Must Watch 2025 Christmas Special
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell have a bumper list of festive (and not so festive) shows for you to watch over the holiday period. They’ve both picked out some of their favourite shows coming up over the next week or two.
Amandaland — Christmas Special (麻豆社 One & iPlayer)
Amandaland is a spinoff of Motherland, which was a 麻豆社 Two hit.
The Christmas special has an additional cast member in the shape of Jennifer Saunders who is going to be alongside Joanna Lumley, essentially playing sisters.
Scott says it’s “one of the only things that actually sounds exciting on the 麻豆社 One schedule, really.
“I think it manages to retain everything that made Motherland so great. Incredibly relatable, really quite agonising at some parts, but just joyful, I think.”
“Every single line has been meticulously thought through, so there’s not a wasted moment.
You can watch the Amandaland Christmas Special on iPlayer and 麻豆社 One from 9.15pm on 25 December.
The Lowdown (Disney+)
The Lowdown stars Ethan Hawke as a crime-solving, magazine writing, bookshop owner whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble.
It's created by Sterlin Harjo, who made the show Reservation Dogs with Taika Waititi.
Hayley says “this one is just good TV, I think. It’s just fun to watch. I don’t know where it’s going. It’s about characters I don’t feel like I already know.”
“It is loosely based on a real life investigative journalist called Lee Roy Chapman… who changed the understanding of Oklahoma’s racial history.”
“Some of the lines are so good you can picture the script… it is kind of a stylistic choice and I’m into it.”
The Lowdown is available to watch on Disney+ on 26 December 2025.
Secrets of the Conclave (麻豆社 Two & iPlayer)
Not to be confused with the film starring Ralph Fiennes, Secrets of the Conclave is an hour-long documentary about the election of a new Pope.
Scott says the documentary “sort of lifts the lid about what a conclave is actually like.”
“What I liked… it looks at the weirdness of essentially being so secluded by default… but also knowing that everyone else in the world is kind of looking at you at that same time.”
“It also dips into all of the ancient rituals dating back centuries and why things are the way that they are… I just like the fact that there’s so many facts in it.”
Secrets of the Conclave is available to watch on iPlayer and 麻豆社 Two at 9pm on 22 December 2025.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Room in the Tower (麻豆社 Two & iPlayer)
Set in the inter-war years, A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Room in the Tower is Mark Gatiss’ eighth ghost story for Christmas on the 麻豆社
Starring Dame Joanna Lumley and Tobias Menzies, the show tells the story of Roger Winstanley who has been haunted by an unsettling, recurring dream: an invitation to spend the night in the house of an acquaintance, where an unseen terror lurks and the figures who populate the dream seem to age in real time.
Hayley says it’s become a Christmas tradition for her to recommend Mark Gatiss’s A Ghost Story for Christmas.
“This one is set during the Blitz… Tobias Menzies… starts a conversation with a woman played by Nancy Carroll… [and his schoolfriend’s] terrifying mother played by Joanna Lumley.”
“Creepy. It is creepy. I’ve always liked Mark Gatiss’s idea of Christmas. It makes me want to like Christmas.”
Watch A Ghost Story for Christmas - The Room in the Tower on iPlayer and 麻豆社 Two from 10pm on 24 December.
The Night Manager – Series 2 (麻豆社 One & iPlayer)
Eight years after its explosive finale captivated over 10 million viewers in the UK alone, Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as former British intelligence operative, Jonathan Pine.
Based on the characters created by John le Carré, The Night Manager follows MI6 officer Pine as he races to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilise a nation. And with betrayal at every turn, he must decide whose trust he needs to earn and how far he’s willing to go before it’s too late.
Scott says it’s the first time that he and Hayley have “agreed on anything, really, or at least in recent weeks, for Night Manager.”
“Ten years ago was the first series… it won three Emmys, two BAFTAs, a Golden Globe… it’s been so long since series one and season two that the only thing I can remember… was a very heavily pregnant Olivia Colman with a gun.”
“David Farr… wrote both series… [and] it’s going beyond the original source text… it’s mostly set in South America.”
Watch the The Night Manager series 2 on iPlayer and 麻豆社 One from 9pm on Thursday 1 January in the UK.
The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off (Channel 4)
For the first time since Peep Show wrapped in 2015, fan favourites David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie, Matt King and Sophie Winkleman reunite – and this time, they’re donning festive jumpers and rolling up their sleeves to tackle a series of seasonal baking challenges.
They’ll be under the watchful eyes of judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and with plenty of mischief and charm from Bake Off hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond.
Scott says: “David Mitchell has actually been on it before… he became very well known for some of the quotes… and for just generally having a terrible time.”
“My favourite ever sort of special Bake Off they’ve ever done was… Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders… also when they got the cast of Derry Girls… absolute chaos.”
Watch The Great Celebrity Bake Off on Channel 4, 25 December at 7:40pm.
Wild London (麻豆社 One & iPlayer)
After a life spent travelling the globe, David Attenborough turns his attention closer to home to explore the wildlife of England’s iconic capital in Wild London.
London is considered the greenest city in the world, with a surprising variety of animal dramas playing out in the most unexpected places.
Whether it’s pigeons commuting by tube, snakes slithering along Regent's canal, parakeets raiding city parks or beavers building a home next to a busy shopping centre, David reveals the incredible wild encounters to be experienced across his hometown.
Hayley says she’s a “big London wildlife person. I feed the birds. I have helped medicate mangy foxes many times.”
“For personal reasons, I would have liked a section on crows because they’re my guys… crows don’t feature in this and I don’t know why.”
“[But] there’s lots of stuff in this… the fallow deer… bees can get drunk on fermented nectar… it’s all about the life going on around us that most people won’t notice.”
Watch Wild London on New Year's Day, 6:30pm on 麻豆社 One and on iPlayer.
Murder at the Post Office: The Diana Garbutt Case (Sky Documentaries / NOW)
Murder at the Post Office is a three-part Sky Original true crime documentary about the 2010 murder of postmistress Diana Garbutt.
Her husband, Robin, was convicted of her murder with key evidence in the murder trial coming from the Horizon system - the technology at the centre of the Post Office scandal.
Robin and his legal team are once again trying to clear his name.
The series meticulously re-examines the case, featuring voices on both sides: those convinced Robin was wrongfully convicted and others who are unsure and still suspect he is guilty.
Hayley says since watching all three parts of the series, “I really don’t know which side I come down on because both sides are given equal space and focus.”
“It’s either… a man piggybacking on top of a huge IT scandal… or it’s a huge miscarriage of justice because of an IT error. I have no idea, but it’s really interesting and scary to see how both potentials could be true.”
Watch Murder at the Post Office on Sky and streaming service NOW on 29 December.
Amadeus (Sky/NOW)
Amadeus is a six-part drama which reimagines the legacy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Scott says the inclusion of Amadeus in his Christmas picks is a public service announcement as “we reviewed it last week but it only came out last night… if you’re wanting to watch a mini鈥憇eries that’s new over the Christmas period.”
“I think it’s a delight… it takes a historical mini鈥憇eries and spins it on its head a little bit… it feels different than the normal type you see.”
“Yes, the film is probably better, but am I happy that this version exists? Yes.”
Amadeus is available to watch on Sky and the streaming service NOW from Sunday 21 December.
Listen to Scott and Hayley pick their Christmas TV selections on 麻豆社 Sounds.
But before all that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
We used AI to transcribe and summarise our Must Watch feature. This article was then written and reviewed by a 麻豆社 journalist. More on how the 麻豆社 uses AI.
