With insatiable overlords Disney and Apple making their entrance into the already convoluted streaming wars, Netflix will surely have its work cut out for it next year.
For now, our team of red and black has put its best foot forward this holiday season.
So, between abusing the hell out of those Apple TV+ and Disney+ free trials, make sure you check out the titles on Netflix this December:
V Wars (series)
View this video on YouTube
That hunky vampire from The Vampire Diaries is back, except this time he’s a doctor trying to stop the vampires. It really be ya own.
When his best friend Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes) grows fangs and an appetite for haemoglobin, Dr. Luther Swann (Ian Somerhalder) must find a way to stop the mass exodus of humans turning into vampires.
V Wars was created by William Laurin and Glenn Davis, and is based on the eponymous comic book series by Jonathan Maberry.
V Wars airs December 5 on Netflix Australia.
Marriage Story (film)
View this video on YouTube
Charlie Barber (Adam Driver), a successful theatre director in New York City, and his wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), a former teen film actress, are experiencing marital troubles when Nicole is offered a part in Los Angeles. She leaves for the west coast and takes their young son with her.
Charlie flies to Los Angeles to join them – and is served with divorce papers. Both lawyer up (Laura Dern and Alan Alda). What follows is a compassionate tale of breaking up a marriage while staying together as a family.
Marriage Story airs December 6 on Netflix Australia.
In Netflix’s second original mandarin series, Angie (Eugenie Liu), the aforementioned triad princess is craving a life of independence.
In defiance of her triad boss father, she takes on the role of an undercover bodyguard for a famous actor. From there, Angie must balance her assassin prowess with her innate fangirl personality.
Triad Princess also stars Jasper Liu, and is co-directed by Neal Wu and Liu Yan Fu.
All six episodes of Triad Princess air December 6 on Netflix Australia.
The Confession Killer
View this video on YouTube
When Henry Lee Lucas confessed to committing hundreds of murders in the early ‘80s, he became the most prolific serial killer in American history.
Even without any direct evidence linking him to crime scenes, Lucas was able to sketch portraits of his victims and recant brutal details of their attacks.
Unawed by his bravado, and with new DNA evidence to refute his claims, journalists and attorneys sought to uncover the truth.
The Confession Killer airs December 6 on Netflix Australia.
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show (series)
View this video on YouTube
The first all-black Upright Citizens Brigade troupe, which first formed in 2014, brings their clever and insightful brand of humor to this six-part sketch comedy series.
Members Shawtane Bowen, Jonathan Braylock, Ray Cordova, James III, Caroline Martin, Jerah Milligan, Monique Moses, and Keisha Zollar will explore the absurd in pop culture, social issues and the Black experience.
Astronomy Club is executive produced by Kenya Barris (Black-ish), and co-produced by Daniel Powell (Inside Amy Schumer, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) and Anni Weisband (Appetite).
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show airs December 6 on Netflix Australia.
6 Underground (film)
View this video on YouTube
What comes to mind when you see the words “From Director Michael Bay” slow-dissolve into a trailer? Nothing good, we agree.
But also, Ryan Reynolds. So count us back in.
When six individuals fake their deaths to delete their past, they form the ultimate vigilante squad with the goal of changing the future.
Given his predilection for smart-mouthed superheroes, Reynolds stars as the group’s enigmatic leader “One”. Joining him on his mission to take down bad guys are Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six.
Makes for easy tombstone engraving, we guess.
6 Underground airs December 13 on Netflix Australia.
Born in Malaysia and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Singapore, and Australia, comedian and The Daily Show Correspondent Ronny Chieng shares the colourful journey it took to get him to America.
Chieng has been making the case for an Asian-American President for a while now (“There’s no government shutdown with Asian people… we don’t shut down for Christmas, do you understand?”), inadvertently backing Democratic candidate Andrew Yang in the process.
Find out what Chieng thinks would make America great on December 17 on Netflix Australia.
The Witcher (series)
View this video on YouTube
Based on the best-selling books by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Henry Cavill plays Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer who mistrusts humans just as much, if not more than those he hunts.
Netflix is keeping tight-lipped on the series, but some initial reactions have popped up online.
“It's well-cast, smartly-structured, and nicely paced. Good, solid pulp-fantasy nonsense," says one person.
"The look of the show is solid. Sets, costumes, and effects are great – nothing to worry about on that end. The fight choreography is insane,” promises another.
In fact, early reviews have been so promising that The Witcher has already been green-lit for season 2.
All eight episodes of The Witcher air December 20 on Netflix Australia.
