You’ve got the seasonal sniffles, or your feet/head/pride are just too sore from the company’s holiday shindig to venture out. Whatever the reason, there’s plenty available to stream in December from the comfort of your sofa. Here’s a sampling:
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ĚýThe Innocent Man
True crime fans are all a-twitter about this six-part Netflix documentary series based on John Grisham’s best-selling non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Grisham himself is interviewed in the series, along with victims’ families and legal experts, as confounded as everyone else by the corruption and police coercion following the murders of two young women in Ada, Okla., in 1982 and 1984. “It’s all about winning,” notes Grisham, “and along the way if the truth gets blurred or twisted, that’s too bad.”
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Roma
Affonso Cuaron’s Roma has already topped several critics’ yearly lists and is in theatres for a limited run, but Netflix subscribers can see it Dec. 14. Cuaron (Children of Men, Gravity) draws on his own past to tell the story of life in the middle-class neighbourhood of Roma in Mexico City, particularly of domestic worker Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), the quiet young woman who holds her employer’s dysfunctional family together. The family is a microcosm of the turbulence present in Mexico in the 1970s, where issues of race and class and violent protest frequently intermingle.
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Finding Joy
AcornTV launches this comedy series from creator-star Amy Huberman, about a copy editor suddenly propelled to on-air stardom as the new host of the station’s “Happy Hunter” segment. Only problem? Joy is still stinging from a breakup, has never been on camera before, and is far too neurotic to be happy. Huberman is instantly likeable in this edgy comedy about a woman pushed way outside her comfort zone.
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Jennifer Aniston plays a beauty pageant pro with a plus-sized daughter named Willadean (Danielle Macdonald), but mom calls her “Dumplin'.” Fed up with the hypocrisy of the pageant world, Willadean signs up to compete and unintentionally sparks a protest that pits mother and daughter squarely at odds with one another. “I am not the Joan of Arc of fat girls,” Willadean says, but she ends up leading a motley crew of pageant rebels who turn to their local drag performers for help with the glam-and-talent portion of the competition. Released Dec. 7 on Netflix.
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Blood
Gritty Irish drama Blood gets its North American premiere on AcornTV Dec. 17. When Cat (Carolina Main) comes for her mother’s funeral, she can’t help but notice discrepancies in her father’s (prodigious actor Adrian Dunbar) story. A six-part thriller about the bonds of family, trust and the truth.
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Into The Dark
Blumhouse Productions, the scary brain-trust behind The Purge, Paranormal Activity and Happy Death Day, has launched a once-a-month horror series on Hulu, and each story centres around a holiday in its release month. Episode three, “Pooka,” is directed by Oscar-nominated Nacho Vigalondo and features a struggling actor who gets a holiday gig wearing the suit of this year’s hottest toy, Pooka. Wilson (Nyasha Hatendi) slowly develops two personalities: one when he’s wearing the suit, and one when he’s not. But increasingly and bloodily, Pooka threatens to take over.
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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale
Fans of the shot-in-Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»series get an early gift with a holiday episode in which Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) celebrates the Winter Solstice along with other members of The Church of Night. If you are familiar with the show, you know that not all will be calm and bright on the longest night of the year.
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Bird Box
If you like a little terror with your tinsel look to Bird Box, an apocalyptic thriller starring Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock as a mother trying to lead her children to safety after the world’s population is decimated by an unseen force. To get there, they need to embark on a two-day journey through the woods and down a river blindfolded. Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier leads an impressive cast including John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, Trevante Rhodes, Tom Hollander and Jacki Weaver. Dec. 21.
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Mystery Road
Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning actor Judy Davis stars as Emma James, a detective sent to a remote cattle station to investigate the disappearance of two young men – one white, one aboriginal – in the Australian outback. Paired with Jay Swan (popular Aussie actor Aaron Pederson) the two cops unravel a mystery that includes drug trafficking, child abuse and corruption over the series’ six episodes. Beautifully shot and oozing with talent, this contemporary western screams for a second season. Exclusively on AcornTV.
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Bruce Springsteen on Broadway
Dec. 16 on Netflix Springsteen tells his story on an intimate stage, armed only with a mic, a piano and his trusty guitar. A surprisingly candid look at the musician’s life, his loves, his causes and his music as told by The Boss himself.Ěý
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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
You might want to binge this series, which just picked up eight Emmy awards, before season two airs this week on Amazon. The show follows Midge Maisel’s (Rachel Brosnahan) efforts to break into the male-dominated standup comedy circuit in the 1950s.
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Vidago Palace
Period drama fans, take note! Cultures clash in this Portugal-Spain co-production set at the luxury Vidago Palace hotel, while the Spanish Civil War rages right across the border. But “we belong to a class in which nothing will ever affect us,” assures Carlota’s father. Twenty-two-year-old Carlota (Mikaela Lupu) is slated to marry the wealthy Cesar Augusto (Pedro Barroso) to save her aristocratic family, but she has fallen hard for Pedro (David Seijo), the concierge of the hotel. A luxe, romantic drama set in 1936, just as the whole world is about to change. Season one airs on AcornTV, with English subtitles.
