The holiday season is right around the corner, which, for many, means reuniting with friends and family near and far. You might not all be on the same page about which pie reigns supreme at Thanksgiving — is it apple, pecan, or maybe pumpkin? But when you’re looking for something to watch with your nearest and dearest, we have a variety of upcoming series and films your whole crew can agree on. Whether you want to watch a class pet experience a midlife crisis in Leo or you want to learn more about our beautiful, mysterious, and downright weird planet in Life on Our Planet, we have a whole list of shows and movies that are just better to watch with family and friends.
If you want to take the family time off-screen, Netflix has a number of IRL holiday experiences: For Angelenos, Netflix Family Nights at the Santa Monica Ice Rink takes place from Nov. 24 to Dec. 26; from Dec. 8 to Dec. 10, shoppers can visit Netflix’s complimentary gift-wrap stations at eight malls across the US; plus, catch Adam Sandler’s loveable lizard, Leo, and One Piece’s beloved hero, Monkey D. Luffy, flying high at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23.
Here’s everything that’s coming to Netflix to add to your family watch list.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Emotional support lizard
LOGLINE: Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school — as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…
CAST: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Sunny Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Rob Schneider, Stephanie Hsu, Jo Koy, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel
DIRECTORS: Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim
Read more about Leo.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Saving Christmas
LOGLINE: In this new adventure set before the events of the feature, there’s nothing the Bad Guys love more than Christmas morning — because while everyone is home opening presents, it’s the perfect time to execute their citywide holiday heist. But when Christmas is unexpectedly canceled, the Bad Guys must do the unthinkable: reignite the city’s holiday spirit by giving instead of taking.
CAST: Michael Godere, Ezekiel Ajeigbe, Raul Ceballos, Chris Diamantopoulos, Mallory Low, Zehra Fazal, Keith Silverstein, Kari Wahlgren
DIRECTOR: Bret Haaland
GENRE: Comedy
CATEGORY: Chaotic family fun
LOGLINE: Jess and Bill Walker are doing their best to keep their family connected as their children grow older, more independent, and more distant. When a chance encounter with an astrological reader causes the family to wake up to a full body switch on the morning of the most important day of each of their lives, can the Walkers unite to land a promotion, college interview, record deal, and soccer tryout? The film is based on the book Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
CAST: Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon, Bashir Salahuddin, Matthias Schweighöfer, Xosha Roquemore, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Paul Scheer, Fortune Feimster, Andrew Bachelor, Pete Holmes, Naomi Ekperigin, Dan Finnerty, Cyrus Arnold, Vanessa Carrasco, and Rita Moreno
DIRECTOR: McG
Read more about Family Switch.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Joy ride, let’s-ah-go!
LOGLINE: A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother, Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.
CAST: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Sebastian Maniscalco
DIRECTORS: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Fowl adventure
LOGLINE: From the multi-Academy and BAFTA Award winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep) and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively) comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run. Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland, the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
CAST: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi , Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Mohammed, Miranda Richardson
DIRECTOR: Sam Fell
Read more about Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Gotta catch ’em all
LOGLINE: Expanding the Pokémon world, the story follows Haru, a concierge at the Pokémon Resort, and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners, who visit as guests.
CAST (JAPANESE): Non, Fairouz Ai, Eita Okumura, Yoshiko Takemura
CAST (ENGLISH): Karen Fukuhara, Imani Hakim, Josh Keaton, Lori Alan
DIRECTOR: Iku Ogawa
GENRE: Holiday
CATEGORY: Holiday rivalries
LOGLINE: Every Christmas, Jackie sends a boastful holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte feel like a lump of coal. When a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her family on Jackie’s snowy doorstep just days before Christmas, she seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend’s life can’t possibly be that perfect. Starring Heather Graham, Brandy, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño.
CAST: Heather Graham, Brandy, Jason Biggs, Matt Cedeño, Abby Villasmil, Madison Skye Validum, and Wyatt Hunt
DIRECTOR: Mary Lambert
Read more about Best. Christmas. Ever!
GENRE: Reality
CATEGORY: Let us eat cake!
LOGLINE: Deception is the name of the game for the world’s most talented bakers, who will compete to create hyperrealistic cakes that look exactly like everyday objects — with cash on the line. But are they good enough to deceive a panel of celebrity judges… and you? You’ll be asking yourself, “Is it real? Or… is it cake?”
CAST: Mikey Day
Read more about Is It Cake? and watch on Netflix now.
GENRE: Documentary series
CATEGORY: Exploring Earth’s mysterious history
LOGLINE: This is the story of life’s epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth. Today there are 20 million species on our planet, yet what we see is just a snapshot in time — 99% of earth’s inhabitants were lost to our deep past. The story of what happened to these dynasties — their rise and their fall — is truly remarkable. In partnership with Industrial Light & Magic, the filmmakers use the latest technology and science to bring long-extinct creatures back to life. Life on Our Planet reveals the incredible story of life on Earth.
CAST: Morgan Freeman
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Steven Spielberg, Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey
Read more about Life on Our Planet.
GENRE: Action, fantasy
CATEGORY: Pirate plunders on the high seas
LOGLINE: Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, ONE PIECE is a legendary high-seas adventure unlike any other. Monkey D. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom since he can remember. Luffy sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, ONE PIECE, to become King of the Pirates! But in order to find the ultimate prize, Luffy will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines, and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.
CAST: Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero, Taz Skylar, Vincent Regan, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Morgan Davies, Aidan Scott, Langley Kirkwood, Jeff Ward, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, McKinley Belcher III, Craig Fairbrass, Steven Ward, and Chioma Umeala.
CO-SHOWRUNNERS: Matt Owens, Steven Maeda
Read more about ONE PIECE.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
LOGLINE: Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man™: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
CAST: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry
DIRECTOR: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
GENRE: Family adventure
CATEGORY: Kids saving the world
LOGLINE: When the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, they must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world.
CAST: Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla, Connor Esterson, Billy Magnussen, D.J. Cotrona
DIRECTOR: Robert Rodriguez
Read more about Spy Kids: Armageddon.
GENRE: Animation
CATEGORY: Action-packed family comedy
LOGLINE: The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a monkey and his magical fighting Stick as they team up on an epic quest where they must go head-to-head against gods, demons, dragons, and the greatest enemy of all, Monkey’s own ego!
CAST: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie, and B.D. Wong
DIRECTOR: Anthony Stacchi
Read more about The Monkey King.
GENRE: Family adventure
CATEGORY: Family-friendly hauntings
LOGLINE: Finding a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home turns Kevin’s family into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of Ernest’s past, they become a target of the CIA.
CAST: David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Tig Notaro, Erica Ash, Jennifer Coolidge, and Anthony Mackie
DIRECTOR: Christopher Landon
Read more about We Have a Ghost.
