From Netflix’s ‘Squid Game: Season 2′ to Disney’s ‘Dream Production,’ here are the hot shows to mark your calendars for this holiday season.
2024 is nearing its end, and as you finally find the time to slow down and relish the holidays, a slew of new shows are coming your way to make the season even merrier.
The list includes spy thriller Black Doves, the return of cult favorite series like Marvel’s What If and Queer Eye, as well as the upcoming Skeleton Crew for Star Wars fans. But what really got the internet talking over the weekend is the comeback of the Korean survival thriller Squid Game.
It took writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk 12 years to create the K-drama before it debuted in September 2021. Because of its thought-provoking and barbaric nature, the series became Netflix’s most popular series just 12 days after its release. Three years later, the world still has its laser eyes on the hit series and is excited to know if Squid Game: Season 2 is raising the stakes to live up to its predecessor’s success.
Squid Game: Season 2 sees the return of showrunner Hwang and cast members Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, and Wi Ha-jun. Jung-jae is suiting up as Seong Gi-hun aka Player 456 for another deadly round, while Byung-hun is still taking his seat behind the games as the mysterious Front Man.
Meanwhile, Ha-jun aka police detective Hwang Jun-ho survives his fall from Squid Game: Season 1 and continues his mission to expose the notorious operations. Fans of Hallyu heartthrob Gong Yoo have another reason to stay hooked to the series, as he is coming back as the salesman who recruits poor civilians to the deadly games.
Just like Squid Game: Season 1, this show’s second chapter sees hundreds of players—all of which are drowning in debt—risking their lives on a series of deadly children’s games to bring home the cash prize of ₩45.6 billion. The action and drama intensify with Gi-hun returning to the games after winning the previous round, giving up going to the US, and conjuring up a dangerous plan to expose the truth about the competition.
In the show’s trailer released on Nov. 1, Gi-hun is shown spoiling the mechanics of the Red Light, Green Light game to help all players make it out alive. He also persists in warning fellow players about the game’s dark motive. However, Player 456’s efforts seem to be in vain, with the Front Man changing the mechanics of each round and other players questioning Gi-hun’s true intentions.
Fans better be ready for more engrossing, heart-pounding twists as the show lands on Netflix on December 26. In the meantime, here are the other shows to keep your spirits high, or also thrilled, as you wait for Squid Game: Season 2’s release or when you simply want to binge-watch something new during the holidays.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
December 3 on Disney+
Christmas has come early for young Star Wars fans, with the release of Lucasfilm’s original live-action series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The eight-episode series follows four kids (Wim, KB, Fern, and Neel) as they go on a “real” adventure—“no more pretend,” as Wim would say—beyond their seemingly safe home planet.
As they journey into the strange and dangerous galaxy, they discover a “lost Jedi temple” as well as meet allies and enemies that altogether make for an exciting exploration. Among their new-found friends is Hollywood star Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood, a possible Jedi Knight who would help the kids get back home after getting lost in space set in the sci-fi saga’s New Republic era.
Black Doves
December 5 on Netflix
If you’re up for some Christmas mystery, Netflix’s Black Doves will treat you to a good dose of thrill. The series features Keira Knightley (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) and Ben Whishaw (This Is Going To Hurt) as an unlikely spy-assassin duo serving a lot of action during Christmas in London.
Keira plays the dedicated mother—and professional spy—Helen Webb while Ben portrays her longtime friend Sam Young. For 10 years, Helen has been passing her politician husband’s secrets to the organization she works for, called Black Doves. Things take a different turn when her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated. Helen’s spymaster Reed (Sarah Lancashire) then steps in and calls Sam to keep Helen safe.
Black Doves, according to Netflix, is an action-filled and heartfelt story of friendship and sacrifice. All these and more make the show a must-watch for an exciting holiday this year.
Queer Eye: Season 9
December 11 on Netflix
Hit reality series Queer Eye is back! After spending two seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana, the show’s Fab Five is venturing into Las Vegas to continue its mission: transform the lives of people from the inside out.
Once again, the Fab Five will use their expertise in style, grooming, and interior design to make big things happen for people in the Sin City. This new group of everyday heroes includes a former showgirl and a dedicated librarian both in need of change. Aside from them, the show itself is getting a makeover with Jeremiah Brent joining the Fab Five as an interior design expert, replacing Bobby Berk.
Related story: 10 movie sequels you should watch out for in the coming weeks, months
Dream Productions
December 11 on Disney+
If you love Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out movies, then be sure not to miss Dream Productions. The limited-edition animated series gives fans a look inside the studio in Riley’s mind where “dreams really do come true—every night, on time and on budget,” according to Disney.
But the studio, also called Dream Productions, faces a dilemma as smug daydream director Xeni (voiced by Richard Ayoade) pushes and strives to belong in the big leagues of Riley’s night dreams. In addition to that, the fun four-episode special will show how Joy and the rest of the Core Emotions would send new ones to Dream Productions for extra processing—especially now that Riley is growing up and definitely have a lot of them.
No Good Deed
December 12 on Netflix
No Good Deed is a dark comedy series led by Emmy award-winning actors Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond). In the eight-episode series, Lisa and Ray play spouses Lydia and Paul selling their 1920s Spanish-style villa in the romantic Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz.
But as three very different families race to buy what seems to be their dream home, the couple’s dark secrets that linger in their home start to unravel. Soon they realize that the only way to escape the past is to finally face it.
Marvel’s What If…? Season 3
December 22 on Disney+
The third and final season of Marvel’s animated series What If…? continues to explore new timelines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that depict what would have happened if the major events in the studio’s blockbuster film occurred differently.
In this season, The Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) continues to guide viewers through the unexpected twists of the vast multiverse and in meeting new and familiar faces voiced by film actors, including Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more.
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