Let’s be frank: Christmas isn’t just a magical time of cosy family get-togethers, singing carols around the fire over mulled wine and mince pies. It’s also an opportunity to veg in front of the telly, gorge yourself on Roses and temporarily forget about the concept of work, offices and reality.
The quality of Christmas television can vary wildly every year, but luckily there are some evergreen Christmas TV episodes that never let you down, no matter how many times you’ve seen them over the years. Here are some of the best.
Father Ted: A Christmassy Ted
Channel4.com
Is A Christmassy Ted the best Christmas television special of all time? It’s certainly up there. It’s undoubtedly one that never gets old, despite first being broadcast almost 30 years ago (1996) and there are lines in the Father Ted Christmas special that are now firmly embedded in the Irish psyche (from “Maybe I like the misery” to “You let Dougal do a funeral?!”). When a group of priests inadvertently get lost in Ireland’s Biggest Lingerie Section™ and Ted shepherds them to safety, his intrepid leadership sees him presented with the Golden Cleric. However, when a mysterious stranger by the name of Father Todd Unctious turns up on Craggy Island with designs on the award, Ted’s crowning moment is put in jeopardy. Timeless comedy.
The Office: Christmas Special
NowTV
Three years after the original documentary was filmed, the camera crew revisit Wernham Hogg on the premise of a catch-up. Gareth is now manager; David has been made redundant and is working as a travelling salesman; Tim is still festering in the same role, and Dawn has moved to Florida with her deadbeat fiance, Lee. The old gang picks up exactly where they left off at a Christmas reunion office party. The best thing about the two-part Christmas special – other than that Tim and Dawn moment – was the superb writing, settling of scores (David telling Finchy to “f**k off” was *chef’s kiss*) and wrapping up of storylines with a heartwarming hilarity. Tell the truth: you haven’t been able to hear Yazoo’s Only You without a wobbly lip since.
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Black Mirror: White Christmas
Netflix
It’s perhaps not the first show that springs to mind when you think of the festive season, but Black Mirror seems increasingly prescient as the years pass. This 2014 special was based around stories told by Matt (Jon Hamm) and Joe (Rafe Spall), two men living together in a remote cabin, who share the reasons for their respective exiles from society. The three stories that comprise the special are about as grim as you can get when it comes to Christmas, encompassing tales of AI consciousness, PUA culture and the notion of “blocking” someone from your life – but like most of Black Mirror, White Christmas is 50 per cent food for thought and 50 per cent dystopian cautionary tale.
Motherland: Last Christmas
RTÉ Player
Motherland is undoubtedly one of the most true-to-life and funniest portrayals of middle class parenting in the 21st century, following the travails of the permanently frazzled Julia Johnstone (Anna Maxwell-Martin) and her motley group of fellow parents, from the bougie Amanda (Lucy Punch) to the bolshie Liz (Diane Morgan) and put-upon Irish mammy Anne (Philippa Dunne). Its superb 2022 festive special Last Christmas saw most of the gang converging on Julia’s house for (a Persian-themed, courtesy of divorcee Kevin) dinner, while Amanda is dealing with her ex’s new partner and her passive-aggressive mum, played to perfection by Joanna Lumley. The writing is razor-sharp and frequently hilarious, but the sucker-punch ending will give you a lump in your throat, too.
The Bear: Fishes
Disney+
Christmas is wonderful and all that, but navigating family dynamics in such a high-pressure situation can be tricky. Still, most people’s idea of a stressful meal doesn’t come close to what Carmy had to deal with in Fishes, a flashback episode from series two set on Christmas Eve. Quite possibly the best episode of the entire show, it superbly illustrated the simmering resentments and volatility within the extended family – from narcissistic alcoholic mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis with a career-best performance) to her belligerent boyfriend Lee (Bob Odenkirk) to that bombshell ending involving a car. It certainly explains a lot about the dysfunctional Berzattos.
Inside No 9: The Devil of Christmas
NowTV
Most people probably don’t associate the festive season with spooky stories (although the BBC’s annual Ghost Story for Christmas is always worth a look), but black comedy anthology series Inside No 9 has a tendency to skew your expectations. In its 2016 Christmas special The Devil of Christmas, we follow the story of a movie being shot in an Austrian alpine lodge in 1977, where a young boy fears he’s being stalked by Krampus, the mythical half-goat, half-demon who accompanies St Nicholas and punishes naughty children. As if that premise wasn’t scary enough, make sure you stay tuned till the end for a twist that’s truly terrifying.
Friends: The One with the Routine
Prime Video
There are 10 Christmas episodes of this iconic sitcom, so fans have plenty to choose from – from Phoebe’s Christmas song, to Joey filling his apartment with trees, to Ross donning an armadillo costume. For our money, the best one is The One with The Routine – simply because it is so dang iconic. Ross and Monica’s attempt to right the wrongs of their youth by resurrecting their high school dance routine during the filming of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is still hilarious, while the gang’s search for where Monica hid her presents and Joey’s attempt to woo Janine make for giggle-inducing subplots.
30 Rock: Christmas Special
RTÉ Player
Many people overlook this series three gem for the more celebrated episodes of this brilliant sitcom, but dismiss it at your peril. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) decides to give something back by buying an excessive amount of gifts for a charity for underprivileged children, but has a sneaking suspicion she’s been conned when she goes to donate them. Meanwhile, Jack (Alec Baldwin) is forced to confront his relationship with his mother (Elaine Strich) when he accidentally hits her with his car, and demands that the cast and crew of TGS produce a last-minute Christmas special to avoid spending time with her. An eminently watchable episode.
The Cockfields: Christmas Special
Sky/NowTV
Take it from us: this is the best British comedy series you may never have heard of, and the Christmas special manages to be both downright hilarious and gut-punchingly emotional, observing family dynamics and small-town life in a gloriously dry-witted fashion. This superbly written sitcom sees comedian Joe Wilkinson as Simon, a fortysomething man who returns to his Isle of Wight home with his partner to visit his overbearing family: mum Sue (Sue Johnston), stepdad Ray (Bobby Ball/Gregor Fisher) and stepbrother David (Ben Rufus Green). The gorgeously bittersweet 2021 special sees Simon and his fiancee Esther on the mandatory visit home – where he realises what he might be missing in his rush back to the mainland.
Alan Partridge: Knowing Me, Knowing Yule
Sky/NowTV
A-haaaaa! There’s no way you can have a list of Christmas TV episodes without including everyone’s favourite cringeworthy broadcaster. The fact that this one is 30 years old this year makes it even more worthy of a rewatch. Steve Coogan’s legendary comic creation marks the festive edition of his chat show with a variety of guests invited into his “front room” in the BBC studio, which entails wince-inducing interviews, a giant Christmas cracker going on fire, a punch-up involving a turkey, and Mick Hucknall singing Ding Dong Merrily on High. What more could you ask for?
