9 of the Best New Things to Stream in December 2022
Reading Time: 3 minutesAll your streaming platforms are bringing plenty of options for the whole family this December.
Rejoice, my fellow Grinches: This curated list of December streaming options is (nearly) Santa-free. Although it’s a rather lean month as far as each streaming service’s releases go, there are still plenty of new movies and shows sure to appeal to a broad swatch of your extended family members this holiday season.
Here are all of the best and biggest movies, series premieres, and new seasons of returning favorites that will be available to stream in December. Titles are arranged chronologically by premiere date.
Ah yes, nothing says ‘holiday season’ quite like a Norwegian disaster film called Troll. This film follows a brave paleontologist appointed to stopping the titular troll, who was awakened after an explosion in the Norwegian mountains. As the trailer says, ‘there is a trace of truth in all fairy tales.’ I sincerely hope this film earns a spot in the my regular Christmas movie roster.
The long-awaited third and final season of His Dark Materials arrives Dec. 5 on HBO Max. Although the series never lived up to the hype of the the beloved Philip Pullman YA trilogy, fans still deserve these final episodes for a proper goodbye. Catch up on the first two seasons now, so that you’re ready for the final endgame (spoiler alert): An attempt to quite literally murder God. Yes, the God.
Despite rumors of the show’s cancellation all last summer, Doom Patrol is back for a fourth season on Dec. 8—and fans remain hopeful that this won’t be one last hurrah, either. The series follows DC Comics’ weirdest band of anti-heroes, and if you’ve ever confused Doom Patrol with The Umbrella Academy, you’re not alone. Like The Umbrella Academy, this show is over-the-top yet heartfelt, focusing on the unexpected love and pain that comes with the territory of found-family adventures. It’s worth catching up on the first three seasons now; after all, who knows what other shows might be condemned to the Batgirl treatment.
Not to be confused with the live-action Disney+ Tom Hanks film released earlier this year, nor the animated meme-worthy adaptation of the story from Russia, this Pinocchio is a stop-motion take from Guillermo del Toro (of The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth fame). Compared to the many previous adaptations of the all-too-familiar story, del Toro’s approach looks to be a characteristic mix of heart-wrenching and slightly creepy. And early buzz suggests it’s good enough to snag a Best Picture Oscar nod.
Hulu’s Kindred is a prestige TV adaptation of the sci-fi classic from Octavia Butler. The series followsyoung Black writer Dara (Mallori Johnson) who has just moved into a new home with her white husband Kevin (Micah Stock) in the 1970s. The story, however, doesn’t stay in the those 70s. Past and present collide as Dara begins experiencing uncontrollable hallucinations—or more than that—of horrific events that befell her enslaved ancestors more than a hundred years earlier.
Butler’s original novel was a seismic exploration of slave narratives and what it took for countless Black Americans to survive, and the adaptation seems poised to bring it to the screen to powerful effect.
Before you get too excited, I’m heartbroken to report that this rendition of National Treasure does not feature Nicolas Cage. Now that your expectations have been managed: This series offers a new Pan-American chapter in the treasure-hunting universe. Jess Valenzuela (Lisette Olivera), a young Mexican-American Dreamer, searches not just for historical treasure but also for her missing father. The trailer suggests a not-too-shabby budget, so here’s hoping that there might be a Cage cameo in the future.
Paramount+ found a content mine in the form of Yellowstone, and this month the streaming service is launching its second spinoff of the massive hit. Not to be confused with the first Yellowstone spinoff, 1883, the latest series is titled 1923. Even if you’re not a Yellowstone stan, you just me be drawn in by the star power of Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford. Join the rest of the country and stream it now.
John Krasinski makes a highly anticipated return as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan this month. Yes, fans can finally stop holding in that three-year-old breath: The series is back for a third season. While season two took place in Venezuela, season three kicks off in Rome and follows the action hero running across Europe in a conspiracy plot to stop global nuclear catastrophe.
Although the original Knives Out was a box office hit in 2019, Netflix opted to give the film’s followup only a week in theaters before making it available to stream in your home. Personally, I think the murderous whodunnit romp is worthy of the full cinematic experience. Glass Onion is the second in Rian Johnson’s planned series, and fans are eager for the return of Daniel Craig’s drawling detective Benoit Blanc. As a testament to the first film’s success, the second manages to feature even more big name stars than the first (a hefty task), including Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Katheryn Hahn, and Kate Hudson. Let’s see if Netflix got it’s $450 million worth.