With Christmas lights glowing and celebrations filling your calendar, there’s no better excuse to slow down and make room for the new TV shows premiering on Netflix, Apple TV and other streaming services.
This week’s offerings may be lean, but they’re anything but small, led by the high-stakes premiere of "Stranger Things" season 5, volume 2, and the tense, thought-provoking finale of "Pluribus," which promises big answers and even bigger consequences.
‘Taylor Swift: The End of an Era’ finale (Disney+)
Christmas comes a little early for Swifties with the final two episodes of “Taylor Swift: The End of an Era” dropping ahead of schedule, wrapping the six-part documentary just days before the holidays. Swift broke the news herself on “Good Morning America,” thanking fans and casually dropping the accelerated release like it was a stocking stuffer.
The last two episodes will likely cover the last two stops on the record-breaking Eras Tour, Toronto (which I attended) and Vancouver, pairing perfectly with “The Eras Tour: The Final Show,” filmed in the latter city. Consider this your year-end encore.
Episodes 5-6 premiere Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 3 a.m. ET on Disney+
‘Pluribus’ season 1 finale (Apple TV)
Like “End of an Era,” the finale of “Pluribus” has been moved earlier as a holiday treat for fans of Vince Gilligan’s sci-fi series. Titled “La Chica o El Mundo” (“The Girl or the World”), the episode finds Carol (Rhea Seehorn) at a crossroads after reconnecting with Zosia (Carolina Widra).
Enter Manousos (Carlos Manuel Vesga), closing in on Albuquerque. With complications promised and “the last best place on Earth” looming, the finale asks the show’s sharpest question yet: Does Carol still want to save the world, or has she finally found a reason not to?
Episode 9 premieres Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 12 a.m. ET on Apple TV
‘Stranger Things’ season 5 volume 2 (Netflix)
Everything we thought we knew about the Upside Down is apparently wrong. The final season’s second chapter finds Hawkins in free fall as Will’s long-simmering connection to Vecna finally goes nuclear.
The Duffer brothers haven’t revealed much, but the trailer is pure panic fuel: Demogorgons unleashed, soldiers outmatched, and Dustin and Steve sealing their bond with a deeply unsettling “you die, I die” pact. Vecna is promising “new worlds,” but the real game-changer may be Will himself. Prepare yourself, though: With the finale looming on New Year’s Eve, we just know this volume will end on a massive cliffhanger.
Episodes 5-7 premiere Thursday, Dec. 25 at 3 a.m. ET on Netflix
‘Copenhagen Test’ (Peacock)
“Copenhagen Test” drops you straight into the worst workday imaginable: realizing your brain has been hacked. Simu Liu stars as Alexander Hale, a first-gen Chinese American analyst whose every word and gesture is being tracked by a mysterious entity.
Caught between his own agency and the hackers, he’s forced to play along while hunting for the truth. Melissa Barrera sails in as a possible ally, possible trap; she’s both helpful and tempting, and her motives aren’t quite clear. The result is a spy thriller where privacy is a myth and trust is replaced by paranoia.
All 8 episodes premiere Saturday, Dec. 27 at 3 a.m. ET on Peacock
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