IT IS COLD IN ABOUT 85% OF THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, MAKING THIS THE PERFECT TIME FOR MOST OF US TO GRIND THROUGH A STREAMING QUEUE OF SHOWS AND MOVIES SLIGHTLY SHORTER THAN AN UNABRIDGED DOSTOEVSKY NOVEL. LET US NOW FIND THE PERFECT VIEWING EXPERIENCE TO CHASE AWAY THE WINTER BLUES FROM THE SELECTIONS BELOW

BY DAN SALAMONE.

WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL CREW JANUARY 3 (NETFLIX)

Amongst these wintry seas of grey comes the perfect antidote via four-time Oscar winner Nick Park’s latest celebration of life, friendship, and really good cheese. In this latest adventure featuring Britain’s animated answer to Laurel and Hardy (for anyone under 30, ask your great grandpa who that is), Wallace and Gromit again face their most formidable nemesis in the form of larcenous penguin, Feathers McGraw. Will the film be as silly as that description? The answer is surely another triumphant, joyous “absolutely.”

CUNK ON LIFE JANUARY 2 (BBC TWO/NETFLIX)

For those who suspect that the world has become a farce run by far-too-confident blockheads, here’s a show from England about that very subject, but as a knowing, hilarious “documentary” satire. Philomena Cunk is the daft, none-too-bright alter-ego of comedian Diane Morgan, tasked with investigating concepts far too complex and sophisticated for her to explain. This latest special finds her trying once more, taking on the meaning of life and modern existence and failing utterly to do so to great comic effect.

THE PITT JANUARY 9 (HBO MAX)

For those who miss ER on NBC (again, under 30? Ask your parents about his one), Noah Wylie is back in scrubs for this gritty new episodic drama about the staff of Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Center. For those thinking this will just be an ER redux, early excellent reviews suggest this will more than earn its own place among the great medical shows that provide its DNA.

LOVE IS BLIND: GERMANY (NETFLIX)

“The unique dating experiment lands in Germany. Local singles seek true love and propose marriage but will their commitment last a lifetime?” asks the press release for this latest version of the deathless reality franchise. “Does Germany also have attention-seeking youngsters willing to see themselves turned into one dimensional cartoons for the purpose of entertaining millions?” asks this writer with a smirk.

JERRY SPRINGER – FIGHTS, CAMERA, AC- TION JANUARY 7 (NETFLIX)

This new two-episode doc tells the story of how a modest little show built around niceties like reuniting moms with their long-lost daughters became the go-to home for obnoxious chair tossing and crudely executed fistfights specifically engineered by producer Richard Dominick. By the end of its mammoth multi-decade run, even its host lamented, “I don’t wanna live in a country that watches my show.

SEVERANCE, SEASON 2 JANUARY 17 (APPLE)

Apple’s premier TV show returns for a second go-around, following a group of exploited office workers who agree to have all their non-work identities temporarily removed so as to better perform their jobs, with appropriate sinister reveals. Will Jeffrey Bezos buy this for a future Amazon reality show? Ah, the dystopia. Perhaps that’s why this one was such a delicious instant hit.

YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED JANUARY 27 (AMAZON)

The sole filmic entry in this column comes from director Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and stars Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell (credits unnecessary if you’ve seen a comedy in the last 30 years) as the sister and father of brides doomed to have their separate destination weddings double booked for the same day. The absence of all this star power from theaters perhaps raises a wary eyebrow, but the trailers have all had real laughs in them, so let’s remain optimistic.