The holiday season is upon us, finally! Whether travelling, gathering about a dining room table, or holing up with your dearest friends, the holiday season calls for a little streaming material. So, what’s on this holiday? We gather a few fresh options—from narratives that explore female sexuality to spy and detective dramas to a Christmas Special by a pop culture sweetheart.
Girls will be Girls
Stream on Amazon Prime
Releasing 12th December
Backed by Richa Chaddha and Ali Fazal’s creators’ lab, Pushing Buttons Studios, Girls will be Girls, is a coming-of-age story that explores female sexuality and rebellion in a conservative and traditional school setting in India. The film is inspired by the filmmaker, Shuchi Talati’s own experiences as a teenager in the 90s, when she attended a school where, ‘we were not really allowed to date or hold hands or even talk too much’. She also remembers how the liberalisation of the economy and media brought about a cultural shift, where young girls started to wear ‘jeans and shorts and miniskirts’ as a way of expressing themselves and defying the norms. Shuchi wanted to write a story that reflected this period of change and challenge, as well as her own interest in writing about female sexuality, in a non-judgmental and realistic way.
Despatch
Stream on Zee5
Releasing 13th December
Despatch is the story of a naïve journalist whose life and job are hit by a mid-life crisis. Nothing seems to be working for him until one day he is caught into a complex nexus of a political-criminal scam that takes his life by a storm. This is the third feature of one of our favourite filmmakers, Kanu Behl and promises to be a gripping narrative.
Squid Games Season 2
Stream on Netflix
Releasing 26th December
Netflix’s biggest-ever series, which launched in September 2021, returns for its second season later this month and it’s just as dystopian, violent and vicious as the first with more than 450 new characters to kill off.
Maria Callas Biopic
Stream on Netflix
Releasing 11th December
Larraín, the director of Jackie and Spencer, brings to the screen the story of Maria Callas, a famous and controversial opera singer called the original diva. The film is inspired by true events and shows the dramatic, beautiful, and tragic moments of the world’s best opera singer, as she lives her last days in Paris in the 1970s.
Our Little Secret
Stream on Netflix
Lindsay Lohan is stepping back into the holiday spotlight with Our Little Secret, a new Christmas romantic comedy on Netflix. Reuniting exes whose current partners are siblings, the film promises festive drama and heartfelt moments.
The Madness
Streaming on Netflix
Starring A-list actor, Colman Dolmingo The Madness is an American conspiracy thriller limited series created by Stephen Belber. Colman is portrayed as a media pundit who must clear his name after he accidentally stumbles upon a murder in the woods.
A Nonsense Christmas special with Sabrina Carpenter
Streaming on Netflix
6th December
Sabrina Carpenter dropped the trailer for her Netflix holiday special, A Nonsense Christmas, during the last stop of her US Short n’ Sweet Tour in LA. Fans in attendance at the Kia Forum got a sneak peek of her special right before the show started, which featured guest stars like Chappell Roan and Quinta Brunson. Carpenter’s holiday special also includes guest appearances from Tyla, Shania Twain, Kali Uchis, Cara Delevingne, Kyle Mooney, Nico Hiraga, Megan Stalter, Sean Astin, Owen Thiele and Jillian Bell.
Black Doves
Stream on Netflix
Set in London at Christmas time, Black Doves is an intense and thrilling story that delves into themes of friendship and sacrifice. The narrative follows Helen Webb (played by Keira Knightley), a intelligent and down-to-earth wife and mother who also leads a secret life as a spy. For ten years, she has been discreetly passing her politician husband's privileged information to a clandestine group called the Black Doves.
Words Hansika Lohani
Date 06.12.2024