Winter is a time for cozying up with a cup of tea and a blanket and something good to watch – right? I think that’s the general consensus. As longtime readers know, I’m more of a book person than a screen person, but I still like a good show or movie. Here’s what I’ve been watching this season.

First, a re-watch. Steve and I are on our second time through Continent 7: Antarctica on Disney+ and loving it just as much as the first time. It’s a documentary show that follows several groups of scientists and support personnel through a season’s worth of science projects all around Antarctica. Naturally my favorite parts are the parts that feature Dr. Ari Friedlander, who is studying whales (YES) off the Antarctic Peninsula (where I’m going) but the whole show is just great.

Another Antarctica-themed re-watch – naturally, we had to devote a night to Disneynature: Penguins. I love Steve the Adelie penguin and his family – we all cackle throughout this charming film.

Sticking with the classics and moving right along, this is our third year watching Winterwatch, for which the 2023 season is now available on Britbox! I can’t get enough of the BBC presenter team, with their cheerful banter, friendly competition, enthusiastic love of all things wildlife and science, and hope for the future. This show is beautifully filmed and engagingly presented and I’m so glad we can watch it on this side of the Pond.

Here’s something I’ve had on my list to watch for awhile – Bonnie Wright’s YouTube channel, GoGently. Or, as the kids like to say, “Mom’s watching Ginny Weasley clean out her closet without magic again.” Bonnie Wright is better known as the actress who played Ginny in the Harry Potter movies, and she has since grown up, moved to California, and started a new life as a director and producer and environmental activist. I love her gentle tips for simple but effective ways to clean up the Earth, and it’s fun to get a peek into her daily California life, too. (I love where I live, but every so often I consider California…)

Finally, Steve and I have been carving out some living room date nights after the kids are in bed, to catch up on The Crown. We’re up to the 1990s now and it’s a lot of fun, although we’re still not sure we can get behind Imelda Staunton. She may very well be a delightful person, and she’s certainly a phenomenal actress. But at least once an episode, we each shout “Umbridge! No!” at the TV.

That’s a lot of watching! Don’t worry, I am still doing plenty of reading too. How about you? What have you been watching lately?