December on Netflix is stacked with glossy originals, long-awaited season returns, buzzy documentaries and a sleighful of festive favourites. Whether you’re craving prestige drama, animated comfort, or late-night laughs, this month’s line-up has the range. Here’s a tidy, spoiler-free guide to what’s new and when it lands so that you can plan the perfect holiday watchlist.
New and returning series
The month opens on 1 December with Love Is Blind: Italy, a fresh European spin on the pod-born proposal experiment. That same day, David Letterman sits down with Adam Sandler for a new My Next Guest. On 3 December, With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration delivers cosy crafts, recipes, and nostalgia, while Stranded with my Mother-in-Law returns for season 3 and more chaotic in-law mayhem.
Western saga The Abandons (4 Dec) gallops into 1850s Washington Territory with duelling matriarchs, and Thai drama The Believers (season 2, 4 Dec) raises the moral stakes. Property fireworks light up Owning Manhattan (season 2, 5 Dec), paired with twist-heavy Korean thriller The Price of Confession (5 Dec). A busy 11 December brings The Town, Man Vs Baby, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (season 2), and Had I Not Seen the Sun: Part 2. Barcelona noir City of Shadows (12 Dec) kicks off with a grisly Gaudí-side scene, while Home for Christmas (season 3, 12 Dec) returns with bittersweet warmth. Culinary Class Wars heats up on 16 December; Neil Patrick Harris hosts game show What’s In The Box? on the 17th alongside The Manny (season 3). Emily in Paris (season 5, 18 Dec) swaps croissants for cannoli with a Roman reset. Toward month’s end, Members Only: Palm Beach (29 Dec) brings glossy reality, and Stranger Things 5: Volume 2 (26 Dec) sets up an apocalyptic Hawkins showdown to close the year.
Two “coming soon” teasers to keep on your radar: Pro Bono, a legal drama about redemption through free counsel, and Cashero, a super-power tale where every use literally costs.
Feature films to queue
1 December arrives swinging with Troll 2, then a festive meet-cute in My Secret Santa (3 Dec). On 5 December, Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly sits alongside vineyard romance Love and Wine and family caper The Night My Dad Saved Christmas 2. Circle 11 December for Lost in the Spotlight and The Fakenapping, a comic hostage ruse. On 12 December, Benoit Blanc returns in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a church-set conundrum tailor-made for whodunnit season. Dance drama 10DANCE (18 Dec) twirls in ahead of survival nail-biter The Great Flood and therapy-tinged thriller A Time For Bravery (both 19 Dec). Christmas Eve brings Goodbye June, a tender family drama directed by Kate Winslet.
Documentaries and stand-up
December’s non-fiction slate is impressively broad. All The Empty Rooms (1 Dec) offers a stark meditation on the aftermath of school shootings; The New Yorker at 100 (5 Dec) surveys a century of cultural journalism; Elway (22 Dec) recounts a Hall of Famer’s road to redemption; and Cover-Up (26 Dec) follows reporter Seymour Hersh’s era-defining investigations. Mid-month highlights include Murder in Monaco (17 Dec) and Morgan Neville’s Breakdown: 1975 (19 Dec). Music and celebrity strands arrive via Lali: Time to Step Up (4 Dec), The Making of Jay Kelly (5 Dec), and Simon Cowell: The Next Act (10 Dec). For lighter nights, Matt Rife: Unwrapped (2 Dec) leads the specials, followed by Robby Hoffman: Wake Up (14 Dec), Tom Segura: Teacher (24 Dec), and Ricky Gervais: Mortality (30 Dec).
Family and kids picks
CoComelon Lane (season 6, 1 Dec) sings in multiple holidays; Elmo and Mark Rober’s Merry Giftmas (8 Dec) builds spectacular presents; and The Creature Cases: Chapter 6 (15 Dec) sends Sam and Kit on globe-trotting missions. Animation arrives in waves throughout the month, with The Croods and The Croods: A New Age (from 12 Dec), Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (19 Dec), and Madagascar (24 Dec) anchoring the school-break calendar.
Library classics returning
It’s a bumper crop of beloved films across genres: Parasite, Joker, Knives Out (12 Dec), The Revenant, Jerry Maguire, Little Women, A Man Called Otto, Arthur Christmas, Bee Movie, Glory, Catch Me If You Can, Ghost, and more. Add in seasonal comfort like The Holiday (2 Dec) and Merry Christmas (3 Dec), plus adventure and sci-fi staples from The Legend of Tarzan to Life, and you’ve got a deep bench of family favourites ready for rewatch.
How to navigate the month
Mix a little new with a little classic: pair a City of Shadows episode with a comfort rewatch, or sandwich documentaries between festive films. Block off 26 December for Hawkins’ farewell, keep 12 December free for Benoit Blanc, and let Netflix’s December buffet do the rest. With so much variety, the most challenging task may be choosing snacks.
