Not sure if it makes things easier than your current setup, but take a look at Mediathekwebview.de

You can use -f /path/to/compose.yaml to call it from wherever you like.

Which means it’s likely a US-focussed scenario.

You can use quite a number of “underlying” distributions, it mainly depends on what you like (Arch-based ones, Debian-based ones, etc).

As a desktop environment, have a look at XFCE or LXDE.

Debian as a server base OS is well-tested and (for me) ultra reliably stable.

everyone

Now that’s what I’d call a stretch…