Let’s face it – choosing what Christmas TV to watch with your family can be a nightmare.
Making the right selection is crucial for avoiding family arguments, awkward viewing and watching the same old repeats.
I’ve found that if you end up mindlessly browsing channels with no real agenda, you can end up with reruns of Dad’s Army or Blackadder – much to my Dad’s pleasure, but less fun for anyone under 50.
But swing too far the other way by deciding to watch the latest cinematic release, and you could end up with a nail-bitingly awkward Saltburn-esque situation – a memory from 2023 that many families never want to relive.
So let us give you some TV that passes the ‘suitable-to-watch-with-the-in-laws’ test and will appeal to the broad spectrum of people who could be wandering through your living room around Christmas.
Amandaland
If you haven’t already binged Amandaland in one delicious sitting, I’m jealous.
The spin-off series to Motherland has the same brilliant Sharon Horgan behind its creation, along with other writers from the award-winning show, as well as the wonderful Lucy Punch playing the titular character.
However, the location has changed – Amanda, a wannabe socialite and now-divorced Mum-of-two, is no longer residing in the affluent area around Chiswick, West London.
Instead, she’s downsized and moved to the neighbourhood of South Harlesden, which she’s named So-Ha in an attempt to rebrand it.
Dame Joanna Lumley stars as Amanda’s Mum, Felicity, making it an intergenerational giggle for the group.
If you start it now, there’ll be time to watch it all, ready for Christmas Day when the festive special drops ahead of series two coming out in 2026.
What are you waiting for?
A Man on the Inside
Talking of intergenerational – A Man on the Inside follows a pensioner on a mission who goes undercover in an retirement home to try and solve a case involving a family’s missing heirloom.
