I’m going to try and be more prompt with my musings on TV consumables, given that the last roundup I did was a summer catchup in July. Given that we’re in the situation we’re in, however, I thought a winter round up to finish off 2025 would be appropriate, before my new year’s resolution of writing more often takes effect. With that in mind, here are eight programmes that I thought were worth mentioning.

Britain’s Most Historic Towns

This is an old show that features the lovely Alice Roberts visiting towns around the UK and digging into their history. The format is great, because it delves into a specific period of time that had a really big impact on that particular town (eg. Vikings in York, or Wartime in Dover) and that gives you specific things to look into, rather than a meandering look around a place. Roberts is curious and presents well and just makes you want to learn more. My list of places to visit grew significantly after finishing this, too.

The Great North

It feels like there are a lot of animations out there and they can be very hit and miss. This was a hit for me, although it was never top of my list to delve into… but once I did, I would get hooked and binge watch all available episodes. Telling the stories of a slightly nutty family in Alaska and featuring the voice talents of Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate and Will Forte, it was always a joy. Plus Alanis Morissette would pop up every now and again. It’s been cancelled now, which is a shame, but worth a watch.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

I was late to the party on this, when I started seeing talk about Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah when season three was airing. But I caught up pretty quickly, and just recently finished everything available. It’s great, teenage angst and drama and overemotion throughout but done really well with a great cast. I want to read the books now.

The Bear

Another series I was very late to, I couldn’t get away from Jeremy Allen White when he was promoting this and his Bruce Springsteen film as well. It’s great, although I find it gives me a headache sometimes. It’s intense, especially those big scenes where everyone’s shouting at each other. People rate that Christmas episode really highly but I found that almost unwatchable. However, White and Edebiri are brilliant and I definitely want to know what happens next.

Murderbot

Another quirky TV show, I was so confident that we would watch one episode of this Apple TV sci-fi comedy drama and give the rest a miss, but it ended up being brilliant. The sarcasm of the bionic security robot/human hybrid played by Alexander Skarsgård was fabulous, and he was surrounded by a great cast as well. There’s a second series coming but I have no idea where it can go from here.

Stick

Following in the footsteps of Ted Lasso, there were always going to be comparisons of this heart-felt sports comedy drama, but they were very different things. Owen Wilson has been hitting it out the park recently (wrong sport) with performances in this and Loki, but there’s a lot to be said for the rest of the cast… a fun relationship with his ex-wife, a grumpy old guy caddying, and the new kids on the block, golfer and bartender, making their way in the world. It’s fun but it’s also emotional, so be prepared.

North and South

I don’t know why I had this in my TV library, when did I buy it and why? But when I was down on streaming services earlier in the year, I had a quick look and got hooked. Patrick Swayze wouldn’t necessarily be your first choice for a drama like this, but it works well, and you’re rooting for everyone to be okay, despite the fact that a civil war suggests they won’t be.

The Newsreader

I’m glad the BBC got access to this Australian show, set in a newsroom in the 1980s. They’re following the big events which gives it a really interesting historical angle, but there are also plenty of their own dramas as well - mental health, drugs, sexuality, cultural differences, familial pressure, and a lot of sexism in the workplace. It’s three fantastic series and well worth a watch.

Part two with eight more shows coming soon!