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The Best Business Related Things To Watch This Christmas

Christmas time. The perfect time to snuggle up in front of the TV and binge-watch a box set or the latest Hollywood offering, before slowly drifting off into a late-afternoon slumber having eaten your own bodyweight in roast potatoes. Sound familiar?

Well, even if that’s not the case, we thought we’d pick out some of the best things available to stream across iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime and NOWTV.

These selections are in no way festive and, to keep it all on brand, they’re all loosely business-related. So it’s kind of like research, in a way?

 

The Apprentice

The pitch: “Bust-ups and boardroom battles in Britain’s toughest job interview.”

Why you should watch it: You all know the drill. 10 candidates billed as the best of British business transpire to be mostly idiots over a series of team-based tasks from advertising to product development. By now it’s a pretty tired formula but there’s still plenty of fun to be had. 

Watch it on BBC iPlayer

 

Nathan For You

The pitch: “In this docu-reality comedy, comedian Nathan Fielder uses his business degree and life experiences to help actual small businesses turn a profit.”

Why you should watch it: Fielder is not your typical comedian. His socially awkward, borderline-creepy manner gives rise to hilarious interactions with real-world businesses who are often only too happy to green-light his far-fetched schemes. In one episode, a frozen yoghurt company is persuaded to create its own poo flavoured yoghurt as a publicity stunt. What makes the show brilliant is the convoluted lengths that Fielder will go to exploit legal loopholes and execute his ideas.

Watch it on NOWTV

 

Sunderland: Til I Die

The pitch: “This docuseries follows English soccer club, Sunderland, through the 2017-18 season as they try to bounce back after relegation from the Premier League.”

Why you should watch it: You could watch the All or Nothing Amazon series about Manchester City. By all means, a very well made and interesting insight into top-level football. But, wouldn’t you rather watch a warts and all documentary that goes behind the scenes at a club in crisis? Well, maybe not if you’re a Sunderland fan.

Watch it on Netflix

 

The Founder

The pitch: “After a fateful encounter with the McDonald brothers, struggling salesman Ray Kroc becomes driven to change the way hamburgers are made and sold.”

Why you should watch it: Ever wondered how McDonald’s pioneered the fast-food assembly line and went on to become the mega business it is today? The Founder focuses on the early expansion of McDonald’s and the key role played by Ray Kroc in turning the founding brothers’ successful model into a fast-food empire. At first, we sympathise with entrepreneurial Kroc, but soon power, greed and ambition take over.

Watch it on Amazon Prime

 

Trump: An American Dream

The pitch: “Friends, associates and critics reveal the truly American story of Donald Trump, the brash businessman who defied the odds to become U.S. president.”

Why you should watch it: How did a scandal-ridden property tycoon and reality TV star with no background in politics go on to become the President of the United States? This four-part documentary charts the 40-year rise, fall, and rise again of Donald Trump. While there’s no shortage of Trump-based docs out there, this series is one of the best insights into how Trump operates – along with 2011’s You’ve Been Trumped.

Watch it on Netflix

Print the Legend

The pitch: “This award-winning, Netflix original documentary chronicles the race for market leadership in 3D printing, the next wave of technological evolution.”

Why you should watch it: The word ‘game-changing’ gets thrown around a lot these days. But 3D printing technology definitely has the potential to be game-changing. This documentary looks at the startups, including MakerBot and Formlabs, who are trying to bring 3D printing devices to the mass-market. There’s less focus on the technology side of things and more on the politics and power-battles that can consume big tech startups en route to success.

Watch it on Netflix

 

The Social Network

The pitch: “Director David Fincher’s biographical drama chronicles the meteoric rise of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from Harvard sophomore to Internet superstar.”

Why you should watch it: Talking of politics and power-battles. Sharp, witty and fast-paced, this Oscar-winning film captures the hyperactive excitement of startup life but also the conflicts that come with mega-success. Mark Zuckerberg is portrayed as the tech-nerd, spurned by his college peers, who channels his outsider resentment into creating the early prototype of Facebook… annoying plenty of people along the way.

Watch it on Netflix

 

Steve Jobs

The pitch: “Directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle and written by Academy Award-winner Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs paints an intimate portrait of the brilliant man.”

Why you should watch it: There are quite a few biopics knocking around about Steve Jobs but this is probably the best. Focusing on three seminal points in his career over a 20 year period, we see how Jobs battled with those around him to execute his singular vision. Despite his remarkable life, we see Jobs as a flawed human being, at times cruel and ruthless. But it’s ultimately a triumphant tale that culminates in his return to Apple.

Watch it on Amazon Prime

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVik34nWws

Black Mirror

The pitch: “This sci-fi anthology series explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity’s greatest.”

Why you should watch it: Charlie Brooker’s acclaimed show started on Channel 4 before moving to Netflix, where it now commands a bigger budget. Offering a cautionary take on how today’s technology might evolve, each episode brings a different flavour, with a dark and disturbing streak throughout. If you’re looking for festive cheer, try the nightmarish ‘White Christmas’ episode starring Mad Men’s Jon Hamm.

Watch it on Netflix

 

Moneyball

The pitch: “The story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.”

Why you should watch it: Data-based insights play a huge role in modern sport and Billy Beane was one of the first to really realise its potential. As dull as that may sound as a narrative for a Hollywood movie, this is an inspiring and compelling story that shows the importance of carrying through with your convictions – even when everyone else thinks you’ve lost the plot.

Watch it on Amazon Prime

 

https://youtu.be/xUHlMgJxF30

Mad Men

The pitch: “A compelling insight into the harsh reality of life in the 60s, perfectly portrayed through the dealings of a prestigious ad agency in New York’s Madison Avenue.”

Why you should watch it: Has there ever been a smoother operator than Don Draper, the enigmatic advertising genius and central character in Mad Men? OK, yes, it’s a fictional tale, but Mad Men threads real-life historical events and products into the story, perfectly capturing the heady days of advertising’s golden age. It’s not just Don, there’s a whole cast of beautifully observed characters with whom we watch grow over six series covering the 50s, 60s and early 70s. As for business lessons, you’ll learn the seductive tricks of the advertising industry and the mastery of pitching Don Draper-style. If only you could be as smooth.

Watch it on Netflix

 

The Great Hack

The pitch: “They took your data. Then they took control. The Great Hack uncovers the dark world of data exploitation through the compelling personal journeys of players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. ”

Why you should watch it: While the Social Network deals with the embryonic years of Facebook, the Great Hack tells the more disturbing story of where we are in 2019. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is the narrative hook but more widely the documentary deals with the troubling implications of surveillance capitalism. What could be more festive?

Watch it on Netflix

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Huw Moxon is the Digital Marketing Manager for Informi

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