What to Watch in December: 18 Notable TV Shows & Streaming Movies

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – November 29, 2021

The month ahead will bring the latest Star Wars series, the return of Sex and The City, a new Matrix sequel, one of this year's best picture frontrunners, and more. In the gallery on this page, our editors have selected the most interesting TV and movie titles debuting at home in the next month, listed in order by premiere date.

12 of 21 photo by Ian Watson/HBO Max

81 Station Eleven: Season 1

Miniseries debuts December 16 on HBO Max

Too soon? That is the big question facing this HBO Max adaptation of the award-winning 2014 novel by Emily St. John Mandel that depicts a world ravaged by a pandemic—in this case, an extremely deadly flu. The 10-episode limited series was commissioned nearly six months before the all-too-real COVID pandemic began to make headlines, and whether or not audiences are ready to treat a viral contagion as entertainment remains to be seen (though Station Eleven's far more apocalyptic scenario may make COVID seem tame and manageable by comparison). Spanning multiple timelines (but mostly focusing on the aftermath), the series comes from Patrick Somerville (Made for Love) and counts Hiro Murai (Atlanta), Helen Shaver (Vikings), and Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones) among its directors. The ensemble cast includes Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, David Wilmot, Matilda Lawler, Philippine Velge, Daniel Zovatto, Lori Petty, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Gael Garcìa Bernal.

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