December Newsletter

Hi there, and welcome to the latest edition of Substream! Your go-to source for honest, unpretentious streaming news, reviews, and recommendations.

In this month’s newsletter:

• Everything to look out for in December

• 2025 top series picks

• Industry news and announcements

Be sure to follow @substream on Instagram if you’re not already for a weekly dose of what to watch and more.

Don’t forget, you can always check out this newsletter or past newsletters here.

NEW THIS MONTH
Emily in Paris Returns, Stranger Things Wraps Up Final Season

Monday, December 1

• My Next Guest with David Letterman (Netflix, Adam Sandler interview)

Wednesday, December 3

• Oh What Fun (Prime Video, New original holiday film starring Michelle Pfeiffer)*

• My Secret Santa (Netflix, New original holiday film)*

• Ripple (Netflix, New drama series)*

• With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration (Netflix)*

Thursday, December 4

• The Abandons (Netflix, New period western drama)*

Friday, December 5

• Jay Kelly (Netflix, New original film starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler)*

Sunday, December 7

• Miss Scarlet (PBS Passport/Prime Video, S7)

Wednesday, December 10

• Merv (Prime Video, New original rom-com starring Zooey Deschanel)*

Friday, December 12

• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix, Original film starring Daniel Craig)*

Wednesday, December 17

• Fallout (Prime Video, S2)

• A Line of Fire (Netflix, New original film)*

Thursday, December 18

• Emily in Paris (Netflix, S5)

Thursday, December 25

• Relay (Netflix, New original action-thriller starring Lily James)*

Thursday, December 25

• Stranger Things (Netflix, S5-B, Final season)

• The Best You Can (Netflix, Original rom-com starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick)*

Saturday, December 27

• The Copenhagen Test (Peacock, New spy fiction series)*

Wednesday, December 31

• Stranger Things (Netflix, S5-C, Final season)

_{*New film or series. Recommend checking reviews here before watching.}

TOP PICKS
Best of 2025

As we near the end of the year, I couldn’t resist putting together a little “Streaming Wrapped” moment with my favorite series of 2025. You’ve probably watched a few of these already, but if not, consider this your Holiday PTO binge list. Thanks for being here and streaming along with me.

Best Drama Series:

• Severance (Apple TV+, S2)

• The Gilded Age (HBO Max, S3)

• The White Lotus (HBO Max, S3)

• The Bear (Hulu, S4)

Best Comedy Series:

• The Studio (Apple TV+, S1)

• Hacks (HBO Max, S4)

• Overcompensating (Prime Video, S1)

• Upload (Prime Video, S4)

• Platonic (Apple TV+, S2)

Best Docu-series:

• Clarkson’s Farm (Prime Video, S4)

Best Limited Series:

• Dying for Sex (Hulu)

• Adolescence (Netflix)

• Hostage (Netflix)

Best Action-Drama:

• Terminal List: Dark Wolf (Prime Video, S1)

• Slow Horses (Apple TV+, S5)

• Paradise (Hulu, S2)

• Reacher (Prime Video, S3)

• Ballard (Prime Video, S1)

Best Network Series:

• High Potential (ABC/Hulu, S2)

• The Rookie (ABC/Hulu, S7)

• Ghosts (CBS/Paramount+, S5)

Best YA Series:

• The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video, S3)

• Maxton Hall (Prime Video, S2)

TOP STORIES
In Case You Missed It

RENEWALS & CANCELATIONS

• ‘Nobody Wants This’ renewed for S3 at Netflix. (more)

• ‘All’s Fair’ renewed for S2 at Hulu. (more)

• ‘Poker Face’ canceled at Peacock after two seasons. (more)

• ‘Too Much’ canceled at Netflix after S1. (more)

TV NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS

• ‘Shogun’ S2 will begin production in January with new and returning faces joining Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis on the cast. (more)

• ‘Eloise’ live-action adaptation in the works at Netflix with Amy Sherman-Palladino set to direct and Ryan Reynolds set to star. (more)

• Brett Goldstein set to write, executive produce, and star in new eight-episode male escort comedy series, ‘Escorted’ at Prime Video. (more)

• ‘The Rookie: North’ gets ABC pilot order, Jay Ellis to star. (more)

• Kevin Costner is in talks to play Bill Clinton in ‘United,’ a new UN-backed TV drama he and Leonardo DiCaprio are executive producing. (more)

FILM NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS

• Sabrina Carpenter will star in and produce a musical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ adaptation for Universal. (more)

• Rachel Brosnahan making feature directorial debut with documentary on her aunt and fashion icon, Kate Spade. (more)

• Meghan Markle returns to acting after 8-year hiatus with a role in Amazon MGM film, ‘Close Personal Friends’. (more)

• Lucas Bravo and Emma Roberts will star in the Napa Valley rom-com murder mystery ‘A Murder Uncorked’. (more)

• Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki will star in Netflix’s holiday rom-com based on ‘The Bodygurd.’ (more)

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