Pitt

The Critics Choice Awards 2026 recognised the biggest films and TV series of the past year, with Netflix’s Adolescence dominating the TV categories

The Critics Choice Awards served as a grand stage for the year’s most celebrated films and TV series to receive their well-deserved accolades. With big-screen blockbusters and Netflix sensations vying for esteemed awards, the competition was fierce.

Among the nominated films were Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s ‘Wicked: For Good’, and Netflix’s fresh take on ‘Frankenstein’ by renowned director Guillermo del Toro. A-listers such as Timothée Chalamet and Emma Stone were also in the running for individual honours.

The star-studded ceremony acknowledged excellence in music, stunts, animation, and production design. Two titles reigned supreme, with Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ emerging as the top TV victor of the night.

In the film categories, ‘Frankenstein’ scooped up four awards, alongside Ryan Coogler’s redemption tale ‘Sinners’. The event drew a host of celebrities, including Kylie Jenner who attended in support of her beau, Chalamet.

Here’s a rundown of the winners and nominees from the Critics Choice Awards 2026.

Best Picture

Winner: One Battle After Another

Nominees:

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Jay Kelly

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

Wicked: For Good

Best Actor

Winner: Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme

Nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actress

Winner: Jessie Buckley for Hamnet

Nominees:

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value

Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee

Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Director

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another

Nominees:

Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein

Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Nominees:

Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly

Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Zach Cregger, Weapons

Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another

Nominees:

Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Train Dreams

Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee, No Other Choice

Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein

Will Tracy, Bugonia

Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet

Best Stunt Design

Winner: Wade Eastwood for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Nominees:

Stephen Dunlevy, Kyle Gardiner, Jackson Spidell, Jeremy Marinas, Jan Petina, Domonkos Párdányi, Kinga Kósa-Gavalda, Ballerina

Gary Powell, Luciano Bacheta, Craig Dolby, F1

Brian Machleit, One Battle After Another

Andy Gill, Sinners

Giedrius Nagys, Warfare

Best Score

Winner: Ludwig Göransson for Sinners

Nominees:

Hans Zimmer, F1

Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein

Max Richter, Hamnet

Daniel Lopatin, Marty Supreme

Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Best Film Made for Television

Winner: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Nominees:

Deep Cover

The Gorge

Mountainhead

Nonnas

Summer of ’69

Best Variety Series

Winner: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Nominees:

Conan O’Brien Must Go

Saturday Night Live

Best Animated Feature

Winner: KPop Demon Hunters

Nominees:

Arco

Elio

In Your Dreams

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Zootopia 2

Best Song

Winner: “Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy from KPop Demon Hunters

Nominees:

“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1

“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners

“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee

“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams

“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good

Best Drama Series

Winner: The Pitt

Nominees:

Alien: Earth

Andor

The Diplomat

Paradise

Pluribus

Severance

Task

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Winner: Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus

Nominees:

Kathy Bates, Matlock

Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age

Britt Lower, Severance

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us

Keri Russell, The Diplomat

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Winner: Noah Wyle for The Pitt

Nominees:

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise

Diego Luna, Andor

Mark Ruffalo, Task

Adam Scott, Severance

Billy Bob Thornton, Landman

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Winner: Tramell Tillman for Severance

Nominees:

Patrick Ball, The Pitt

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Ato Essandoh, The Diplomat

Wood Harris, Forever

Tom Pelphrey, Task

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Winner: Katherine LaNasa for The Pitt

Nominees:

Nicole Beharie, The Morning Show

Denée Benton, The Gilded Age

Allison Janney, The Diplomat

Greta Lee, The Morning Show

Skye P. Marshall, Matlock

Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Amy Madigan for Weapons

Nominees:

Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value

Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein

Nominees:

Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another

Paul Mescal, Hamnet

Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Comedy Series

Winner: The Studio

Nominees:

Abbott Elementary

Elsbeth

Ghosts

Hacks

Nobody Wants This

Only Murders in the Building

The Righteous Gemstones

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Winner: Jean Smart for Hacks

Nominees:

Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This

Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face

Rose McIver, Ghosts

Edi Patterson, The Righteous Gemstones

Carrie Preston, Elsbeth

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner: Seth Rogen for The Studio

Nominees:

Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This

Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside

David Alan Grier, St. Denis Medical

Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones

Alexander Skarsgård, Murderbot

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner: Ike Barinholtz for The Studio

Nominees:

Paul W. Downs, Hacks

Asher Grodman, Ghosts

Oscar Nuñez, The Paper

Chris Perfetti, Abbott Elementary

Timothy Simons, Nobody Wants This

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Winner: Janelle James for Abbott Elementary

Nominees:

Danielle Brooks, Peacemaker

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

Justine Lupe, Nobody Wants This

Ego Nwodim, Saturday Night Live

Rebecca Wisocky, Ghosts

Best Talk Show

Winner: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Nominees:

The Daily Show

Hot Ones

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Best Casting and Ensemble

Winner: Francine Maisler for Sinners

Nominees:

Nina Gold, Hamnet

Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold, Jay Kelly

Jennifer Venditti, Marty Supreme

Cassandra Kulukundis, One Battle After Another

Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey, Wicked: For Good

Best Limited Series

Winner: Adolescence

Nominees:

All Her Fault

Chief of War

Death by Lightning

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy

Dope Thief

Dying for Sex

The Girlfriend

Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Winner: Sarah Snook for All Her Fault

Nominees:

Jessica Biel, The Better Sister

Meghann Fahy, Sirens

Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex

Robin Wright, The Girlfriend

Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Winner: Stephen Graham for Adolescence

Nominees:

Michael Chernus, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy

Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief

Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me

Michael Shannon, Death by Lightning

Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Winner: Owen Cooper, Adolescence

Nominees:

Wagner Moura, Dope Thief

Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning

Michael Peña, All Her Fault

Ashley Walters, Adolescence

Ramy Youssef, Mountainhead

Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Winner: Erin Doherty, Adolescence

Nominees:

Betty Gilpin, Death by Lightning

Marin Ireland, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy

Sophia Lillis, All Her Fault

Julianne Moore, Sirens

Christine Tremarco, Adolescence

Best Young Actor / Actress

Winner: Miles Caton in Sinners

Nominees:

Everett Blunck, The Plague

Cary Christopher, Weapons

Shannon Mahina Gorman, Rental Family

Jacobi Jupe, Hamnet

Nina Ye, Left-Handed Girl

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: The Secret Agent

Nominees:

It Was Just an Accident

Left-Handed Girl

No Other Choice

Sirt

Belé

Best Comedy

Winner: The Naked Gun

Nominees:

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Eternity

Friendship

The Phoenician Scheme

Splitsville

Best Foreign Language Series

Winner: Squid Game

Nominees:

Acapulco

Last Samurai Standing

Mussolini: Son of the Century

Red Alert

When No One Sees Us

Best Animated Series

Winner: South Park

Nominees:

Bob’s Burgers

Harley Quinn

Long Story Short

Marvel Zombies

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man

Best Cinematography

Winner: Adolpho Veloso for Train Dreams

Nominees:

Claudio Miranda, F1

Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein

Łukasz Żal, Hamnet

Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners

Best Comedy Special

Winner: SNL50: The Anniversary Special

Nominees:

Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life

Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian

Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things

Marc Maron: Panicked

Sarah Silverman: PostMortem

Best Production Design

Winner: Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau for Frankenstein

Nominees:

Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis, The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton, Hamnet

Jack Fisk, Adam Willis, Marty Supreme

Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne, Sinners

Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales, Wicked: For Good

Best Editing

Winner: Stephen Mirrione for F1

Nominees:

Kirk Baxter, A House of Dynamite

Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Viridiana Lieberman, The Perfect Neighbour

Michael P. Shawver, Sinners

Best Costume Design

Winner: Kate Hawley for Frankenstein

Nominees:

Malgosia Turzanska, Hamnet

Lindsay Pugh, Hedda

Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella, Kiss of the Spider Woman

Ruth E. Carter, Sinners

Paul Tazewell, Wicked: For Good

Best Hair and Makeup

Winner: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey for Frankenstein

Nominees:

Flora Moody, John Nolan, 28 Years Later

Siân Richards, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry, Sinners

Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal, The Smashing Machine

Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins, Weapons

Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, Laura Blount, Wicked: For Good

Best Visual Effects

Winner: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett for Avatar: Fire and Ash

Nominees:

Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson, F1

Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell, Frankenstein

Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland, Kirstin Hall, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean, Sinners

Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams, Superman

Best Sound

Winner: Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John for F1

Nominees:

Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, Greg Chapman – Frankenstein

Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor – One Battle After Another

Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco, David V. Butler – Sinners

Laia Casanovas – Sirt

Mitch Low, Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner – Warfare

*For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website*

George Clooney, wife Amal Clooney and their 8-year-old twins are officially citizens of France, as of the day after Christmas.

The news was reported by multiple French outlets as well as the Guardian, all citing an announcement published in a French government journal.

The Clooneys bought property in France — a farm, he recently told Esquire — in August 2021, when their twins were 4. He said it was a “much better life” there for Ella and Alexander.

“Yeah, we’re very lucky. … A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it. But now, for them, it’s like — they’re not on their iPads, you know?” he said in the interview, published in the magazine’s October/November issue.

“I was worried about raising our kids in L. A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France — they kind of don’t give a s— about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in September 2014 in Venice, Italy.

Domaine Le Canadel in France is, according to Hello, “an enchanting and sprawling 425-acre Provence wine estate” that cost the Clooneys a reported $8.3 million. It has a pool, tennis court, gardens, a lake, an olive grove and a 25-acre vineyard, the outlet said. But, you know, it’s just a farm.

Other celebrity couples have put down roots in the area, of course, with less than charmed results over time. Then again, those folks weren’t French citizens, for the most part.

Clooney’s remarks about the French attitude toward fame echoed previous comments made by Johnny Depp, who years ago found refuge in France for himself and his children, Jack and Lily-Rose, until he split in 2012 from longtime partner Vanessa Paradis, a French singer, model and actor.

The country “afforded [Depp] the possibility of living a normal life. Really a simple life,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor told SFGate in 2001.

In 2010, Depp told People, “With Vanessa and the kids, we live in a sort of little village in the south and I have the impression of being in paradise … and you know what I do there? Absolutely nothing.”

Depp, who started dating his “The Rum Diary” co-star Amber Heard the year he broke up with Paradis, listed his Provence property for sale for almost $26 million in June 2015, then reportedly put it on the market again in the years that followed for more than twice the price. However, despite containing an entire village in its 37 acres, the property appears not to have sold.

Heard and Depp married in 2015 but divorced two years later amid allegations of abuse. Of course, dueling defamation lawsuits followed. It got ugly.

Meanwhile, Clooney’s buddy Brad Pitt and Pitt’s ex, Angelina Jolie, have been battling in court for years over the 2021 sale of her half of their Provence wine estate, Chateau Miraval, which actually produces wine. The former couple signed a long-term lease on the property in 2008 and later bought a controlling interest in the company that owned it.

Pitt and Jolie married at Chateau Miraval in 2014 after meeting in 2004 on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” when he was still married to Jennifer Aniston. (They went official as a couple the following July after Aniston filed for divorce in March 2005.) Jolie and Pitt had kids and adopted kids together over the decade leading up to the wedding, but Jolie filed for divorce after only two years as husband and wife following a fight on a private plane. That also got ugly.

The story of the Pitt-Jolie court battle over the chateau and its winery is long and complicated, but it began with Pitt alleging that he and his ex had an agreement that if either wanted to sell their half of the place, the other would have to consent. Jolie, who sold her shares to Stoli’s wine division, Tenute del Mondo, said they had no such agreement in place.

Although the winery lawsuit remains active, Pitt and Jolie finally reached a divorce settlement in December 2024.

After the eye strain, the greatest occupational hazard of being a TV critic is people asking what’s good on television. It’s a question I typically find impossible to answer on the spur of the moment, as a show will run out of my head as soon as a review is filed in order to make room for the next one. (I buy time by responding, “What do you like?”) It is only at this reflective season of the year that I can stop, look back and list them.

Every year, television has its ups and downs, its ebb and flow, depending on a host of reasons I will only ever vaguely understand. I will take this opportunity to say that there are way too many psychological thrillers on way too many platforms nowadays, but there are always more than enough shows to praise — and as always, I include only series that are new this year. Some are here because they deliver real surprises — not just plot twists and sudden revelations, but new directions and original formats. Others are here by dint of good old-fashioned storytelling, memorable characters and terrific performances — or just because they made me laugh.

Here they are, in no special order.

‘Hal & Harper’ (Mubi)

Writer-director Cooper Raiff’s delicate drama looks at a brother and a sister — played by Raiff and Lili Reinhart both as adults and children, with no sacrifice of reality — made close by the early loss of their mother and the grief of their father (Mark Ruffalo, identified only as Dad). The sale of their old house and the prospect of a new sibling — Dad’s girlfriend (Betty Gilpin, going from strength to strength) — sets things in motion. The dialogue avoids exposition, the silences say much. (Read the review.)

‘The Lowdown’ (FX)

In Sterlin Harjo’s shaggy dog follow-up to “Reservation Dogs,” the ever-evolving Ethan Hawke plays Lee Raybon, a raggedy Tulsa “truthstorian,” citizen journalist and used-book dealer, looking into the apparent suicide of the oddball member of a powerful family. The series pays homage to noir film and fiction, even as it’s too bright, mischievous and full of love to qualify as noir itself (though Lee does get beat up a lot). Politicians, land developers, white supremacists and Natives collide. The cast also includes Kyle MacLachlan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Peter Dinklage, Keith David, Kaniehtiio Horn (the Deer Lady in “Reservation Dogs”) as Ray’s ex-wife and the marvelous Ryan Kiera Armstrong as his teenage daughter and eager accomplice. Look for X’s John Doe as a purveyor of bootleg caviar. (Read the review.)

‘Women Wearing Shoulder Pads’ (Adult Swim), ‘Common Side Effects’ (Adult Swim), ‘Oh My God … Yes!’ (Adult Swim), ‘Long Story Short’ (Netflix)

Animation! “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” is a queer Spanish-language stop-motion comedy melodrama, set in the aesthetic world of a 1980s Pedro Almodóvar film, involving the fate of the cuy, a South American guinea pig (pets? food?), and a struggle between two powerful women. (Read the review.)

“Common Side Effects” is a semicomical thriller with heart, centered on a mushroom with curative properties and pitting its discoverer against the pharmaceutical-industrial complex; Martha Kelly fans will be happy to find her here as a DEA agent. (Read the review.)

“Oh My God … Yes!” is an Afro-futurist, surrealist, girlfriends-in-the-city superhero comedy — like the Powerpuff Girls, grown up, earthy and Black — featuring humanoid robots, anthropomorphic animals and gayliens (the preferred term for gay aliens). (Read the review.)

And “Long Story Short,” from “Bojack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the sweet, melancholy, satirical, silly, poignant, hopeful, sometimes slapstick cartoon tale of a normal middle-class Jewish family; the world it portrays is (mostly) ordinary, but the drawings make it extra-special. (Read the review.)

‘Demascus’ (Tubi)

In this Black science-fiction comedy about the search for identity and purpose, Okieriete Onaodowan plays the title character, propelled into alternative visions of his life and self by an experimental virtual reality gizmo that “follows the path of your conscious and subconscious impulses.” The settings change along with him — into a relationship reality show, a “sad Thanksgiving” domestic comedy, a setting out of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” — as supporting actors (Martin Lawrence among them) become different people around him. (Read the review.)

‘Pluribus’ (Apple TV)

I find Vince Gilligan’s take on “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which a virus from outer space turns nearly all of humanity into one giant, contented, cultish hive mind, more interesting than compelling, but it’s interesting enough, and comes with a great performance by Rhea Seehorn as one of a dozen earthlings immune to the bug — jealous of her discontent, standing up for her right to be angry. This is a slow series, yet never a boring one, and Seehorn, in a kind of one-woman-versus-everyone show, is electric even when nothing much is happening. (Read the review.)

‘The Studio’ (Apple TV)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s breakneck farcical ode to the motion picture business (in which they do very well). Rogen stars as a new studio head, promoted from below, dealing with bad ideas (a Kool-Aid movie), big egos, and his own insecurities and need to feel appreciated. Episodes take place at the Golden Globes, a fundraising dinner and a Las Vegas trade show, with Ike Barinholtz and Kathryn Hahn on his team, Bryan Cranston as his boss — reminding you he was on “Seinfeld” and “Malcolm in the Middle” before he became Walter White — and Catherine O’Hara (brilliant, naturally) as the woman Rogen replaced. (Read the review.)

‘North of North’ (Netflix)

A sweet small-town romantic comedy, set (and filmed) in Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit people. A luminous Anna Lambe stars as the 26-year-old mother of a rambunctious 7-year-old, tied to a narcissistic husband and resentful of her mother, a reformed alcoholic and former bad girl; she dreams of something more, even if it just means hauling large items to the dump. Mary Lynn Rajskub plays the cheerful, credit-grabbing town manager whose assistant she becomes. Love and a family secret will arrive from the south. The beaded parkas are gorgeous. (Read the review.)

‘The Pitt’ (HBO Max), ‘Adolescence’ (Netflix)

These two series do their work in real time, making space for naturalistic acting and a special kind of pressure. “The Pitt,” whose 15 episodes are set in a hectic Pittsburgh ER over a 15-hour shift puts Noah Wyle back in scrubs, herding (with Tracy Ifeachor) a large cast of doctors, nurses and student doctors. Cases include electrocution, drowning, overdose, scurvy, sickle cell anemia, a nail in the chest, a fastball in the eye and gallstones, with all the personal drama one expects from a hospital show. (Read the review.)

The tightly focused, brutally intimate “Adolescence,” surrounding the arrest of a 13-year-old boy (Owen Cooper) for murder, unveils its unconventional mystery in four discrete episodes, each executed in a single tracking shot. A field day for actors, it earned Emmys for Cooper, co-creator Stephen Graham as his father and Erin Doherty as a child psychologist. (Read the review.)

‘Dope Thief’ (Apple TV), ‘Deli Boys’ (Hulu)

Drugs are bad, but they fuel a lot of television. (I mean the plots; I wouldn’t know about the productions.) These two very different series feature heroes in over their heads, caught between cops and a cartel. “Dope Thief” gives Brian Tyree Henry (Paper Boi on “Atlanta”), as a man robbing low-level drug dealers dressed as a DEA agent, his first starring role, which would be sufficient for me to recommend it sight unseen — but it is excellent, seen. (Read the review.)

In “Deli Boys,” an old-fashioned comedy of Idiots in Danger, Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh play temperamentally opposite Pakistani American brothers who inherit what they believed to be a chain of convenience stores but turn out to be the front for their father’s cocaine empire. Poorna Jagannathan is marvelous as their beloved, fearsome Lucky Auntie, who knows the score. (Read the review.)

‘Ludwig’ (Britbox)

In this Cambridge-set dramatic comedy-mystery, irascible David Mitchell, of “Peep Show,” “Upstart Crow” and “Would I Lie to You?” fame, plays an awkward, isolated genius with little practical experience of the world, drawn right into it when he winds up impersonating his missing twin brother, a police detective. A professional puzzle-maker, he’ll turn out to be good at the job, though he calls a medical examiner’s report a “how-did-they-die test,” and, moving in with his sister-in-law, he’ll learn something about the benefits of family. Properly moving, and very funny. (Read the review.)

THEY were the sweet child actors who made us laugh and cry in our favourite festive films.

But since their big breaks in Christmas movies, few have bagged big parts and many traded fame for ‘normal’ jobs away from our screens.

While the flicks boosted the careers of Matilda star Mara Wilson, whose first role was in A Miracle on 34th Street, and Game of Thrones actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who first appeared in Love Actually, not everyone experienced such luck. 

The Holiday star Miffy Englefield told us she was forced out of acting for good because she ‘looked older’ than her years.

And another big name, who starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor, had quit the profession following a “full-blown psychotic breakdown”.

It can be a tough industry that sees some like high-flying star Thomas, who recently returned to his Love Actually role for a Google Pixel ad, rise to international acclaim while others end up in the depths of despair. 

From Christmas gigs to jail for car chases, we explore what became of the kids in your favourite Christmas flicks. 

Nativity! – Sydney Isitt-Ager

In the 2009 film, child actress Sydney Isitt-Ager played little Sadie in Mr Madden’s class.

The film follows Mr Madden – played by Martin Freeman – as he fibs to his class his Nativity performance has been picked up by a Hollywood bigwig. 

Sydney – who is the daughter of Nativity! writer and director Debbie Isitt – starred in all three of the movies.

She went in to study at a theatre college in Epsom, Surrey and bagged her first role as a grown up in a Netflix Christmas film in 2022. 

She played Miss Nerris in the film Christmas On Mistletoe Farm – also starring Nativity! co-star Ashley Jensen.

Sydney, now 26, also appeared in Nativity the Musical, on stage, saying: “Did someone say full circle moment?” 

Most recently she starred in the stage musical Military Wives, directed by her mum.

Elf – Daniel Tay

The child actor starred opposite Will Ferrell in 2003 Christmas flick Elf. 

In the movie, Daniel was just 12 when he played Buddy’s half brother Michael. 

Instead of pursuing a career in Hollywood, the brainbox went to study Economics at prestigious US college Yale. 

Now 34, he also studied Chinese and coaches students taking their SATs while writing on the side. 

The Santa Clause – Eric Lloyd 

Eric played adorable Charlie Calvin in all three of the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen. 

Aged just eight when he was cast in the role, he finished up the series in 2002 as a teen. 

But now aged 39, he still works in showbiz but opts for a behind the scenes role.

He got into sound engineering and opened his own production studios in Glendale, California. 

In 2022, he revived his role to appear in The Santa Clauses, a TV special based off the films, alongside Allen.

Bizarrely, his film co-star David Krumholtz made a WWE Raw appearance.

Bad Santa – Brett Kelly

As dorky Thurman Merman, Brett Kelly had his first role in Bad Santa and its sequel. 

He went on to have roles in Paul Feig’s Unaccompanied Minors in 2006 and Adrien Brody film High School before studying business in Canada.

But in 2016, he chose to gain 50lbs to bring back his role as Thurman in Bad Santa 2.

He said: “The pain came after. It took about four months to put on and then I’d say about twice that to take it all off.”

For the last four years, the 32-year-old been starring in Canadian legal drama Family Law where he plays paralegal Cecil Patterson. 

Jingle all the Way – Jake Lloyd

The 1996 film was Jake Lloyd’s first Hollywood role – starring as Arnold Schwarznegger’s son Jamie in the holiday romp.

His biggest role came in 1999 when the ten-year-old was cast by George Lucas as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. 

In 2001, he quit the industry after bullies targeted him over his role in the Sith vs Jedi epic.

He told The Sun at the time: “My entire school life was really a living hell.”

In 2015, Jake was arrested after a car chase and was held for 10 months while awaiting trial.

He was then diagnosed with schizophrenia and transferred to a psychiatric facility in 2023, where he completed to 18-month inpatient stay. 

Jake, now 36, said he needed to hit “rock bottom” to help him accept his diagnosis, medication and the need to “honestly take part in treatment”.

Love Actually – Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Thomas was 13 when he starred as Sam who seeks advice from his stepdad Daniel (Liam Neeson) after falling for a classmate.

The London-born actor went on to star in Nanny McPhee and The Maze Runner movies, as well as playing Paul McCartney in the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy.

He starred as Jojen Reed in two seasons of Game of Thrones and, more recently, he has appeared in the historical TV drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.

In June 2024, Thomas, now 35 married actress Tallulah Riley at Anstey village church in Hertfordshire.

Tallulah, who starred in the 2007 movie St. Trinian’s, previously wed Tesla mogul Elon Musk, twice.

They first married in 2010, divorcing two years later, before tying the knot a second time in 2013 and splitting in 2014.

Deck the Halls – Alia Shawkat

She may be better known for playing Maeby Funke in Arrested Development but one of Alia’s first roles was in Deck the Halls. 

She starred as Matthew Broderick’s daughter Madison in the festive flick back in 2006. 

Since, she has had roles in Broad City, sells paintings and provided vocals for band Fake Problems in 2010.

This year, Alia, now 36, notched up eight acting credits on IMDB – including runaway hit Severance, starring Adam Scott, Lego Marvel Avengers and Poker Face.

But in 2019 and 2020, there were rumours she was dating Brad Pitt after the pair were repeatedly spotted together. 

But Shawkat laughed off the story, telling the New Yorker they were just friends.

She added: “It was so weird. Now it’s like a weird dream, where I’m, like, ‘Did that happen?’

“He was, like, ‘I’m sorry. It happens. If you hang out with me, it happens.’ He had no awareness of it at all.”