Netflix in December: Holiday Specials, True Crime Series, and More

For those of a holiday-minded spirit, Netflix in December has a few more goodies in store for viewers.  Sabrina Carpenter has a musical special studded with such guest stars as Chappell Roan.  Meanwhile, there’s an animated film based on holiday stories by the author of “Love Actually,” featuring the voices of Jodie Whittaker (“Doctor Who”) and Brian Cox (“Succession”).

For those not needing to feel good will towards, say, enablers of the Orange Felon’s fascism, there are entertaining if less cheery options available this month too.  Join an Irish band in singing Gaelic hip-hop songs that anger the local authorities.  Watch a rivalry between a pair of small-town Elvis impersonators eventually spiral into an attempted presidential assassination.  Or see who survives a new gauntlet of children’s games offering death to the unwary..

Whether you want to remember DJ Avicii doing his last-ever public performance or see the first half of an adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel that inspired the name of a certain Mission District coffeehouse, Netflix is still the place to be in December.

December 1

Jin–In this adaptation of Motoka Murakami’s titular manga, brain surgeon JIn Minakata has Problems.   His fiancee Miki lies in a vegetative state…following an operation he performed on her.  Now he wakes up in Japan’s Edo period…and it’s not a dream.  How can he find a way back to the present?   How can he heal people without the equipment he used In his own time?

Top Five– Chris Rock wrote, directed, and starred in this dramedy as standup comedian Andre Allen (Rock).  Allen’s passion project about the Haitian Revolution has just been panned by a New York Times film critic. In the meantime, the comedian must spend the day with New York Times profile writer Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson).  Yet what might seem an awkward day offers an opportunity for Allen to get back to his comic roots, before he found stardom playing opposite a talking bear.

December 2

30 For 30: Bad Boys–Zak Levitt directs this documentary portrait of the late 1980s and early 1990s iteration of the Detroit Pistons basketball team.  Through interviews with such figures as Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Dennis Rodman, the viewer learns what made the team tick so well they were willing to do anything to win.  Perhaps that factor also explains why the Pistons became the team basketball fans loved to hate.

30 For 30: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks–Dan Klores’ acclaimed documentary recounts the mid-1990s rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers.  The film has been disparaged (with good reason) for making Reggie Miller look awesome.  On the other hand, this documentary does capture such great moments as director Spike Lee’s becoming the unlikely focus of the first Knicks-Pacers series and Miller’s legendary “eight-points-in-nine-seconds” scoring.

Kneecap–One of 2024’s best films is this outrageous musical biography starring the members of the titular band playing highly magnified versions of themselves as a bunch of unapologetic f**kups.  An accidental encounter by Belfast teacher JJ with admitted “low-life scum” Naoise and Liam Og leads to the trio reinventing themselves as the Irish hip-hop act Kneecap.  As Moglai Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Provai, the trio sing in Pogues-like rebellious Gaelic rather than Gaelic suitable for a “Riverdance” show.

December 3

Fortune Feimster: Crushing It–The stand-up comedian’s third Netflix comedy special sees her sharing hilarious stories from her life as well as insights on navigating both personal growth and everyday life.  Stories include a honeymoon with her wife that was anything but romantic and Feimster losing her role as her mother’s surrogate husband.

December 4

The Only Girl In The Orchestra–When Leonard Bernstein hired Orin O’Brien to join the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1966, the double bassist became the orchestra’s first female member.  She also became the focus of much interest and fascination despite her desire to avoid the spotlight.  Filmmaker Molly O’Brien’s short film captures her aunt’s contributions as a musician as well as her personal desire to avoid stirring up a fuss.

That Christmas–This animated adaptation of Richard Curtis’ (“Love, Actually”) children’s book trilogy “That Christmas and Other Stories” tells a group of entwined tales set in the town of Wellington-on-Sea during the worst snowstorm in history.  These are tales about love and loneliness, family and friends, Santa Claus’ (Brian Cox) big mistake, and an insane number of turkeys.  Also features the voices of Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker (“Doctor Who”), and Bill Nighy.

Tomorrow And I Season 1–What happens when futuristic technology collides with a socially conservative country?  That’s the premise behind Netflix Thailand’s first science fiction anthology mini-series.  The stories to be presented deal with such themes as: using cloning to bring back dead loved ones, intelligent sex robots, the effects of artificial intelligence on the fixed nature of Buddhist teachings, and using “octopi” in perpetually flooded cities.

December 5

Compliance–Given the obeying in advance behavior displayed by more than a few public figures towards the Orange Fascist, director Craig Zobel’s chilling cautionary tale has unfortunately become timely again.  It’s a busy Friday night at a fast food restaurant, and manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) has received a phone call from an Officer Daniels claiming that one of her workers may have stolen money from a customer.  The suspected thief, the young and pretty Becky, is to be detained until Officer Daniels arrives.  Sandra’s and Becky’s decisions to wait for the police officer to show up and clear up this misunderstanding inadvertently launch a chilling study in how far people will go in obeying an authority figure.

Jentry Chau v. The Underworld–Ali Wong (“Beef”) executive produces and stars in this animated teen supernatural adventure series.  Jentry Chau may be a Chinese-American teen (and social pariah) living in a small Texas town, but there’s nothing ordinary about her.  The teen possesses supernatural powers that she prefers keeping repressed.  But when a demon king covets those same powers, Jentry must learn to use them in self-defense.  Aided by a weapons expert great aunt and a millennia-old jiangshi (a Chinese hopping vampire), Chau must both fight the underworld’s monsters and navigate high school’s own unique horrors. 

December 6

Biggest Heist Ever–This documentary recounts the story of a married couple who performed an incredible Bitcoin theft.  In 2016, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein managed to hack into the Bitfinex crypto exchange and made off with 120,000 Bitcoin.  Working with aspiring rapper wife Helen “Razzlekhan” Morgan, the couple attempted to launder the stolen cryptocurrency (worth more than $11 billion).   However, after several years, this Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde were eventually arrested.

A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter–Pop star Sabrina Carpenter performs both songs from her holiday EP “Fruitcake” and covers of classic holiday songs.  She’ll be joined by such guests as Chappell Roan, Shania Twain, Quinta Brunson, Cara Delevingne, and Jillian Bell.  

December 7

Shiva Baby–The directorial debut of Emma Seligman (“Bottoms”) takes place at a very eventful (in the wrong way) shiva.  Bisexual college underachiever Danielle (Rachel Sennott) regrets attending a shiva observance with her parents, as her life is a disaster area and more than a few neighbors know it.  Embittered ex-girlfriend Maya shows up, along with the news that she’s been accepted to law school.  Danielle’s hot and heavy relationship with older sugar daddy Max starts screeching to a halt once she learns he’s married to the attractive and successful Kim.  

December 10

Rugged Rugby: Conquer Or Die Season 1–What do you get when you mix the game of rugby with gladiator matches?  The answer is this sports competition series, which pits seven Korean rugby teams against each other in a month-long campaign to be crowned champion rugby players.  These teams will be challenged to prove their strength, agility, and strategy in such settings as the scrum and kick matches.

December 11

The Kings Of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga–Netflix’s newest true-crime miniseries promises to be one of the crazier offerings this month.  Emmy winners Maclain Way and Chapman Way (“Wild Wild Country”) recount the story of a rivalry between Tupelo, Mississippi Elvis impersonators Paul Kevin Curtis and James Everett Duschke (aka “Douchebag”).  What began with two little men, each trying to be bigger than his rival, soon led to house arson, alleged marital infidelity, and eventually an attempted assassination of President Obama using ricin-laced letters. 

Makayla’s Voice: A Letter To The World–This short documentary tells the story of Makayla Cain, a Black teenage girl whose rare form of autism left her essentially nonverbal.  Yet her parents refused to give up on their daughter’s potential and sought a way to find out the depth of Makayla’s inner world.  When letter board therapy gives the autistic teen an effective means of communication, she becomes both an advocate for autism and a shining example of the power of neurodiversity.

Maria–Director Pablo Larrain (“Spencer”) concludes his trio of cloistered biopics about famous 20th century women with this re-imagining of the final days of retired opera star Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie).  It’s the fall of 1977, and “La Callas” is unhappy being forced into early retirement thanks to dermatomyositis-related illnesses.  She’s determined to mount a comeback to the public stage and perform the role she was born to play even if it literally kills her.

One Hundred Years Of Solitude Season 1–This adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ seminal magical realist novel was filmed with the support of Marquez’ family.  When cousins Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula Iguaran marry against their parents’ wishes, they leave their village on a long journey in search of a new home.  The couple, accompanied by friends and adventurers, find the right place by the banks of a river of prehistoric stones.  Macondo, the utopian town founded by this party, will have its future shaped by several generations of the Buendia lineage.  But that future will also be marked by madness, impossible love, a bloody war, and the terrible titular curse.   

Queer Eye Season 9–Change has come to this makeover reality series.  There’s a new cast member, interior designer Jeremiah Brent.  There’s a new locale, Las Vegas.  But the mission’s still the same: changing the lives of individual heroes via the cast’s applying their expertise in food and wine, beauty, fashion, culture and lifestyle, and the aforementioned interior design.  This season’s subjects include a dedicated librarian needing a life change and a former showgirl needing help regaining her confidence. 

December 12

Happiness–This science fiction Kdrama takes place in a world changed by the Lytta Virus (“Mad person disease”) pandemic.  The Lytta infected normally display bouts of insanity and bloodlust before regressing into a zombie-like state.  Yoon Sae-bom gets scratched by a Special Operations Unit trainee infected with Lytta, yet she appears immune to the disease.  Thanks to some deal-making, Yoon moves into a luxurious and newly constructed apartment building with police detective friend Jung Hi-Jyun.  When an outbreak of Lytta Virus occurs in the building, Yoon and Jung take point on quarantining the building.  However, the couple soon have to contend with residents who want to use the quarantine to encourage destructive behavior and a researcher who refuses to see the Lytta infected as human beings.

December 18

Julia’s Stepping Stones–Before acclaimed documentary filmmaker Julia Reichert (“American Factory”) died of cancer in 2022, she spent the last years of her life working with husband Steven Bognar on this short documentary recounting her path to becoming a filmmaker.  These touchstones include: a job in radio, curiosity about others’ experiences, and an interest in both working people and the women’s movement.

December 20

The Six Triple Eight–Tyler Perry wrote and directed this historical drama about the first and only Women’s Air Corps unit of color posted overseas during World War II.  In February 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory led by Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington) was sent to a temporary Armed Forces post office located in Birmingham, England.  Thanks to a decision to halt delivery of mail to and from frontline soldiers, the fighting forces’ members lost contact with their families and vice versa.  The 6888’s job is to get the backlogged mail moving again.  However, the unit is given six months to sort through 17 million items, some of which had been there for two years.      

December 26

Squid Game Season 2–It’s the return of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s hit Korean series centered around children’s games of death.  It’s three years after the end of Season 1.  Gi-hun aka Player 456 had decided not to travel to the United States, but to learn more about the mysterious survival game that nearly killed him.  He hopes that knowledge will point to a way to end the organization behind Squid Game.  Now, a new iteration of the game begins with all new participants as well as crueler, scarier, and more gruesome challenges.  For Gi-hun, the only way to end the game might be to re-enter it.    

December 30

Mad Max: Fury Road–More than a few butthurt fanboys hated this George Miller action classic because the Mad Max character (played here by Tom Hardy) takes a secondary role to Charlize Theron’s unforgettable Imperator Furiosa.  When Max gets captured by Immortan Joe’s War Boys, he becomes an unwilling slave to Immortan Joe’s War Boy Nux.  However, an opportunity for freedom beckons when Imperator Furiosa turns a routine trading mission in the War Rig into an attempt to help Immortan Joe’s five wives escape the cult.  Max soon learns that helping Furiosa and her group escape the cult leader’s wrath offers the best shot at mutual survival.

December 31

Avicii – I’m Tim– Before the Swedish DJ known as Avicii changed the world of electronic dance music, he was a man named Tim Bergling.  This cradle-to-grave documentary portrait of the late EDM pioneer looks at Tim’s struggles with both fame and mental health.  He never saw himself as an artist or producer and treated the Avicii persona as merely a mask for this person “filled with music.”  Features interviews with such industry professionals as Chris Martin, Dan Tyminski, and Aloe Blacc.

Avicii – My Last Show–This film is a recording of DJ Avicii’s final public performance at Ibiza’s Ushuaia.   

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