Ever since I was a kid, one of my favourite parts of Christmas has always been deciding what TV to watch, with family favourites including Doctor Who, EastEnders and Strictly.
However, there is a widespread feeling that this year, the TV schedule on December 25 is nowhere near as good as it used to be (except for shows like Amandaland).
That might partly be because the line-up of shows airing on New Year’s Day is – to put it simply – magnificent.
Forget bingeing on TV on Boxing Day while still in the stupor of your Christmas food coma. Lying in bed all day on New Year’s Day is where it’s at this year.
From The Traitors making an almighty return for the fourth season of the BBC’s civilian series to Tom Hiddleston resurrecting his spy thriller The Night Manager after nine years, we’re really spoilt for choice.
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Here are the top recommendations from Metro on what you need to be watching on the first day of 2026. You’re welcome!
The Traitors starts New Year’s Day the right way on BBC
The epic season finale of The Celebrity Traitors might have only aired in November, but we already can’t wait for The Traitors to deliver us backstabbing entertainment on New Year’s Day.
The BBC series – which has become a phenomenon – returns with its fourth civilian series at the very start of 2026.
Fans are in for an especially huge treat, as there are going to be three episodes released on the trot between Thursday and Saturday that week.
How could anyone top the masterclass of entertainment that Alan Carr gave us in the celebrity version, when he somehow giggled and sweated his way to become the last Traitor standing?
As usual, 22 people will be entering the grand castle in a bid to win £120,000, all the while overseen by the queen of dramatic knits, Claudia Winkleman.
All will be working together to build the cash pot, but the Faithfuls will also be trying to root out the Traitors, who’ll take all of the money home if they’re still in the game by the final. Plus, the Faithfuls need to hope that they’re not murdered in the night by the treacherous Traitors. We can’t wait!
The Traitors season 4 launches on January 1 at 8pm on BBC One.
Tom Hiddleston’s spy drama The Night Manager finally returns
We’ve done our waiting. Almost a decade of it. And finally, the wait has paid off… as The Night Manager is back.
The thrilling BBC drama first came to our attention in 2016, introducing viewers to Tom Hiddleston’s suave former soldier-turned-night manager.
The show, which also starred acting heavyweights Hugh Laurie, Elizabeth Debicki and Tom Hollander, was the reason why people started pointing the finger at Tom as a possible contender to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond.
Now, season two is launching just shy of 10 years later. Jonathan, who’s been leading a quiet life since his dealings with the nefarious Richard Roper (Hugh), re-enters the world of espionage on a dangerous mission.
He’s reunited with national treasure Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, alongside Alistair Petrie as Sandy Langbourne and Noah Jupe as Richard’s now-grown-up son, Daniel Roper.
New cast members include Babylon star Diego Calva as Teddy, Daisy Jones and the Six star Camila Morrone as Roxana, and Game of Thrones star Indira Varma as Mayra.
The Night Manager season 2 launches on January 1 at 9.05pm on BBC One.
It’s the final countdown for the epic Stranger Things farewell
I can’t believe the day is almost here – Stranger Things is finally coming to an end with its fifth and final season on January 1, after just under 10 years.
(Yes, there have been five whole seasons of Stranger Things, and only one of The Night Manager, despite them both launching in 2016).
The final season of the spectacular sci-fi thriller created by the Duffer Brothers was split into three parts – the first coming out in November and the second on Boxing Day in the UK.
It’ll then culminate with a feature-length grand finale on the first day of the year. We have a feeling we’re going to be in floods of tears finding out how the gangs’ adventure draws to a close.
Who’ll live? Who’ll die? Will Vecna be defeated? Is he truly evil after all? Is there more to the Upside Down that we still don’t know? We have so many questions!
Here's what the Duffer Brothers had to say about the final season of Stranger Things
Ahead of the release of Stranger Things season five, Metro‘s TV Editor Sabrina Barr spoke to the Duffer Brothers – Matt and Ross Duffer – about the final season.
You never know how fans are going to react to a TV show, especially fans as passionate as the Stranger Things fandom.
‘You have ideas of how they’re gonna react, but you never know,’ Matt told us, ahead of the launch of season five volume one.
‘Sometimes you put out a season, and what you think is gonna resonate with the fans does in fact resonate. And then there’s elements that surprise you – things you think are going to really connect with them, don’t. And then other things you weren’t expecting were going to connect with them, really do.
‘This is both a terrifying and really fun part of the process.’
He added that ‘on a sheer, gut-punch emotional level, the final episode was hard to film’.
‘First of all, it had the most logistically challenging things we’ve ever put on camera, and also the dramatic portion of it was really hard, because it’s saying goodbye to these characters that we came up with 10 years ago, and more than that, the actors who played them,’ he shared.
To read more, click here.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 3 launches on January 1 at 1am on Netflix.
Harlan Coben is back with his latest star-studded Netflix thriller
Fancy a binge-worthy thriller to get sucked into while you’re lounging around the day after a raucous New Year’s Eve? As usual, Harlan Coben has you covered with his new series, Run Away.
Starring James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones, Minnie Driver and Alfred Enoch, the drama kicks off when Paige (Ellie de Lange), the daughter of James’ character Simon, runs away.
Simon embarks on a journey to try to find his daughter, but – as you might expect – runs into some perilous trouble.
‘Run Away is about family — about what we will do to keep our family intact, what secrets we keep within our family, and what secrets we keep as a family,’ Harlan said.
‘Every time you walk past the house, there’s a whole universe that goes on behind that door and none of us have a clue what it is.’
Colour us intrigued!
Run Away launches on January 1 on Netflix.
Line of Duty star Martin Compston takes the Red Eye on ITV
Red Eye originally premiered in 2024, starring Ricard Armitage as Dr Matthew Nolan, a doctor accused of murder who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy when, while aboard a red-eye flight, people start dying.
For season two of the gripping and twisty thriller, Jing Lusi returns as Detective Hana Li, this time joined by Line of Duty star Martin Compston as Clay Brody, the head of security at the US embassy.
Martin, who’s best known for playing Will Arnott in Line of Duty, admitted that he felt pressure about following in Richard’s footsteps by joining the acclaimed drama.
‘I had a blast making it! I had big shoes to fill, literally with the size of Richard! He did such a wonderful job, leading with Jing in the first series,’ he said.
Jing added: ‘I’m incredibly excited to return to the world of Red Eye, and thrilled to be sharing this rollercoaster with the brilliant Martin Compston.’
Red Eye season 2 launches on January 1 at 9pm on ITV1 with all episodes available on ITVX.
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