What are you going to be watching in November? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Neon, Amazon Prime and TVNZ on Demand.
Click here to read our listings for October
The Biggies
His Dark Materials (NEON, Season 1 weekly from November 5)
Feel like your life is lacking fantasy since Game of Thrones wrapped up? Are you (wrongly) embarrassed to revisit Philip Pullman’s excellent YA series about a young girl going up against a loosely veiled version of the Catholic Church? Then look no further than your NEON app, because HBO’s adaptation of the series is coming and it promises to be much better than the 2007 film that we don’t speak of. It looks dark, it looks beautiful and more importantly, it looks right. Cuddle up with your chosen daemon (mine is a drunk swan) and watch some parallel universe antics this November. / Sam Brooks
The Mandalorian (Disney+, Season 1 weekly from November 19)
This is one of the big pieces of original content that new streaming service Disney+ is banking on, and as reliable launch products go, it’s hard to get a more reliable one than a Star Wars spin-off in a month where people are waiting for the final film in the trilogy. This comes to us courtesy of Jon Favreau (well known for Iron Man, less known for Chef) and stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Taika Waititi (!) ,and Werner Herzog (?!). It covers the period five years after the fall of The Empire in The Return of the Jedi and 25 years before the rise of The First Order in The Force Awakens, and if those things mean anything you, congratulations! You’re a nerd.
(Note: This show launches November 12 in the US and Canada, but because this service launches here on the 19th, that’s when this show comes out here.) / SB
Read more: A definitive guide to every streaming service available in New Zealand
The Morning Show (Apple TV, Season 1 weekly from November 1)
Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell star in The Morning Show, Apple TV’s flagship drama about a team of journalists working on a popular breakfast TV show. Aniston and Carrell play the show’s two hosts, and when Carrell’s character is fired for sexual misconduct, Witherspoon plays an up-and-coming reporter who joins Aniston on the news desk. With themes of #metoo and fake news, and set in a world where women have a ‘use-by date’, who wouldn’t want to watch Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon take control, one crisis at a time?/ Tara Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXYfgpqb8A
The Crown (Netflix, Season 3 binge from November 17)
Put your tiaras on and sit back in the middle of this month for the third season of The Crown. This new season will follow Prince Charles and Princess Anne through the 60’s and 70’s with plenty of unnecessary opulence, questionable outfits and tantalising drama to keep you occupied. Queen Elizabeth (newly cast Academy-Award winner Olivia Colman) finds herself in a bit of royal duty strife and Helena Bonham Carter is set to add her kooky flair to the show as Princess Margaret. / Hannah Kronast
Goodnight Kiwi (TVNZ on Demand, from November 11)
Television icon Goodnight Kiwi returns to our screens in a delightful new series that brings storybooks to life for young children. Goodnight Kiwi and his BFF Cat will team up with New Zealand actors, broadcasters and comedians including the Topp Twins, Stacey Morrison, Oscar Kightley and Hilary Barry, to share local stories and classic tales in both English and te reo Māori. Goodnight Kiwi hopes to inspire a love of reading and storytelling in Kiwi kids, as well as introduce the cartoon bird to a generation who will never have the pleasure of staying up so late that even the TV went to bed before they did. / TW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhT-8Q1NNas
The Notables
The End of the F*cking World (Netflix, Season 2 binge from November 5)
Undoubtedly the sleeper Netflix hit of 2018, The End of the F*cking World centres on two teenagers: the self-confessed/diagnosed psychopath James and the no less troubled Alyssa who team up to go on the run. Laughs are had, awkward adolescent love blooms, and audiences go wild and maybe think a little bit too much about their own teenage experiences, which hopefully don’t involve being a psychopath. But you know what? You do you! / SB
Kidding (NEON, binge from November 16)
Jim Carrey is about to be back on our screens, this time playing a children’s presenter who’s slowly losing his sanity. After a few cinematic flops, Carrey is back to prove himself in the leading role of Jeff Pickle which appears to be written just for him. Mr Pickle is a beloved children’s entertainer who struggles to keep his world (and mind) in place when he loses his son in a car accident, his marriage ends, and his other son gets caught up in the wrong crowd. Expect to see a hair shaving breakdown and creepy puppets. / HR
Ramy (TVNZ on Demand, binge from November 12)
Ramy comes with a lot of buzz and hope behind it, being the first US-produced drama to follow a first-generation American Muslim – one caught between his Egyptian community and his millennial community. It’s the brainchild of Ramy Youssef, who also stars in it, and it looks like it’s one of those gentle semi-autobiographical comedies that lures you in with charm and then gut punches you with some existential or philosophical revelation. So, you know, a good TV show. / SB
Dickinson (Apple TV, weekly from November 1)
Horny Emily Dickinson? It’ll take some time before I get over Cynthia Nixon’s tortured performance as the doomed poet in A Quiet Passion, but an adolescent, fun version is maybe the exact cleanser we need. Erstwhile pop star Hailee Steinfeld plays the poet herself, and the cast is rounded out by comedic genius Jane Krakowski as her mother and Wiz Khalifa as Death (sure!). It promises to be funny, irreverent and show a different, but not necessarily ahistorical side of the author (not sure how much Billie Eilish she listened to in real life). / SB
The Simpsons (Disney+, all thirty seasons from November 19)
It’s The Simpsons. / SB
Movies
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (Lightbox from November 13)
I saw this movie in the cinemas and can say, with little exaggeration, that it is the dumbest and most fun movie I have ever seen. The Rock and Jason Statham are basically creating their own genre of movie here: the action screwball comedy. Their chemistry is off the charts amazing while still radiating a strong, implausible ‘no homo’ energy. Vanessa Kirby, who previously played Princess Margaret on the ground, ends up having to play straight man to the musclebound lunatics known as Hobbs and Shaw, and it’s a treat. Fair warning, though: there’s a lot less car gymnastics in this one, and a lot more people knocking other people down. / SB
The Report (Amazon Prime Video from November 29)
After 9/11, hundreds of people suspected of having Al Qaeda links were rounded up by the CIA and held in detention. There they were subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ –
The King (Netflix from November 1)
Known to me, and only me, as Call Me Your Once and Future King, this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry history plays star Timothee Chalamet as Emo Bowlcut Henry V and Robert Pattinson as the floppy-haired dauphin. There is probably little romance here, but if period drama with pretty white boy actors is your thing, then look no further. David Michod directs, who was behind the superb Animal Kingdom, and it also stars our very own Thomasin McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit. Wrap up in your big fur coat, and hunker down, people. / SB
The Irishman (Netflix from November 27)
Martin Scorsese’s historical drama The Irishman is getting a limited release in cinemas this month before it ends up online. With all the superhero movies moving to Disney+, Scorsese can finally enjoy the wealthy embrace of the Netflix model. This film is classic Scorsese: it’s about organised crime, and a hitman with a complicated past. It stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. For new viewers, they’ve thrown in Anna Paquin and Ray “Everybody Loves Me” Romano. / Josie Adams
The Rest
What follows is a list of what is coming up on every streaming service this month.
Netflix
November 1
Atypical: Season 3
Hache
Queer Eye: We’re in Japan!
We Are the Wave
Drive
Holiday in the Wild
The King
The Man Without Gravity
Fire in Paradise
Hello Ninja
True: Grabbleapple Harvest
Eat Pray Love
Santa Girl
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Best Gift Ever
The Last Samurai
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Body of Lies
Christmas Break-In
Vendetta
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
The Quick and the Dead
November 2
Father Figures
From Dusk Till Dawn: Season 3
November 3
The Hero
November 4
Pacific Rim: Uprising
November 5
Tune in for Love
Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 4
The End of the F***ing World: Season 2
November 6
Greenleaf: Season 4
SCAMS
November 8
Busted!: Season 2
Greatest Events of WWII in HD Colour
Green Eggs and Ham
Paradise Beach
Let It Snow
Meet the Blacks
November 9
Little Things: Season 3
Fifty Shades Freed
November 10
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj: Volume 5
November 11
Blockers
November 12
Jeff Garlin: Our Man In Chicago
Harvey Girls Forever!: Season 3
Mars: Season 2
Yummy Mummies: Season 2
November 13
Maradona in Mexico
November 14
The Stranded
November 15
Surf’s Up: Wave Mania
Avlu: Part 2
I’m with the Band: Nasty Cherry
The Club
The Toys That Made Us: Season 3
House Arrest
Klaus
Earthquake Bird
GO!: The Unforgettable Party
Llama Llama: Season 2
Seven
Jonah Hex
Joe Versus the Volcano
No Escape
November 17
The Crown: Season 3
November 18
Side Effects
November 19
No hay tiempo para la verguenza
Iliza: Unveiled
November 20
Lorena, la de pies ligeros
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
Z Nation: Season 5
November 21
The Knight Before Christmas
Mortel
November 22
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings
High Seas: Season 2
Nailed It! Holiday!: Season 2
Narcoworld: Dope Stories
Nobody’s Looking
Singapore Social
Dino Girl Gauko
The Dragon Prince: Season 3
Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 8
Secret in Their Eyes
Mon frère
November 23
Phantom Thread
November 24
Final Space: Season 2
November 26
Zona Rosa
Mike Birbiglia: The New One
Super Monsters Save Christmas
True: Winter Wishes
November 27
Broken
The Irishman
November 28
Merry Happy Whatever
Lugar de Mulher
Mytho
Holiday Rush
John Crist: I Ain’t Prayin For That
November 29
Chip and Potato: Season 2
Vikings: Season 5: Vol. 2
Sugar Rush Christmas
The Movies That Made Us
NEON
November 2
Alpha & Omega
The Ant Bully
Black Beauty
A Cinderella Story
Free Willy
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Free Willy 3: the Rescue
How to Eat Fried Worms
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Gahoole
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Monkey Trouble
My Dog Skip
Nancy Drew
New York Minute
Richie Rich
See Spot Run
She’s The Man
The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants
Skating to New York
Speed Racer
St. Trinians 2
Stick It
Thunderstruck
Unaccompanied Inors
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
November 3
Punk
A-X-L
Happy Death Day 2u
November 4
Battle of the Bulbs
Second Act
Lovewrecked
November 5
His Dark Materials
Britannia: Season Two
Bare Knuckle Brawler
Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh
November 6
Blackhat
Hell Fest
Hunter Killer
The Last Mimzy
November 7
The Favourite
The Kid Who Would Be King
November 8
I Am Duran
November 11
Shameless: Season Ten
The Sisters Brothers
Wig
November 12
Poldark: Season Five
November 13
Mary Queen of Scots
Bad Neighbours
Green Book
Little
November 15
Living with Tourette’s: Season Two
November 16
Kidding
November 17
The Hate U Give
The Ninth Gate
November 18
Ray Donovan: Season Seven
November 19
Us
November 20
Making New Zealand: Season Three
November 22
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
November 23
The Cult of The Family
November 25
Room 104
November 27
Eastbound & Down
Vice
November 29
Can You Ever Forigve Me?
From Prada to Nada
A History of VIolence
They Shall Not Grow Old
November 30
Beecham House
TVNZ On Demand
November 11
Goodnight Kiwi
November 12
Ramy
November 19
Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men
Wu-Tang: An American Saga
November 21
Paradise Hotel
November 22
Seinfeld
November 26
Damned
29 November
Community
Amazon Prime Video
November 1
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season Two
November 8
One Child Nation
November 15
Brittany Runs a Marathon
The Man in the High Castle
November 29
The Report
Lightbox
November 1
Those Who Kill
November 5
New Girl: Season Six
November 6
Diego Maradona
Midsommar
Head Full of Honey
Late Night
American Woman
Maria by Callas
Driven
November 8
Mary Queen of Scots
Jack Irish
November 12
Heroes
November 13
The Intruder
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw
November 15
The Mick
November 19
30 Rock
November 20
Bates Motel
Angel Has Fallen
Aquarella
The Philosophy of Phil
10 Minutes Gone
November 22
The Killing
November 26
George of the Jungle: Season Two
Postman Pat: Season Three
November 27
Cross Rise of the Villains
Maiden
Kursk
A Dog’s Journey
Wiggles: Dorothy the Dinosaur
Peter Rabbit: Season Two
November 29
Green Book
Wiggles; Wiggle Town
Wiggles: Lachy
Disney+
November 19
The Mandalorian
Lady and the Tramp
Noelle
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Encore!
The Imagineering Story
Marvel’s Hero Project
The World According to Jeff Goldblum
Also, everything in this thread. It’s pretty much every Disney thing you can think of, and a lot of things you can’t.
Apple TV
November 1
The Morning Show
See
Dickinson
For All Mankind
Helpsters
Snoopy in Space
Ghostwriter
The Elephant Queen
November 28
Servant