What to Stream: ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Mickey 17,’ Kevin Hart and ‘A Grand Ole Opry Christmas’
Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17,” a new series from the final season of “Stranger Things” and Kevin Hart debuting a new comedy special on Netflix are some of the new TV shows, movies, music and games coming to a device near you.
Also among the streaming deals worth checking out this week, selected by Associated Press entertainment reporters: “Everybody Loves Raymond” gets a 30th anniversary special on CBS, Hallmark’s “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas” special starring Brad Paisley and Mickey Guyton, and a new Beatles documentary series comes to Disney+.
— Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou, known for collaborating and producing several Sean Baker films, including “Tangerine” and “The Florida Project,” makes her solo directorial debut with “Left-Handed Girl,” about a single mother and her two daughters who return to Taipei to open a stall at a night market. Netflix acquired the film after it was warmly received at the Cannes Film Festival and Taiwan has already selected the film as an Oscar entry. It begins streaming on Netflix on November 28.
—Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 arrives on Prime Video on Thursday, November 26 for dystopian holiday viewing. In her review for the Associated Press, Jocelyn Noveck praised Robert Pattinson’s performance (or rather performances) as a constantly reprinted expendable. She writes: “It’s his film, and he rescues it from Bong’s tendencies to overload the proceedings. In an extremely physical, committed, even exhausting performance, Pattinson takes what could have been a cumbersome mess and makes it much less, well, pointless.”
—OK, “The Last Duel,” streaming on Hulu on Sunday, Nov. 30, may be four years old, but it’s a much better option than, say, “Flight Risk” (on HBO Max Wednesday). Ridley Scott’s medieval tale, written by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener, is a brilliant take on the historical epic told from three different perspectives, Damon’s Jean de Carrouges, Adam Driver’s Jacques Le Gris and Jodie Comer’s Marguerite. In his review for the AP, screenwriter Jake Coyle wrote that it “feels more like a medieval tale deconstructed, piece by piece, until its heavily armored male characters and the mythologized nobility of the genre are unmasked.”
—Lindsey Bahr, AP writer
— In 2021, on Thanksgiving, Disney+ released Peter Jackson’s six-hour “The Beatles: Get Back” to its streaming platform. The gargantuan project gave fans a deep dive into the band’s “Let It Be” sessions – including footage from their entire rooftop concert, shared in its entirety for the first time. It was an ideal release date, to say the least. After all that delicious food, who doesn’t want to embark on a long journey into the heart of one of the greatest musical groups of all time? Well, in 2025, there’s yet another reason to be grateful: Starting Wednesday, “The Beatles Anthology” documentary series is coming to Disney+. That’s nine episodes chronicling their journey. Lock in.
— It’s Hallmark holiday movie season. And for country music fanatics, that means “A Christmas at the Grand Ole Opry.” The film follows a woman forced to confront her past and her musical heritage in this prestigious location – and there may or may not be time travel and Christmas magic involved. Stay tuned for all-star cameos: Brad Paisley, Megan Moroney, Mickey Guyton, Rhett Akins, Tigirlily Gold and more make an appearance. It begins streaming on Hallmark+ on Sunday.
— Maria Sherman, AP music editor
— It’s hard to believe that “Everybody Loves Raymond” has been off the air for two decades. The multicamera sitcom starred Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton as Ray and Debra Barone, a young married couple whose daily lives are regularly interrupted by Ray’s intrusive parents, played by Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, who live across the street. CBS recently taped a 30th anniversary special that will air Monday and will also stream on Paramount+. Hosted by Romano and creator Phil Rosenthal, it recreates the entire Barone living room and features interviews with actors including Romano, Heaton, Brad Garrett and Monica Horan. There will also be a tribute to Boyle and Roberts, who died in 2006 and 2016, respectively. It’s fitting that the special was released during the holidays because its Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes were top-notch. All nine seasons are streaming on Paramount+ and Peacock.
— “Stranger Things” is finally back with its fifth and final season. Netflix is releasing the sci-fi series in three parts and the first four episodes are released on Wednesday. Millie Bobby Brown says fans are going to “lose their minds” with how this ends.
— Also Monday, Kevin Hart debuts a new comedy special on Netflix. It’s called “Kevin Hart: Acting My Age.” The jokes revolve around, you guessed it, aging.
— A new “Family Guy” special on Hulu makes fun of those holiday movies we all know, love and watch. It’s called “The Familiar Holiday Movie From Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel” and pokes fun at the commonly used trope of a big city girl who ends up in a small town at Christmas and falls in love. It will be released Friday, November 28 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
—Alicia Rancilio
— Artificial intelligence: friend of all humanity or existential threat to the planet? In AILA, the Brazilian studio Pulsatrix leans towards the latter solution. You play as a game tester who is asked to try out an AI-created horror story. But while you’re busy fighting ghosts, zombies, and ax murderers, the AI may be planning something more nefarious in the background – which could be bad news if you own a smart fridge. This all has the potential to be very meta, whether or not you welcome our new robot overlords. It arrives Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
