Netflix’s Home for Christmas is a light, often funny, occasionally sharp look at the pressure of being single at Christmastime. The Norwegian series follows Johanne, played by Ida Elise Broch, as she scrambles to find a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas Eve. It is a premise that sounds simple and turns out to be surprisingly effective.
Trailer, via Netflix.
Johanne’s Search for a Boyfriend
Johanne is a nurse in her 30s, working at a hospital in Norway. Her family pressures her to be in a relationship, especially around the holidays. She lies to them about having a boyfriend, and spends the season trying to find one through speed dating, internet dating, and other means. She goes on dates with several men, including 19-year-old Jonas, played by Felix Sandman, and the much older Bengt Erik, played by Bjørn Skagestad. She also has a brief sexual encounter with Eira, played by Line Verndal, one of her female coworkers. None of it sticks.
The central performance from Broch carries the show. She plays Johanne as anxious, warm, and constantly scrambling, and the chemistry with her colleagues and family keeps the tension from turning sour.
The Family Dinner Payoff
The season builds toward a Christmas dinner at Johanne’s parents’ house, where the doorbell rings just as she arrives. The first season ends with a shot of Johanne’s face as she opens the door, leaving the audience to wonder who—or what—will walk through it. It is a clever cliffhanger for a show that otherwise plays it small.
Gabrielle Leithaug plays Johanne’s roommate and best friend, Jørgunn. Dennis Storhøi plays Tor, Johanne’s father, and Anette Hoff plays Jorid, Johanne’s mother. Hege Schøyen plays Bente, who manages the nurses at the hospital. Oddgeir Thune plays Henrik, a doctor, and Iselin Shumba plays Jeanette, Johanne’s good friend. The ensemble is solid, and the show knows when to let individual characters breathe.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The show’s strengths are its pacing and its tone. It moves fast, switching between Johanne’s dates, her coworkers, and her family with ease. The comedy lands more often than it misses, and the drama stays grounded in Johanne’s personal stakes rather than in spectacle.
Where it stumbles is in its handling of secondary relationships. Some of Johanne’s dates feel like they exist only to be discarded, and the show does not always give its supporting characters the room to develop beyond their function in the plot.
The show is also at its best when it leans into its setting. The hospital workplace gives Johanne a natural arena for her professional life to collide with her private one, and the show uses it well.
Final Verdict
Home for Christmas is a pleasant watch that rarely reaches for more than it delivers. It is not a great show, but it is a competent one, and it knows exactly what it wants to be.
7.4 out of 10.
- A strong lead performance from Ida Elise Broch
- A clever family dinner cliffhanger
- Solid supporting cast
- A premise that could have gone wrong but doesn’t
- Some secondary relationships that feel underdeveloped
- Mostly positive reviews since its debut in 2019
The show has since been remade in Italy as Odio il natale and in South Africa as Yoh! Christmas, proof that its formula travels. That is a compliment to its clarity of purpose, even if it is not a compliment to its ambition.
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