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L-R: Amadeus, Stranger Things, Land of Sin Sky, Netflix
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From Amadeus to zombies: Your guide to the best new shows streaming over Christmas
Catch up on these recent or brand new series over the festive period.
LOOKING FORWARD TO catching up with all of the series you missed on streaming in 2025?
Well, there’s good and bad news – coming up over Christmas and the New Year are even more great series to enjoy.
To help you sift through what’s on offer, here are our highlights.
Amadeus
NOW, available now
This dropped on Sky Atlantic/NOW yesterday – it’s based on the original play by Peter Shaffer about the rise and fall of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 18th century Vienna.
What makes this great is the cast – a bombastic Will Sharpe plays Mozart, and Paul Bettany plays the seething Antonio Salieri with aplomb. If you loved the 1984 film by Miloš Forman that’s also based on the play, you’ll certainly enjoy this.
Fallout
Prime, available now
Gamers will know that this series is based on the video game of the same name – all about a post-apocalyptic America and a girl named Lucy MacClean, who escapes the vault where she’s been living and goes exploring the dangerous wasteland after her father is abducted. The second season of Fallout is out now, and sees Lucy heading for New Vegas.
I Love LA
NOW, available now
If you missed this absolutely gas series on Sky over the last few weeks, now is the time to catch it. If you find self-absorbed Gen Z-ers hard to take, this probably isn’t for you, but trust us when we say it’s comedy catnip.
It’s the brainchild of Rachel Sennott, who plays Maia, a would-be talent manager working for an agency, who takes on an old friend as a client. Things in her world start to get very complicated, thanks to that friend Tallulah (Odessa A’zion), who is an absolute whirlwind of a person.
Emily in Paris
Netflix, available now
Look, sometimes you just need to watch something nice and fluffy – with gorgeous outfits and delectable settings – to take the edge off. Lily Collins is back as the titular Emily, only in this season she’s spending time in both Rome and Paris, and facing many personal and professional challenges. Plus ça change…
Stranger Things
Netflix, Christmas Day and finale on New Year’s Eve
So far, the first four episodes of the fifth season of Stranger Things are a lot more enjoyable than the quite messy season four. Now we can look forward to four final episodes, culminating in a feature-length finale. Things will definitely come to an explosive end as the kids of Hawkins fight off Vecna one final time.
The Lowdown
Disney+ from St Stephen’s Day
Ethan Hawke is always delightful on screen, isn’t he? The new series The Lowdown arrives on 26 December, and sees Hawke play citizen journalist Lee Raybon, a self-proclaimed “truthstorian” based in Tulsa, whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble. He might work in a bookshop, but he moonlights as a sleuth.
Run Away
Netflix, 1 January
The Harlan Coben stable produces some of the most twisty-turny series known to TV, and Run Away surely won’t change what’s become a dependable format. Admittedly these series always stretch credulity, but they’re great craic too.
The latest series (an eight-parter) is based on Coben’s 2019 novel of the same name and stars James Nesbitt as Simon, whose daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) vanishes, setting off a chain of events that could tear the family apart. Co-stars include Ruth Jones and Minnie Driver.
Land of Sin
Netflix from 2 January
If you’re a fan of Scandi noir, this Swedish murder mystery is for you. A teenager is found dead at a farmhouse, and the odd but highly intelligent investigator Dani (Krista Kosonen) is teamed up with newly graduated police colleague Malik (Mohammed Nour Oklah) to investigate the case. They soon find themselves at the centre of a dark family feud that has been going on for generations.
Fear the Walking Dead
NOW, from 31 December
Good news for those who love zombies: seasons 1-8 of Fear the Walking Dead will be available to stream from New Year’s Eve. This is the first official spin-off to The Walking Dead universe, and acts initially as a prequel to the main series. It follows a dysfunctional Los Angeles-based blended family whose lives are turned upside down when the zombie apocalypse hits.
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