Unsurprisingly, with just five days to go until Christmas, the focus for a lot of people has shifted solely towards festive fare, even if the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic promise a holiday season unlike any other in living memory, with restrictions being tightened around the world as the recent surge in infections shows no signs of slowing down.
Luckily, there are more than enough streaming services available to provide plenty of content to keep everyone occupied, and while Christmas movies have been dominating the Netflix Top 10 most-watched list all week, heartwarming tales of family and friendship aren’t the only titles being added to the library these days.
This week brought almost 30 new additions covering a wide variety of genres, with the biggest of the bunch being Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which sees the late Chadwick Boseman deliver a career-best performance opposite an equally fantastic Viola Davis in George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of the acclaimed August Wilson play.
Christmas be damned, because there’s also another serial killer docuseries that’s just arrived, with The Ripper focusing on infamous British murderer Peter Sutcliffe, who was found guilty of killing thirteen women between 1975 and 1980. It’s hardly full of festive cheer, but history has shown it’s exactly the sort of thing guaranteed to draw in massive viewership figures. There’s plenty to choose from in terms of both film and television, though, and you can check out the full list of this week’s releases below.
Released December 14
A California Christmas *NETFLIX FILM
Hilda: Season 2 *NETFLIX FAMILY
Tiny Pretty Things *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Released December 15
Black Ink Crew New York: Seasons 1-2
Grizzlies (2020)
Pup Academy: Season 2
Song Exploder: Volume 2 *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Teen Mom 2: Seasons 1-2
The Challenge: Seasons 10 and 13
The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Released December 16
Anitta: Made In Honorio *NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
BREAK IT ALL: The History of Rock in Latin America *NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
How To Ruin Christmas: The Wedding *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Run On *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Ripper *NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
Vir Das: Outside In – The Lockdown Special *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Released December 17
Braven (2018)
Released December 18
Guest House (2020)
Home for Christmas: Season 2 *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Jeopardy! Champion Run V
Jeopardy! Champion Run VI
Jeopardy! Teacher’s Tournament
Jeopardy! College Championship
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom *NETFLIX FILM
Sweet Home *NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Released December 20
Rhys Nicholson Live At The Athenaeum (2019)
Admittedly, it isn’t the most exciting lineup to be found, but there’s no point in overloading the Netflix catalogue so close to Christmas when the focus is supposed to be on spending time with your loved ones, not to mention the impending arrivals of Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max and Pixar’s Soul on Disney Plus, both of which are guaranteed to rack up millions of streams.
Tell us, though, what have you been watching lately? As always, sound off in the usual place down below.