TV ON DEMAND

Robin Wiggs’s guide to the best TV and movies on iplayer, Netflix and more…

CATCH-UP TV

DRAMA

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

This glossy US mystery opens a year after the disappearance of a school queen bee. Spinoff The Perfectionists, which is new to the UK, is also available. From New Year’s Day.

MONSTER ALL 4 ★★★★

A serial killer could be on the loose in this brooding new mystery from Norway, and not one but two troubled detectives are placed on the case. This is a bleak-looking but well-acted drama, and it’s engaging from the start. From New Year’s Day.

COMEDY

THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

All 148 episodes of the culture-clash US sitcom that launched the career of Will Smith. From New Year’s Day.

THE GOES WRONG SHOW: THE NATIVITY

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

The amateur dramatics society returns for more precisely executed festive slapstick. On iplayer, you can also find this year’s Christmas comedy specials for Ghosts, Motherland, Upstart Crow and King Gary.

DOCUMENTARY

A BABY REINDEER’S FIRST CHRISTMAS

ALL 4 ★★★★

The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre in the Highlands is home to the UK’S only freeranging herd and, luckily for us, they’ve allowed cameras in to follow the progress of this year’s calves. We see these delightful creatures from the moment of their arrival to the selection for duties on Santa’s sleigh.

HOOP DREAMS/THE CRASH REEL

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

The classic 1990s US documentary follows two inner-city African-american teens with dreams of playing professional basketball. The Crash Reel starts out like an aboveaverage snowboard film; then, its subject suffers a critical injury. What follows is a lot of things, including a portrait of recovery in a loving family. From New Year’s Eve/day.

REALITY SERIES

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF JERSEY

ITV HUB ★★★

The first series of this UK spin-off from the US reality show, which follows glamorous women on the island home of Bergerac. From Monday.

LAST CHANCE

SNOW ANIMALS

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★ Liz Bonnin reveals the survival strategies of endearing snowbound creatures, from reindeer to polar bears. Until Tuesday.

HOW IT WORKS

The free services BBC iplayer (bbc.co.uk/ iplayer), ITV Hub (itv.com/hub/itv), All 4 (all4.com) and My5 (my5.tv) give you from seven to 30 days – and sometimes longer – to watch TV and films that have already aired. Netflix (netflix.co.uk), Amazon

Prime (amazon.co.uk/piv), Now TV (nowtv. com), Disney+ (disneyplus.com), Apple

TV+ (tv.apple.com/gb), Britbox (britbox. co.uk), Acorn TV (acorn.tv) and discovery+

(discoveryplus.co.uk) are all subscription services. There is also a selection of nonsubscription sites for the rental of TV and film, such as Rakuten TV (uk.rakuten.tv) and Google Play (play.google.com/store). All of these services can be watched through a variety of internet-connected devices.