Whats new to streaming this week? (Dec. 27, 2024)
Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, 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 within each one!
Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services trying 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, animation, and more.
But if you're seeking something brand spanking new (or 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 this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're looking for some dystopian sci-fi, sports drama, or the new Doctor Who Christmas special, we've got you covered.
Here's what's new on streaming, from worst to best.
5. Squid Game, Season 2
After a three-year wait, the sequel to Hwang Dong-hyuk's massively popular dystopian thriller is finally hitting Netflix. Following on from the events of the first Squid Game, the second season sees Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) returning to the titular games in an attempt to right the wrongs of the first season.
Details are still fairly secretive — though if you want the full scoop on S2, we've got a spoiler-filled review — but we do know that there will be some nightmarish new games to look forward to, including this humongous carousel from the trailer. Oh, and that giant murderous doll will be back. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, Gong Yoo
How to watch: Squid Game Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
4. ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing
The worlds of sport and true crime collides in ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing, Dylan Sires' documentary about Kansas City Chiefs super-fan Xaviar Babudar, who was recently imprisoned for a string of armed bank robberies.
Babudar became a famous face at Kansas City Chiefs' games, appearing in a signature full-body wolf costume, before his arrest in 2022 — and subsequent escape. — S.H.
How to watch: ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing is now streaming on Prime Video.
3. Y2K
Everybody remembers the hysteria over the feared Y2K computer issues amounted to much ado about nothing. But this crackling comedy from Saturday Night Live's Kyle Mooney imagines: What if it did though? Specifically, what if Y2K caused all our home electronics to Voltron up into killing machines, Terminator-style?
Set at a high schooler's New Year's Eve party, Y2K is a madcap teen comedy about popularity, lust, friendship, and embarrassing social situations on the brink of robopocalypse. Out of the film's SXSW premiere, I wrote for Mashable's review, "Y2K is a lot of fun. Its teen cast overall has terrific energy, and a supporting cast that includes Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, and Mooney — as a burnout video store clerk — brings welcomed microdoses of weirdness. The celebration of all things '00s is undeniably charming, even if used superficially. Jokes come fast and frantic, so even if some don't land, there's plenty of laughs to be had." —Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
Starring: Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison, Kyle Mooney, Fred Durst, and Alicia Silverstone
How to watch: Y2k is now available to rent or purchase on Apple TV+.
2. The Order
An FBI agent (Jude Law) goes up against a bank robbing neo-Nazi gang in The Order, a thriller based on a true story from Assassin's Creed director Justin Kurzel.
"The Order seldom slows down, skillfully building to each new action crescendo with the help of Jed Kurzel's rumbling, unrelentingly energetic score," wrote Siddhant Adlakha in his review for Mashable. "It may not have anything novel to say about race in America — whether then or now — but its broad reminders of the mechanics of neo-Nazi terror feel mostly justified by the movie's brisk, deftly modulated pace. That it's an action movie in the body of something more 'prestigious' or important ought to feel insulting, but really, it's been the key to Kurzel's necessary transformation all along." — S.H.
Starring: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, and Marc Maron
How to watch: The Order is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.
1. Doctor Who, "Joy to the World"
'Tis the season for a Doctor Who Christmas special! In a festive adventure penned by former showrunner Steven Moffat, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) makes a new friend in Joy (Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan), a lonely but lovely young woman whose plans to celebrate the holiday alone end when the two-hearted time-traveler barges into her solitude.
You see, after stumbling onto a Time Hotel, where tourists can visit Christmases across time, the Doctor finds a curious mystery. To crack it, he'll need the help of new friends, and to best a wily enemy and a dinosaur to boot! Whether a longtime Whovian or a newbie to the decades-spanning sci-fi franchise, you'll relish the fun and twists of "Joy to the World." But have some tissues at the ready, as Moffat favors a bittersweet finale. — K.P.
Starring: Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan
How to watch: Doctor Who "Joy to the World" debuts on Disney+ on Dec. 25.