Snuggle up for some epic holiday dramas, comedies and cooking shows on CBC Gem this month
The UK's biggest gold heist, a Bengal tiger and Ewan McGregor all star in CBC Gem's holiday lineup. Watch now.
The holidays are almost here! And in Canada, what's better than nestling up at home in front of a screen to watch your favourite free streaming service (or at least we hope so!), CBC Gem. We're making this season special with an incredible range of titles for the whole family. Here's a sneak peek at what's coming up this month.
Epic new dramatic series: The Gold and A Gentleman in Moscow
We're bringing you the Canadian premiere of the hit true crime series The Gold. Set in 1980s London, it tells the story of the epic Brink's Mat robbery and stars Hugh Bonneville as the detective in charge of recovering the £26m in missing gold bullion.
Why not spend some time with Ewan McGregor? He's starring in A Gentleman in Moscow, a charming period drama about a Russian aristocrat who the ruling Bolshevik party confines to the magnificent Metropol hotel.
Although he's forced to renounce his money and possessions and swap his suite for a cold, cramped attic room, Count Alexander Rostov (played by McGregor) takes his setbacks in stride, befriending staff and other long-term residents, including an inquisitive nine-year-old who has discovered all of the hotel's hidden secrets.
Acclaimed movies: The Life of Pi and The Banshees of Inisherin
Gather the whole family around for The Life of Pi based on Yann Martel's award-winning bestseller. Teen Pi Patel (played by Suraj Sharma) is on his way to Canada from India with his family when he finds himself alone on a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Director Ang Lee creates eye-popping effects as the boy and the tiger face the battle to survive.
Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson star in The Banshees of Inisherin, the story of two lifelong friends living on a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland in 1923. One, Clom (played by Gleeson) decides he just doesn't like the other any longer and their breakup swings from hilarious to heartbreaking as the standoff threatens to impact the whole village.
Seth Rogen and Dame Mary Berry make the season festive
Seth Rogen teams up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie in The Night Before. On what they believe will be their last Christmas Eve together (one of them is about to become a father), three friends embark on a drug-fuelled night of debauchery as they search for The Nutcracka Ball, the Holy Grail of parties in New York. Hilarity is in ample supply in this weed-bro caper. (Also: look for a very funny cameo from singer Miley Cyrus.)
There's more! Find out ways to up your holiday game with not one but two festive-themed cooking shows.
Chefs Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty are joined by singer-songwriter Sam Smith and fitness coach Joe Wicks as they prepare delicious dishes like haggis tacos and scampi with chips in Jamie and Jimmie's Festive Feast. In Mary Berry's Highland Christmas, Dame Mary Berry travels to her mother's homeland in Scotland where she cooks up an array of sumptuous dishes inspired by her own family holidays.
How to watch on CBC Gem
Visit our holiday playlist. New titles will be added all month long.
Also coming to CBC Gem this December: The Shape of Water, Little Women, The Descendants and Captain Fantastic!
CBC Gem is available for free as an App for iOS, tvOS, Fire TV, Android TV, Android phones and tablets, LG and Samsung Smart TVs, Roku, and Xbox One/S/X.
