December 2025 TV preview:Fallout,Stranger Things' finale, and Taylor Swift
Plus, MUBI presents a new drama, Gillian Anderson stars in a bloody Western, and more.
2025 wraps up on a relatively heavy sci-fi and fantasy note thanks toStranger Things‘ finalstretch and the returns ofFallout andPercy Jackson And The Olympians. December also promises an 1850s-set Western and aSpartacussequel on Starz. Plus, Netflix serves up another round ofEmily In Paris (although she still seems to be in Rome), aTaylor Swift docuseries hits Disney+, and Simu Liu andMelissa Barrera lead Peacock’s latest spy show. Here isThe A.V. Club‘s guide to what to watch on TV next month.
The New Years(MUBI, December 3)
Less than two months after the premiere of Cooper Raiff’sHal & Harper, MUBI continues to be in the TV business withThe New Years, a Spanish drama that charts the ups and downs of a couple (played byÉlite‘s Iria del Río and Francesco Carril) over 10 New Year’s Eve celebrations. Filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen created the series with Sara Cano and Paula Fabra. [Tim Lowery]
The Abandons(Netflix, December 4)
Kurt Sutter (Sons Of Anarchy,Mayans M.C.) moves from motorcycle gangs to Old West outlaws in this action drama, in which a religious Irish woman in 1850s Oregon (portrayed byGame Of Thrones’ Lena Headey) is forced to stand up to Gillian Anderson’s powerful, land-hungry adversary. Lucas Till,The Nightingale‘s Aisling Franciosi, and Nick Robinson co-star. [Tim Lowery]
Spartacus: House Of Ashur(Starz, December 5)
15 years after the launch of hisSpartacusuniverse on Starz, creator Steven D. Knight brings the period drama back to the cable network. This sequel centers on gladiator Ashur (Nick E. Tremblay) in an alternate history where he wasn’t killed on Mount Vesuvius. Instead, he takes over the school that once owned him and reunites with his frenemy, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), in the underworld. Liam McIntyre briefly reprises his role as Spartacus here, and Graham McTavish and Claudia Black help round out the cast. [Saloni Gajjar]
Percy Jackson And The Olympiansseason two (Disney+, December 10)
Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg’s epic continues as Percy (Walker Scobell) goes on a quest to rescue his friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri), whose mission to search the sea for the god Poseidon (Toby Stephens) has gone haywire. In season two, Courtney B. Vance takes over the role of Zeus from the late Lance Reddick, and other cast additions include Kristen Schaal, Margaret Cho, and Sandra Bernhard. [Saloni Gajjar]
Little Disasters(Paramount+, December 11)
Writer Ruth Fowler (BBC One’sRules Of The Game) created this limited series, in which a child’s confounding injury prompts an investigation by social services. The thriller, which is based on Sarah Vaughan’s 2020 novel, stars Diane Kruger (who’s also currently in HBO Max’sThe Seduction), Jo Joyner, Ben Bailey Smith, andBridgerton‘s Shelley Conn. [Tim Lowery]
Man Vs. Baby(Netflix, December 11)
Rowan Atkinson and William Davies follow up their 2022 British comedyMan Vs. Bee with this four-parter, in which Trevor Bingley (Atkinson), who’s just started a new job as a school caretaker, takes up an enticing offer to housesit during Christmas and finds himself with an unexpected companion. [Saloni Gajjar]
Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era(Disney+, December 12)
To celebrate her record-breaking, delightfulEras tour, Taylor Swift unleashes a six-episode docuseries that goes behind the scenes of planning and performing her whopping 42-song setlist. As revealed in the trailer, the project also pulls back the curtain on her relationship with fiancé Travis Kelce, as well as working with collaborators like Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams. [Saloni Gajjar]
Falloutseason two (Prime Video, December 17)
Ella Purnell’s Lucy and Walton Goggins’ the Ghoul return as an unlikely duo inFallout‘s second season, banter and bickering on their perilous expedition in New Vegas to find surviving Vault-Tec members. Meanwhile, the video-game adaptation continues to explore its dystopian lands, including the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion.Fallout‘s ensemble welcomes Macaulay Culkin and Kumail Nanjiani this time around, as well as returning cast members Kyle MacLachlan, Moises Arias, and Zach Cherry. [Saloni Gajjar]
Stranger Thingsseason five (Netflix, December 25 and December 31)
After kicking off over Thanksgiving, the fifth and last season ofStranger Thingscontinues with four installments on Christmas and a supersized two-hour finale on New Year’s Eve (which you can also watchin theaters). In this run, the Hawkins crew teams up to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and his Upside Down demogorgons once and for all before they take over the real world. [Saloni Gajjar]
The Copenhagen Test(Peacock, December 27)
Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera lead this thriller about a Chinese-American intelligence analyst (Liu) whose brain has been hacked. While trying to figure out who is spying on him and watching everything he sees and does, he also has to maintain the ruse of normalcy at his agency to lure out the perpetrators. Executive produced by James Wan,The Copenhagen Testalso stars Brian d’Arcy James and Mark O’Brien. [Saloni Gajjar]
Other December premieres
December 11
Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croftseason two (Netflix)
December 18
Emily In Parisseason five (Netflix)
Tim Lowery is the TV editor forThe A.V. Club. Saloni Gajjar is the TV critic forThe A.V. Club.
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