'Sister Boniface' & 'Death in Paradise' Lead BritBox's 2024 Holiday Lineup

The holidays are bustin' out all over as TV networks dive into the one seasonal tradition streaming services never managed to disrupt. Whether you call it a Holiday Special, a Festive Special, or a Christmas Special, these one-off episodes of fan favorites are a deeply embedded part of U.K. culture, with the bright light of the telly replacing the roaring fire as families gather around to watch their favorites enjoy the holidays. For those in America looking to stream the 2024 editions of these holiday installments, most of them will premiere on BritBox, with a December lineup that includes Sister Boniface Mysteries, Beyond Paradise, and Death in Paradise's holiday-themed introduction to its latest detective.

Much like 2023, Sister Boniface Mysteries will kick off the holiday specials, premiering a full week before Christmas Eve. Titled Sister Boniface Mysteries Christmas Special 2024: Once Upon a Time, the new special centers around Great Slaughter's annual panto. Check out the synopsis:

The local constabulary is enlisted to swell the cast for the town’s pantomime production – Cinderella! But when Tibbles the cat presents the production with a grisly gift – a human eyeball – the crime-solving Catholic nun is on the case. Events take a sinister turn when an actor is found dead – stabbed in the back. With a murderer and an eyeball to contend with, matters get more complicated when another cast member is dispatched. Can Sister Boniface unmask the culprit before they kill again? Most importantly, can Great Slaughter Amateur Dramatics Society give the public the joyous Christmas pantomime they deserve?

Meanwhile, the biggest debut this festive season is over on Death in Paradise, which will use the holiday-timed episode to introduce the next detective sent to Saint-Marie, DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet). This is the first time the lead actor changeover happened at the end of a season instead of the beginning of the next, so this is the series' first time introducing a new lead as part of the holiday. Here's the planned synopsis:

We’re back on the beautiful island of Saint Marie, and this time with a new detective inspector in tow. Londoner Mervin Wilson ruffles some feathers as he clashes with the island’s way of life. But he quickly sinks his teeth into one of the team's most puzzling murder cases yet: three men, all unconnected apart from the fact that they’re dressed as Santa Claus and seemingly all shot with the same gun at the same time. As Mervin wrangles this impossible murder, his colleagues struggle with their new boss’s unusual working methods. Meanwhile, Dwayne’s Christmas with his father doesn’t exactly go to plan…

Gilet (Sherwood) will co-star alongside Season 13's returning cast, series regulars Élizabeth Bourgine (Maigret), Don Warrington (Henry IX), Shantol Jackson (Yardie), Danny John-Jules (Dodger), and Ginny Holder (The Capture). Recurring actor Ram John Holder (Your Christmas or Mine) will also return as Dwayne's father, Nelson. Guest stars include Jim Howick (Ghosts), Angela Griffin (Lewis), Marcus Brigstocke (Shaun the Sheep), Steven Hartley (Happy Valley), Elizabeth Carling (Hotel Portofino), Michael Salami (Supacell) and Dex Lee (Doctors).

If Christmas is celebrated in Saint-Marie in 2024, it will also be celebrated in Devon-set spinoff Beyond Paradise, which BritBox is setting for a Christmas Day premiere. Unlike the parent series, there are no images yet for that special, but like Sister Boniface, it too has a preliminary synopsis:

When a man is haunted by the ghost of his dead wife, Humphrey and the team investigate. Esther assumes there must be a rational explanation, but when Humphrey also spots the ghost, it’s clear there’s more to the case than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Kelby deals with a case of a missing person when the Virgin Mary disappears from the church, and Martha struggles to communicate with foster teenager Jaiden. Can the Shipton Abbott police force solve these mysteries?

BritBox is also bringing over all seasons of the 2003 series Peep Show, kicking off with the 2013 Christmas and 2014 New Year's specials. As always, it will stream the Carols from King’s Christmas Special, though notably, after years of streaming it live, it will arrive on Boxing Day instead, a silent acknowledgment that the streaming service's original brief of bringing British series to ex-pats is no longer a driver. As for New Year's Eve, that will once again be dominated by Monty Don and his four-episode Gardeners’ World Winter Special 2024.

Sister Boniface Mysteries Christmas Special 2024: Once Upon a Time debuts on Tuesday, December 17. Peep Show Season 7 Christmas (2013) & New Year's Special (2014) debut on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24; Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2024 arrives on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25; Carols from King’s Christmas Special 2024 premieres Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26. All four episodes of Gardeners’ World Winter Special 2024 arrive on New Year's Eve, Tuesday, December 31 on BritBox. Death in Paradise Christmas Special 2024 does not yet have a firm release date.