Although November is coming to a close, the fall is still in full swing. With just a month left, Netflix is saving some of its best movies for last. The Piano Lesson, Malcolm Washington’s upcoming film based on August Wilson’s play, arrives at the end of November. Romance fans will love the streamer’s holiday lineup, which includes Meet Me Next Christmas, Hot Frosty, and The Merry Gentlemen.
One genre to pay attention to this fall is drama. Below, we curated a list of five dramas to watch that are perfect for the fall. One of these movies features football, the best sport to play during these months. Other selections include an emotionally moving love story, a fearless crime musical from an auteur, and a sequel to an iconic television show.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Fall is for the football season. One of the best football movies ever, Friday Night Lights, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Football is a way of life for the residents of Odessa, Texas. The Permian High School football team is the best show in town. The town shuts down every Friday night, and the people invade Permian’s stadium to watch their Panthers.
Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) enters the 1988 season with two goals: be perfect and win the state championship. Gaines’ star players — running back Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), quarterback Mike Winchell (Lucas Black), fullback Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund), and safety Brian Chávez (Jay Hernandez) — are the town heroes, but they also carry an enormous amount of pressure for a bunch of teenagers. Even if you don’t like sports, Friday Night Lights invests in its characters so much so that you’ll be on your feet and cheering during the final play.
Stream Friday Night Lights on Netflix.
The Good Nurse (2022)
Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne returns to television this fall in The Day of the Jackal, an espionage drama adapted from the Frederick Forsyth novel. This marks Redmayne’s first role since The Good Nurse, a true-crime thriller involving a shocking medicinal scandal. Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is a single mother and nurse working in the ICU at a New Jersey hospital.
Amy begins working night shifts with veteran nurse Charles Cullen (Redmayne), and the two quickly become friends. Things turn sinister at the hospital when patients mysteriously start dying. Much to Amy’s surprise, Charles becomes the primary suspect. The ensuing investigation is a harrowing view into the mind of a serial killer.
Stream The Good Nurse on Netflix.
Emilia Pérez (2024)
It’s awards season, and Netflix has found its contender in Emilia Pérez, a French crime musical with comedic and thriller elements. Directed by Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez stars Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia, a Mexican cartel leader looking to start a new life. Enter Rita (Zoe Saldaña), a lawyer who agrees to help Emilia fake her death and undergo gender reassignment surgery.
The audacious film explores what these women will do to find peace and achieve happiness. Emilia Pérez premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where Gascón, Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz shared the Best Actress award. Emilia Pérez feels like Netflix’s best shot at a Best Picture nomination, with Gascón and Saldaña positioned as contenders in the acting categories.
Stream Emilia Perez on Netflix starting November 13.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind always tugs at your heartstrings, but it especially hits home in the colder months since the film is set in New York City during the winter. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is heartbroken to learn that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), undergoes a procedure to erase her memories of him.
Devastated, Joel decides to receive the same surgery. During the operation, Joel’s subconscious re-experiences his memories with Clementine, showing the audience how the two fell in love. Although the process is irreversible, Joel fights tooth and nail to keep his memories of Clementine intact. Michel Gondry’s film shows the highs and lows of a romance in this heartbreakingly beautiful love story.
Stream Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Netflix.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
After creating a show as iconic and critically acclaimed as Breaking Bad, why bother returning to the source material for a new chapter? Well, Vince Gilligan had a plan and executed it in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Serving as the sequel to Breaking Bad, El Camino picks up moments after Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) escapes from captivity in Todd’s El Camino.
On the run, Jesse cannot stay in Albuquerque, so he must find money fast. Jesse plans to pay Ed Galbraith (Robert Forster) to make him disappear and start fresh with a new identity. However, an old foe in Jesse’s life threatens to derail his opportunity to start fresh. Jesse Pinkman did not need an ending, but it was nice to hang out with this beloved character one final time.
Stream El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie on Netflix.
