#LeMillRecommends: The Christmas Binge
The small-screen offering from 2024 so far has been full of style and substance – and fortunately, as we embrace the season of cosying up in front of the TV, it looks set to continue. From the return of award-winning shows to newer series from varied genres, these are the series we’re binging this Christmas.
Disclaimer
Genre: Thriller
Length of binge: 5 hours 46 mins
He’s made the best Harry Potter movie, sent Sandra Bullock into space, and put his own childhood on the big screen in Oscar-winning fashion with Roma. But, somehow, this Apple TV+ seven-parter is Alfonso Cuarón’s first small-screen project, and he brings all his craft to a knotty adaptation of Renée Knight’s bestselling potboiler. It starts slightly jarringly, despite a cast that boasts Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline and Lesley Manville, as a half-forgotten backpacking trip to Italy reverberates horrifically for two present-day families, but pays off in expectation-subverting fashion. It’s an enthralling, mazy, and for some viewers, possibly chastening watch.
Watch in bated breath only on Apple TV+
Bad Sisters
Genre: Dark Comedy
Length of binge (latest season only): 8 hours 21 mins
Sharon Horgan’s terrifically twisted black comedy returns for a second season, picking up the pieces of the Garvey sisters’ shady shenanigans of season one. It’s two years on from the mysterious death of eldest sister Grace’s abusive ex-husband, and the sisters – played by Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eve Hewson, Sarah Greene and Eva Birthistle – must continue to spin a web of lies to protect their family. Tune in to this award-winning show for even more hilarious japes – and some uncomfortable truths.
New episode every Wednesday on Apple TV
The Penguin
Genre: Thriller
Length of binge: 7 hours 39 mins
There’s two good reasons to shake off your superhero fatigue and dig into HBO’s DC crime noir – three, if you include the absence of any actual superheroes. Far from the bucket of fish heads it might have been, The Penguin is elevated by a performance of oily genius from Colin Farrell as the hobbling (rather than waddling) footsoldier who elbows his way to generalship in a post-The Batman Gotham. Beneath the extraordinary prosthetics, Farrell lends real vulnerability to the sociopathic ambition and guile. Oh, and the other reason? Cristin Milioti’s icy sneer as his nemesis, the ruthless Sofia Falcone.
Watch the new show on JioCinema
Only Murders in the Building
Genre: Drama + Comedy
Length of binge (latest season only): 6 hours
Returning for a fourth season, the unlikely crime-solving trio Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin are back with more hilarious, Emmy-nominated high jinks – with the help of a host of special guest stars: Meryl Streep, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, Kumail Nanjiani, Melissa McCarthy, and more. Following the cliffhanger of the season-three finale, this time they are investigating the murder of Martin’s character’s former stunt double Sazz Pataki (played by Jane Lynch). But it will also see them taking a quick trip to Los Angeles, where a Hollywood studio is keen to make a movie out of their now-hit podcast.
Catch the latest season on Disney+ Hotstar
