with Jodie Whittaker preparing her last appearances in the TARDIS next year. Also coming up is a New Year’s Day special, marking the first of three specials before Jodie’s final episode airs in autumn 2022.
It’s Christmas, it’s Doctor Who – the schedules wouldn’t be the same without it, would it?
Release date: January 1 on BBC One
The Tourist
Jamie Dornan leads the cast of this intriguing thriller, which sounds like a cross between Jason Bourne and Memento, all set in the Australian outback – what’s not to like?
The 50 Shades of Gray star plays a Brit who is barged off the road by a monster truck in an unexplained road incident, before waking up injured with no memory of who he is, who the figures from his past chasing him are, or why he’s in Australia at all.
The BBC show also stars the likes of Hugo Weaving, Shalom Brune-Franklin and Danielle MacDonald.
Release date: TBA
The Book of Boba Fett
If you find yourself wishing to escape to a galaxy far, far away this Christmas, you’re in luck.
Mandalorian spin-off The Book of Boba Fett is taking the Star Wars extended universe to whole new levels on Disney Plus this year and focusing on one of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise.
In the second season of The Mandalorian, it was confirmed that Boba had survived his fall into the Sarlacc Pit that occurred in the original Star Wars film trilogy, after fans spent decades believing that the legendary bounty hunter had died. After the post-credits scene for The Mandalorian saw Boba take the throne of Jabba the Hutt in Tatooine, who knows where the new series will take him next.
Release date: December 29 on Disney Plus.