With the holiday season upon us, the hustle and bustle of prepping may also come with some much-needed time off to recharge the batteries. There’s nothing quite like relaxing in front of the TV after a big holiday meal, wrapping (or opening) presents, or filling the home with the wonderful smells of holiday baking. Now comes the question: what to watch?
There are only so many times you can watch the same holiday movie, and only so many holiday movies you can watch before you’re itching for something else. Luckily, these five great TV shows you need to watch in December fit the bill.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on Max, and the best shows on Disney+.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (December 3)
Disney+ has had some hits and misses in the Star Wars universe with its original series, but there’s high hopes for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, a sci-fi series based on the franchise. Covering events that takes place concurrently with those in The Mandalorian and its spin-offs and after the events in Return of the Jedi, the plot centers around a younger cast of characters. Dubbed a coming-of-age story, it’s about four children who get lost in the galaxy and must embark on a series of adventures to try and make it back home.
Leading the cast is Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood, a Force-user with a special knack for using his charms to get himself out of trouble. Jon Favreau is counted among the executive producers. The first season of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will include eight episodes, and with a start date of December 3, you’ll be able to watch a few through the month.
Stream Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney+.
Black Doves (December 5)
This British spy thriller, which has prematurely been renewed for a second season, stars Keira Knightley as Helen, a woman who becomes embroiled in a torrid affair that threatens to expose her secret identity. When her lover becomes a victim of the criminal underworld in London, however, and an old friend is sent to protect Helen from harm due to her actions, her world is turned upside down.
Also starring Sarah Lancashire (Coronation Street) and Ben Whishaw (Passages), Black Doves hails from Joe Barton, the man behind hits like the crime series Giri/Haji and the sci-fi thriller The Lazarus Project.
Stream Black Doves on Netflix.
No Good Deed (December 12)
With Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow, Linda Cardellini, Luke Wilson, Abbi Jacobson, and Denis Leary heading up the cast of this dark comedy mystery, and Will Ferrell counted among the executive producers, there’s a good chance it will be worth the watch. No Good Deed is about three different families in a bidding war for a house. Each one believes purchasing the residence will be the solution to all their problems while Lydia (Kudrow) and Paul (Romano) believe letting go of the home is what they need to solve theirs. But the house holds plenty of dark secrets.
Created by Liz Feldman, who also created Dead to Me and has written for shows like 2 Broke Girls and Hot in Cleveland, No Good Deed explores themes of ambition, secrecy, and the quest for happiness. One potential buyer wants to flip the house for profit. One pair of expectant parents want to set a foundation but struggle with the finances to make it happen. The third potential buyer is a flailing Hollywood star who is only interested in the home out of necessity to downsize. With all eight episodes dropping at once, No Good Deed is a perfect binge watch to wrap up the year.
Stream No Good Dead on Netflix.
Dexter: Original Sin (December 13, December 15 on-air debut)
Fans were delighted when Dexter returned in 2020 for the limited series revival Dexter: New Blood, providing a much more palatable season finale than the one we got way back in 2013. Now with renewed interest in the hit Showtime crime series, the vigilante serial killer is back again. Except now, a new actor is playing the character that Michael C. Hall made an icon in Dexter: Original Sin, a prequel series.
As the name implies, Dexter: Original Sin tells the origin story of a young Dexter (Patrick Gibson) just starting out working for Miami Metro PD. His father Harry, who served as his conscience in the original show, is still alive, played by Christian Slater. After Harry horrifyingly discovers what his son does, dear dad tries to direct Dexter’s urges towards killing heinous criminals instead of innocent people. It will be an intriguing look at stories we only heard about or saw briefly in flashbacks in Dexter.
Several other actors will be playing younger versions of characters from Dexter, with a few new ones added for good measure, played by the likes of Patrick Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Dexter: Original Sin will be followed up by Dexter: Resurrection, yet another spin-off series that suggests the end of Dexter: New Blood might not be what it seemed.
Stream Dexter: Original Sin on Paramount+ with Showtime.
Squid Game season 2 (December 26)
It has been more than a three-year wait for the second season of Squid Game, the South Korean survival thriller horror that took Netflix by storm. The show is a terrifying story of 456 down-on-their-luck individuals participating in a deadly series of classic childhood schoolyard games for the chance to win a massive sum of money. Literally the last person remaining alive wins. But Squid Game is much deeper than that, touching on topical issues like class disparity, capitalism, and greed.
Quickly rising to the top of Netflix’s most-watched list when the first season launched, Squid Game remains Netflix’s most watched non-English language series ever to this day. Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the protagonist of the series, returns to exact revenge on the man behind the gruesome games. But to do so, he must risk his life and join the games again. Jung-jae became the first Asian actor to win the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for a non-English part for season one.
Already renewed for a third and final season ahead of the second season premiere, season two of Squid Game has been a long time coming. Fans can’t wait to see what happens next as Seong tackles not only the demons who tortured him, but his own metaphorical ones as well.
Stream Squid Game on Netflix.
