The Best TV Shows and Films To See You Through This Winter
As we near the coldest months of the year in England, the need to stay cosy becomes like second nature to us. Curling up after work under a blanket with the television light illuminating our favourite show is all we really need to thaw out those chilly feelings.
Or on the days when our comfort show gets boring, we will put on a new or a familiar movie and get lost in the screen for hours.
To brush out that winter chill this season, feast your eyes on That Fangirl Life’s best films and shows to get you through.
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Everyone says that Gilmore Girls is an autumnal show, but we personally think it can be both! Sure, Stars Hollow fits that ‘We Fell in Love in October’ aesthetic, but have you seen the town in winter? In season one episode eight, “Love, War and Snow” we learn that Lorelai has a weird quirk: that she can tell when it’s going to snow. The episode is sweet and romantic and very pretty as we see the town blanketed by a thick layer of white snow.
Even for fashion inspiration, the winter wardrobe of the Gilmore girls are fun, flirty and fashion forward. Rory’s white cable knit sweater from the pilot will forever be ingrained in our brains.
For the ultimate winter episode filled with aesthetic shots, angst and the best ships of the show, watch season two episode ten, “The Bracebridge Dinner”. The episode features beautiful homely winter decorations and an adorable horse ride that resembles Santa’s sleigh.
Other winter aspects of the show can be seen throughout in shots showing both the town and Rory on her college campus. For easy watching of a charming little town and two crazy women living their chaotic lives, Gilmore Girls is not to be missed!
If you’re also brave enough to tune into the show’s revival, watch the Winter episode for a seasonal glimpse into Stars Hollow and the town’s festivities during the cold season.
Frozen (2013)
You cannot have a winter watch party without Frozen! The 2013 hit film broke records when it came out, and multiple tracks on the highly-praised soundtrack climbed the charts!
But the general premise of Frozen and its biggest selling point is its story: A story of sisterhood, finding first love and discovering who you are. Anna and Elsa are best friends and sisters, but as they are polar opposites, they can’t seem to understand each other at first.
Elsa, a literal ice queen, struggles to control her powers and goes on a journey to try and reclaim her powers and herself. Anna, realising her sister is missing from their family home, goes on a quest to find her missing sister and meets some great friends, and maybe even the love of her life, along the way. It’s a light-hearted film perfect for a family-friendly sing along with all the winter vibes.
The Crown (2016-2023)
This bingeable piece of art retells a different era of the British royal history season by season. The historical drama first documents the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II and follows on from there.
If you’re not a fan of a particular era, you can simply just skip a season! As the last two seasons begin to focus on Princess Diana and her children, you can tune into those for some easy binge watching of a juicy and heartfelt recollection. As the last part of season six came out a few weeks ago, all episodes are available to stream so you can binge without having to wait for the next one!
Watch for the costumes and casting if you’re not a big royalist. You’ll spent hours Googling the cast and the real royals, seeing that some of the cast have a serious likeness to the real people!
Ice Age (2002)
Another childhood choice here from us, but we don’t really care. Ice Age begins the popular franchise with our main characters living separately until the Ice Age hits and Manny the woolly mammoth and Sid the Sloth get thrown together by a human child.
This hilarious adventure comedy sees the comedic duo trek their way across a land filled with ice and dangers to return a human child that somehow ends up in their care. On their journey, they run into the snarky sabretooth tiger, Diego, who is the best character in this movie! For some serious winter backdrops, Ice Age is an essential watch for the winter catalogue.
Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
You can’t have a winter watch session without delving into the snow-covered world of Westeros and The Seven Kingdoms! In its eight seasons, GOT has became one of the most popular shows from the 2010s because of its gritty and dark themes, stunning costumes and top tier acting. Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R Martin, Game of Thrones follows nine elite families who go to war with each other, fighting for Westeros and ultimate power.
Political sabotage, sex, war and drama in every season of GOT. Of course, if you’re not into darker shows, then maybe give this one a miss, but for the stunning locations, it’s worth a trip to these stunning GOT destinations. a stare to admire them through your screen.
The Revenant (2015)
A western set in the bleak winter, The Revenant shows Leonardo DiCaprio at his best in an unfortunate situation after a bear attack goes wrong. Left for dead and injured, Hugh Glass has to fight for survival trying to get back to his hunting crew while John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) tries to take his place.
Again, The Revenant is not a fuzzy, sweet winter watch! It’s a tale of survival, revenge and satisfaction. The beautiful cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki somehow manages to make the snow-covered Canadian Rockies look magical amidst the harsh life or death themes that the film portrays. DiCaprio won Best Actor at the 2016 Academy Awards for his role in this film, so if you don’t believe us that its phenomenal, look at all the awards the film won!
Anne with an E (2017-2019)
Based on the 20th century novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Netflix’s adaptation is the story of Anne Shirley, an abandoned orphan who gets adopted by a brother and a sister and goes to live with them on the Green Gables farm. It’s truly a crime that they cancelled this show, because it is the epitome of girlhood. In a time where girls are supposed to be housewives and homemakers, Anne goes against the grain and defies all expectations of the not so nice people around her who expect her to conform to societal expectations.
Anne with an E is like its own countryside fairytale with settings on the farm, in the woods and the small schoolhouse where Anne goes to learn. There are many scenes shot in the winter where you can see snow covering the ground and the snowy landscapes while Anne and best friend Diana Barry run free playing imaginative games.
Much like the Barbie movie, Anne with an E emphasises the importance of female friendship in Anne’s friendship with the high class and proper Diana. Even for romance lovers, there is a sprinkle of a certain slow burn romance there with lots of chemistry and childlike innocence that will have you shipping the characters hard.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)
Don’t remember this film from your childhood? You’re definitely missing out. Narnia is set during the Second World War and tells the tale of evacuee siblings, Lucy, Peter, Edward and Susan Pevensie as they stumble upon an enchanted wardrobe while playing a game of hide and seek. Inside this wardrobe is a doorway to the magical winter kingdom of Narnia where the White Queen reigns supreme.
Narnia is just a journey of beautiful aesthetics and mythical creatures tied into the quest to defeat an icy villain. Picture four young children, a giant noble lion, Aslan, and a kingdom tired of dictatorship and a lifetime of winter.
The season of winter in this film may be the result of the enemy’s power, but we can’t help but gasp in awe as we see the White Queen’s castle, the mountains and the gorgeous locations of New Zealand, Poland and the Czech Republic where they filmed this masterpiece.
Fool Me Once (2024)
Michelle Keegan plays the leading role in this crime mystery. After her sister and husband are both murdered in a very short period of time, ex-army captain Maya Stern gets caught up in a thirst for revenge quest to find out what happened to them. Or, considering the fact she sees her dead husband on her new nanny camera looking very much alive, where the hell her so-called-dead husband is!
Fool me Once is a new edition to Netflix’s catalogue and went straight to the number one programme spot on the day of its release. As a limited series based on Harlan Coban’s thriller novel of the same name, the show is a gripping eight-episode rollercoaster of suspicion, shocking revelations and plot twists that we never saw coming.
Exploring themes of power, murder, illness and more, this intricately weaved web of a show can be watched in one sitting and once you finish it, either play it again or read the book to relive the thrill.
The Mountain Between Us (2017)
We have another survival-esque movie on our list for our last pick but this time, with romance! Dr Ben Bass (Idris Elba) and Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) become stranded in the Utah mountains after a brutal plane crash during the height of winter.
To survive, they need to work together to live in the mountains and learn to work with the land. It might not have been a big box office smash, but this romantic survival drama film shows what can happen if a person is forced to live in dire circumstances and the light can come from it.
Winslet and Elba have beautiful romantic chemistry and both excel in giving engaging performances in a premise that is otherwise somewhat far-fetched for us viewers to imagine. But honestly, who can pass up the two-characters-forced-together-and-they-fall-in-love trope? Not us!
We’ve covered everything from romance to drama to crime with our list, but we would like to hear from you: what is your must-watch movies and television shows to get you through the winter?
