Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that’s before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer!
Don’t be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We’ve got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you’re seeking something brand new (or just new to streaming), we’ve got you covered there, too.
Mashable’s entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of the week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you’re looking for heart-warming holiday fun, stranger-than-fiction stories, teen drama, bloody horror, or the return of Stranger Things, we’re here for you.
13. Is It Cake? Holiday, Season 2
Mikey Day is back once more with the pressing (and titular) question: Is it cake?
Contestants on this bonkers baking show endeavor to recreate real-word items with such fastidious precision that the guest judges will be baffled when asked to pick the frosted fake. Is It Cake? Holiday also brings some gingerbread spice to the competition, as every episode will have a festival theme.
Bakers will have to make treats that encapsulate a favorite holiday memory, pay homage to their favorite Yuletide traditions, or construct a confectionery that’s suitable for a store window. The stars weighing in on their winning (or losing) bakes will be Wendi McLendon-Covey, Dustin Milligan, Kel Mitchell, Kristen Bell, Pierson Fode, Lamorne Morris, Lacey Chabert, King Bach, and Michael Urie. — Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko
How to watch: Is It Cake? Holiday Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
12. Jingle Bell Heist
If you like your holiday rom-com with a dash of “Eat the rich” crime thriller, you’ll be downright jolly about Jingle Bell Heist.
Connor Swindells and Olivia Holt star as two disgruntled hourly employees of a glowering department store owner who’s a real grinch. So naturally, they decide to steal from the rich and give to themselves with a heist right out of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. Rob the store on Christmas Eve, when the cash registers and safes should be bursting with moolah. But wouldn’t you know it, they fall in love along the way. And if their hearts are growing three sizes, what room will their Santa suits have for ill-gotten gains? — K.P.
Starring: Olivia Holt, Connor Swindells, Lucy Punch, and Peter Serafinowicz
How to watch: Jingle Bell Heist debuts on Netflix on Nov. 26.
11. The Shuffle
There are some artifacts of pop culture so inexplicable they seem retroactively like an example of mass hysteria. Perhaps the “Super Bowl Shuffle” felt like such a token to you?
In 1985, the Chicago Bears’ were closing in on the big game, and so took an unusual tack in intimidating their opponents. They released a music video of a rap song all about their team.
According to the press release from HBO, “The song peaked at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination in 1987 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Additionally, within months of its release, home video sales of The Super Bowl Shuffle made it the second-highest selling music video of all time, behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.”
And now there’s a documentary about it. — K.P.
How to watch: The Shuffle debuts on HBO on Nov. 25.
10. It’s Florida, Man, Season 2
True crime meets comedy in this star-studded series, inspired by the popular Florida Man meme (and all the news items that kept it rolling). Show creators Mark Herwick and Jeff Tomsic unearth stranger-than-fiction stories of moonshined-up gator hunters, Skunk Ape searchers, a real-life Goldilocks and the Three Bears scenario, and an unreal story of how smoking joints rolled in Bible pages might have sparked a cross comeuppance.
The Florida folk who lived these stories share them in their own words, while famous folks — like Johnny Knoxville, Tiffany Haddish, Taika Waititi, and Haley Joel Osment recreate them through willfully goofy reenactments. However, be warned. The salty and sweet balance of comedy and empathy that made season 1 so compelling is off with this new batch. Some episodes are great, unfurling wild stories with little apologies, as the teller themselves do. Others take a hard turn to make a PSA-like point about broader cultural issues, and it’s almost as jarring as those animated epilogues on ’80s cartoon shows where Optimus Prime would switch from battle bot mode to lecturing kids about peer pressure. While surely well intentioned, such heavy-handed resolutions serve more as a cringey recompense than a convincing throughline. — K.P.
Starring: Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, Tiffany Haddish, Haley Joel Osment, Bert Kreischer, Nick Swardson, Johnny Knoxville, Shea Whigham, Taika Waititi, Rita Ora, Holmes, David Koechner, Joel Kim Booster, Chet Hanks, Milan Carter, Nick Thune, Swoozie Kurtz, Johnny Pemberton, Ryan Mirvis, Brian Sacca, Ping Wu, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Frankie Quiñones, Hassie Harrison, Joseph Ruud and Michael McDonald
How to watch: It’s Florida, Man Season 2 debuts on HBO Max on Nov. 28.
9. Regretting You
Author Colleen Hoover returns to the big screen with Regretting You, a romantic drama about a mother (Allison Williams) and her daughter (McKenna Grace) finding love in the wake of devastating grief.
Critics lambasted Regretting You, but general audiences took more kindly to it. Will you find these romances trite or charming? You can check the film out on digital starting this week to find out for sure. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: McKenna Grace, Mason Thames, Allison Williams, and Dave Franco
Mashable Top Stories
How to watch: Regretting You is now available for rental or purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
8. Words + Music
Based on Audible’s acclaimed audio series of the same name, Words + Music is a docuseries that features legendary musicians sharing stories about the songs that defined their careers. Then, for your listening pleasure, the likes of Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, John Legend, and Alanis Morissette will play these beloved songs, to really drive home what they mean to the artists — and to us.
Shot in a studio with masterful acoustics and an eye toward cinematography, Words + Music offers an intimate-feeling concert that fans can enjoy from the comfort of their couch. — K.P.
How to watch: Words + Music premieres on MGM+ on Nov. 30.
7. Maxton Hall, Season 2 finale
Season 2 of Prime Video’s wildly popular Maxton Hall — The World Between Us comes to an end this week. But we’re guessing there’s still a lot of angst to go before enemies-to-lovers pairing Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beaufort (Damian Hardung) get their happy ending. From Mortimer (Fedja van Huêt) being the absolute worst to the strange text Lexington (Thomas Douglas) received at the end of Season 2, episode 5, things are looking tough for the BellFort ship. — B.E.
Starring: Harriet Herbig-Matten, Damian Hardung, Sonja Weißer, Ben Felipe, and Fedja van Huêt
How to watch: Maxton Hall‘s Season 2 finale debuts on Prime Video on Nov. 28.
6. The First Omen
This movie has no right to be as good as it is. But it’s possible you missed it in 2024, when it came out, because The First Omen released not long after the similarly nun-themed horror Immaculate. However, while that Sydney Sweeney vehicle veered away from graphic violence in some pretty confounding spots, The First Omen isn’t afraid to get gory. As I wrote in my review, “If you’re after a movie about a tormented nun that really goes for the gusto, The First Omen should be your pick.”
Set in 1971, Rome, The First Omen plays as a prequel to Richard Donner’s iconic religious horror hit The Omen. Nell Tiger Free stars as a ward of the Catholic Church who has been invited to a convent where young mothers and their children are cared for. However, shortly after arriving, she begins to notice strange things in this sacred place. And even if you’ve seen The Omen, you’ll find surprises along the path of this poor novitiate. Referring back to my review, “In the end,The First Omen offers generous splashes of gore, jump scares, and dread. So if you’re seeing something more spooky than scary, or more haunting than horrifying, this religious thriller will scratch that itch with a long, putrid claw.” — K.P.
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy
How to watch: The First Omen debuts on Hulu on Nov. 30.
5. Bugonia
Following The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness, leading lady Emma Stone and filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos reteam once more for Bugonia, their remake of Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!
Stone stars as a high-powered pharmaceuticals CEO whose rich and busy life is derailed when she’s kidnapped by a conspiracy theorist (Jesse Plemons) who is convinced she is an extraterrestrial committed to the destruction of humanity.
A gnarly and cerebral game of cat-and-mouse follows, all of it with Lanthimos’ unique brand of dark humor. Critics have cheered his latest collaboration with Stone, but if you’ve seen the film on which this one is based, some of the fun of being surprised will be spoiled. So, fair warning. — K.P.
Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone
How to watch: Bugonia is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV.
4. Left-Handed Girl
Netflix has such flashy, star-studded fare that Left-Handed Girl might be easy to overlook. But don’t miss out, because this coming-of-age story is uniquely tender, funny, and tense. Additionally, a prestigious indie filmmaker had a hand in its creation, and it has some Oscar potential of its own. This is the solo directorial debut of Taiwanese American filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou, who is a longtime collaborator with Oscar–winning writer/director Sean Baker (Anora). Tsou and Baker co-wrote the screenplay, and Baker also edited and produced the film. Left-Handed Girl, which has been selected as the Taiwanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, feels like a sister film to Baker’s The Florida Project, which followed a young girl and her single mom who find joy while living in poverty.
Left-Handed Girl follows a family of three — a mom and her two daughters — as they move to Taipei for a new life. Working at a noodle shop stall in the night market, they swiftly become part of the community. But temptations for cheap thrills and sticky-fingered fun are everywhere, and could irrevocably harm the girls’ reputations. While there’s dramatic and tragic turns in this drama, its ending is ultimately uplifting, reflecting the earnest humanity that Baker’s known for. Don’t overlook it. — K.P.
Starring: Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan Ma, Nina Ye, Brando Huang, Akio Chen, and Xin-Yan Chao
How to watch: Left-Handed Girl debuts on Netflix on Nov. 28.
3. The Beatles Anthology
This is The Beatles Anthology like you’ve never seen it before. Originally broadcast in 1995, this documentary series featured an in-depth look at how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr went from dive bars in Hamburg to rocking the world stage.
While this title has been released in various incarnations — three feature-film length segments, an eight-part documentary series — its latest boasts nine episodes. The first eight have been remastered by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films and Park Road Post teams along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music. The ninth episode includes never-before-seen footage the band coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on The Anthology, as they reflect on their work together. So, for any Beatles lover, this is a must-watch. — K.P.
Starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr
How to watch: The first three episodes of The Beatles Anthology debut on Disney+ on Nov. 26.
2. The Ugly Stepsister
If you loved The Substance, don’t overlook The Ugly Stepsister.This gnarly body horror movie reimagines Cinderella by focusing on the fairytale heroine’s much-maligned stepsister Elvira (Lea Myren). Writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt delivers not only a deeply empathetic tale of a young girl grappling with a princely crush, sibling rivalry, and crippling societal pressures to conform to cruel beauty standards, but also the grisly scenes to back up its social critique.
In my rave review for Mashable out of Sundance, I cheered, “The Ugly Stepsister is a deranged and dizzying achievement, folding in a classic story with a bitingly modern satire and bold body horror. Blichfeldt weaves these elements together to make a film that feels both of this moment but aesthetically nostalgic… And yet, her journey, as gross and grim as it is, is threaded with a ribbon of exhilaration, rebellion, and even defiant joy. Simply put, The Ugly Stepsister is savagely brutal and yet strangely beautiful.”* — K.P.
Starring: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, and Flo Fagerli
How to watch: The Ugly Stepsister is now streaming on Hulu.
1. Stranger Things, Season 5, Volume 1
It’s been over three years since Stranger Things Season 4 introduced audiences to the terrifying new villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and brought Kate Bush back to the charts. Now, Stranger Things‘ fifth and final season is finally upon us. Can it live up to the hype?
Season 5 picks up a little over a year after the end of Season 4, with Hawkins under military quarantine and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in hiding from the government. With Vecna rearing his tentacled head once more, our heroes will have to make one last stand to save the world. What follows is Stranger Things at its most maximalist, with supersized episodes and battles that are undoubtedly overstuffed, yet still treats thanks to the show’s compelling web of characters. Here’s hoping they all survive, right? Right?! — B.E.
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and Maya Hawke
How to watch: Stranger Things, Season 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
(*) denotes a blurb came from a prior list.
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