Fun Stuff to Watch: 2021 Holiday Edition

I usually add these to my newsletter, but I have a more comprehensive list this time (which I’ll add to as I watch more) so am sharing on the blog instead! If you watch any of these (or have watched them!) please comment below and let me know what you thought! I’ve linked trailers where I can below. These are also in no particular order, though I’ve tried to group the more holiday-themed shows/movies together.

Note: Not all of these are holiday movies – some are just romance or other shows/movies I loved.

Great British Baking Show/Great British Bake Off (Regular & Holiday editions) – This show (airing on Netflix in the US) is just a fun, family-friendly watch, and so unlike American cooking/baking competitions (everyone supports each other!) so I love it.

Blown Away Christmas – another fun family-friendly Netflix competition show featuring amazing glasswork.

Home for Christmas – I also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, this Norwegian show (subtitled and dubbed on Netflix) about a woman trying to find someone to bring home for Christmas so her family stops pestering her about her love life. There are 2 seasons, 6 episodes per season, and each ep is only 30 mins long so it’s a quick, fun watch. I know people will have THOUGHTS about how it ended, but I really liked how season 2 ended, personally. The trailer for season 1 is below (the show is dubbed in English though the trailer isn’t).

Dash & Lily – a really fun, cute holiday series on Netflix where 2 strangers connect anonymously with each other through a notebook found in the Strand bookstore (one of my fave NYC spots btw).

A Castle for Christmas – a curmudgeonly Scottish duke (played by The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes!) and an American writer (played by Brooke Shields) falling in hate before love? SIGN ME UP. A Netflix holiday classic, for sure.

The Time It Takes – I LOVED this Spanish show (subtitled, no dubbing, on Netflix) about a woman recovering from a breakup. The episodes are short (12/13 minutes each) and are titled things like “One Minute in the Present and Ten Minutes in the Past” so in that episode (as an example) the main character spends 1 minute in the present post-breakup but 10 minutes in the past reliving the relationship – SO ACCURATE. Loved the progression of the season and hope it gets renewed.

Sex Lives of College Girls – I love this HBO show and it’s not surprising as Mindy Kaling is behind it. Smart, funny, inclusive, and totally unlike my own college experience which makes me love it all the more. I love reading New Adult/College Age romances and this feels like one of those in tv episode form. The first season is being released now.

Love Life – I loved the first season of this HBO show featuring Anna Kendrick, and season 2 features William Jackson Harper (of The Good Place fame). I haven’t finished this season yet, but I’m liking it so far. I’ve linked the season 1 & 2 trailers below.

Little Italy – I never saw this movie when it first came out but I’m happy to have seen it on Netflix now. The grown up children of 2 rival pizza parlor owners meet after many years – but will sparks fly? Really cute forbidden romance with Hayden Christensen, Emma Roberts, and a bunch of other actors you’ll recognize.

Out of My League – This Italian film (subtitled and dubbed) was a fun (and slightly uncomfortable) romance. Think of a girl with a chronic disease who doesn’t think she can get the hot guy so she stalks him and blackmails him into it – but will he end up falling in love with her? The sequel to this (Still Out of My League) premieres on Netflix next week (and they’re making a 3rd movie too I heard). The show is dubbed even though the trailer isn’t.

Psych 3: This is Gus – I am a LONGTIME fan of the show Psych so I was very excited about a 3rd post-series movie. It did not disappoint. If you like 80s references and hilarious antics, I highly recommend the show and subsequent movies (available to watch on Peacock).

Dexter: New Blood – I was a fan of the series and was very intrigued by the prospect of new episodes. Available on Showtime, the show picks up 10 years after the events of the original finale. The first episode was odd to me because much of it didn’t use narration like the original series did (it’s explained why later in the episode) and I’ve had mixed feeling about it though the first few episodes, but now it’s starting to heat up. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. My mixed feeling could be the fact that I basically binged the original series so having to wait for a new episode each week is more difficult than it used to be!

Red Notice – I mean, it’s Ryan Reynolds. Do I need to say more?

Cowboy Bebop – I love the original anime and was excited for this live-action version on Netflix. John Cho is wonderful in it and I loved it.

Wheel of Time – Last (for now) but certainly not least! I’m slowly working my way through the books and I love the series. Not totally true to the books, but that honestly doesn’t bother me. It’s a very well done fantasy series on Amazon Prime.

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