Feeling the holiday blues and need options for Christmas TV shows to liven you up? We’ve got your back! The holidays can be a bit depressing at times when you’ve got no one as your sweet company. Thankfully, we’ve got OTT platforms coming to the rescue in such dire situations.
We’ve curated a list of some binge-worthy shows that will warm you up with their embrace. Although not all of them carry on the Christmas theme consistently throughout their run, the various twists and turns make up for a dramatic saga that will keep you company and leave you in a puddle of feels when you’re done.
Christmas TV Shows That You Need As Your Warm Company
Dash and Lily
Available on Netflix.
The Santa Clauses
Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso and Hannah Waddingham set out on a mission on Christmas in Season 2 Episode 4 ‘Carol of the Bells’, while the rest of the team joins Higgins and his family at his house for a team gathering, sharing their respective festive cultures around the table. The episode ends on a surprisingly heart-warming note with everyone belting out Christmas carols.
Even without this episode, Ted Lasso is one of the best options for you to dive in this weekend. The series has it all! Don’t be misled by its outer sports packaging, there’s a lot more to unpack and whether you’re football fan or not, you will love every bit of it, and well, we all love a GOOD underdog story. (Available on Apple TV+
Also read: Did Drake lose $1 Million Despite Betting on Argentina? Read On
Mr Bean
Watching Mr Bean is probably the easiest thing we’ve all done. No logic, no sense, just some random action and reactions along the way from Rowan Atkinson, and we all got laughing. Bean’s exciting and silly escapades on the holiday will never go out of style. No matter how may times you’ve watched these episodes, you’ll always stay entertained and laughing, making it one of the all-time favourites.
Merry Christmas, Mr Bean is still one of the best episodes that will get you in the festive mood with a couple of jolly laughs along the way.
Boy Meets World
The classic sitcom drama that will never age is anyway a constant favourite owing to its larger coming-of-age themes, which were often drenched in comic relief, but when it took the family drama a notch higher, things always got serious and got us thinking. Tones of friendship always foregrounded each storyline that was brought into Boy Meets World, especially with Cory, Topanga and Shawn’s trio front and centre.
The show ran quite the distance and naturally gathered quite a few Christmas greetings along the way. Some of these episodes are: Season 1 Episode 6 – ‘Boys II Mensa’, Season 1 Episode 10 – ‘Santa’s Little Helper’, Season 2 Episode 12 – ‘Turnaround’, Season 3 Episode 10 – ‘Train of Fools’, Season 4 Episode 12 – ‘Easy Street’, Season 5 Episode 11 – A Very Topanga Christmas’, Season 6 Episode 11 – ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’.
Gilmore Girls
Living in a close-knit small town Stars Hollow, Rory and her mom, Lorelai (the OG relatable nerdy girls), have to go through the ups and downs (mostly financially) of life as a unit. Things can be easy for them, but in order to make that happen the Gilmore Girls have to meet Lorelei’s parents half-way and make it through intensely awkward dinners.
As the first season recap on Netflix comes clean about, the show is all about “fast talking, first kisses coffee, more coffee, mother daughter fights, hugs, wallowing, a proposal”. More or less that sums the show’s ambiance up and makes up for their fast-tracked millennial lifestyle. It’s got the similar feel-good aura as movies like Clueless, Sixteen Candles, Princess Diaries and more. Despite its largely autumnal visual design, Gilmore Girls is yet another blockbuster of nostalgia, a feeling we run high on during the holidays.
Heartstopper
Based on Alice Oseman’s book, this Netflix series is one of the most positive LGBTQ+ representations out there in the mainstream. Heartstopper follows a simple track of coming-of-age motifs focussed on finding your healthy go-to friendships, first loves and yourself. Yes, that sounds a bit cliche, but it really isn’t because this series is the cinematic equivalent of a hot chocolate drink (or the warmest and most welcoming cups of coffee, or whatever your preferred choice of hot beverage is during the season).
You feel all the butterflies and all the trembling nerve moments with the characters regardless of your age, and of course, you get to see leaves in a completely new light after watching the show. And, it’s not “just a silly crush” after all. With only one season of the show streaming on Netflix at the moment, it can be your easy-breezy watch this weekend for all the feels.
The Office
The avid prevalence of pranks never dies out in The Office, but Christmas pranks and the tussle between Jim and Dwight and Michael’s great attention to detail and the need for the perfect office parties rank higher than any and every thing else, even if the party planning committee didn’t always get his hint (or even the other way around).
Here’s your playlist of various Xmas themed-parties for the holiday scene if The Office is your pick yet again this year: Season 2 Episode 10 – ‘Christmas Party’, Season 3 Episode 10 & 11 – ‘A Benihana Christmas: Part 1 & 2’, Season 5 Episode 11 – ‘Moroccan Christmas’, Season 6 Episode 13 – ‘Secret Santa’, Season 7 Episode 11 & 12 – ‘Classy Christmas: Part 1 & 2’, Season 8 Episode 10 – ‘Christmas Wishes’, Season 9 Episode 9 – ‘Dwight Christmas’. (Available on Netflix)
Friends
Put on your warm attire and jump in with your popcorn tub as we’ve got our holiday weekend covered with nearly a dozen Christmas-themed Friends episodes on Netflix.
Here goes the list of endless series of friendly banters and support systems: Season 1 Episode 10 – ‘The One With The Monkey’, Season 2 Episode 9 – ‘The One with Phoebe’s Dad’, Season 3 Episode 10 – ‘The One Where Rachel Quits’, Season 4 Episode 10 – ‘The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie’, Season 5 Episode 10 – ‘The One with the Inappropriate Sister’, Season 5 Episode 10 – ‘The One with the Inappropriate Sister’, Season 6 Episode 10 – ‘The One with the Routine’, Season 7 Episode 9 – ‘The One With All The Candy’, Season 7 Episode 10 – ‘The One with the Holiday Armadillo’, Season 8 Episode 11 – ‘The One with Ross’s Step Forward’, Season 9 Episode 10 – ‘The One with Christmas in Tulsa’.
New Girl
New Girl will never not be fun. It promises to keep your spirits high with its all-round entertaining charm and ensemble cast. The writing of the show respects every character present therein and retains its status as one of the great TV comedies. It has to offer a handful of Christmas episodes like Season 1 Episode 09 – ‘The 23rd’, Season 2 Episode 11 – ‘Santa’, Season 3 Episode 11 – ‘Clavado En Un Bar’, Season 4 Episode 11 – ‘LAXmas’, Season 6 Episode 10 – ‘Christmas Eve Eve’. (Available on Disney+ Hotstar)
Modern Family
We’re still not over the long-running Modern Family dynamics. Pulling up to the party with all sorts of comic elements ranging from slapstick, situational to second-hand embarrassment, this family has it all to make everyone’s funny bone tickle. The quirky long-extended family leaves us with a couple of lessons over its 11 season run, along with a couple of Christmas episodes that will wanting more of such dysfunctionally hilarious moments.
Here’s a list of the holiday episodes over the seasons – Season 1 Episode 10 – ‘Undeck the Halls’, Season 3 Episode 10 – ‘Express Christmas’, Season 7 Episode 9 – ‘White Christmas’ and Season 11 Episode 9 – ‘The Last Christmas’. (Available on Disney+ Hotstar)
Supernatural
Now, you must be wondering what’s a cut-throat, bloody, monster-hunting show like Supernatural doing here? Those who’ve already witnessed the 15 seasons’ worth of madness know well that this show carries the family love baggage like nothing else. Need a good sibling story to bawl out your eyes to? Check. Need a smouldering set of actors pulling off their best games? Check.
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki represent every brother duo you’ll ever meet, but at the same time not your average sibling pair either. Watch them go swinging down in history as the best hunters with full-on tragic drama overtones shielding one of the warmest onscreen camaraderies. A few episodes down the line, like Season 3 episode 8 i.e. A Very Supernatural Christmas and more bring out the worst in the monsters, while the best in the Winchester brothers in the name of jolly holiday. (Available on Amazon Prime Video)
Wizards of Waverly Place
If sitting back and relaxing in nostalgic feel-good fever is on your agenda during this time of the year, nothing else will get you better than the old Disney Channel releases. Packed in with sitcom absurdity and a child-like charm, Wizards of Waverly Place will take you back in time to meet the Russo family built up by a cast you can’t help but love at a the first sight itself.
Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin are the most chaotically adorable sibling trio on the block who just can’t stop tapping into magical dysfunctions and making their parents go through endless tribulations. Also, Jennifer Stone’s Harper is the best friend we all need, and can we talk about her eccentric fashion style? Iconic! (Available on Disney+ Hotstar)
Have you watched all the titles on this list? If not, which one are you setting down as your cozy Xmas partner this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Also read: When is A Not So Merry Christmas Releasing? All About the Upcoming Mexican Christmas Comedy