Ultimate guide to Christmas TV 2020

The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown, BBC One

It's always nice to revisit The Reverend Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) at Christmas, or during Comic Relief, despite the original series ending over 20 years ago.

But this year, the circumstances are drastically different. The pandemic has hit Dibley and Geraldine has to deliver her sermons over Zoom. In her first, she will be explaining to her online congregation about social distancing… mainly, the difference between metres and miles. The three 10-minute episodes will air weekly.

Photo: BBC

The Prom, Netflix

Ryan Murphy has to be the most prolific writer/director/producer in the TV world. After developing Hollywood, Ratched, The Boys in the Band and The Politician, he’s rounding off the year by directing a new movie musical.

With a starry cast that includes Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Kerry Washington and Tracey Ullman, The Prom follows a gay high-school student who's desperate to take her partner to the end-of-year dance. But the PTA doesn’t think a lesbian partnership is appropriate for its school, and so her dreams are dashed by homophobic authority

Enter the Broadway darlings (Streep, Kidman, et al), who need a miracle to resurrect their careers. They hear of this local predicament and support her cause. Be ready for bright colours, lavish sets, and catchy tunes. A perfect dose of escapism for this pandemic winter.

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Photo: Netflix

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Netflix

2020 has been a traumatic year, and the death of Chadwick Boseman hit the film world hard. The Avengers star was best known for being Black Panther, the first black superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. More recently, he played the catalytic Stormin’ Norman in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, in a nostalgic and thunderous role that sears even more in light of his death.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is Boseman’s final film, in which he stars alongside Viola Davis. Adapted from the play by Pulitzer winner August Wilson (Fences), the story's set in 1920s Chicago at a recording session for black musicians. Ma Rainey (Davis), the ‘Mother of the Blues’, fights with her white manager over control of her music.

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Photo: Netflix

The Midnight Sky, Netflix

George Clooney is no stranger to space. He starred in Steven Soderbergh’s remake of Solaris, and dazzled more recently in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. The difference in The Midnight Sky, which he’s also directing, is that he’s on the ground.

Instead of helping astronauts land or take off, he deliberately prevents them from returning to their home planet. Or tries to. Earth has turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, unrecognisable as any kind of home.

Clooney plays Augustine, a lone scientist who lives in an Arctic research centre with his daughter. He sees that the famous spaceship Ether is coming back to Earth, and he needs to send out a warning message. The only way to do that? By crossing the icy desert to reach a communications station.

Photo: Netflix

Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse, Sky One

Here’s a second festive dose of Dawn French, here playing the much-loved children’s author Beatrix Potter. Roald & Beatrix is based on the real-life meeting between her and Roald Dahl, who was just six years old at the time.

After grieving the deaths of his father and sister, the young Roald seeks comfort in books like Peter Rabbit. He’s encouraged by his mother to find Potter, who’s having a bit of a writer’s crisis. Their meeting leads to a big adventure that changes their lives forever.

Photo: Sky

Cinderella: A Comic Relief Virtual Pantomime for Christmas, BBC Two

If you’re too anxious to attend a socially distanced pantomime this Christmas, the BBC have you covered. In this special virtual pantomime, a host of eminent celebrities will beam this version of Cinderella on screens across the country. And the cast list is spectacular.

Olivia Colman (The Crown) makes her panto debut as the Fairy Godmother, and her royal sister Helena Bonham Carter plays Lady Devilla. The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy is our Cinderella. Charlie and Daisy May Cooper, the minds behind This Country, play the evil step-sisters.

Photo: Netflix

Bridgerton, Netflix

You can see Jane Austen’s influence every year in TV period dramas, and Bridgerton’s the latest one. Rigid family structures, class anxieties and opulent sets abound. However, following in the steps of the recent Vanity Fair and Sanditon adaptations, this new series looks to have a flair that’s less stuffy and more sexy – ideal for Christmas Day...

Daphne, the eldest daughter of the Bridgerton family, embarks upon Regency London’s competitive marriage market. But that system is thrown into disarray and disrepute once the mysterious Lady Whistledown publishes a scandal sheet, in which she casts aspersions against Daphne. Julie Andrews narrates.

Photo: Netflix

Quentin Blake's Clown, Channel 4

Channel 4 arguably kicked off the tradition of animations at Christmas with The Snowman in 1982. Since then, other channels have followed suit – though few with the beauty of hand-drawn illustrations.

In previous years, we’ve been treated to We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and even a Snowman sequel. This year, the channel is adapting Quentin Blake's book Clown. Narrated by Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), the story tells of a toy clown that’s been discarded with a load of other toys, then goes on a journey to find a new home.

Photo: Channel 4

Black Narcissus, BBC One

The Powell and Pressburger movie adaptation of Black Narcissus is considered a classic in British film history. After Christmas week, writer Amanda Coe (The Trial of Christine Keeler) tackles a new, three-part version of the story: following an isolated cluster of nuns in the Himalayas.

Gemma Arterton stars as Sister Clodagh, one of many Anglican nuns who try to establish a mission in the House of Women. A palatial setting built high in the mountains, the building has many dark secrets buried inside. And despite her vows of celibacy, Clodagh begins to fall in love with the offensive land agent Mr Dean (Alessandro Nivola).

Photo: BBC

Meerkat: A Dynasties Special, BBC One

The soothing, erudite tones of David Attenborough are guaranteed to lift your spirits. His 2018 nature documentary series Dynasties returns for a one-off Christmas special, this time focusing on a family of meerkats.

The episode follows queen meerkat Maghogho as she establishes her dynasty in the Makadikadi salt pans in Botswana. This is one of the harshest and driest lands on Earth; almost nothing can survive. And yet, this is where Maghogho has to raise her kids.

Photo: BBC

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks, BBC One

The last we heard from The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), she was captured by the Judoon – a kind of rhino-human hybrid, policing the universe – after defeating the Master and his army of advanced Cybermen. (Yes, it’s complicated.)

The first press image released of the Christmas special sees everyone’s favourite Time Lord marking her sentence in a high-security prison. Meanwhile, the Fam down on Earth try to cope without her.

But with the return of a classic nemesis, the emotionless, mutant-robot Dalek race, The Doctor needs to get back to the TARDIS pronto. Maybe she needs the help of an old friend… Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), maybe?

Photo: BBC

The Serpent, BBC One

Since 2020 has encouraged us to stay in our homes, there’s never been a greater time for international dramas. Thrillers, especially. How about an international thriller across South Asia with an infamous serial killer? Yeah, that could work.

Charles Sobhraj was a French-Indian-Vietnamese serial killer who murdered Western tourists on the famous ‘hippie trail’ which ran through India, Kabul and Nepal. Inspired by these events, The Serpent is an eight-part miniseries examining Sobhraj’s capture after becoming Interpol’s most wanted man in the 70s.

It stars Jenna Coleman (The Cry, Doctor Who), Billy Howle (MotherFatherSon, On Chesil Beach), Ellie Bamber (The Trial of Christine Keeler, Les Misérables), and Tahar Rahim (The Eddy).

Photo: BBC