Christmas approaches – and with it, the prospect of a whole week of doing nothing but eating food, unwrapping presents and sitting on the sofa. Fortunately, there’s always television to keep you occupied. These days, some of the best shows live on streaming platforms – including Disney+.
They’re a treasure trove of prestige drama, and here are our picks of the best to binge this festive season. This barnstorming FX series won practically every award going at the Emmys this year, and for good reason. Based on the 1975 book by James Clavell, it tells the story of an Englishman (Cosmo Jarvis) shipwrecked on the coast of Japan.
What follows is a story that is epic in every sense of the word. More importantly, it feels authentic: told mostly in Japanese and featuring a majority-Japanese cast, it’s a deep dive into the history of the Edo period and the complex power struggles starting to take shape between it and the belligerent West. Relive every excruciating detail of The Bear over Christmas – because nothing makes you feel better about cooking a massive roast than watching things go disastrously wrong in the kitchen.
Either way, The Bear is a heart-palpitation inducing masterpiece: following Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) as he returns to his family sandwich in Chicago and sets about trying to turn it into a restaurant. With a fourth season set to come out next year, there’s no better time to catch up. The mockumentary format is pretty hackneyed and tired these days, b.
