From the highly anticipated 'Dexter' prequel to 'Paris & Nicole: The Encore' and a new season of both 'Queer Eye' and 'Squid Game', this December is all about reuniting with the ones you love.
12 Incredible New Shows Dropping this December
From the highly anticipated 'Dexter' prequel to 'Paris & Nicole: The Encore' and a new season of both 'Queer Eye' and 'Squid Game', this December is all about reuniting with the ones you love.
We did it. We made it to December.
As Christmas parties start to clog the calendar and ginger spice (the seasoning, not Geri) enters its most in-demand era, life suddenly seems allergic to slowing down.
But it’s imperative you take an episode-length break (or two) every now and then – not just for your wellbeing, but also because these 12 incredible new shows deserve your undivided attention this month.
In the spirit of the season, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie reunite for the first time on screen in 17 years in Paris & Nicole: The Encore, the Fab Five welcome their newest recruit in Queer Eye: Season 9, and sit-com royalty’s newest onscreen couple, Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, introduce themselves in No Good Deed.
What else? Here’s the scoop on every new show dropping this December.
1. Black Doves
Where can I watch it? On Netflix
Christmas collabs with mystery in this six-episode spy thriller set in a tinsel laden London starring Keira Knightley as wife/spy Helen Webb and Ben Whishaw as assassin/protector Sam Young. After a decade of spilling her husband’s secrets to her spy agency, Webb finds herself tangled up in an affair, a murder, and a quest for vengeance that leads her to wade in the murky waters of the London underworld. Thrilling action wrapped in English wit topped with a bow of betrayal? The perfect gift.
2. Bookie: Season 2
Where can I watch it? On Prime
Dark comedy doesn’t get much better than Bookie, an LA-based series exploring the slippery world of sports gambling. Created by Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, Season 2 continues to follow veteran bookie Danny (played by stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco) as he tries to adapt his business to the changing Californian legislation while balancing a questionable cohort of coworkers with his increasingly unhinged client list. Expect plenty of celebrity cameos over this second season’s eight episodes, including Ray Romano, Zach Braff and Brad Garrett.
3. Dexter: Original Sin
Where can I watch it? On Paramount+
Who was Dexter before we met him in 2006? Patrick Gibson. At least, that’s who plays him in the highly anticipated series prequel, Dexter: Original Sin. Set in 1991 Miami, this 10-episode thriller pays homage to the proverb “practice makes perfect” as it charts Dexter Morgan’s rise from student to Miami Police Department intern to serial killer status. Keeping his thirst for blood in check is Christian Slater, who plays Dexter’s dad Harry, with the father and son duo forging a plan to keep Dexter’s killing somewhat justified and always secret.
4. Earth Abides
Where can I watch it? On Prime
A sweeping post-apocalyptic story told over six-episodes, Earth Abides is a series adaptation of George R. Stewart’s iconic 1949 sci-fi novel of the same name. Starring Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes, a grim new reality awaits when they emerge from isolation to discover a world ravaged by a plague that left few survivors. What is their purpose and is there even a point in trying to survive?
Existential crisis activated.
5. Laid
Where can I watch it? On Prime
In this eight-episode comedy, Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Stephanie Hsu stars as Ruby, a young woman whose exes keep inexplicably dying. While that might sound like a fairytale to some, it’s a problem for Ruby – so much so that she decides to start warning anyone she’s had sex with about their potential fate. Joined by Zosia Mamet who plays her BFF AJ (but will forever remain Shosh in our hearts), the hilarious besties get their true crime caps on as they take a trip down Ruby’s sex timeline to get to the bottom (or top) of the truth.
6. No Good Deed
Where can I watch it? On Netflix
From the equal parts brilliant and disturbed mind of Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman comes her new series, No Good Deed. Starring household names Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano as the couple we never knew we needed until now, this eight-episode dark comedy follows three families racing to claim the keys to a 1920 Spanish style villa in Los Feliz. Sounds dreamy, but Kudrow and Romano are desperately trying to sweep some nightmarish secrets under the (designer) rug for the sale to stick. The killer cast also includes Dead to Me’s Linda Cardellini, alongside O-T Fagbenle and Luke Wilson, to name a few.
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude: Part 1
Where can I watch it? On Netflix
Adapting a masterpiece of Spanish-American and universal literature into a 16-episode Netflix series is no easy feat, and yet directors Laura Mora and Alex García López seem to have absolutely nailed it. Filmed in Colombia with the blessing of the Marquez family, the series brings to life Gabriel García Marquez’s 1967 novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, following generations of the Buendía family who live, love, but rarely laugh in the mythical town of Macondo, a utopian dream conjured by Buendía cousins-turned-lovers José and Úrsula.
8. Paris & Nicole: The Encore
Where can I watch it? On Peacock
Forget “That’s hot”, there’s a new catchphrase in town, and it’s “Sanasa”. What does it mean? You’ll have to ask longtime (for the most part) besties Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who have reunited 17 years after we last saw them grace our screens in their iconic early 2000’s reality series, The Simple Life. This three-episode encore sees the Hollywood heirs attempt to produce an operatic performance named, you guessed it, Sanasa.
9. Queer Eye: Season 9
Where can I watch it? On Netflix
Bobby Berk’s controversial departure after Season 8 of everyone’s favourite makeover show left us with just the Fab 4, unsure of what the future held. Alas, the future is here, and the interiors look chic as ever. New recruit Jeremiah Brent fills the big boots Bobby left as interior designer, alongside the usual crew of transformation specialists as they work their magic on a deserving handful of heroes in Las Vegas.
10. Secret Level
Where can I watch it? On Prime
Gamers and adult animation fans are fawning over Deadpool director Tim Miller’s new video game adaptation, Secret Level. Each episode is a self-contained short story set within a different popular game franchise – including Pac-Man, Dungeons and Dragons, and Armored Core - ensuring there’ll be something for everyone across the 15-episode anthology series. The voice cast promises to be just as varied, with everyone from Keanu Reeves to Kevin Hart putting their pipes to good use.
11. Squid Game: Season 2
Where can I watch it? On Netflix
What better to do on Boxing Day than unwind post-pudding to a little game of life or death in South Korea care of Season 2 of horror survival series, Squid Game? Sounds very merry, and very bright. Starring Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, and Lee Byung-hun, season 2 kicks off three years on from the first secret 456-player contest, with Gi-hun back in the mollusc-shaped ring risking his life for the ₩45.6 billion prize.
12. The Sticky
Where can I watch it? On Prime
Who knew a life of crime could taste so sweet? Comedic crime series The Sticky is based on the unbelievable-yet-true story of the “Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist" that made global headlines in 2012. Over six Fargo-esque episodes, follow middle-aged syrup farmer Ruth Landry (played by the inimitable Margo Martindale) as she concocts a plan to steal more than $18 million worth of maple syrup from Quebec’s national reserves.
