5 great Netflix shows to watch on Christmas

This year, Christmas falls in the middle of the week. And let’s be honest: Nobody is going to get much work done after the holiday arrives. However, that may open the door for more free time to catch up on some shows on Christmas, whether you’re with family and friends or flying solo for the long holiday.

If you’re looking for something to binge watch during that time, Netflix has a plethora of series to choose from. To make things easier for you, we’ve narrowed down our selections to the five great Netflix shows to watch on Christmas. Most of our picks are relatively family-friendly, but you may want to send young children to bed before trying out either of the two action shows.

Virgin River

Virgin River is one of the few Netflix original series that has more episodes than anyone can squeeze into a single weekend. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t ideal for holiday binge-watching. American Horror Story‘s Alexandra Breckenridge breaks out on her own with this romantic drama, which casts her as a nurse practitioner named Melinda “Mel” Monroe. Mel moved to Virgin River to enjoy life in a small town and get a fresh start after living in Los Angeles.

Mel quickly butts heads with her new boss, Vernon “Doc” Mullins (Tim Matheson), and finds new romance with a troubled bar owner, Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson). That evolving relationship reached its ultimate turning point in the recently released sixth season. And with at least one more season on the way, Virgin River will be around for next year’s holiday weekend as well.

Watch Virgin River on Netflix.

Black Doves

Netflix’s new action thriller, Black Doves, actually does start off in the Christmas season. However, Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) won’t be spending all of her time caroling with her kids or her husband, Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan). She’s an undercover spy who is only with Wallace for her job. Jason Davies (Andrew Koji) was Helen’s real lover, and there’s going to be hell to pay now that someone has murdered him.

Helen disregards her undercover assignment to get revenge on Jason’s murderers, which alarms Reed (Sarah Lancashire), her boss in the Black Doves organization. That’s why Reed sends Helen’s best friend, Sam Young (Ben Whishaw), to watch her back as she delivers some holiday carnage to her enemies.

Watch Black Doves on Netflix.

Monk

If you’re looking for a combination of comedy and mystery, Monk is one of the best in the genre. But since Monk is leaving Netflix on January 14, 2025, starting on Christmas will give you just under three weeks to make your way through the eight-season run. The good news is that most of Monk‘s episodes — or cases — are self-contained, and you can sample new stories in almost any order you like.

Tony Shalhoub had the role of a life time as Adrian Monk, a former homicide detective whose phobias and OCD overpowered him after the death of his wife, Trudy. With the help of his personal assistant, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), and her eventual replacement, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), Monk is able to function just enough to help the San Francisco PD solve their most difficult cases. Shalhoub is so funny in the role that one of the best parts of the show is Monk’s inevitable freakout over some minor thing that triggers his issues.

Watch Monk on Netflix.

How I Met Your Mother

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of How I Met Your Mother, one of the seminal sitcoms of its era. This is the equivalent of TV comfort food, and there’s nothing wrong with that! Despite the name of the show, it really takes its time setting up Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) with his future wife. Instead, it’s kind of a successor to Friends with a group that includes Ted, Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris).

While Marshall and Lily are already a couple when the show begins, Ted’s only got eyes for Robin, a woman who goes on to play a very important role in his life. And eventually, Ted’s friend, Barney, is going to fall for Robin, too, which is only going to complicate things. But you can almost always count on this show to deliver some laughs, even if you’ve seen all the episodes before.

Watch How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

Altered Carbon

There is actually a Blade Runner TV series in the works for Prime Video, but Altered Carbon beat it to the punch by several years. Netflix spent millions on this sci-fi action series, and it shows up everywhere onscreen with dazzling visuals. This series takes place in a future where the wealthy and the elite can live forever with if their memories are saved and downloaded into new bodies, or “sleeves.”

Takeshi Kovacs fought against this future until it was thrust upon him. Joel Kinnaman plays Kovacs in the first season, as he’s resurrected to help a rich man, Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy), discover who is trying to kill him. As Kovacs navigates his new world, he’s guided by an AI that resembles Edgar Allan Poe (Chris Conner) as they uncover a mystery that links back to his own death over two centuries before the series begins.

Watch Altered Carbon on Netflix.