December streaming: The Witcher, Sex and the City, Emily In Paris and more
A summer of streaming is ahead, with new seasons of The Witcher and Emily in Paris, a Sex and the City reboot, a pandemic miniseries and a new Star Wars show.
End-of-year television used to have a whiff of the afterthought about it. You know, Christmas specials that quite literally hammed it up and festive season finales that tipped the scale into cheese territory.
But the past few years of streaming have changed the television landscape come December and January, and offered up series worth staying in for, week after week. You’ll remember last year’s smash hit Bridgerton, which dropped on Christmas Day and immediately rocketed up the Netflix viewership charts. To date, more than 82 million households have seen the racy period romance.
This year, Netflix is hoping that second seasons of some of its past favourites, including The Witcher and Emily In Paris, will have the same success.
But back on home territory is the Binge original Love Me, which has been shooting in Melbourne and stars a homegrown cast of faces ranging from beloved and veteran to up-and-coming. The show is in fact at Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia production in association with Aquarius Films for the Foxtel Group’s streaming service.
“Love Me marks the first drama series to enter production for Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia and excitingly, (is) our first project with Binge,” Michael Brooks, MD of Warner Bros. told Variety. “It’s bold storytelling that we feel will cut through with audiences, being equal parts uplifting, funny and real.”
And there’s plenty more to watch in this (possibly very rainy) December. Here’s a taste:
–
And Just Like That
For ten episodes, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and — oh wait, no, just the three of them — will be back strutting the streets of Manhattan in their Jimmy Choos. That’s right, Sex and the City is returning in December, with your favourite foursome (minus one member) navigating life, love, friendship and family in their 50s, with the help of some familiar faces, including Chris Noth and the late Willie Garson. Somewhat befuddlingly, the series isn’t called Sex and the City but will be known as And Just Like That, meaning that it can be completely exorcised from the canon if it’s as dispiriting as Sex and the City 2, the movie. But you can’t deny that there’s something special at even the thought of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and — oh wait, no, not Samantha — being back on our screens. We’ve missed you, girls. On Binge from December 9
Landscapers
Olivia Colman. David Thewlis. Just on the strength of those two names alone, Landscapers is one of our most anticipated December watches. This British series is based on a wild true story of two dead bodies found in the back garden of a mild-mannered Nottingham couple’s home. Over four episodes, their strange relationship and the extent to which they will protect each other will be laid bare. Colman is excellent, as always, but Thewlis is just as good, meeting her beat for beat. A great miniseries to binge over a weekend. On Stan from December 8
Station Eleven
Are you ready for a pandemic television series? Because Station Eleven is coming, whether you like it or not. This miniseries, originally produced by HBO and streaming locally on Stan, is based on the book of the same name by Emily St John Mandel, written before the onset of Covid but much discussed in our pandemic era given the subject matter: a deadly flu wipes out half the world’s population, and those left standing attempt to pick up the pieces. It sounds bleak, we know. But there’s a soothing optimistic streak at the heart of this story, which attempts to prove that through connection, and community, life will always find a way. A fantastic cast including Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel and Gael Garcia Bernal anchor this show, which is coming into December as a very buzzy new release. On Stan from December 17
The Witcher season two
One of Netflix’s hits of 2019 was The Witcher, a high fantasy vehicle for notorious nerd Henry Cavill based on a phenomenally popular book series and, later, an even more popular video game. Cavill’s performance as Geralt of Rivia, silver of hair and gruff of voice, is one of his best, in large part because you can tell that he really loves the source material. It’s pretty standard fantasy fare, even in this second season: witches and elves and imperilled kingdoms, oh my! But this is the closest any streaming platform has come to an heir to Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones’, um, throne. So we’ll take it. On Netflix from December 17
Emily In Paris season two
You can call it a little Netflix counter-programming: just days after the premiere of the second season of The Witcher will come the second season of Emily In Paris. Two more different shows you couldn’t possibly imagine, although admittedly both are fantasies at heart. Emily In Paris stars Lily Collins as the titular Chicago marketing executive, seconded to Paris and a life of croissants and champagne where she perennially puts her American foot into it. The second season will pick up immediately after the cliffhanger of season one, where the tres sexy chef Gabriel (Lucas Bravo, currently in Australia filming a romantic comedy with Julia Roberts and George Clooney) revealed to Emily, after their farewell one night stand, that he was staying in Paris after all … Though not with his girlfriend Camille (Camille Razat). Quelle horreur! What will Emily do next? You’ll have to watch season two to find out. On Netflix from December 22
The Book Of Boba Fett
Almost nothing is known about The Book Of Boba Fett, Disney+’s latest Star Wars series, other than the fact it is coming to streaming at the end of the year. Who is in the cast? Only New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, who has played Boba Fett in the Star Wars universe before, and Ming-Na Wen, reprising her The Mandalorian role as Fennec Shand are confirmed. What is it about? Boba Fett, the bounty hunter in the helmet who so charmed audiences in The Empire Strikes Back, is a good bet. But everything else is being kept so tightly held that it’s near to suffocating. No matter. Anticipation for this is double-sun-in-the-Tatooine-sky high and will no doubt keep fans gripped all summer long. On Disney+ from December 29
Love Me
Binge is branching out into the originals business with Love Me, their first series in co-production with Foxtel. Based on a Swedish television show from 2019, the focus is on Clara (Bojana Novakovic) and her father Glen (Hugo Weaving) as they navigate love, loss and everything in between. Written by Alison Bell and with a supporting cast including Heather Mitchell, Bob Morley and Shalom Brune-Franklin, Love Me will debut all episodes on Boxing Day, perfect for a post-Christmas binge watch. On Binge from December 26
Bump season two
The first season of Bump was the runaway success of last summer, a celebration of family, identity and community starring Claudia Karvan, Angus Sampson and two breakout stars: Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson Jr. Smart, switched on and totally heartwarming, Bump is great, spirit-lifting television. On Stan from December 26