Genuinely good Christmas TV shows to watch during the festive season
We watched some of the biggest series arriving on our screens over the next couple of weeks, from ‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth’ to ‘Squid Game’ season two, and here’s what we thought…
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Your support makes all the difference.Christmas television, it must be said, can be extremely hit and miss. With TV bosses trying to please everyone, from age four to 104, sometimes they end up pleasing no one and it’s best just to nap through it all.
But there can be some true gems out there. Our top pick this year has to be Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, a Sky Atlantic drama starring Colin Firth as Jim Swire, a man whose daughter was one of 270 people who died in the UK’s deadliest terror attack. What it lacks in Christmas cheer it makes up for in stellar performances, and the series’ makers are hoping it could be as agenda-setting as last new year’s offering, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Lockerbie is not arriving until 2 January, but from the finale of Gavin & Stacey to season three of The Traitors, there’s a lot more on the schedules before then. Here’s what you can expect on your screens this festive season, and our verdict on what is and isn’t worth watching…
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone
BBC Two, 23 December
If you’ve been on a journey with Hairy Bikers Dave Myers and Si King since their TV debut in 2004, you’ll want to strap in and grip the handlebars one last time. Dave’s death earlier this year, at the age of just 66, was a gut punch, but this is an unfettered celebration. It is a union of private and public grief that conspires to give fans and family a last chance to say thank you, and allows the Hairy Bikers to ride off, together, into the sunset. Nick Hilton
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale
BBC One, Christmas Day
The 2019 Christmas spesh ended with the tough but tender Nessa proposing to Smithy; what did the UK’s favourite man-child do next? Though overlong at 90 minutes, somewhat predictable and not a patch on The Royle Family’s “The Queen of Sheba”, this follow-up/send-off for the Barry-Billericay posse has a glorious third act. I can reveal very litte here, but the show’s creators and co-writers, Ruth Jones and James Corden, excel as Nessa and Smithy, who’ve always blazed with Main Character Energy, while there’s at least one scene that will bring tears to your eyes. Charlotte O’Sullivan
Outnumbered Christmas Special
BBC One, Boxing Day
The first family of Christmas chaos return for a one-off special, as the Brockman children head home for an elaborate beef Wellington, trimmings of bickering, and a big dollop of facing up to mortality. Gentle to a fault, and featuring some rather rough round the edges performances, Outnumbered is still a charming glimpse behind the curtains of Britain’s middle classes.
The Split: Barcelona
BBC One, 29 December
A beautiful young couple rushing headlong into marriage. A sun-soaked location. Romantic complications aplenty. There’s a dash of Mamma Mia! to The Split: Barcelona, the two-part special picking two years after the final season of Abi Morgan’s divorce lawyer drama. Nicola Walker’s Hannah is acting as both legal adviser and mother of the bride as her daughter Liv (Elizabeth Roberts) prepares to tie the knot in Spain (and oscillates over signing a hefty prenup). Reuniting with Morgan’s characters feels like checking in with old friends, and Walker is as magnificent as ever. Katie Rosseinsky
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s New Year’s Eve Disco
BBC One, New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve is a hard one to get right. It’s difficult to live up to the pressure of making it fun. You might have regrets about the year that’s just passed. Your hangover from Christmas could still be lingering. But there’s one surefire way to do NYE well: cover everything in glitter and dance to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who’s hosting a New Year’s Eve disco on BBC One. I went to the pre-record earlier this month, and it was pure, sequin-clad joy. Between sips of her herbal tea, Ellis-Bextor took us through hits from “Murder on the Dancefloor” to “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)”, all with special guests in tow. What better way to ring in 2025? Ellie Harrison
Squid Game season 2
Netflix, New Year’s Day
It’s hard to overstate the impact Squid Game had on pop culture. Released mid-pandemic in 2021, the Korean-language juggernaut went on to become Netflix’s most-watched series in some 90 countries. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s ultra-violent, candy-coloured vision and razor-sharp, anti-capitalist message landed with a well-timed gut punch. News of a second season raised the question: can lightning strike twice? Well, yes and no. It’s impossible to replicate that initial shock factor, but season two does well not to try. Instead, these seven episodes dive into the background and origins of the torrid competition, as Squid Game deftly manoeuvres into mystery drama territory. A new and superb ensemble cast rally around Lee Jung-jae’s vengeful hero. There’s plenty of bloodshed, but crucially we get some answers, too. Annabel Nugent
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The Traitors season 3
BBC One, New Year’s Day
What better – and cosier – way to kick start the new year than with a return to the Scottish Highlands and Claudia Winkleman in tweed? BBC’s Bafta-winning The Traitors has made game shows appointment viewing once again – a refreshing notion in a time where everyone streams shows at their own leisure. As with series two, this outing will bring plenty of twists, turns and shock reveals, with producers doing their utmost to ensure surprises for those contestants and viewers who think they’ve got the format nailed down. Think you know how The Traitors works? Think again. Jacob Stolworthy
Missing You
Netflix, New Year’s Day
Harlan Coben, the American author of pulpy crime thrillers, is a staple on Netflix, and his latest, Missing You, shares much DNA, and many problems, with last year’s Fool Me Once. Rosalind Eleazar plays a detective trying to untangle the truth about her father’s death, while about five other totally different plots are happening at the same time. The result is a bugger’s muddle, and one that will likely attract vast audiences. NH
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Sky Atlantic, 2 January
With a heartbreaking central performance from Colin Firth, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is a wrenching but important depiction of the fallout from Britain’s deadliest terror attack. Unfurling over a span of decades, the show follow’s Firth’s grieving father, Jim Swire, as he becomes a vociferous and controversial campaigner for that most elusive of things: the truth. NH
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