If you're looking for the best new movies and TV shows to watch ahead of Christmas, you're in the right place. The second weekend of December is bringing some huge streaming releases on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, and Hulu, which are arguably the best streaming services out there. From murder mysteries to teenage fantasies, here is everything you need to be watching in the next few days.
As you sort out your last Christmas gifts and carefully plan the holidays, make sure you save some time to sit on the couch under a warm blanket and with a hot drink at hand to watch the latest releases. This time around, we have some exciting titles like the new Knives Out mystery on Netflix and Percy Jackson's new season on Disney Plus, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
With new upcoming movies and the best shows arriving on our screens on a daily basis, our guide will help you stay up to date with the newest (and most worthy) titles out there. See what's new now, but don't forget to catch up with some of the year's best titles, including Andor season 2, Netflix's Adolescence and KPop Demon Hunters, and Apple' Pluribus.
New movies
F1: The Movie (Apple TV Plus)
Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Apple TV Plus
One of the biggest box office hits of the year, F1: The Movie is now out on streaming, so you can feel the intensity of the Formula One competition from your screen. Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski delivers a pulse-pounding action film packed with stars and incredible access to the car-racing industry. It might make an F1 fan out of you.
The film follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt) a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s and had a horrible crash that forced him to retire from a promising career. Many years later, Ruben (Javier Bardem), a Formula One team owner and long time friend, asks Sonny to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua "Noah" Pearce (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).
F1: The Movie is available on Apple TV Plus from December 12. For more, see our lists for the best movies on Apple TV Plus and the best TV shows on Apple TV Plus.
Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Netflix
After Knives Out and its sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix has released a new star-studded installment in the murder mystery saga written and directed by Rian Johnson, and it's a perfect watch for this weekend. In fact, it's a perfect watch for the Christmas break, to enjoy alongside your friends and family while making bets about who is the killer.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery introduces a seemingly impossible crime when Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), the charismatic leader of the church in Chimney Rock, is killed in the middle of an Easter service. His colleague Father Jud (Josh O'Connor) will have to team up with detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to solve the mystery, and there are plenty of suspects – Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), devout Catholic and Wicks' "right-hand woman", local doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), uptight lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), former bestselling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), retired concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), aspiring politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), and groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church).
Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is available to stream on Netflix from December 12. For more, read our Knives Out 3 review, and check out the best Netflix shows to watch right now.
Merv (Prime Video)
Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Prime Video
Starring Daredevil's Charlie Cox and New Girl's Zooey Deschanel, Merv is the romantic comedy you didn't know you needed ahead of the Christmas break. The Prime Video film asks a crucial question many dog owners have had to face – what happens to your dog if you break up with your partner?
Per the official synopsis, "When their beloved dog Merv loses his spark after their split, Anna and Russ are forced into the world's most awkward co-parenting arrangement. Hoping to shake Merv out of his funk, Russ takes him to Florida for a much-needed getaway – only for Anna to show up unexpectedly. As Merv slowly gets his groove back, turns out fixing their dog's broken heart may lead to a few sparks of their own."
Merv is available on Amazon Prime from December 10. For more, check out our list of all the best movies on Prime Video right now.
Neighbourhood Watch (Hulu)
Available: US
Watch now: Hulu
Hulu just added a new film starring The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan and The Boys star Jack Quaid, which might be just what you're looking for this weekend. With a decent 70% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating, Neighborhood Watch is a sort of buddy comedy movie led by a dysfunctional duo which pays tribute to 1970s cinema.
Per the logline, "When a mentally ill young man thinks he witnesses an abduction and the police refuse to believe him, he reluctantly turns to his next door neighbor – a bitter, retired security guard – to help him find the missing woman."
Neighborhood Watch is available to watch on Hulu from December 12. For more, check out our list of the best Hulu shows to watch right now.
New TV shows
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 (Disney Plus)
Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Disney Plus
Percy Jackson is back! After a successful first season, Disney Plus' series Percy Jackson and the Olympians returned this week ahead of Christmas, adapting Rick Riordan's second novel in the book saga, The Sea of Monsters. With a season 3 already confirmed, the show is here to stay, so you better keep up with it if teen fantasy adventures are your kind of fun.
Season 2 will see Percy take on "an epic odyssey into the Sea of Monsters in search of his best friend Grover and the one thing that may save the camp, the legendary Golden Fleece", reads the logline. "With help from Annabeth, Clarisse and his newfound cyclops half-brother Tyson, Percy’s survival becomes essential to stopping Luke, the Titan Kronos, and their impending plan to bring down Camp Half-Blood – and ultimately, Olympus."
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 premieres on Disney Plus on December 10. For more, see our list of the best TV shows on Disney Plus.
It: Welcome to Derry season finale (HBO Max)
Available: US
Watch now: HBO Max
It: Welcome to Derry wraps its first season this Sunday on HBO Max, so get ready for a final bloodbath with Pennywise. Serving as a prequel to Andy Muschietti's It and It: Chapter Two, the show is inspired by the interludes in Stephen King's original novel, taking a deep dive into Derry's history while delivering plenty of Stephen King Easter eggs for fans. Oh, and Bill Skarsgård reprised his role as the terrifying Dancing Clown – though it came late into the season, the wait was worth it.
Taking place 27 years before the events of the first It film, the show explores the origins of Pennywise and focuses on Mike's grandparents Charlotte (played by Taylour Paige) and Leroy (played by Jovan Adepo) after they move to Derry and strike up a friendship with one of the Black Spot's founders Dick Hallorann (played by Chris Chalk) – yes, the character from The Shining!
It: Welcome to Derry season finale is available to watch on HBO Max from December 14. For more, check out our guides to the best HBO shows and the best HBO movies.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our list of the best Netflix movies or the best movies on Disney Plus.
