/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25797260/One_NZ_Starlink_texting_service.jpeg "Starlink’s first nationwide satellite texting service launches in New Zealand")
The Christmas Raccoons, Crave
Forty-four years after first airing on CBC, The Christmas Raccoons’ full collection is now available to stream on Crave.Courtesy of Crave/Supplied
Forty-four years ago this month, the cartoon raccoons Bert, Ralph and Melissa and their avaricious aardvark antagonist Cyril Sneer were introduced to television audiences in this CBC special. Its popularity in Canada and abroad led to two more specials and then five seasons of The Raccoons. All of their Evergreen Forest adventures have been collected and are available to stream on Crave – and I was recently pleased to discover that my five-year-old was up to watch them with me despite the old-fashioned herky-jerky animation. Two fun facts I’ve learned revisiting it so far: The original holiday special, a gentle affair, is narrated by Rich Little and has songs by Rita Coolidge, who was also the first to voice Melissa but is perhaps best known for singing the theme song to Octopussy.
Virgin River, Netflix
Virgin River’s sixth full series is now streaming and its seventh has been green lit, meaning it will soon tie Orange is the New Black and Grace and Frankie for longest-running Netflix original series.Netflix
With her long-awaited wedding to Jack looming, midwife Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) finds herself with both an ornery rediscovered father and an injured rescue horse to wrangle. There’s also the matter of a misordered dress, though the sewing circle seems ready to handle that setback. With a seventh season already green lit, this popular romantic drama set in a remote Northern California town (that looks a lot like it’s in British Columbia) will soon tie Orange is the New Black and Grace and Frankie for longest-running Netflix original series. The full sixth instalment is now streaming and continues to delivers all the feels for fans despite a totally bonkers timeline. (The first five seasons – and all the shootings, miscarriages and wildfires – took place over about a year.)
Beast Games, Amazon Prime
Popular YouTuber MrBeast has launched Beast Games, where 1,000 players will compete for a $5-million cash prize, which will stream on Amazon Prime.Amazon Prime
As fans of Squid Game await its second season bow on Boxing Day, it’s worth reflecting on the irony that the most evident real-world impact of the Korean satire of so-called late-stage capitalism has been the supersizing of reality competitions. First up was Squid Game: The Challenge, which featured 456 players and a US$4.56-million prize – at the time a record for the genre. Now comes Beast Games from popular YouTuber MrBeast (a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson), where 1,000 players will compete for a $5-million cash prize – marketed as a new record, rather than a little bit more money and twice as bad odds. On X, Donaldson posted that his production company spent US$14-million building “a city” to house the contestants for the show, which was largely shot in Toronto amid a housing crisis. The first two episodes are now available to stream; new ones drop Thursdays.
Ilana Glazer: Human Magic, Disney+
Broad City co-star and co-creator Ilana Glazer tackles more personal material in her second special, Human Magic.Russ Martin/Disney+
The Planet is Burning, the Broad City co-star and co-creator’s first stand-up special, came out on Prime Video in 2020 and garnered some of the poorest audience reviews you’ll find on the Internet. Glazer’s second special, for Disney+ and shot in front of an enthusiastic audience at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, sees the comedian tackle more personal material and chronicle the mainly magical experience of becoming a parent. The noted stoner talks about the experience of not smoking pot for 10 months – and then getting a little high to get on the same wavelength as a toddler. I predict a better score for Glazer on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter this time around thanks to two strong set-pieces revolving around a Florida Airbnb rental gone awry and an emergency exam conducted by a doctor and self-described fan.
Little Women, CBC Gem
Saoirse Ronan, left, stars in Little Women, Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation of American novelist Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century novel, alongside Timothée Chalamet.Wilson Webb/The Associated Press
Director Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of American novelist Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century novel about the March sisters – with Emma Watson as Meg, Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Eliza Scanlen as Beth and Florence Pugh as Amy – was released on Christmas Day five years ago and went on to receive six Academy Award nominations. It may have only won one (for best costume design) but it has earned the more prestigious prize of becoming a regular family holiday rewatch. As of Dec. 22, it can be streamed on CBC Gem. In her Critic’s Pick review for the Globe, Chandler Levack called it “a breathlessly modern, urgent adaptation.”
