New on Netflix: 7 shows and movies to watch this week (Nov. 20-26)
All the Netflix shows and movies you won't want to miss this week
The holiday season is officially here, and that means you'll probably be spending a lot of time celebrating with family or enjoying some much-needed downtime. Thanksgiving is this week, but there's still a surprising amount of content that's new on Netflix content you can check while doing everything else.
Arguing over what to watch next? Or maybe you need a suggestion? We've checked over what's available this week to bring you the cream of the crop from what's new on Netflix.
This week’s major standout is Squid Game: The Challenge, which pits contestants against each other in a reality show adaptation of the popular Korean series. They're all competing to win the biggest prize Netflix has awarded yet: a whopping $4.56 million cash prize. How will they do it? Compete in the same games seen in the original series, of course!
There’s also Leo, a family musical comedy perfect for everyone to gather 'round and enjoy together. It follows a 74-year-old lizard (Adam Sandler) who's been a class pet all his life — but when he finds out he has only a year left to live, he decides to do something for the class of students who's taken care of him before he goes.
This week's new on Netflix also serves up A Nearly Normal Family, a Swedish thriller that follows a seemingly idyllic family with a perfect life -- that is, until daughter Stella is arrested for murder. Everything is thrown into turmoil as everyone works to grapple with tough truths about Stella and themselves.
Want more? Below, check out our complete day-by-day rundown of what's new on Netflix this week. Then go see if any of it is your cup of tea, likely over a steaming plate of turkey and mashed potatoes.
New on Netflix this week: Top picks
Stamped from the Beginning
Stamped From The Beginning is a documentary that offers a detailed exploration of the intricate and history of race in America. The narrative weaves together the lives of five pivotal figures: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis. Through a diverse lens, director Roger Ross lines out and presents Ibram X. Kendi's book in a striking visual way. It educates and informs viewers about the grim reality of white supremacy, revealing how it's been both shaped and perpetuated by religion, government, and activism.
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Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 20
Leo
Leo (Adam Sandler) is an elderly lizard that lives a peaceful life as a class pet. Or he would be, if he weren't undergoing a midlife crisis. At the grand age of 74, Leo discovers he only has one year left to live. With that in mind, the lizard embarks on an unexpected adventure when he decides to abandon his cage and see what's out there in the world. Except he isn't out to go sightseeing. This isn't just any escape as wise Leo finds himself becoming an unconventional therapist to the quirky fifth graders of his classroom as they need rescuing from their awful substitute teacher. Oh, and it's also a musical.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 21
Squid Game: The Challenge
Squid Game: The Challenge is Netflix's new reality TV venture, based on the massively popular Korean series Squid Game. It'll be the chance of a lifetime for 456 real-life competitors as they compete in games based on those seen in the original show for an unprecedented $4.56 million cash prize, the largest ever in Netflix's history. From cutting out shapes from Korean honeycomb "dalgona" cookies to the most harrowing version of "red light, green light" ever, contestants will have to face a lot more than interpersonal drama if they want to come out on top, though lucky for these players, the penalty for failing is a lot less harsh than the TV show's: death. These contestants just have to go home.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 22
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, season 2
High on the Hog returns for a second season to celebrate the influence and innovation of African-American food on popular culture. This Peabody Award-winning documentary series traces the origins of the cuisine to food uncover how it's fueled social justice movements, transformed communities and awakened cultural creativity across America in significant and lasting ways. More than just a docuseries about food, it's also about how culture can create a huge imprint that transcends age, race, and preference.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 22
I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me
This Mexican comedy-thriller film follows an aspiring writer named Juan Pablo Villalobos (Dario Yazbek Bernal) who's planning to move to Barcelona to pursue a PhD in literature. But before he leaves, he has a chance encounter with a dangerous criminal network that inspires him to write a novel — the creation of which reflects the surreal and absurd events he experienced. - KW
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 24
My Demon
The latest Netflix Korean drama takes a page out of Beauty and the Beast and mashes it with The Little Mermaid. Jeong Guwon (Song Kang) is a powerful demon. Do Dohee (Kim Yoo Jung) is a workaholic human CEO who is married to her job. One day, they become entangled and Guwon loses his powers — to Dohee. They wind up having to live together so he can get them back. Though they come from two different worlds, sparks begin to fly. - KW
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 24
A Nearly Normal Family
A Nearly Normal Family is a thriller that brings Mattias Edvardsson's best-selling book to life. The Sandell family, living in a polished suburb outside of Lund, seem to epitomize the picture-perfect family: father Adam (Björn Bengtsson), a priest; mother Ulrika (Lo Kauppi), a lawyer; and their 19-year-old daughter Stella (Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors). But their seemingly idyllic existence shatters when Stella is arrested for murder. As the Sandell family grapples with Stella’s arrest, they find themselves forced to confront not just the truth about their daughter, but everything they're hiding in their own lives, too.
Watch on Netflix starting Nov. 24
Everything new on Netflix: Nov. 20-26
NOVEMBER 20
Shahs of Sunset: Seasons 1-2
NOVEMBER 21
Leo (Netflix Family)
Adam Sandler is a lizard named Leo in this coming-of-age musical comedy about the last year of elementary school as seen through the eyes of a class pet.
NOVEMBER 22
Crime Diaries: The Celebrity Stylist (CO) (Netflix Film)
When an up-and-coming stylist is found stabbed to death in his home, a young detective is given 20 days to solve the case. Inspired by true events.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America: Season 2 (Netflix Documentary)
In season two of the immersive award-winning docu-series High on the Hog, host Stephen Satterfield travels across the United States to uncover how African-American cuisine has fueled social justice movements, transformed communities and awakened cultural creativity in America in powerful and lasting ways.
Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix Series)
456 real players will enter the competition show in pursuit of a life-changing reward of USD $4.56 million. As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show - plus surprising new additions - their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them.
NOVEMBER 23
Love Island USA: Season 3
My Daemon (JP) (Netflix Anime)
To save his mother, a kind-hearted boy and his tiny daemon friend set out on a journey across post-apocalyptic Japan as dark forces close in.
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark: Chapter 6 (Netflix Family)
Opaline has captured nearly all the power of Equestria, and time's running out! Can the ponies team up with the dragons to save magic and restore peace?
NOVEMBER 24
A Nearly Normal Family (SE) (Netflix Series)
The world of a seemingly perfect family shatters when a shocking murder proves that they're willing to make desperate moves to protect each other.
DOI BOY (TH) (Netflix Film)
A refugee builds a new identity as a sex worker in Thailand and gets caught up in a client's risky scheme that might lead to a better life.
I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me (MX) (Netflix Film)
A writer's career — and entire life — suddenly goes off script when he falls prey to a dangerous web of criminals right before moving to Barcelona.
Last Call for Istanbul (TR) (Netflix Film)
A chance meeting at the airport leads two married people to an unforgettable night full of excitement, desire, and temptation in New York City.
My Demon (KR) (Netflix Series)
Chaebol heiress Do Do Hee is an adversary to many, and Jung Koo Won is a powerful entity superior to humans. However, one day, Jung Koo Won loses his powers. Forced to collaborate with Do Do Hee to regain them, sparks of romance begin to fly between them as they embark on this journey together.
Wedding Games (BR) (Netflix Film)
When Alex and Eva choose to exchange vows at the very spot they first crossed paths, a series of hilarious missteps derails their journey to the altar.
Leaving Netflix This Week
Leaving 11/22/23
Hard Kill
Love Island USA: Season 1
What to watch on Netflix
If you want to browse by specific genres, check out our guides to the best family movies on Netflix, best comedies on Netflix, best Netflix documentaries, best romantic movies on Netflix and the best horror movies on Netflix.
Plus, dig into Netflix hidden features which will let you access secret categories, games and more.
More From Tom's Guide
Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.
- Kelly WooStreaming Editor