This month we will be experiencing a very different holiday season due to Covid-19. Perhaps you are unable to be with extended family members or celebrate with friends that live out of town. Less is more this holiday season as we explore quality time with loved ones. It is also an opportunity to reimagine holiday traditions and think about how YOU want to celebrate it without the rituals or rules often imposed by well meaning family members.

I have gotten used to celebrating Christmas remotely over the past 13 years (living in the U.S) and it has its upsides that I want to share with you…

I May Destroy You is a powerful British drama series on HBO that follows the author Arabella and a group of young, black Londoners navigating friendships, dating and the ubiquity of sexual abuse. Author Arabella, played by Michaela Coel – also the series’ creator, writer and co-director (Chewing Gum), prepares for an all-nighter to meet a writing deadline. It turns out to be an all-nighter of a very different kind on the neon saturated streets and bars of London.

Can you imagine going over to a pop singer’s house for dinner and recording a podcast interview around their dinner table…with her mom? Table Manners is a charming podcast about food, family and art of conversation over good food. It is hosted by British soul singer Jessie Ware and her mum Lennie. Now in its sixth season, the pair are recording the podcast living together during quarantine while Jessie’s house is being renovated…cue the dysfunctional banter before and after the interview.

At last a funny cooking show that appeals to those who enjoy cooking and those who don’t. Amy Schumer Learns to Cook is a new cooking show starring comedian and actor Amy Schumer and her husband, chef Chris Fischer on the Food Network. The combination of Amy’s quick wit, Chris’s know-how and the homely setting in Martha’s Vineyard creates the kind of comfort TV we need right now.

Christina Applegate plays Jen, a widow who is struggling with her anger while trying to solve her husband’s death in a hit and run accident. Jen meets quirky Judy at a grieving circle and despite being polar opposite, they become fast friends in common grief. Judy isn’t what she seems to be, and we gradually start to understand the big secret and shame she is carrying.

The Irish author Sally Rooney made waves in the literacy world when her second book ‘Normal People’ became the talk of the town in 2018. The BBC TV adaptation of the popular book, dropped on Hulu at the end of last week. It tells the coming-of-age story of Marianne and Connell, two teenagers from different social backgrounds navigating their last year of school in a small Irish town and moving onto college life at Trinity College in Dublin.

This is the perfect book for all book lovers who fell in love with the joy of reading as a child. British author Lucy Mangan’s delightful book not only takes the reader on a nostalgic stroll down literary lane, but also tells the surprising stories behind classic books and the authors who wrote them.

I can’t get enough of the funny banter and juicy cultural picks from British co-hosts Dolly Alderton and Pandora Skyes who bring a refreshing take on the latest news and pop culture. The title is inspired by editor (Vanity Fair) and podcaster Tina Brown who coined the term ‘high low journalism’ - mixing lighter more meta references with news related items. 

Once in a while a TV show comes along that brightens up your day and makes you see the world through a brighter and more playful lens. The World According to Jeff Goldblum is one of those shows!

Each episode explores a familiar thing in popular culture that people love such as; ice cream, sneakers, denim, coffee etc. The show visually explains the history and science behind it and also how society continues to interact and celebrate it.

The Playground is a story about the lives of three families intertwined when their children join a tutoring circle. The couples become close, some too close, in fact the couples are too busy watching each other that they miss the secret games the kids are playing, and the dangerous dynamics forming between the kids until tragedy happens.

The thoughtful character development and how they navigate the messy path of parenting, marriage and self identity reminded me of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. The story’s plot twists make it a page turner that I tore through in two big gulps.

The Stranger is a fast paced detective drama on Netflix that is perfect to binge watch during a rainy day or over a couple evenings, in fact my sister and brother-in-law stayed up until 2am to watch the final episode!

Family man Adam Price becomes entangled in a mystery when a stranger makes a shocking claim about his wife faking her pregnancy. A web of lies turns a normal family’s suburban life upside to reveal skeletons in a number of family closets.