Sky has followed BBC and ITV in unveiling its schedule for this year's festive period, so for those looking to work out their viewing calendar over Christmas, here is what you need to know.

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The final episode of the sci-fi series The Lazarus Project is one of the most exciting events to look out for, with Sky promising that the show will come to a "spectacular conclusion" when it airs its closing instalment on Wednesday 27th December at 11:30pm on Sky Max and NOW.

Meanwhile, Sky's big new Christmas film, The Heist Before Christmas, starring Timothy Spall and James Nesbitt, is officially set to launch on Sky Max and NOW at 8pm on Christmas Eve, meaning it should make for the perfect night in before the big day.

There are also Christmas specials aplenty to look forward to on Sky Max, including A Very Brassic Christmas at 10pm on 21st December, while Chris Ramsey and Paul Chowdhry will present The Unofficial Science of Die Hard on 23rd December at 9pm and The Unofficial Science of Indiana Jones at the same time on New Year's Day.

The cast of A Very Brassic Christmas sat together in Christmassy outfits
The cast of A Very Brassic Christmas. Sky

And at 9pm on Wednesday 27th December, Greg James will be joined by a panel of comedians including Maisie Adam and Guz Khan to reflect on the biggest, funniest and most ridiculous stories from the world of sport in 2023 in Sports Funniest 2023 on Sky Max.

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Meanwhile, Sky Arts will be airing two special programmes focusing on Charles Dickens, starting with Dickens in Italy with David Harewood on Tuesday 19th December at 8pm and finishing with Dickens: Phantoms and Fictions at 8pm on Thursday 21st December.

Also on Sky Arts, Mica Paris will headline an evening of gospel music at 8pm on Saturday 23rd December, where she will be joined by 10 gospel singers and a dynamic four-piece band to perform moving versions of various Christmas songs, including I’ll Be Home for Christmas and O Holy Night.

There will also be a Never Mind the Buzzcocks Christmas special airing at 9pm on Tuesday 19th December on Sky Max, while Sky Arts will show a special of Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir on Friday 22nd December at 8pm.

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Meanwhile, if you're looking for a new film to watch, Sky Cinema is adding some major releases to its library over the festive period, starting with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which arrives on Friday 22nd December.

John Woo's new action thriller film Silent Night will arrive on 23rd December, before Alan Bennett's Allelujah starts airing from 24th December and The Super Mario Bros Movie arrives on Christmas Day itself.

If you're looking for something new to watch during that period between Christmas and New Year, when the festivities have died down, Sky Max will be airing Based on a True Story, a comedic thriller series starring Kaley Cuoco which starts at 9pm on Friday 29th December.

And there are some other exciting shows and films to look forward to kick off the New Year, including season 2 of comedy drama Julia on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Thursday 4th January and Sky Original film Arthur's Whiskey which is available from New Year's Day.

Sign up for Sky TV here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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