The Best Shows and Movies to Watch in December on Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, and More

The best shows and movies to watch this month on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO Max finish off 2021 on a fantastic note, and promise to leave you starting 2022 with a backlog of things to watch. HBO Max is sending us back into the Matrix with The Matrix Resurrections, the fourth film in the franchise and a return to form after the embarrassment that was The Matrix Revolutions. Netflix is sending us back to Paris with Emily in Season 2 of Emily in Paris, which is a return to the same embarrassment as Season 1. And Hulu is sending us back to middle school via the final episodes of Pen15, and all the teenage embarrassment that entails.  

We've also added another streaming service to our list of streaming recommendations: Disney+! The Mouse House is now pumping out new shows and movies for all ages, including the upcoming Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett. Below, we've gathered the best shows and movies to stream in December on HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix.

The Best Shows and Movies on Disney+ in December

If you're tired of looking around for something to watch, may I suggest you head over to Disney+ and put on the intense and thrilling documentary The Rescue, about the 2018 Thai cave rescue mission, right now? Yep, Disney+ isn't just about Mickey and Buzz Lightyear anymore. December sees other adult-leaning fare like the Hawkeye finale (Dec. 22) and The Book of Boba Fett, a spin-off of The Mandalorian, premiering Dec. 29. If you would rather keep it kid-friendly, the computer-animated film Diary of a Wimpy Kid premiered early in the month.

Here are our picks for Disney+ in December.. If you're looking for more Disney+ options, here are the best movies and shows to watch on Disney+ right now. 

The Best Shows and Movies on HBO and HBO Max in December

HBO and HBO Max are saying goodbye to 2021 by revisiting old friends at the end of the year. The Sex and the City revival And Just Like That... premiered early in the month on Dec. 9, and the fourth installment in the Matrix franchise, The Matrix Resurrections, hits HBO Max and theaters on Dec. 22. Keanu voice: Whoa! It's also goodbye year, goodbye shows, as Succession aired its Season 3 finale on Dec. 12 and Insecure wraps up its five-season run on Dec. 26. In the middle of it all is Finding Magic Mike (Dec. 16), a competition show about finding the next star of the Magic Mike Las Vegas show! Never say there's a lack of variety on HBO Max.

Here are our picks for HBO and HBO Max in December.

The Best Shows and Movies on Hulu in December

Hulu's 2022 is looking a lot less uncomfortable as the streamer says goodbye to its most awkward series, the cringing-of-age comedy Pen15, which wraps up its two-season run with its final episodes, available now. To be fairrrrrrrr, Pen15 isn't the only comedy reappearing on Hulu this month. The quick-witted comedy about dim-witted Canadians — not you, Wayne and company — Letterkenny is back for its tenth season on Dec. 26. It's the North's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but with more hockey players. On the movie front, Dec. 17 brings another warning that we should throw our Alexas in the bin with the sci-fi film Mother/Android, starring Chloë Grace Moretz as a pregnant woman escaping an android uprising. And as always, Hulu has next-day streaming rights to many of your favorite broadcast shows. 

Here's our full list of picks for Hulu, but if you want to sort through the list of new releases yourself, here's a list of everything new to Hulu in December.

The Best Movies and TV Shows on Amazon Prime in December

This December, Jeff Bezos will only have his billions and billions of dollars to comfort him as his favorite TV show, The Expanse, begins its six-episode final season on Amazon Prime Video. (The finale will air on Jan. 14, 2022.) Need something lighter and more down to Earth? Gloria Calderon Kellett's (One Day at a Time) new rom-com With Love, a multi-holiday family drama, premieres Dec. 17. On the movie side, Aaron Sorkin brings us Being the Ricardos, starring Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz.  

Here's our full list of picks for Amazon Prime Video, but if you want to sort through the list of new releases yourself, here's a list of everything new to Amazon Prime in December.

The Best Movies and TV Shows on Netflix in December

If you blinked in December, then you already missed Netflix releasing some worthy new shows and movies, like the third season of the family-friendly Lost in Space, the final episodes of Money Heist, or Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog. But the rest of the month is stacked, too. Get your coins ready for tossing, because Season 2 of The Witcher releases on Dec. 17. Get your berets fluffed up, because Season 2 of the award-winning series Emily in Paris is out on Dec. 22. And get ready to strike hard and strike first, because Season 4 of Cobra Kai arrives New Year's Eve. 

Here's our full list of picks for Netflix, but if you want to sort through the list of new releases yourself, here's a list of everything new to Netflix in December.

Looking for more recommendations for what to watch next? We have a ton of them! And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on TV shows you love, we have those too.