They may be a few seasons in but you need to get on them as soon as possible.
December is made for down time. It's also made for sitting on your backside and doing nothing, so if you're looking for a new show to watch, here's a few recommendations for shows that have been around a while but all returned with new episodes in 2019.
Without further ado, in no particular order...
Succession : Season 2
Plot: Season 2 follows the Roy family as America's most dysfunctional global-media family slowly tear themselves apart. Shiv comes to the fore in the new episodes as Kendall plans to build his life back.
Watch it because: Right now, it's the best show on TV. Hands down.
What do you mean you haven't started to watch it?
Barry: Season 2
Plot: A hitman from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.
Watch it because: The best show that not enough people are watching.
Bill Hader's performance is so good as he veers wildly from psychotic and darkly comic to reflective.
We won't say too much but the Season 2 finale features an act of violence that most television dramas would consider too grim. It's testament to Hader - writer, director and actor - that he's consistently dissecting the notion of an anti-hero. In a way, Barry feels like the antithesis of TV’s other famous anti-heroes like Walter White and Tony Soprano.
Derry Girls: Season 2
Plot: The personal exploits of a 16-year-old girl and her family and friends during the Troubles in the early 1990s. Season 2 gave us Protestant lads, Bill Clinton's visit to Derry, a memorable Take That concert, a prom and so much more.
Watch it because: Lisa McGee's writing is razor sharp and the Protestants vs Catholic gag is one of the year's greatest TV moments.
Veep: Season 7
Plot: Selina Meyer is trying to gain traction in early primary states, wooing uber-wealthy donors while navigating threats from primary challengers, including aide-turned-congressman Jonah Ryan.
Watch it because: It's the HBO show that stuck its landing in 2019 and was consistently excellent throughout.
Game of Thrones, we're sorry. You're not on the list.
Mindhunter: Season 2
Plot: Ford and Tench investigate more killers, including Charles Manson, David Berkowitz, Dennis Rader and more. However, the main focus of the narrative is on the Atlanta Child Murders.
Watch it because: While not quite as good as Season 1, it's still outstanding TV. Special praise goes to Holt McCallany for his performance as Bill Tench because he was the real heart of the show.
Fleabag: Season 3
Plot: Fleabag goes toe to toe with the man upstairs.
Watch it because: An extremely weird mix of grief, fear and love that's painful to watch, but also very funny. It's only six episodes long, so perfect for binging.
Line of Duty: Season 5
Plot: Superintendent Ted Hastings, D.I. Kate Fleming and D.S. Steve Arnott investigate an Organised Crime Group with links to a missing undercover officer.
Watch it because: That rare beast, a show that has been getting better and bigger with every passing season.
True Detective: Season 3
Plot: 1980: Will and Julie Purcell, the children of feuding parents Tom and Lucy Purcell, go missing a week after Halloween in West Finger, Arkansas. 2015: Retired detective Wayne Hays, who originally investigated the crime, is asked to look back on the twists of the unsolved case with a true-crime documentary producer.
Watch it because: We're getting very close to declaring Mahershala Ali as the best actor in the world.
Big Mouth: Season 3
Plot: We get a new student (Ali Wong), Missy's new Hormone Mistress (Thandie Newton) and Coach Steve gets visited by the Fab Five of Queer Eye.
Watch it because?: When he's on fire, the one-liners that Maurice delivers are still funnier than most other TV characters.
The Young Offenders: Season 2
Plot: Conor and Jock are back with babies, bikes, blue paint and bare arses all on display.
Watch it because: We still can't get over *that* scene in the library. Also, Peter Foott's scripts can still find the perfect balance between slapstick and sweet.
Top Boy
Plot: Two seasoned drug dealers return to the gritty streets of London, but their pursuit of money and power is threatened by a young and ruthless hustler.
Watch it because?: Bleak and brilliant, any fears that the show would lose its edge by moving from Channel 4 to Netflix were proven wrong. Tense and relentless, it's a format made for the perfect binge-watch.
