What to watch on streaming in December 2021: Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Binge, Foxtel, ABC and more

From the return of Netflix favourites to Oscar-race movies, there’s a lot to watch on streaming in December.

Love Me is streaming on December 26. Picture: Sarah Enticknap

It’s good thing many of us have annual leave and holidays coming up – how else will you find the time to fit in all these new streaming offerings?

Love Me S1 (Binge*, December 26): Binge’s first original series stars Hugo Weaving, Bojana Novakovic and William Lodder in a story about three family members looking for love. The series was adapted from a Swedish show by head writer Alison Bell (The Letdown).

The Power of the Dog (Netflix, December 1): Jane Campion’s emotionally restrained and visually spectacular western stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a cruel cowboy whose own repressed desires leads him to lash out at his new sister-in-law, played by Kirsten Dunst. The Power of the Dog is a leading contender in the Oscar race.

And Just Like That S1 (Binge and Foxtel On Demand, December 9): The 10-episode Sex And The City revival series reunites Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate their lives in a changed New York City.

Being the Ricardos (Amazon Prime, December 21): Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed this biographical movie about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, exploring every aspect of their personal and professional lives during one dramatic week. It stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem.

The Lost Daughter (Netflix, December 31): Based on Elena Ferrante’s novel, The Lost Daughter is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut – and she won the Best Screenplay award at Venice. It stars Olivia Colman as a woman whose memory of her own mother is stirred when she becomes obsessed with another woman and her daughter.

Pen15 S2 Part 2 (Stan, December 4): Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine’s awkward and authentic semi-autobiographical puberty comedy will bow out with these final episodes. Konkle and Erskine play teen versions of themselves among a cast of actual kids, capturing all the horrors and joys of growing up.

Firebite (AMC+, December 16): From Warwick Thornton, Firebite takes the vampire genre and blends it with Indigenous storytelling in this original series about two vampire hunters who venture into the South Australian desert to eradicate the last bloodsucking colony.

Firebite is on AMC+.

Cobra Kai S4 (Netflix, December 31): Season three ended with the unthinkable, an alliance between Karate Kid nemeses Daniel and Johnny – but you know the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And Kreese is everyone’s enemy now.

Landscapers (Stan, December 8): A playful series that experiments with form, Landscapers stars Olivia Colman and David Thewlis as a husband and wife who murders her parents and buries them in their backyard, undiscovered for years.

Framed (SBS On Demand, December 26): SBS’s true crime docuseries Framed explores the bizarre circumstances around the heist of Picasso’s Weeping Woman from the walls of the National Gallery of Victoria. Hosted by Marc Fennell.

Don’t Look Up (Netflix, December 24): With a huge cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep, Adam McKay’s absurd comedy deals with nothing less than the end of the world. Two scientists discover a comet is on a collision path with Earth only to realise no one wants to know about it or do anything to save mankind.

Don’t Look Up will be released on December 24.

Grand Designs S19 (Foxtel On Demand, December 8): Bold architectural marvels and the soothing voice of Kevin McLeod intoning about the restorative power of great designs – what more could you want?

Emily in Paris S2 (Netflix, December 22): Emily in Paris is many things to many people – it’s fun and frivolous, and it’s also a terribly written collection of cliches. A streaming confectionery, the story of a naïve American in Paris, who inexplicably manages to succeed despite herself, returns for a second instalment.

Puff: Wonders of the Reef (Netflix, December 16): This sweet, family-friendly nature documentary takes viewers deep into Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, exploring its underwater wonders through the story of a small puffer fish.

Puff the puffer fish!

South Park Movie (Paramount+, December 17): Maybe you’re a diehard fan and you’ve been following all the Colorado adventures for these past two decades, but, hey, did you know South Park was still around? Trey Parker and Matt Stone are debuting two new South Park movies, including one this month.

Kamikaze S1 (Binge and Foxtel On Demand, December 6): At 18, Julie finds herself with more money she could ever spend, but she only came into her wealth because her entire family died in a plane crash. It inspires in her something of a death wish as she tries to come to terms with the life-changing trauma through extreme ways.

The Unforgivable (Netflix, December 10): Adapted from a British miniseries, the Sandra Bullock movie is the story of a woman who is released from prison after serving time for a violent crime, determined to find her estranged sister.

The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+, December 29): When Boba Fett’s scarred face appeared in The Mandalorian, years after the bounty hunter’s supposed death in that Sarlacc pit, fans of the cult character squealed in delight. A spin-off featuring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand was inevitable.

Boba Fett returns.

The Witcher S2 (Netflix, December 17): Adapted from a series of Polish novels, high-concept fantasy series The Witcher is one of Netflix’s most popular originals. It stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter who has demons of his own.

La Fortuna (SBS On Demand, December 9): Stanley Tucci can do no wrong. Even when he’s in something mediocre, it’s still amazing because Stanley Tucci is in it. Stanley Tucci is in this, a Spanish-English series in which he plays a treasure hunter trying to claim the great riches of an infamous shipwreck.

Encounter (Amazon Prime, December 10): Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer star in this sci-fi thriller about a Marine Corp veteran who takes his kids on the run during an alien invasion.

The Hand of God (Netflix, December 15): Italian director Paolo Sorrentino draws from his own childhood trauma in this feverish 1980s-set coming-of-age story about when the euphoria of youth collides with tragedy.

Hand of God has been selected as Italy’s entry into the Oscar’s International Feature category.

Welcome to Earth (Disney+, December 8): This six-part National Geographic series follows Will Smith as he explores Earth’s hidden secrets and great wonders, including volcanoes and deserts.

1883 (Paramount+, December 20): Yellowstone fans will froth over this prequel series about the foundation of the Dutton family ranch, following John’s ancestors James and Margaret as they journey from Texas to Montana. It stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Back to the Outback (Netflix, December 10): With a voice cast that includes Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Keith Urban and Miranda Tapsell, this animated adventure is centred on a group animals that break out from a zoo, yearning to return to the outback.

Gael Garcia Bernal in Station Eleven.

Station Eleven (Stan, December 17): Based on a 2014 novel, this sci-fi thriller was originally supposed to be released in early 2020. Gee, what could’ve delayed it? How about the fact the show’s setting is a post-apocalyptic world in which a flu pandemic wipes out the vast majority of the human population. Too much? It follows a travelling troupe of actors trying to find meaning in death.

MacGruber (Stan, December 17): The sequel series to the 2010 movie, itself a spin-off from a Saturday Night Live sketch parodying MacGyver, it reunites Will Forte with Kristin Wiig and Ryan Phillippe as MacGruber tries to track down a villain from his past.

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