What to watch on TV this week

Happiest Season, all major digital platforms

Because it’s uncertain if the winter festivities will proceed with the pandemic guidelines, we need to embrace that spirit in whatever way possible. The best is, of course, a cheesy Christmas movie. And Happiest Season looks to be that seasonal romcom, craved at this time of year. Only, with a much needed and more inclusive twist.

Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis star as Abby and Harper, a loving couple on the road to marriage. In fact, Abby is planning to propose on Christmas Day. But when they decide to spend Christmas at Harper’s family home, Harper drops an awkward bombshell: she hasn’t come out to her family yet. They have to spend the holidays pretending that they’re just friends, actually…

Last Christmas, Sky Cinema

Continuing that sweet and syrupy holiday flavour, last year’s Last Christmas is coming to Sky Cinema. The established Khaleesi Emilia Clarke continues her post-Game of Thrones career in this George Michael-inspired romcom, set in the decorated streets of London.

Kate (Clarke) is chaotic twenty-something who’s struggling to find a clear path through life. She wants to be a singer, but is stuck working as an elf year after year. That is, until she meets Tom (Henry Golding), who gives her a new zest for life and being a good person. Emma Thompson writes and stars.

Small Axe: Red, White and Blue, BBC One

It’s been a great year for John Boyega. After being released from the latest Star Wars franchise, he’s spoken openly about racist issues. His speech at the BLM protests in Hyde Park has been viewed over a million times on YouTube.

Boyega stars in Red, White and Blue, exemplifying his new career direction after starships and lightsabres. He portrays Leroy Logan, a black Met police officer in the 80s who joined up to change the system from within. The film shows Logan’s early career, working through the training regime and surviving in the Greater London police department. He faces petulant racism from his white colleagues, and he's treated as a traitor by those closest to him.

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Hillbilly Elegy, Netflix

When you see actors transform themselves for the stories they’re telling, you can hear the mental bells of Oscar season. Amy Adams and Glenn Close star in this upcoming Ron Howard adaptation of JD Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy, written about Vance’s working-class family. As seen in the trailer, Adams and Close look prepped to shine their awards – playing Vance’s mother and grandmother.

Vance (portrayed by Gabriel Basso) escapes his life in the Appalachian region of the US and serves as a Marine in Iraq. Upon returning, he trains as a lawyer at Yale. When his life finally seems to be coming together and he's about to land his dream job, a family crisis happens and he’s forced to return home.

Possessor, all major digital plaforms

Turning the lights all the way down, Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) carries on the family name with his own dark and surreal terrors in Possessor. Suffice to say, this isn’t for the squeamish.

Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is an assassin with the talent to transfer herself into other people’s bodies. This is useful for a killer, as the host-bodies can be implicated in the hit. Her next job is a big one: eliminating a top media mogul (Sean Bean) by using the body of his despised son-in-law (Christopher Abbott).

This seems like a stretched genre premise, but Cronenberg is much more intelligent than that. He plunges into a bleak, near-future world of corruptive technology, examining the distorted psychologies that result.

Read our review