Now that we’re almost recovered from the Black Friday craziness, it’s time to relax a bit and binge some top-tier movies and television series. If you’re going for something fun and entertaining, and sci-fi works for everybody, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew taps into that fun and youthful side of the Star Wars universe that we’ve seen so little of. If you’re feeling like indulging in something that feels like it’s for kids, even though it almost certainly shouldn’t be, check out DC’s Creature Commandos for a healthy dose of Suicide Squad, but… at least decent. And finally, just go for raw laughs with the long-awaited sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
To go a bit more serious, start off with Black Doves for a fun spy thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously; or take on a quick season of The Sticky for the sweetest heist ever. But speaking of robbery stories, watch Biggest Heist Ever for an actual true story of the greatest financial crime to day. Finally, wrape it up with White Lies, where the mystery and intrigue are bound to keep you on the edge of your seat.
7 Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Disney+ — Season 1 — December 3
While there’s a gap in the Star Wars release schedule between last summer’s run of The Acolyte and the long-awaited second season of Andor coming in April 2025, Disney is slipping something new and fresh into the mix with Skeleton Crew. This series departs from the typical spread of ancient Jedi lore, rebels fighting an evil organization, or any of the other serious stuff. Instead this is about a group of kids getting lost in space and trying to make their way back home.
Skeleton Crew sticks to more upbeat settings, like busy modern cities and space ports rather than bleak desert colonies or grungy industrial planets. The mood and style are also different from what we’ve seen in Star Wars, as the show has been regularly compared to Goonies in space for its playful style and focus on the kids.
The first two episodes went live on December 2nd, and each of the remaining six episodes will come out every Tuesday until the season wraps up on January 14th.
6 Black Doves
Netflix — Season 1 — December 5
Another week, another spy show. Really, everybody is making one. But if they’re anything like Black Doves, there’s room for more. Keira Knightley takes the lead as Helen Webb, a spy that has managed to infiltrate the British government and marry a man who would become the Defence Secretary. Her life is made infinitely messier when her husband is murdered and she is being hunted, leaving her to protect her child and find the killer so she can get revenge.
The series has a higher energy and more action than the likes of Slow Horses or Day of the Jackal, and it plays up the thriller angle without getting caught up in overly complicated plots. Alongside Knightley, Ben Whishaw plays the regretful hitman Sam, and Sarah Lancashire plays Reed, the head of the Black Doves.
As usual, Netflix isn’t making you wait for episodes to come out, the full first season of Black Doves is available to watch straight away. Although, it’s a pretty tight watch as just six episodes.
5 The Sticky
Prime Video — Season 1 — December 6
Believe it or not, there was once a plot to steal a truly epic amount of Canadian maple syrup. It actually worked, and the crooks scored close to $20 million CAD in the tasty sweet goo. Remarkably, this isn’t that story… Well, it borrows a few details, enough for inspiration, but that’s about where things split off into fiction.
If you liked Fargo, you’re probably going to love The Sticky. The incredible Margo Martindale leads the cast of not-so-bright misfits that go on a mission to pilfer a metric boatload of slow-pouring goodness. Joining her are Chris Diamantopoulos and Guillaume Cyr as the bumbling cohorts; and later in the season Jamie Lee Curtis appears as a dark villainous figure.
The season is a very short six episodes of about 30 minutes apiece, so you can fly through it pretty quickly, and it’s all available now for an amusingly dark binge. Fair warning, the series ends on a cliffhanger, so we’re hoping to see a green light for a second season.
4 Biggest Heist Ever
Netflix — Documentary — December 6
Speaking of heist movies, once you’re finished laughing at a sugar heist gone sideways, you may as well get the true story of a record setting crypto heist that almost went right— as opposed to the countless rug pulls that actually do. Known as the Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde, aspiring rappers Heather R. Morgan (a.k.a. “Razzlekhan”) and her fiance Ilya Lichtenstein (a.k.a. Dutch) managed to steal $4 billion worth of Bitcoin, the greatest single financial crime in human history. If that sentence takes more than one pass, I totally understand.
This is a true crime documentary for the ages, from the producers of Tiger King. There’s no violence or abuse, and no animals were harmed, but you can count on plenty of cringe and nerdiness to keep you entertained. The Biggest Heist Ever is streaming on Netflix now.
3 Creature Commandos
Max — Season 1 — December 5
The two Suicide Squad movies didn’t exactly win over DC fans, but not for lack of trying. Now it may be time for a different strategy. MAX is bringing the lesser-known Creature Commandos, a team of monsters tasked by Amanda Waller to take on missions deemed too dangerous for humans. Yeah, it really is just Suicide Squad with wackier supers.
Before you run for the hills, DC made a few decisions that might warrant giving this one a chance. First, the studio tapped James Gunn to write and produce the show, so you can count on some of that Guardians of the Galaxy energy to give life to the oddball characters. The series is fully animated, giving Gunn the freedom to do more and play out scenarios more quickly than live action, not to mention considerably more animated violence and blood. And speaking of those oddballs, the main cast is voiced by none other than Alan Tudyk, Frank Grillo, and Indira Varma. Additionally, they’ll have appearances by Sean Gunn, David Harbour, Maria Bakalova, and many others. Viola Davis even makes a return as Amanda Waller, because let’s be honest, she was perfectly cast.
Max has released the first two episodes of Creature Commandos already, and the remaining five will be going live every Thursday until the season wraps up on January 9th.
2 White Lies
AMC+ and Sundance Now — Miniseries — December 5
Take a trip to the wealthy neighborhood of Bishopscourt in Cape Town, South Africa. Edie Hansen (Natalie Dormer, Game of Thrones) is an investigative journalist navigating the interwoven complications of extreme wealth, corrupt politics, and an underfunded neveropen force. When her estranged brother is murdered, his children become the likely suspects, but Edie isn’t convinced.
White Lies has been making a slow release crawl as it first premiered with VOD streaming in Israel early this year, and then quickly expanded to South Africa where it was shot. In April, it jumped to Australia, and now it’s finally coming to the US in December on AMC+ and Sundance Now. The first two episodes are out now, and each of the remaining six episodes should be coming out every Thursday.
1 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Max — Movie — December 6
We’ve seen sequels and remakes for most of the great 80s movies, and it’s no surprise Beetlejuice eventually made its return in the form of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — oh no, I said it three times!?! Falling just short of being in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of the year, the Beetlejuice sequel has made the move to Max.
Tim Burton returns to direct the ghost with the most, and he has Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder joining him from the original cast. Additionally, a whole string of huge names are here for the sequel as well, including Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Danny DeVito, and headlining as Lydia’s daughter, Jenna Ortega. Admit it, you probably haven’t watched it already, but now is a great time to get your second and third viewings in.
