I Hate Christmas: Netflix's Hidden Gem Set in Venice

Netflix has more Christmas TV shows that you can shake a candy cane at, but the best of the lot is a little-known Italian sitcom called I Hate Christmas. This series isn’t particularly celebrated or original, but it’s so irresistibly charming that only the coldest-hearted humbugs would fail to fall for its romantic whimsies.

Contrary to what its title might suggest, I Hate Christmas is full of festive cheer, refreshingly good-natured characters, and warmhearted subplots perfect for cozy winter evenings in front of the television. Set in the picturesque Venetian canal town of Chioggia, it’s the sitcom equivalent of the beloved Nancy Meyers romcom movie The Holiday.

There are plenty of new Christmas TV shows to watch this December, but none of them are as endearing as this tale of a self-effacing young nurse struggling for a romantic partner. Gianna tries too hard to find a man, but with her conservative small-town family it’s no wonder, and the series pitches its comedic take on this question perfectly.

I Hate Christmas Is Netflix’s Best TV Show For The Holiday Season

The ideal complement for Netflix’s range of Christmas movies to stream, I Hate Christmas is a light yet delightfully enjoyable slice of the holiday season. While most TV shows specifically about Christmas on the streaming platform are either lacking in substance or made for young children, this Italian sitcom is real fun for the rest of the family.

Its protagonist’s initial cynicism about Christmas is genuine and relatable, and it stays comfortably on the right side of saccharine-sweet throughout its two seasons. Meanwhile, the characters in I Hate Christmas are authentic, with far more depth to them than we see elsewhere in the holiday genre.

Pilar Fogliati as Gianna walking her bike through the snow in I Hate Christmas.

Although most of I Hate Christmas is filmed in Chioggia, around an hour’s bus ride south of Venice itself, it does share certain key filming locations with A Haunting in Venice, Kenneth Branagh’s most recent Agatha Christie movie. What’s more, a few scenes in the show were actually filmed in Venice.

Beside its stunning Venetian backdrop, though, this Italian sitcom has loads more to offer. There are several big laughs in each episode, with Beatrice Arnera’s supporting character, Titti, frequently the reason for them. But even more than how funny it is, I Hate Christmas is wonderfully heartwarming without ever straying into the territory of cloying and sterile romcom cliches.

I Hate Christmas Is Based On Netflix’s Norwegian Show Home For Christmas

Known in Italian as Odio il Natale, I Hate Christmas is an adaptation of Netflix’s four-season Norwegian show Home for Christmas, which just ended this year. Nevertheless, despite borrowing from its source material, the sitcom takes its story in different directions, while managing to be funnier and sweeter than the Norwegian original.

It’s helped enormously by a likable and charismatic central performance from Inside Out 2 voice cast member Pilar Fogliati as Gianna, who keeps us invested from start to finish. Even if I Hate Christmas can be somewhat predictable at times, its wry sense of humor and fundamental decency still cuts through.

There’s far more to this holiday season sitcom than the vapid corporate concerns behind many Christmas-themed TV releases. Netflix was onto a winner with I Hate Christmas, and so is anyone who stumbles across this hidden holiday streaming gem.