I Hate Christmas is an Italian romantic comedy series starring Pilar Fogliati as Gianna, Nicolas Maupas as Davide, Alessio Praticò as Mario, Fiorenza Pieri as Margherita, Marzia Ubaldi as Matilde, Cecilia Bertozzi as Caterina, Giovanni Anzaldo as Nicola and others. Directed by CRIC, the Netflix series has 6 episodes of approximately 30 minutes. The show is dubbed into English and has subtitles.
The synopsis reads, “After lying to her family about having a boyfriend, a single nurse begins a desperate search to find a partner by Christmas — which is in 24 days”.
Netflix’s I Hate Christmas Review Contains Spoilers
In the Netflix series, I Hate Christmas, Gianna, a single nurse, is pressured to find a boyfriend before Christmas. Her family always hoped she would bring a guy home for the festival dinner. But Gianna has been single for a long time. It’s the pressure of finding someone that makes Gianna hate the festival. Gianna, her sister and her friends, do everything to find the perfect guy for her. She even meets multiple men, but only to be disappointed. Will she find love before Christmas?
Christmas is a cheerful festival. But for many single people, it is a reminder of their loneliness. Several movies and shows depict singlehood during festivals and holidays. In the Italian series, we see Gianna going bonkers as she has only 24 days to find a boyfriend. Gianna breaks the fourth wall and narrates why she hates the festival and show he destroyed Christmas for herself and others this year. That’s the first episode.
In the second episode, Gianna meets several men back to back but doesn’t click with any of them. She emphasises how she wants to be with a man who makes her feel special. Despite having disappointments, our lead character ends up having sex with someone much younger than her. Is he going to be the one? Well, we are never given a proper answer till the end.
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The series also focuses on Gianna’s family, friends and sister and her work as a nurse at the hospital. Often, she comes across as needy for a man instead of desiring to find love. She judges others for her choices while making all the wrong decisions. So there’s hardly any space for us to empathise with her. The series keeps adding random subplots that don’t fill in much intrigue. We already saw Holidate in 2020, and seeing a series with a similar premise with more mess doesn’t do much to make it enjoyable.
The last episode is rushed not only in terms of the love stories of the side characters but to make it look wholesome. The story ends with someone knocking on Gianna’s door. However, she refuses to tell us who the man is. Imagine watching 6 episodes to know who our leading lady will end up with, only for her to tell us that today is not the day she will reveal it! Now again, picture a month, or a year later, Netflix announces that the series is cancelled. One feels cheated in the end.
Actor Pilar Fogliati as Gianna is gorgeous in every scene and is full of life. However, she fails to make us feel sad for the character. Cecilia Bertozzi, as Caterina, is an interesting character, and the actor has done a good job. I wish she had been given better treatment.
I Hate Christmas Season 1 Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, the new Netflix Christmas series is another desperate attempt to find love during the holidays. We have seen this story several times, but at least they have a happy ending. Here, we never find out who joins Gianna for the Christmas celebration. At this point, it’s better to skip the show until season 2 is officially announced.
The show is now streaming on Netflix.
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It’s just a 1:1 clone of the norwegian tv show “Home for Christmas” which was on Netflix in 2019/2020 (two seasons).
So you could just watch the two seasons of the original which is better anyway.