Troll hunting in Norway; George Clooney and Adam Sandler’s latest play for Oscar recognition; the Western drama that led to Kurt Sutter’s dramatic exit; Benoit Blanc’s latest misadventure; Emily hitting Rome and Venice (but not forgetting Paris); the boxing mismatch of the century; the NFL’s new Christmas tradition; and the conclusion of the Stranger Things saga are are among the highlights of the new film and TV series launching on Netflix in December.
December kicks off in a monstrous manner with the long-awaited sequel to Norwegian mega hit Troll launching on Dec.1. Roar Uthaug’s epic 2022 creature feature that was a huge hit with critcs (87 percent on Rotten Tomatores) and audiences and remains Netflix’s most popular non-English film after its release with over 100 million views, according to the streamer. As wells as Uthaug returning to direct, the core cast of Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck and Mads Sjøgård Pettersen are back. The synopsis for Troll 2 reads: “When a dangerous new troll is awakened, unleashing devastation across Norway, beloved adventurers Nora, Andreas and Captain Kris are thrust into their most perilous mission yet.”
Dec. 5 sees the debut of Noah Baumbach’s dramedy Jay Kelly, that’s attracting all sorts of awards buzz. The film, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, has a starry ensemble cast including George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup and tells the story of a well-known actor and his agent travelling across reflecting on their lives and legacies. Netflix is pushing Jay Kelly hard for Oscar recognition and to bolster the film’s chances its also releasing The Making of Jay Kelly behind-the-scenes documentary on the same day.
Netflix releases Kurt Sutter’s intriguing new Western drama series The Abandons on Dec. 4. Sutter, the legendary TV creator and writer behind Sons of Anarchy, Mayans M.C. and The Shield, created his first show for Netflix, but alas, the show has been dogged by problems and Sutter exited The Abandons in October 2024 with only a few weeks of filming remaining due to creative differences. THR reported at the time that Sutter’s departure came after Netflix saw rough cuts of the series’ first episodes; the premiere came in at nearly feature-film length and was eventually split into two episodes, which necessitated additional scenes. Still, the series has a premiere date now, and the show features an incredible cast headed by Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson, and centers on a group of outlier families in 1850s Oregon who come together to fight a corrupt, wealthy power that wants to force them off their land.
On Dec. 12, Netflix releases the next chapter of the Benoit Blanc story, with the third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man. This one is sure to be a treat for cinephiles, fans of whodunits and general audiences as filmmaker Rian Johnson amps up the intrigue, clever dialogue and shoehorns in a who’s who of Hollywood into the cast. The film had its premiere at Toronto Film Festival and holds a 95 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The action moves to upstate New York for Wake Up Dead Man, and Daniel Craig returns as the detective tasked with solving a mystery. The cast includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Emily is in Rome as well as Paris for season five of Netflix’s hit series Emily in Paris, which launches on the platform on Dec. 18. Season four of Emily in Paris ventured to Rome for part of the season, and it caused an actual international incident, with French President Emmanuel Macron even commenting on the move. Macron doesn’t need to fret too much as the soul of the show is still in Paris, but expect Emily to pop up in Venice too as the Italy sojourn continues. Collins returns as Emily with Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo, Samuel Arnold, Bruno Gouery, William Abadie, Lucien Laviscount, Eugenio Franceschini, Thalia Besson, Paul Forman, Arnaud Binard, Minnie Driver, Bryan Greenberg and Michèle Laroque also starring.
On Dec. 19 is Jake v. Joshua, the first of Netflix’s two big live sports events for the month, the frankly ludicrous boxing “match” between YouTuber Jake Paul and former two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and Olympic champion Anthony Joshua. The contest is billed as a legit fight, and not an exhibition, although it will last for only 8, three-minute rounds. Let’s be honest, Paul probably has as many haters as he does fans, so expect a big audience for this as he takes on an actual champion boxer that’s still at the top. But this could also get really ugly.
Netflix’s biggest American original series Stranger Things edges closer to its conclusion on Dec. 25, with the release of three new episodes on Christmas Day. The three episodes in this batch include, “Chapter Five: Shock Jock” directed by Frank Darabont, “Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz” directed by Shawn Levy and “Chapter Seven: The Bridge” directed by The Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy. The series finale actually drops on Dec. 31, with the 42nd and final episode, “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” directed by The Duffer Brothers.
Christmas Day will also see the second installment of what’s sure to become a tradition, NFL Christmas Game Day on Netflix. This year the two games to be played live on the streamer are the Dallas Cowboys vs the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions vs the Minnesota Vikings. Jack White, Post Malone and Lil Jon will perform during the halftimes of the games.
Movies added to Netflix in December include Titanic, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Relay, Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls (2024), A League of Their Own, As Good as It Gets, Bad Teacher, Big Momma’s House 1-2, Brightburn, Burlesque, Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Hollow Man, Kung Fu Panda 1-3, Little Women, Borg vs. McEnroe, The Northman, Forrest Gump, Babylon, Cast Away, House of Gucci, The Fanatic, Wrath of Man, Money Monster, Pulp Fiction, Rio 1-2, Stripes, The Wolf of Wall Street, What Lies Beneath and Zero Dark Thirty.
Missed what came to Netflix last month? Check out the November additions here.
Read on for the complete list of titles hitting Netflix in December.
Dec. 1
A League of Their Own
All The Empty Rooms
Anything Else
As Good as It Gets
Bad Teacher
Beowulf: Season 1
Big Mama’s House
Big Momma’s House 2
Brightburn
Burlesque
CoComelon Lane: Season 6
Cheaper By The Dozen
Cheaper By The Dozen 2
Christmas Break-In
Grantchester (Multiple Seasons)
Downton Abbey
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Holiday in Santa Fe
Hollow Man
How To Make It In America: Seasons 1-2
Influencer
Joy for Christmas
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu Panda 3
Little Women
Love & Death
Love is Blind: Italy: Season 1
Money Monster
My Next Guest with David Letterman and Adam Sandler
One Piece (Whole Cake Island 2 and 3)
Overcomer
Over the Hedge
Paul, Apostle of Christ
Playing Gracie Darling: Season 1
Pulp Fiction
Rio
Rio 2
Sew Torn
Stripes
Teen Wolf: Seasons 1-6
The Gospel
The Staircase
The Ugly Truth
The Wolf of Wall Street
Troll 2
Victoria (Multiple Seasons)
War Room
What Lies Beneath
Zero Dark Thirty
Dec. 2
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches: Season 2
Borg vs. McEnroe
Brockmire (Multiple Seasons)
Chick Fight (2020)
Matt Rife: Unwrapped — A Christmas Crowd Work Special
Sean Combs: The Reckoning
The Sunlit Night
Dec. 3
My Secret Santa
The Northman
Stranded with my Mother-in-Law: Season 3
With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration
Dec. 4
A Lot Like Christmas
Dispatches from Elsewhere
Forrest Gump
Fugue State 1986: Season 1
I Wish You Had Told Me
I’m Your Man
Lali: Time to Step Up
Respect
The Abandons: Season 1
The Believers: Season 2
Dec. 5
A Lot Like Christmas
Jay Kelly
Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls (2024)
MVP
Owning Manhattan: Season 2
Sicilia Express: Season 1
The Making of Jay Kelly
The New Yorker at 100
The Night My Dad Saved Christmas 2
The Price of Confession: Season 1
Dec. 7
Dec. 8
Elmo and Mark Rober’s Merry Giftmas
Dec. 9
Badly in Love: Season 1
Blood Coast: Season 2
Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within
The West Wing: Seasons 1-7
Dec. 10
Record of Ragnarok: Season 3
Simon Cowell: The Next Act: Season 1
The Accident: Season 2
Dec. 11
Had I Not Seen the Sun: Part 2
Lost in the Spotlight
Man vs. Baby: Season 1
The Fakenapping
The Town: Season 1
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft: Season 2
True Beauty: Season 1
Dec. 12
City of Shadows: Season 1
Home for Christmas: Season 3
House of Gucci
The Amazing Digital Circus: Season 1 – Episodes 5-7
The Fanatic
The Hustle
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Dec. 13
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Dec. 14
Dec. 15
A Cowboy Christmas Romance
Christmas at the Chalet
The Christmas Classic
Christmas on the Alpaca Farm
One Piece (15 HD Remastered Episodes)
The Creature Cases: Chapter 6
Two for the Money
Dec. 16
Castle Rock: Seasons 1-2
Culinary Class Wars: Season 2
Titanic
Dec. 17
A Line of Fire
The Manny: Season 3
Murder in Monaco
What’s in The Box?: Season 1
Dec. 18
10Dance
Better Watch Out
Border Hunters
Emily In Paris: Season 5
Dec. 19
A Time For Bravery
Breakdown: 1975
Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day Live
Relay
The Great Flood
Dec. 22
Carl the Collector: Season 1
Elway
I DOL I: Season 1
Sicily Express
The Closer: Seasons 1-7
Dec. 23
Eden
King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch: Season 3
Dec. 24
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Goodbye June
Tom Segura: Teacher
Dec. 25
Christmas Game Day – Live NFL Games: Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings
Stranger Things: Season 5 – Volume 2
The Best You Can
Wrath of Man
Dec. 26
Cover-Up
Dec. 29
Peppa Pig: Season 8
Dec. 30
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story
Ricky Gervais: Mortality
Dec. 31
Stranger Things: Season 5 Finale
Sleeping with Other People
