What are you going to be watching in December? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Disney+, AppleTV, Neon, Amazon Prime, Acorn and TVNZ on Demand.
Click here to read our listings for November.
The Biggies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fnS96wQp4c
The L-Word: Generation Q (NEON, Season 1 weekly from December 11)
What will The L Word: Generation Q be? A revamp? A revival? Season eight? Who knows! They’re calling it a sequel series to The L Word so maybe it won’t pick up where season seven disastrously ended in 2009. Set ten years after the events of The L Word, I’m guessing everyone will have moved on from Jenny’s murder. But as long as Alice’s Chart returns and Entry-Level Gay Shane bangs a lot of people, I’m keen. Also, apparently power lesbian Bette (extremely hot Jennifer Beals) is running for Mayor of Los Angeles as a key plot point, something I’ve just now discovered is a thing I’m very into. The L Word was my (bi)sexual awakening back in the day, so I’ll continue to stan regardless of how terrible it probably will be. / Emily Writes
You (Netflix, Season 2, from December 26)
Boy meets girl. Boy flirts with girl. Boy follows girl home and masturbates in a bush while he watches her through the window… and it only gets worse from there. The social media-centred psychological thriller You was a suprise sensation when it debuted on Netflix last year, and it’s not hard to see why. Bolstered by a fantastic performance by Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) as charming hipster psychopath Joe Goldberg, You is packed with the kind of insane twists that will have you binging until the early hours. Bonus: it’s properly funny too. After a suitably bonkers season one finale, season two relocates to Los Angeles, with Joe all set to unleash hell on a new girlfriend/unsuspecting victim. / Catherine McGregor
The Witcher (Netflix, Season 1 from December 20)
To use Cluedo phrasing: it was Henry Cavill, in a wig, in the bathtub. That’s what sold me on this adaptation of one of the most acclaimed video game series of the past five years. There are reasons to be dubious about this. Very valid reasons. Video games do not traditionally adapt well into series, even though this is technically based on the books, not the video game series, but such technicalities are the domain of pedants. Henry Cavill’s wig is… not very good. It’s a fantasy series, which are either very hit or so much of a miss it’s a backfire. But given that this comes from Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who has worked on Umbrella Academy and The Defenders, I’ve got my hopes up. / Sam Brooks
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon Prime, Season 3 from December 6)
It’s won a bazillion awards, it’s made by the team behind Gilmore Girls, and it features one of TV’s most intelligent and independent heroines. Marvelous Mrs Maisel follows the life of Midge Maisel, a 1950s New York housewife who becomes a stand-up comic when her marriage suddenly collapses. This third season sees Midge take control of her own destiny like never before, with more of the fabulous costumes, fast dialogue and feminist storylines that make Marvelous Mrs Maisel such a charming and delicious watch. / Tara Ward
The Notables
Los Espookys (NEON, Season 1 from December 8)
Okay, hear me out because this is a weird one. The synopsis sounds normal: the show follows a group of friends who turn their love for horror into a business opportunity, providing horror to those who need it, in a Latin American country where the strange and eerie are just part of daily life. Basically, a group of friends make scary experiences for people who hire them. It’s true oddball comedy, and it’s all in Spanish! Think Scooby Doo but in reverse, and a lot weirder. Trust me on this one, you won’t regret watching it. / SB
John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Punch (Netflix, Special from December 24)
Desperate for something to watch on Christmas Day so you don’t have to interact with that one uncle who always comes over to yours for the festive season because nobody else will have him? Look no further than this Christmas Special from John Mulaney, the only straight white man worth a damn. His Christmas special is a children’s variety show where the comedian will perform with children aged eight through 13, who he cheerfully admits are more talented than he is, and a group of eclectic personalities including David Byrne, Natasha Lyonne and Jake Gyllenhaal. So that’s your Christmas sorted, you’re welcome! / SB
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Netflix, Season 4 from December 19)
Could Rebecca Bunch finally be sorting herself out? Despite opening with her in prison for attempted murder, the fourth and final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend suggests the answer is a qualified yes. With a little medical help, as celebrated in the song ‘Anti-Depressants are So Not a Big Deal’, Rebecca is finally on the road to self-actualisation, with a new job, a new hobby (musical theatre, of course) and a newly non-co-dependent approach to relationships. While the final season has a big focus on resolving Rebecca’s ‘love quadrangle’, as always it’s the supporting characters who really shine, especially in their musical moments – you’ll be humming attorney Jim’s muscial cri de coeur ‘Don’t Be a Lawyer’ for weeks. / CM
Vikings (Lightbox, Season 6 from December 5)
Vikings is Thor on steroids. The gore, weird nicknames, and military strategy portrayed are ripped straight from Nordic myth, legend, and history. Rollo the Bear really was the first Duke of Normandy, and Lagertha really was unstoppable in both battle and politics. This show is for people who only watched Game of Thrones for Stannis Baratheon.
The bloodlust-and-boats series has been renewed for a sixth and final season, which will take our favourite Nordic conquerors to the Silk Road and back to the Mediterranean. Who will Ivar the Boneless meet in Russia? Will Floki ever escape Iceland? You could read a history book, or just tune in and find out. / Josie Adams
The Movies
Marriage Story (Netflix from December 6)
Noah Baumbach is one of the best filmmakers of the 21st century, hands down. Nobody else captures the ways in which intelligent, articulate, damaged people absolutely damage other intelligent, articulate, damaged people – moreso if they’re related! His latest tracks the painful, but normal, divorce of a couple (big boy Adam Driver and cancelled Scarlett Johansson) and the ensuing legal battle. I can confidently say this is not one for a Netflix and Chill, but one to ruminate on while you picturesquely drink a glass of warm red wine. / SB
A Christmas Prince: Royal Baby (Netflix, from December 5)
First we had A Christmas Prince and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, and now we welcome A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby into the world. Amber (New Zealand’s Rose McIver) and King Richard have a bun in the royal oven, and if there are any Christmas miracles left, this will be another gloriously cheesy and cliched Christmas Prince gem. These movies will warm even the coldest of hearts this festive season, because cheese always wins, both in television and the buffet of life. / TW
Thor: Ragnarok (Disney+, from December 5)
Look, it’s Thor: Ragnarok. You know what it is. It’s the Taika Waititi/Cate Blanchett Marvel film. Go forth with the knowledge you can watch it an unlimited amount of times on Disney+. / SB
The Rest
Netflix
December 1
Dead Kids
Fracture
Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle: Season One
Rush Hour
Rush Hour 2
Four Brothers
Four Christmases
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
After Earth
Anaconda
December 2
Team Kaylie: Part Two
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish
December 3
Especial de Natal Porta dos Fundos: A Primeira Tentacao de Cristo
Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah
December 4
Los Briceno
Magic for Humans: Season Two
Let’s Dance
December 5
Apache: La vide de Carlos Tevez
V Wars
Home for Christmas
A Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby
In the Heart of the Sea
December 6
The Chosen One: Season Two
Glow Up: Season One
Triad Princess
Three Days of Christmas
Virgin River
Fuller House: Season Five
Marriage Story
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show
The Confession Killer
Spirit Riding Free: The Spirit of Christmas
Teasing Master Takagi-san: Season Two
December 8
Lady Bird
December 9
Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies
A Family Reunion Christmas
December 10
Michelle Wolf: Joke Show
December 12
Jake Whitehall: Christmas with my Father
December 13
6 Underground
December 15
Adventure Time: Season Five
Adventure Time: Season Six
Sucker Punch
Chef
Going for Gold
December 16
Bring it On: All or Nothing
Honey
Public Enemies
Accepted
American Pie Presents: Band Camp
The Blues Brothers
Knocked Up
Baby Mama
Honey 2
Turbo
Spartacus
The Jack
The Invention of Lying
Ray
The Thing
December 17
Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!
December 18
Soundtrack
Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
A Quiet Place
December 19
Ultraviolet: Season Two
Twice Upon a Time
After the Raid
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Season Four
December 20
The Witcher
Two Popes
December 22
Underworld: Blood Wars
December 24
Lost in Space: Season Two
TERRACE HOUSE: TOKYO 2019-2020: Part Two
Crash Landing on You
Como caido del cielo
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch
Carole & Tuesday: Part Two
December 26
La Bazar de la Charites
You: Season Two
The App
Fast & Furious Spy Races
December 27
The Gift
Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up
Oddball
December 28
Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy
December 30
Alexa & Katie: Season Three
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened
December 31
The Neighbour
Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures
The Dengenerates: Season Two
Neon
December 2
Saving Santa
12 Days Of Giving
The Christmas Chalet
The Christmas Cure
A Christmas Hero
Christmas In The Highlands
Christmas On Holly Lane
A Family For The Holidays
Forever Christmas
A Gift For Christmas
Her Magical Christmas
Looks Like Christmas
Merry & Bright
A Storybook Christmas
A Song For Christmas
A Gift To Cherish
At Eternity’s Gate
Border
Destroyer
Lean On Pete
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
Pick Of The Litter
Serenity
She Shears
Vox Lux
Yellow Is Forbidden
December 3
Deep Water: Season One
Dream the Future: Season One
Stephen Hawking’s Future Place: Season One
December 4
The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time
Sharknado
Sharknado 2: The Second One
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens
Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
December 5
Welcome To Marwen
December 8
Los Espookys
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
December 10
Buzz
December 11
The L Word: Generation Q: Season One
December 12
Work in Progress: Season One
Cold Pursuit
December 15
Spider In The Web
December 16
Marvel’s Runaways: Season Three
December 17
Hotel Mumbai
The Hundred-Foot Journey
December 19
Five Bedrooms: Season One
Inception
December 20
Cold Blood Legacy
December 21
Little Pink House
December 22
The Prodigy
December 26
King Of Thieves
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Swimming With Men
December 27
Very Ralph
December 29
10 Things I Hate About You
December 31
Law Abiding Citizen
TVNZ on Demand
December 1
Boy
Dark Horse
Hunt For The Wilderpeople
Tickled
The Orator
Born To Dance
Fresh Meat
The Pa Boys
Whale Rider
Sione’s Wedding
Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business
December 6
Why Women Kill
December 7
Reprisal
December 9
Broadchurch
Luther
Sherlock
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Young Doctor’s Notebook
Sense & Sensibility
Jane Eyre
Great Expectations
War and Peace
Wolf Hall
Burton and Taylor
An Adventure in Space and Time
Cranford
From Darkness
Misfits
Atlantis
The Musketeers
Thirteen
The Fades
What Remains
Spies of Warsaw
Natural World: Animal Weapons
Natural World: Cheetahs Growing Up Fast
Natural World: Fishing Leopards
Natural World: Ghost Bear
Natural World: Giraffes – Africa’s Gentle Giants
Natural World: H Is For Hawk – A New Chapter
Natural World: Jaguars – Brazil’s Super Cats
Natural World: Owls – Behind the Magic
Natural World: Super Squirrels
Natural World: Supercharged Otters
Brainwashing Stacey
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion’s Dirty Secrets
Stacey Dooley: Countdown to Armageddon
Secrets of the Lost Graveyard
Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle
December 12
Life is Easy
December 16
Kingdom
Masters of Sex
Damages
Amazon Prime
December 6
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
December 13
The Expanse
The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen
Lightbox
December 4
The Inbetweeners
Untogether
The Farewell
Can You Keep A Secret
Stockholm
December 5
Vikings: Season Six
December 11
Lipstick Jungle
Once Upon a Time on Sesame Street
Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer
The Wiggles; Wiggly Wiggly Christmas
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Angry Birds Movie 2
It: Chapter Two
Downton Abbey
The Kitchen
Them That Follow
Anna
Danger Close
Little Women
Amazing Grace
Cats
Robert the Bruce
December 13
Nina’s World
Fireman Sam: Heroes of the Storm
December 18
Good Boys
Ma
Rambo
December 25
Plus One
Disney+
December 3
Henry Hugglemonster
Miles From Tomorrowland
Sheriff Callie’s Wild West
Star vs. The Forces of Evil
The Lion Guard
Expedition Amelia
Garfield
Glory Road
The Incredible Dr. Pol
The Incredible Dr. Pol: Blue Ribbon Kids
The Incredible Dr. Pol: Jingle Pols
Incredible! The Story of Dr. Pol
Just Like Me!
Marvel Rising: Chasing Ghosts
Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors – Heart of Iron
December 3
One Day at Disney
December 5
Thor: Ragnarok
December 11
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Apple TV
December 6
Truth Be Told
Hala
Acorn
December 2
Anner House
Queens of Mystery
December 9
Indian Summers
Rebus
December 16
Wild at Heart
December 23
Victoria
December 30
The Fragile Heart
Relative Strangers