The Best Movies And TV Shows To Watch On Netflix In December 2020

As 2020 comes to a close, Netflix is finishing out the year with a brand-new assortment of television shows, original films, beloved classics, documentaries, and more to keep you entertained and occupied. 

With the COVID-19 crisis still ongoing, nearly every major film and television project set for release in 2020 has faced production and release delays, and as a result, streaming services are coming to the rescue — whether it's Disney+ dropping the Hamilton movie ahead of schedule this past July, or the news that Wonder Woman 1984 will hit the HBO Max platform alongside its Christmas Day theatrical release. Not to be outdone, Netflix has plenty of highly anticipated new titles slated to arrive on its digital library shelves this December — alongside childhood classics, Steve Spielberg epics, fresh original series, gripping documentaries, and a whole lot more.

Here are all the best movies and TV shows coming to Netflix in December 2020.

As far as original films go, Netflix has no shortage of exciting new projects hitting the platform throughout December 2020. 

Right at the beginning of the month, Mank, the newest film from acclaimed director David Fincher, arrives on December 4. Mank tells the story of famed screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played by Gary Oldman) as he, alongside Orson Welles (Tom Burke), wrote the classic drama film Citizen Kane. It also details Mankiewicz's personal battles with Welles as Citizen Kane was in production and up to its theatrical debut in 1941. With a supporting cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Charles Dance, and more — as well as a new original score from frequent Fincher collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — there's no doubt that Mank will be a movie to watch as awards season begins.

On December 11, musical theater fans will be able to stream Ryan Murphy's The Prom, adapted from the award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Featuring megawatt stars like Meryl Streep, James Corden, and Nicole Kidman, The Prom centers around Broadway actors longing for the illustrious days of their past who journey to a small Indiana town to help a high school student be allowed to take her girlfriend to prom. 

A few days later, on December 18, Chadwick Boseman's final film will arrive on Netflix. The world was stunned in August 2020 when the Black Panther star passed away from stage IV colon cancer, and his final performance will come in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the true story of a music legend and one difficult day in the recording studio. The film stars Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, an iconic blues singer, and Boseman as the aspirational and determined trumpeter Levee.

Finally, just before Christmas, George Clooney's post-apocalyptic thriller The Midnight Sky will hit Netflix on December 23. It tells the tale of a scientist named Augustine Lofthouse (Clooney) and a group of astronauts in the Arctic who face a global disaster upon their return home. The Midnight Sky also features stars like Felicity Jones (as Sully), Kyle Chandler (as Mitchell), David Oyelowo (as Commander Tom Adewole), and Demián Bichir (as Sanchez). 

Other Netflix original movies arriving in December 2020 include Just Another Christmas, Leyla Everlasting, Bombay Rose, Fierce, and Canvas.

December 1

Angela's Christmas Wish

December 2

Fierce

December 3

Just Another Christmas (Tudo Bem No Natal Que Vem)

Break

December 4

Leyla Everlasting

Christmas Crossfire (Wir Können Nicht Anders)

Mank

Bombay Rose

December 8

Cops and Robbers

December 9

Rose Island (L'Incredibile storia dell'Isola Delle Rose)

December 11

The Prom

Canvas

December 14

A California Christmas

December 18

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

December 23

The Midnight Sky

Your Name Engraved Herein

December 26

Asphalt Burning (Berning 3)

DNA

With so many great original films rolling out in December 2020, one might think that Netflix's list of original TV offerings will be pretty short next month. However — and fortunately — that's not the case in the slightest. If you're holed up with your family this Christmas and looking for a new series to binge, Netflix has no shortage of exciting options.

Netflix will kick off the month with a continuation of its series The Movies That Made Us, but this time, it has a festive twist; Holiday Movies That Made Us will hit the service on December 1. Shortly thereafter, the anticipated fourth season of Nick Kroll's hit animated series Big Mouth will arrive on December 4, followed by the premiere of Selena: The Series, which tells the story of the Tejano singer's life before a former friend killed her in 1995, when Selena was just 23 years old. Selena stars The Walking Dead alum Christian Serratos as Selena Quintanilla.

If you're a fan of thrillers, you'll want to check out The Mess You Leave Behind, created by Elite writer Carlos Montero. The series hits Netflix on December 11. On the flip side, if you're a music fan looking for lighter fare, you won't want to miss the second series of Song Exploder, which interviews singer-songwriters like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alicia Keys and is based on the podcast of the same name. Song Exploder arrives on December 15.

On Christmas Day, Netflix subscribers will get the best gift of all: Bridgerton, the first product of showrunner Shonda Rhimes' huge deal with the streaming service. Narrated by Dame Julie Andrews as the gossipmonger Lady Whistledown, Bridgerton follows the ins and outs of high society in London, and is sure to draw in fans of Rhimes' previous fare like Scandal and Grey's Anatomy. 

Finally, on December 31, just before 2020 comes to an end, you can stream the fourth and final season of the Kiernan Shipka-starring series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 

December 1

The Holiday Movies That Made Us

December 4

Big Mouth: Season 4

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays: Season 3

Selena: The Series

December 5

Detention

December 8

Lovestruck in the City

Mr. Iglesias: Part 3

December 10

Alice in Borderland

December 11

The Mess You Leave Behind (El desorden que dejas)

December 14

Tiny Pretty Things

December 15

Song Exploder: Volume 2

December 16

How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding

December 18

Home for Christmas: Season 2

Sweet Home

December 25

Bridgerton

December 30

Best Leftovers Ever!

Equinox

December 31

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 4

Aside from new original films, Netflix is adding a ton of beloved classics in December 2020 — from Steven Spielberg strongholds to Tom Hanks dramas and everything in between.

If you're a fan of quirky romantic comedies, you'll definitely want to check out 50 First Dates, which stars frequent collaborators Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler as a couple facing a unique relationship hurdle. 50 First Dates will be available to stream beginning on December 1. If you want to relive your childhood with some of Spielberg's best films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park III) will be available on Netflix as well — all hitting the streamer on the first of the month.

Dan Brown enthusiasts will be happy to hear that both of the author's Tom Hanks-led adaptations, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, will hit Netflix in December 2020. Meanwhile, if you loved Jon Favreau and Roy Choi's Chef Show, one of Netflix's most soothing original series, you'll want to check out Favreau's film Chef, which built the friendship between Choi and the director. All of the above hit Netflix on December 1.

After that, the acclaimed films Nocturnal Animals and Lee Daniels' The Butler arrive on Netflix in the middle of the month, on December 16. And just as December draws to a close, you can revisit the animated flick Rango, which arrives on December 28.

December 1

3 Days to Kill

50 First Dates

A Thin Line Between Love & Hate

Angels & Demons

Chef

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Effie Gray

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park III

Kung Fu Panda 2

Little Nicky

Monster House

Peppermint

Quigley Down Under

Runaway Bride

The Da Vinci Code

The Happytime Murders

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family

Why Did I Get Married?

December 7

Ava

Manhunt: Deadly Games

December 8

Bobbleheads: The Movie

Triple 9

December 15

Grizzlies

The Professor and the Madman

December 16

Lee Daniels' The Butler

Nocturnal Animals

December 17

Braven

December 18

Guest House

December 21

The Con Is On

December 22

After We Collided

Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas

December 28

Rango

Of course, Netflix isn't just providing its own content to subscribers in December 2020. Next month, you can tuck into everything from a massive reality TV show marathon to family-friendly fare to a much-beloved sci-fi series that's been around forever. 

On December 1, seasons 1 and 2 of the dating show Are You the One? and seasons 1 and 2 of tattoo competition Ink Masters will join Netflix. Two weeks later, on December 15, the first two seasons of Black Ink Crew New York, about a tattoo shop in Harlem, and seasons 1 and 2 of Teen Mom 2 join the fray. A couple of seasons of MTV's The Challenge — seasons 10 and 13, specifically — will arrive that same day.

If you're looking for a gritty new drama to binge and want to expand your horizons beyond the United States, you'll definitely want to check out season one of Kings of Joburg, a South African drama about the crime world of Johannesburg that arrives on Netflix on December 4. And if a tried-and-true series is what you're after this December, load up set aside some (or a lot) of time to watch ten seasons of Stargate SG-1, which hits the platform on the first of the month.

Those with youngsters in the house can stream season 2 of Transformers Rescue Bots Academy, season 2 of Pup Academy, and season 2 of Timmy Time on Netflix next month. And those still reeling from the death of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, who passed away on November 8, 2020 after battling cancer, can revisit some of Trebek's best moments on December 18 — when Jeopardy! Champion Run V, Jeopardy! Champion Run VI, Jeopardy! Teacher's Tournament, Jeopardy! College Championship, and Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions all arrive on Netflix.

December 1

Are You the One?: Seasons 1-2

Gormiti: Season 1

Ink Master: Seasons 1-2

Super Wings: Season 3

Stargate SG-1: Seasons 1-10

Transformers Rescue Bots Academy: Season 2

December 4

Kings of Joburg: Season 1

December 15

Black Ink Crew New York: Seasons 1-2

Pup Academy: Season 2

Teen Mom 2: Seasons 1-2

The Challenge: Seasons 10 & 13

December 18

Jeopardy! Champion Run V

Jeopardy! Champion Run VI

Jeopardy! Teacher's Tournament

Jeopardy! College Championship

Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions

December 22

Timmy Time: Season 2

December 27

Sakho & Mangane: Season 1

December 29

Dare Me: Season 1

If you're a fan of hard-hitting documentaries and/or gut-busting stand-up specials, you're in for a treat on Netflix in December 2020, as the streamer is bringing in some exciting new options from both categories. 

Those who can't get enough of medical fare like E.R. and House will definitely love The Surgeon's Cut, which follows real-life surgical pioneers as they discover new medical breakthroughs. The docuseries hits the service on December 9. In search of something more uplifting? Try out Giving Voice, arriving to Netflix on December 11. It tells the true story of the annual August Wilson monologue competition, which allows lucky young winners to perform original works on Broadway. Wanting to watch a literally out-of-this-world doc? Stream Alien Worlds, which "blends science fact and fiction to imagine alien life on other planets," on December 2.

True crime buffs, however, will want to free up their schedules on December 16, as that's when The Ripper drops on Netflix. The documentary follows real-life witnesses and investigators as they recall how the Yorkshire Ripper — described as "a modern-day Jack the Ripper" — tormented northern England in the late '70s.

Meanwhile, Netflix will also give a voice to some fresh new faces in stand-up comedy. On December 1, Natalie Palamides will make her Netflix debut with Nate – A One Man Show, where she uses an alter-ego for her stand-up. The very next day, on December 2, Ari Eldjárn and Hazel Brugger also step into the world of Netflix original specials with the premieres of their respective specials Pardon My Icelandic and Tropical. 

And finally, if you're looking to celebrate New Year's Eve with some laughs, load up Netflix's Best Stand-Up of 2020 — a compilation of "the funniest jokes from comedians in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that have launched specials in 2020."

December 1

Natalie Palamides: Nate – A One Man Show

December 2

Alien Worlds 

Ari Eldjárn: Pardon My Icelandic

Hazel Brugger: Tropical

December 8

Emicida: AmarElo – É Tudo Para Ontem

December 9

The Surgeon's Cut

December 11

Giving Voice

December 16

Anitta: Made in Honorio

The Ripper

December 31

Best Stand-Up of 2020