What Shows to Watch Over Holiday Break: Your 2019 Binge-Worthy Guide
Winter is the time to cozy up on the couch and binge the shows everyone's talking about β or maybe find an unlikely new favorite. From creepy true crime to award-winning dramas to out-of-this-world action, here is your ultimate what-to-watch guide for this holiday break.
Itβs time we binge more than sweets and egg nog over the holiday break. As Christmas specials galore come to a halt, we welcome some non-holiday-related television to feast on. Weβve rounded up a collection of binge-worthy options, in various categories, to help you hunker down and enjoy your holiday break to the fullest. Many of these picks have just returned with new seasons (or are coming back soon), so nowβs the perfect time to get a refresher or catch up on the show your neighbor will not stop talking about. From creepy new true crime to award-winning dramas to out-of-this-world action, here is your ultimate what-to-watch guide for 2019 to 2020.
DOWNRIGHT ENTERTAINING
βThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselβ
This highly lauded and Emmy Award-collecting comedy-drama follows an Upper West Side wife and mother, Miriam βMidgeβ Maisel, whose seemingly idyllic life takes some twisty turns when she discovers a hidden talent for stand-up comedy. Start binging this series, which is laden with irresistible characters and laugh-out-loud social commentary.
Seasons: 3
Watch on: Amazon Prime
βSuccessionβ
You wonβt be able to get enough of the Roys, a billionaire family whose media company is left in shaky, scandalous hands as the topic of a successor is imminent. Through dark pitfalls and sordid social games, weβre forced to examine if any of the power-drunk CEOβs children are fit to run this family company.
Seasons: 2
Watch on: HBO
βThe Morning Showβ
Apple TV+βs first television series has come out of the gate swinging with a star-studded cast (Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston). This show is an unabashedly raw examination of the inner workings of a national morning television show in the wake of a huge sex scandal.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Apple TV+
CREEPY / DISTURBING
βChernobylβ
The team and actors behind this historical drama managed to turn one of the most devastating man-made catastrophes in history into a disaster movie and crime-thriller hybrid. The mini-series revolves around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, and the unprecedented health impacts and cleanup efforts that followed the radioactive explosion. Fantastically grim acting performances amp up the drama, and itβs just a fascinating piece of history you canβt help but keep watching.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: HBO
βThe Haunting of Hill Houseβ
Whether or not youβre into haunted tales, this show is deceivingly impressive, and it shouldnβt be overlooked. Between the jump-out-at-you scares, each sub-plot is deep, poignant and irresistible.
Seasons: 1 (Season 2, The Haunting of Bly Manor, is expected to return Fall 2020)
Watch on: Netflix
βYouβ
This show is so well-executed, weβre not sure whether to root for or despise the main character of βYou,β which is about to release its second season. Former βGossip Girlβ darling Penn Badgley plays Joe Goldberg, an attractive and unassuming bookseller by day and a psychotic stalker by night. Get caught up and ready for the next season.
Seasons: 1 (Season 2 airs December 26)
Watch: Netflix
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βDirty Johnβ
Similar to the creepy true-crime podcast (that you should also binge-listen here), βDirty Johnβ the TV series follows the disturbing true story of a villainous conman who targeted older, wealthy women. When businesswoman Debra Newell (played by Connie Britton) first meets John Meehan, he seems to check all the boxes. But after they marry quickly, things unravel, and a sordid criminal history of manipulation and abuse starts to be uncovered.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Netflix
HEART-WARMERS
βModern Loveβ
We bet you wonβt be able to watch this mini-series in more than one sitting. Based on the weekly New York Timesβ column of the same name, each episode of this romantic-poignant-hilarious-in-one show follows a unique story of love. Each plot is expertly cast and different, and they all tie together beautifully at the end. This is the ultimate binge-in-one-sitting option thatβs sure to spark great discussion once the TVβs off.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Amazon Prime
βThe Good Placeβ
This unique comedy aims to examine what makes a person good. Kristin Bell stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife. Because of some kind of error, she is sent to the Good Place instead of the Bad Place (which is definitely where she belongs). Donβt be turned off by its primetime network TV birth on NBC β the writers explore some surprisingly meaty philosophical ideas. Get caught up and ready for the fifth season.
Seasons: 4 (Season 5 airs January 9, 2020)
Watch on: NBC, Netflix (first three seasons)
βThe Politicianβ
Despite wishy-washy results on review sites, this show has gained a cult following β mainly because of the wowing performance by its main character, Payton Hobart (played by Broadwayβs beloved Ben Platt). The seven-part story follows a privileged, ambitious high schooler through the political landscape of his senior year. In the wild joyride of a show, Payton must become class president to stay on his trajectory to become president of the United States.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Netflix
TRUE CRIME
βDonβt F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killerβ
Funny title aside, this chilling docuseries follows a group of internet nerds who β after stumbling upon a video of someone killing cats β make it their job to track down the killer. The manhunt intensifies as these amateur, resourceful detectives realize that the target will likely turn his twisted violence toward animals to humans. There is something for everyone in this thorough, three-part docuseries about a dark corner of the internet.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Netflix
βThe Confession Tapesβ
This one will have you scratching your head β or staring slack-jawed at the TV in disbelief. The historical docuseries investigates cases where convicted murderers claim that their confessions were coerced, false or involuntary. Prepare to click next episode quicker than you ever have before. SB TIP: Try not to Google this or its characters first; just search for it on Netflix and click play.
Seasons: 2
Watch on: Netflix
βCold Case Filesβ
One of A&Eβs most popular series of all time, this addictive show chronicles unsolved crimes that are re-examined in light of forensic advances and new evidence. In each of these 123 episodes, police and detectives attempt to crack the hauntingly open-ended cases once and for all. This should keep you occupied for a few weeks.
Seasons: 5
Watch on: A&E TV, Netflix
LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY
βSchittβs Creekβ
If youβre late to the party on this Canadian sitcom, nowβs the perfect time to binge the lighthearted comedy (with short episodes). Father-and-son duo in real life and the show, Eugene and Dan Levy bring this comedy to life as we follow a once-fabulously wealthy family whose posh Manhattan life is upended when theyβre forced to move to Schittβs Creek, a town they bought as a joke years before.
Seasons: 5 seasons (The final season airs January 7, 2020)
Watch on: Pop, Netflix
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βThe Righteous Gemstonesβ
Seasons: 1
Watch on: HBO
OUT OF THIS WORLD
βThe Mandalorianβ
Seasons: 1
Watch on: Disney+ (SB TIP: Verizon customers get one year free.)
βStranger Thingsβ
If you havenβt visited the upside-down yet, nowβs the perfect time to immerse yourself in βStranger Things.β Bingeing this show is more akin to reading a great novel in one day than watching a bunch of TV at once. You can look forward to deliciously good acting mixed with a nostalgic β80s aesthetic and a mysterious plotline.
Seasons: 3
Watch on: Netflix
βWatchmenβ
If you can suspend your disbelief, this new HBO favorite will be an all-in-one-sitting temptation this winter. Steeped in an alternate history, where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws and heroes of all kinds work to help humanity, the show pays homage to the groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name but succeeds in breaking some weird new ground of its own. And itβs okay if youβre not familiar with the comics β¦ you can make your own hypotheses as you watch.
Seasons: 1
Watch on: HBO, Hulu
Need more? Some tried-and-true favorites and new options for bingeing:
- Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
- Game of Thrones
- Outlander
- The Durrells in Corfu
- Dublin Murders
- The Wire
- Big Little Lies
- Black Mirror
- Homeland
- Bloodline
- Sherlock
- True Detective
- Ozark
- Mozart in the Jungle
- Homecoming
- The Affair
- VEEP
- Peaky Blinders
- Sharp Objects
Happy bingeing to you and yours this holiday break β and beyond!
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Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.