The Best TV Shows & Movies To Watch In December

We’ve done it. We’ve reached the end of 2024. And that means just about everything and everyone is winding down until the new year — except for the world of film and television. Maybe you prefer spending the festive season watching back-to-back-to-back festive flicks, or would rather dive into the newest releases hitting our screens, there’s plenty to fill your viewing schedule with. 

For those wanting to cosy up at home, you can check out Black Doves, a holiday-set British spy thriller starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, or No Good Deed, a new black comedy set in the world of LA real estate from the creator of Dead To Me. And perhaps most noteworthy of all? Emmy-winning South Korean series Squid Game is finally back with a second season of jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat storytelling to ring out the year on a strong note. So whether you’re looking for something to watch with the family or for an escape from the busy social season, we wish you happy watching. 

After the roaring success of tennis threesome thriller Challengers, you would think that Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino would be taking a well earned break for the rest of 2024. Instead, the Call Me By Your Name director has reunited once again with Challengers screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to bring audiences a heady and despondent love story set in the hazy heat of 1950's Mexico City. Based on the semi-autobiographical novella by William S. Burroughs, the story follows writer Lee (Daniel Craig), who after fleeing the States due to a drug bust, begins a new, somewhat stagnant life in CDMX. That is, until, he becomes entirely infatuated with a young, aloof navy serviceman named Eugene (Drew Starkey).

What begins as a painterly story book tale of loneliness, desire and sexuality, soon spirals into a psychedelic venture, traversing the emotional chasm between the characters and Lee's desperate bodily need for connection. Building a dark and fantastical world filled with addiction, unrequited love, loss and hallucinogenic jungle trips, the film dares to plant a flag where Guadagnino has only visited before. Plus, with another A+ score from Challengers composers Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and expert costuming from JW Anderson, this is a film made to be seen in the warm glow of a cinema screen.

Where to watch: Cinemas
When: December 13
Watch if you like: Bones & All, Call Me By Your Name

What’s better than a spy thriller? How about a spy thriller set in London during Christmas starring Keira Knightley? Enter Black Doves, a six-episode series that checks all those boxes. Knightley stars as Helen Webb, a dedicated mother and wife to an influential politician. But Helen has actually been stealing secrets from her husband over the course of their entire relationship on behalf of apolitical spy organisation Black Doves. Things get even more complicated when the man Helen has been having an affair with is murdered, pulling into a conspiracy-fuelled investigation that jeopardises her job and cover. 

All of that has the makings for a fun, fine time streaming at home, but what truly takes the show to the next level is the unique and compelling dynamic between Helen and her long-time friend/for-hire assassin Sam (Skyfall’s Ben Whishaw), who returns to London after a long time to help keep Helen alive during her investigation. Whishaw and Knightley have great chemistry, and it’s fascinating watching them navigate what seems to be an authentic, real-deal friendship while working very different jobs that don’t exactly value interpersonal relationships. If you love spy stories, this one offers up the best of both worlds: a tense mystery and characters you will end up caring about. 

Where to watch: Netflix
When: December 5
Watch if you like: Slow Horses, Bodyguard

No Good Deed combines a quirky sense of humour, the drama of the real estate industry, and the suspense of a whodunit — which is what makes the show perfect for a cosy-season binge watch. The black comedy is from Liz Feldman, best known for the Emmy-nominated series Dead To Me, and this latest outing has her trademark sharp wit embedded in every scene. Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow star as empty-nest couple Paul and Lydia, who have decided to sell their family home. To make sure it goes to the right people, they set up a hidden camera to watch as prospective buyers — a star-studded group made up of actors like Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Teyonah Parris (WandaVision), O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Linda Cardellini (reuniting with her Dead to Me creator) — tour their home. But, by doing this, Paul and Lydia unknowingly set off a chain causing long-held secrets and lies to be revealed, both their own and those belonging to the people coming into their home. 

Whether No Good Deed will live up to the surprisingly moving emotional heights of Dead To Me (IYKYK) remains to be seen, but fans of the latter will be sure to love this one regardless. It’s a hilarious satirisation of the frustratingly cutthroat real estate market, while also managing to be a heartfelt examination of what “home” really means.

Where to watch: Netflix
When: December 12
Watch if you like: Dead Like Me, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, Selling Sunset

It’s been more than three years since South Korean survival series Squid Game became an international phenomenon. Now, it’s finally time to return to the show’s sinister world. 

Honestly, it’s hard to know what to expect from the Squid Game Season 2. We do know that the story picks up about three years after the events of the first season, which chronicled a struggling Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) battle his way through a series of horrifying, deadly competitions against hundreds of other people in desperate need of money to win a massive cash prize. Since then, Gi-hun’s entire world has been irrevocably changed from the games, and he’s become determined to hunt down the organisers behind the monstrous event. When we catch up with him again, his resolve has reached new heights, and he decides to re-enter the games despite narrowly surviving the first time around. That means a new group of contestants and, likely, both new and familiar spins on childhood games. But what can Gi-hun accomplish from the inside? And is it even possible to find “victory” in such a hyper-capitalistic world? Let’s find out, shall we?

Where to watch: Netflix
When: December 26
Watch if you like: Squid Game Season 1, Alice In Borderland

In between the latest streaming series and buzzy box office entries, we’ll also be fitting in as many holiday movies as possible. Personally, I like to mix up my festive screenings with cosy feel-good classics (think Bridget Jones’s Diary and Little Women) and newer, delightfully cheesier fare (see the latest Netflix additions to the canon, like, Hot Frosty, about a sexy snowman come to life (yes, we know), and the new tinsel-covered Lindsay Lohan rom-com Our Little Secret), but there’s certainly something for every mood. It wouldn’t feel like December without them.