The 12 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Thanksgiving Holiday
No family bickering is quelled faster than a movie night. Okay, well, that may inspire a different kind of bickering: Why is [character] doing that? When did [big twist] happen? But that has to be better than anything a Thanksgiving dinner brings. Thankfully (how on theme) this year isn’t lacking options from Wicked and Gladiator II still powering through theaters, to new hits like Moana 2, and hell, if you’re reading this in L.A. or New York City, you can counter program the Disney sequel with movies like Queer and Maria. There’s plenty to dig into this long weekend.
Featured Presentations
Moana 2
Disney loves to boast how Moana is one of their streamer’s most watched titles, so naturally, they took what was going to be a Disney+ series and fashioned it into a theatrical sequel. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return to voice Moana and the demigod Maui, respectively, as Moana is called back to the ocean to destroy an ancient curse. It’s disappointing that Lin-Manuel Miranda isn’t back to write the songs for this sequel, but surely your kids will be entertained nonetheless.
In theaters now
➼ Get ready for a lot of Moana as Disney is releasing a live-action film in literally eight months.
The Madness
Colman Domingo stars in this limited series as a CNN commentator who rents a cabin in the Poconos, discovers a dead body, and finds himself being framed for the murder for reasons he can’t comprehend. No, this thriller (appropriately) does not qualify as comfort TV. —Jen Chaney
Streaming on Netflix
Nutcrackers
Thankfully for you Christmas-after-Thanksgiving observers, Hulu waited to release its new holiday title Nutcrackers until right after turkey season. David Gordon Green directs Ben Stiller in his first acting gig in years as he plays a city-boy workaholic who is forced to move back home to care for his sister’s kids after her sudden passing. Nothing screams Christmas more than complicated family dynamics, huh.
Streaming on Hulu
Beatles ’64
Disney+ may have released an eight-hour Beatles documentary, but apparently, there’s more story to tell. Produced by Martin Scorsese, Beatles ’64 focuses on the band’s first trip to America, including their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Streaming on Disney+
➼ But where is the eight-hour documentary on the two-episode Beatles tribute on Glee?
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a political thriller, a horror movie, and an ode to that unrepentance. The boldness of Iranian girls and women is its inspiration and its essence.”
The Agency
If you’re wondering what to indulge in on Paramount+ that isn’t Yellowjackets, a Taylor Sheridan show, or a Tom Cruise movie, here’s your answer. This adaptation of the French drama Le Bureau des légendes follows a CIA agent forced to return to London who unexpectedly reunites there with a former lover; how long can he keep up the divisions between his personal, professional, real, and fake lives? The cast is exciting: Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Magaro, and Adam Nagaitis. —Roxana Hadadi
Streaming on Paramount+
Get Millie Black
One of those short-run, reliable HBO British co-productions, this mystery series is the TV debut for author Marlon James and will scratch the itch for a show with clear-cut, meaningful stakes. When a former Scotland Yard detective goes to her home country of Jamaica to solve a missing-persons case … will her own life be upended?! Almost certainly. —Kathryn VanArendonk
Streaming on Max
Sweethearts
Kiernan Shipka had quite the year from Twisters to Longlegs, and now, a little ol’ rom-com. She co-stars with Nico Hiraga (Booksmart) as two college freshman and best friends looking to break up with their significant others over the Thanksgiving break. You should have an idea on how that’ll end up for them. Comedians Caleb Hearon and Chloe Troast also star.
Streaming on Max
Streaming’s Greetings
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2024
Peacock proved its live-event coverage game with the Olympics, so there’s no worries of your parade-watching getting interrupted. NBC and the streamer will host the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. Expect performances from Idina Menzel, Kylie Minogue, Chlöe Bailey, and more.
Streaming on Peacock
➼ Plus, a Family Guy holiday special on Hulu.
Reality Bites
Later Daters
ABC may have the Golden Bachelor, but Netflix is introducing its own mature dating show, Later Daters. In this series, six people go on blind dates to rejuvenate their love lives as dating coach Logan Ury helps guide them to find romance again. One thing a Netflix reality-dating show loves to do is feel like a social experiment.
Streaming on Netflix
Finally Streaming
Directed by John Waters
Another treat of a collection on the Criterion Channel, stream eight of the wickedly fun director John Waters’s films. The most recognizable offering is the original Hairspray, but as always, the collection is meant to encourage you to branch out and dive into everything the eclectic filmmaker has to offer. So settle in for some real filth from the Pope of Trash, and queue up the marathon. (They also have a new Hitchcock collection too.)
Streaming on the Criterion Channel
Conclave
The most “sinfully entertaining” thriller you’ll ever see about the election of a new pope is now available to rent or buy on digital services. The movie stars Ralph Fiennes, Carlos Diehz, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and other notable character actors, as the cardinals tasked with choosing the new leader of the Catholic Church. There’s beautiful gowns vestments, juicy gossip, and shifting alliances. No wonder it’s inspired many of the season’s best memes. —Tolly Wright
➼ An Oscar contender from last year, director Pablo Berger’s terrific Robot Dreams is only just now coming to a streaming service. Enjoy it on Hulu.
Want more? Read our recommendations from the weekend of November 22.
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