:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/martin-short-saturday-night-live-122124-5677acbb1cfe447da7d70320253a969c.jpg "Martin Short joins Five-Timers Club in Christmas episode")
Happy holidays, everyone! At long last, it’s time to take a much-needed break from your job and enjoy as much food, drink, good company, and time sat in front of your TV as you can handle.
Where the last of those is concerned, our penultimate weekly ‘what to watch this weekend’ list of the year is, as always, filled with offerings from the world’s best streaming services. From the final new movies of 2024 to the return of popular shows, you’ll find something worth watching after sticking your out of office email on for the final time this year. You’ve earned it, after all. So, put your feet up and enjoy one of the below recommendations! – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
The Six Triple Eight (Netflix)
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2024 has been a good year for war dramas, such as Apple TV Plus projects Blitz and Masters of the Air. Now, we can add The Six Triple Eight to the list; the last of December’s new Netflix movies telling the inspirational true story of World War II’s only Women’s Army Corps unit of color, aka the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
855 women join the war effort to sort though a three-year backlog of mail that hadn’t been delivered to American soldiers far from home. Despite discrimination and war-torn conditions, they sort through 17 million pieces of mail and bring hope to the front lines. The Six Triple Eight certainly has a unique premise that could make it one of the best Netflix movies (although, it’s Rotten Tomatoes critical rating suggests it won’t). Nevertheless, I look forward to learning more about a heroic battalion that many of us didn’t know existed on Netflix.
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV Plus)
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I love a good nature docuseries – and Apple TV Plus has delivered the goods this week with its latest natural history show in the form of The Secret Lives of Animals, which may become the latest addition to our best Apple TV Plus shows guide.
A 10-part series narrated by Downton Abbey and Paddington star Hugh Bonneville, the Apple program aims to enthral and educate us all with never-before-filmed behavior from over 70 different species across all seven continents. Before you watch it, check out our exclusive clip from episode nine that teases a nail-biting fight between two kangaroos. You don’t want to miss it, I promise.
Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
Virgin River season 6 (Netflix)
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Virgin River season 6 couldn’t have come at a better time and I desperately want an invite to Mel Monroe and Jack Sheridan’s romantic wedding. As preparations for Mel and Jack’s spring wedding get underway, the sixth season will feature new twists and turns, love triangles, wedding drama, and secrets from Mel’s father’s past, which takes us back to Virgin River in the 1970s.
Virgin River is, in my view, one of the best Netflix shows to watch out of everything new on Netflix this December, so make sure you don’t miss the wedding of the year, either!
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
Juror #2 (Max)
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Clint Eastwood’s latest movie is one of the Max trailers I was most excited to see and, now it’s streaming on Max, I can’t wait to wrap my eyeballs around it. I love Gran Torino and Juror #2 seems to be another huge success for legendary the actor-turned-director. Unlike Gran Torino, Eastwood stays behind the camera and directs an all-star cast including Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, and Kiefer Sutherland.
So, what’s it about? The legal thriller follows Hoult’s journalist character who is called up for jury duty and soon realizes that he may be responsible for the victim’s death. Tense legal thrillers are one of my favorite things to watch and I know this one is going to deliver, the 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating is promising too! Keep an eye out for its addition to our best Max movies list, then.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking (Prime Video)
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If you’re anything like me, then you probably have the obligatory go-to movies that end up on the screen every Christmas – and for me, that list includes the best Harry Potter movies. Well this year, you can mix it up with this Prime Video gameshow that can only be best described as Harry Potter meets The Great British Bake-off in Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking.
The six-episode series caused such a stir when it premiered on the Food Network in the US in November that Amazon acquired the streaming rights to show it in the UK and Ireland. Hosted by James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley), alongside culinary judges, Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef, make sure to savor this magical treat while we wait for HBO’s Harry Potter reboot.
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
Fast Friends (Max)
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How well do you know the 90s sitcom Friends? Do you know the season were Ross and Rachel were “on a break”? What was the name of Joey’s soap opera character? Or how about Phoebe’s most famous song? If you can answer all those questions, then you’re going to love Max’s new original game show Fast Friends.
Hosted by comedian Whitney Cummings, it invites contestants to relive the best Friends episodes by challenging teams with trivia, puzzles, and games to determine who will win the title of ‘The Ultimate Fast Friends Champion’ by how fast they are at completing each task. Once you’ve finished it, why not see how you can stream every episode of Friends next?
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
Aaron Rodgers: Enigma (Netflix)
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This three-part docuseries follows NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers as he undergoes an intense rehabilitation program after a terrible Achilles injury. You can expect to see plenty of the defining moments from his life and career, with episode one exploring how his injury derailed his 2023 debut with the New York Jets. Elsewhere, we’ll see how he experimented with with alternative medicine and religion, sparking some controversies and drew further criticisms with his stance on vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Netflix documentary will give Rodgers the chance to show his side of the story, including his reaction to winning Super Bowl XLV. There’s a lot to unpack with this series and it certainly sounds like it could make for a great addition to our best Netflix documentaries guide.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
For more streaming recommendations, read our guides on the best Disney Plus shows, best Paramount Plus movies, best Hulu shows, and best Apple TV Plus movies.
