Wound up by winter? Jaded by January? Well, get your gogglebox in gear, pass the popcorn and settle in with s1homes for a spot of screen therapy.
These are the telly highlights that make spending time at home a truly cosy and communal affair.
So, let the credits roll on your guide to the shows you can’t live without in 2020.
Monster munches
Still missing your bestie from Game of Thrones? Well The Witcher was made especially for you. Netflix’s adaptation of the fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski stars Henry Cavill (aka Superman) as Geralt of Rivia.
He’s not your ordinary Rivian, mind you: Geralt is a magic mutant who loves nothing better than galloping through The Continent on his steed Roach, hunting ugly monsters and wooing beautiful maidens.
The action – choreographed to heavy metal guitar riffs – is comically fantastic and the storyline is full of nasty surprises, many of which have tentacles, claws, fangs or all of the above (the monsters not the maidens).
And here’s a fun fact: the show’s composers have just created a rap version of Toss A Coin to Your Witcher, the ditty played by Geralt’s sidekick Jaskier (aka Dandelion).
Here comes the sun
Or to be precise solar flares. A Sky TV Series, Cobra stars Robert Carlyle as Prime Minister Robert Sutherland and Victoria Hamilton as his sassy Chief of Staff Anna Marshall, a duo who must tackle a very peculiar political crisis – the entire planet’s power and electronics have been decimated by earthbound magnetic bursts from the sun.
How will our put-upon politicians balance this doomsday dilemma with party policies and their own less-than-perfect personal lives?
Only time will tell but what’s certain is finding out will be a lot of fun.
It’s behind you!
What could be better on a dark and stormy night than a winter’s tale of unholy horror? Sneak on stage right The Outsider, courtesy of HBO. Adapted from Stephen King’s 2018 book, this begins life as a crime story before all too quickly descending into a toe-curling tale of terror.
Its star and Executive Producer Jason Bateman, who also directed the first two episodes, plays Little League coach Terry Maitland – a man charged with a heinous crime. But all is not what it seems. Could it be a nasty supernatural force is the real culprit?
Switch off the lights, grab the nearest safety cushion and let’s find out . . .
All aboard
Hot on the moon boots of The Mandalorian, comes a brand-new sci-fi series called Avenue 5. Another highlight from HBO, this comedic story of a motley crew of astronauts who find themselves stuck in space is less about weighty drama and more about levity – anti-gravity viewing, you might say.
Aptly for a show set in space, the cast is star-studded and includes House doc Hugh Laurie as the spaceship’s captain and Westwing wonder Suzy Nakamura as the vessel’s owner.
Coming from Armando Iannucci, creator of Veep and The Thick of It creator, it’s bound to have bigger belly laughs than Jabba the Hutt.
Remember, in space no-one can hear you scream . . . even with laughter.
Up close and personal
There’s nowt stranger than fiction. Unless, of course, it’s fiction called The Stranger. This eight-episoder from Netflix is adapted by Danny Brocklehurst from Harlan Coben’s novel and follows the fortunes of a hero called Adam Price.
That is right up until his fortune becomes misfortune and poor Mr Price, played by Michael C Hall, learns a shocking secret about Mrs Price – a revelation that soon spirals into a conspiracy that threatens the safety of all the little Prices.
Look out for Absolutely Fabulous actress Jennifer Saunders, who plays a character called Heidi – without any sign of Peter and his goats, alas.
We hope you like our recommendation on the TV Shows that you can’t miss this Winter; everyone will talk about them!