Every month, Netflix Canada adds a new batch of TV shows and movies to its library. Here are the titles we think are most interesting for December, broken down by release date. Netflix occasionally changes schedules without giving notice.
Movies
‘Marriage Story’
Starts streaming: Dec. 6
One of the best films of the year — and perhaps the best film of Noah Baumbach’s career — “Marriage Story” may be a tear-jerker about the excruciating process of divorce, but there’s a warmth and humanity to it that suggests a light at the end of the tunnel. Adam Driver gives a searing performance as a New York theater director who is caught flat-footed when his wife (Scarlett Johansson), an accomplished actress, hires a tough attorney (Laura Dern) and threatens to resettle with their eight-year-old son in Los Angeles. As he counters with attorneys of his own, the two enter into a protracted battle that drains them of money and emotional stability.
‘6 Underground’
Starts streaming: Dec. 13
Netflix has loaded up November and December with serious awards contenders like “The Irishman,” “Marriage Story” and “The Two Popes,” but it’s also willing to burn through a nine-figure budget for “6 Underground,” a blockbuster-sized movie piped straight into your living room. Directed by Michael Bay, whose name is associated with sleek-but-stupid commercial action hits like the “Bad Boys” and “Transformers” franchises, the film stars Ryan Reynolds as the leader of a vigilante squad composed of men and women who have faked their own deaths to stay off the grid. That freedom from the law and accountability allows them to take down the world’s worst criminals without having to follow the rules.
‘The Two Popes’
Starts streaming: Dec. 20
Reminiscent of the historical two-handers “Frost/Nixon,” this thoughtful and surprisingly funny drama imagines a series of conversations between the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine reformer who would become Pope Francis. As Benedict and Francis, respectively, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce have a feisty chemistry as they argue in earnest over how best to address the issues and scandals that face the Catholic Church in the 21st century. But the two develop a fascinating bond despite their contentiousness, particularly over a shared passion for soccer. The script by Anthony McCarten (“Darkest Hour”) can seem contrived and reductive at times, but it gives maximum latitude to the actors, who are a riveting study in contrasts.
‘All the Money in the World’
Starts streaming: Dec. 25
Due for release less than two months after Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct, “All the Money in the World” got the bulk of its notoriety for Ridley Scott reshooting all of Spacey’s scenes with Christopher Plummer in the role and still hitting a Christmas release date. Plummer’s presence as J. Paul Getty winds up dominating the film, which recounts the 1973 kidnapping of Getty’s 16-year-old grandson and the tragedy that inevitably resulted when the miserly entrepreneur refused to pay the ransom. Michelle Williams is also good as the boy’s mother, who does everything she can to plead with Getty to do the right thing.
TV
‘Home For Christmas’
Starts streaming: Dec. 5
There’s no shortage of holiday options on Netflix every December, but settling on the right ones for family viewing is always a challenge. While “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby” will likely draw the most attention this month, it might be better to take a chance on international fare like “Home For Christmas,” a six-episode series from Norway that looks to add a little substance to the usual Yuletide rom-com fare. Ida Elise Broch stars as a 30-year-old who’s so tired of being pressured into finding a boyfriend that she lies to her family about having one. That puts her in the predicament of having to find someone to bring home to meet them in 24 days.
‘V Wars’
Starts streaming: Dec. 5
Based on Jonathan Maberry’s comic book series, “V Wars” offers a scenario that sounds like the vampire equivalent of the “Sudden Departure” in “The Leftovers,” only instead of a small fraction of the population disappearing, about five percent of humans turn into vampires. Ian Somerhalder of “The Vampire Diaries” returns to the subgenre as a doctor who investigates a fast-spreading virus that triggers a long-dormant gene in humans. As he works to reverse the virus and save a friend who’s been afflicted by it, the vampire community grows in power and ambition, setting up a global conflict between vampires and humans.
‘The Confession Killer’
Starts streaming: Dec. 6
Henry Lee Lucas was by far the most prolific serial killer in history … according to Henry Lee Lucas. Convicted of murdering 11 people, Lucas gained notoriety for confessing to hundreds more, incentivized by special privileges like steak dinners, strawberry milkshakes and other treats for helping investigators close unsolved cases. The true-crime series “The Confession Killer” digs into the scandal that erupted when Lucas was exposed as a fabulist and the families of victims were seized by anger and newfound uncertainty. The case would transform procedural awareness of false confessions, but at a scandalous cost.
‘Glow Up’
Starts streaming: Dec. 6
There seems to be a reality competition show for every trade imaginable — the addictive glassblowing series “Blown Away,” for example, premiered on Netflix last summer — so the BBC One import “Glow Up,” about makeup artists, seems like an inevitability. Much like “The Great British Baking Show,” the tone of “Glow Up” is more about camaraderie than friction, emphasizing the artistry of well-intentioned contestants who try their hand at a variety of looks. They apply makeup from the subtle to the avant-garde, proving they can do original red-carpet looks as well as the prosthetic transformations of science fiction.
‘Triad Princess’
Starts streaming: Dec. 6
It’s a common romantic scenario for a young person to buck up against the demands of his or her powerful family, but the Taiwanese series “Triad Princess” brings martial arts and mob violence into the picture. Eugenie Liu stars as the daughter of a triad boss whose fighting skills land a job as a bodyguard for a famous actress, but bring her into conflict with her father, especially when she meets a dashing suitor from that world. By defying his wishes, she threatens to bring mob business out of the shadows and into the open, where the intense scrutiny of the press and fans await.
‘Michelle Wolf: Joke Show’
Starts streaming: Dec. 10
After working as a writer and occasional performer on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” Michelle Wolf had a dramatic breakout year in 2018, when she delivered a notoriously scabrous performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and hosted the fitfully brilliant but short-lived Netflix talk show “The Break with Michelle Wolf.” Now Wolf returns to Netflix with an hourlong comedy special that focuses on gender inequality, the excesses of “woke” culture and the indelicate mating habits of wild animals.
‘Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer’
Starts streaming: Dec. 18
In late 2014, Luka Magnotta, a murderer from Scarborough, Ontario, was convicted of killing Lin Jun, a Chinese international student, and mailing his hands and feet to elementary schools and political offices in Vancouver. The conviction followed a two-year manhunt that finally led to his arrest at an internet café in Berlin, where he was reading news about himself. But as the documentary series “Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” reveals, the search for Magnotta was aided by animal activists enraged by videos he posted of himself torturing animals. It’s an immensely disturbing story, but also a fascinating example of crowdsourced justice.
‘Soundtrack’
Starts streaming: Dec. 18
To date, producer Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures have been known more for developing audacious movies by directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Kathryn Bigelow, but the company is putting its prestigious name behind this new musical series from “Quantico” creator Joshua Safran. Nothing much is known about the story, which brings together a disparate group of lonely-hearts in modern-day Los Angeles, but the musical element gives it novelty on television, which hasn’t often found success with the genre. It also has a terrific cast, packed with veterans who haven’t gotten enough screen time lately, including Madeleine Stowe, Campbell Scott and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
‘The Witcher’
Starts streaming: Dec. 20
Looking to fill the large-scale fantasy vacuum left by the end of “Game of Thrones,” Netflix has invested heavily in at least two seasons of this adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s best-selling book series. Henry Cavill stars as Garalt of Rivia, a hulking loner who was raised as a monster hunter and who’s determined to slash his way through the kingdom without aligning himself with other human beings. His plans change when he joins forces with Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), a Chosen One type who requires his protection from treacherous evil, but proves a quick study in learning his “witcher” techniques and gaining power of her own.
‘John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch’
Starts streaming: Dec. 24
Following his uproarious comedy special from last year, “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City,” John Mulaney is debuting a Christmas Eve special that attempts, in his words, “to recapture the magic of that bygone television era when children sang songs about their feelings with celebrity guests on funky outdoor sets.” Mulaney and two of his collaborators on the nonfiction parody series “Documentary Now,” director Rhys Thomas and composer Eli Bolin, are evoking television’s wholesome variety-show past with “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch,” which cycles through sketches and original musical numbers with children ages 8 to 13 and hip celebrity guests like David Byrne, Natasha Lyonne and Jake Gyllenhaal.
‘Lost in Space: Season 2’
Starts streaming: Dec. 24
The revived “Lost in Space” premiered to great hype and muted reviews in early 2018, despite an excellent cast and a promising initiative to dial down the campiness and turn the Robinsons’ adventures into a “Lost”-like story of interplanetary intrigue. But the bones of a good show are still present, with Molly Parker and Toby Stephens as would-be Alpha Centauri colonists Maureen and John Robinson, and Parker Posey as the diabolical June Harris, who actively sabotages the Robinsons and other colonists after their ship is breached and they try to survive on a mysterious planet. The second season opens with the Robinsons stranded on an ocean planet without their Robot for help.
Also of interest: “Dead Kids” (Dec. 1), “The Shape of Water” (Dec. 1), “Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah” (Dec. 3), “About a Boy” (Dec. 4), “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby” (Dec. 5), “Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show” (Dec. 6), “Virgin River” (Dec. 6), “Pet Sematary” (Dec. 20), “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020: Part 2” (Dec. 24), “Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up” (Dec. 27).
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