As the turkey leftovers disappear and Black Friday kicks into gear, it’s a prime moment to settle in with new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Peacock and other streaming services.
With the holidays fast approaching and November on its way out, two fan-favorite series are taking their final bows: "Stranger Things" season 5 part 1 begins its last stand in Hawkins, while "Bel-Air" season 4 closes out its contemporary reinvention of the Banks family saga.
This weekend, I'll have already binged "Stranger Things" season 1 volume 1, so I'll focus on catching up on awards fare, like "Blue Moon."
New TV shows
‘Stranger Things’ season 5 volume 1 (Netflix)
After more than three years of speculation, theories, and counting down the days since the July 1, 2022 season 4 finale, “Stranger Things” has finally returned. Volume 1 of the fifth and final season drops four packed episodes loaded with Upside Down turmoil, edge-of-your-seat tension and the kind of emotional gut-punches this show practically trademarked.
Hawkins is still fractured by the Rifts, Vecna is missing but far from gone and the government has the whole town under lockdown. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is back in full battle stance, sharpening her powers for the ultimate fight. The entire crew reunites for a last stand that promises to be massive. The wait is over — and the nightmare has only evolved.
Episodes 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix
‘Bel-Air’ season 4 (Peacock)
Will and the Banks family return for the fourth and final season with enough dangling threads to make up an entire Malibu wardrobe. Will (Jabari Banks) is trying to savor senior year even as the pressure of what comes next closes in, while Carlton (Olly Sholotan) discovers obstacles in his once-certain Princeton path.
Viv (Cassandra Freeman) might be staring down major family news, Hilary (Coco Jones) is already onto her next reinvention and Ashley (Akira Akbar) finds out fast that freshman year does not play. Even Phil (Adrian Holmes) and Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola) feel their rock-steady partnership wobble. Add in some unexpected cameos — yes, Snoop Dogg really shows up — and you’ve got the makings of a standout farewell.
Episodes 1-2 are streaming now on Peacock
‘The Beatles Anthology’ (Disney Plus)
“The Beatles Anthology” returns looking freshly polished but carrying the same unmistakable soul. Fully restored, newly remastered and now expanded with a ninth episode, the docuseries drops back into the mid-’90s “Threetles” reunion — the moment that sparked the Grammy-winning “Free as a Bird” and cracked open a whole archive of shared history.
No commentators, no filters — just Paul, George and Ringo walking through the story in their own voices. With Giles Martin updating the soundtrack, the series feels like reopening a long-sealed time capsule. If Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” let us listen in on 1969, this finale invites us to sit beside them in the ’90s.
Episodes 1-3 premiere Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 3 a.m. ET on Disney Plus
‘Prehistoric Planet’ season 3 (Apple TV)
The chill creeping in outside feels right at home with the newest chapter of Apple’s sweeping nature series. Narrated by Tom Hiddleston, “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” drops viewers into a Pleistocene bursting with life: mammoths trudging through snowfields, saber-toothed cats prowling in the shadows and those scene-stealing three-foot elephants doing their thing.
Across five episodes, the series jumps from tundra to rainforest to sun-blasted dunes, reshaping what we think “Ice Age” actually means. With Hans Zimmer’s score rumbling underneath it all, the whole thing plays less like a documentary and more like a first-class trip through deep time.
Episode 1 is streaming now on Apple TV
New movies
‘Blue Moon’ (PVOD)
“Blue Moon” is perfect for anyone who likes their showbiz stories served with equal parts melancholy and martini. Richard Linklater’s biographical dramedy trails Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke, a Best Actor frontrunner) through the long, bruising night he realizes the world — and his old partner Richard Rodgers — has moved on without him.
Set against the opening of “Oklahoma!” in 1943, the film is a smoky, bittersweet waltz through fading fame, unrequited love and the punchlines we tell to keep from falling apart. Linklater keeps the focus tight on Hart, letting Hawke’s extraordinary performance speak for itself.
Streaming now with purchase on Apple TV or Prime Video
‘Left-Handed Girl’ (Netflix)
This drama directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and co-written with “Anora” Oscar winner Sean Baker sweeps you into the bustling night markets of Taipei, where a single mother and her two daughters try to make a life after returning from the countryside. When youngest daughter I-Jing is scolded for using her left hand (the “devil’s hand”), family tensions surface.
Tsou, drawing on decades of personal experience and longtime collaborator Baker’s touch, crafts a multigenerational portrait that is tender, tense and unexpectedly playful. Shot on iPhones amid the market’s frenzy, it’s a story of family, tradition and the small rebellions that define us.
Streaming now on Netflix
‘Jingle Bell Heist’ (Netflix)
Netflix’s latest original movie brings a holiday twist to the classic heist setup. Olivia Holt stars as Sophia, an American department store worker juggling two jobs and caring for her mother, while Connor Swindells is Nick, a local tech-savvy ex-con. When both set their sights on robbing the same London department store on Christmas Eve, they join forces, combining brains and skills to pull off the plan.
Along the way, sparks — and, naturally, complications — emerge. Filmed on location in London with familiar British comedy faces, the film blends festive settings with clever heist dynamics in a holiday story with a twist.
Streaming now on Netflix
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