PBS may have a relatively light schedule of original programs in December, but it remains one of the best resources for TV shows, news programs, concerts, and documentaries because it’s free. Viewers can even stream most of PBS’ shows without having to register or donate.
Since it is the Christmas season, two of our picks for the three best PBS shows you should watch in December are holiday themed: Call the Midwife‘s annual Christmas special and the Season of Light: Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir. Our other pick for the month is a documentary about one of the all-time great mystery writers, Agatha Christie. If you’re looking for more options, check out our roundup of everything new on PBS in December.
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen
Agatha Christie’s mystery stories continue to be popular, with A Haunting in Venice hitting the big screen just this year. Her novels have also been a constant source of material for several mystery television series as well. Christie passed away in 1976, but her legacy has endured while several questions about her life remain, particularly about Christie’s disappearance in 1926 and her subsequent return shortly thereafter.
Lucy Worsley’s new three-part documentary series, Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, takes a broad look at Christie’s life in order to better understand who she was as both a writer and a person. Worsley also examines some of Christie’s “carefully concealed secrets” that shed additional light on her personality.
Watch Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen on PBS.
Season of Light: Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir
This year marks the 20th anniversary of PBS’ annual Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir holiday special. This year, the choir was joined by Tony Award winner Lea Salonga (Mulan, Miss Saigon) and actor Sir David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot). Salonga performed a selection of her favorite holiday songs, as well as Payapang Daigdig, a World War II-era song that she sang in her native Tagalog.
One of the other key parts of this year’s concert was Suchet’s account of the late Sir Nicholas Winton, a man who helped save hundreds of Jewish children from the Holocaust shortly before World War II. It’s a moving tale that continues to inspire decades after it came to light.
Watch Season of Light: Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir on PBS.
Call the Midwife Holiday Special
It’s become a tradition for the British drama series Call the Midwife to have a Christmas special a few months before its upcoming season. Ahead of Call the Midwife‘s 13th season next year, PBS will air this year’s special, which takes place two weeks ahead of Christmas 1968.
According to the special’s official description, “delicate situations cause uncertainty for the midwives. With the upcoming Apollo 8 launch and the festivity preparations starting, a treacherous heavy snowfall may complicate the holiday celebrations for everyone.”
Watch Call the Midwife 2023 Holiday Special on PBS on December 25.
