New on Netflix UK in December 2022: best TV series & film releases to watch, from Treason to Glass Onion

As ever, a new month means new television to watch – and on Netflix in particular that means a deluge of originals, exclusives, and old favourites to wade through.

It can be difficult to make sense of what’s coming to Netflix, so we’ve organised the streaming service’s December releases into a list of dramas, comedies, documentaries, films, and international series.

Here’s your guide to everything that’s new on Netflix UK this December, with a few highlighted top picks to help you decide what to watch. You can also find our complete breakdown of all the new Christmas content coming your way during December right here.

Drama

Firefly Lane Season 2 | Thursday 1 December

Kate grapples with the painful aftermath of Johnny’s ill-fated trip to Iraq, while Tully faces a lawsuit after walking away from her talk show, and must start her career over from the bottom. This leads her to search for answers about who she is and where she comes from – including a quest to find the father she never met, against the wishes of her secretive hippie mother.

The Recruit | Friday 16 December

A fledgling lawyer at the CIA becomes enmeshed in dangerous international power politics when a former asset threatens to expose the nature of her long-term relationship with the agency unless they exonerate her of a serious crime. Noah Centineo stars in this spy thriller series.

Alice in Borderland S2 | Thursday 22 December

To solve the mystery of the "Borderland" and return to his original world, Arisu and his comrades must take on even more difficult and dangerous games.

Dragon Age: Absolution | Friday 9 December

When a heist against the most powerful man in Tevinter goes south, an elven mercenary named Miriam (Kimberly Brooks) is forced into a desperate fight for survival. Now, to save herself and her friends, Miriam will have to confront the tragic past she’s spent a lifetime trying to escape.

Treason | Monday 26 December ^{TOP PICK}

Trained and groomed by MI6, Adam Lawrence’s career seems set. But when the past catches up with him in the form of Kara, a Russian spy with whom he shares a complicated past, he is forced to question everything and everyone in his life. Charlie Cox, Olga Kurylenko, and Oona Chaplin star.

Comedy

Sebastian Maniscalco: Is It Me? | Tuesday 6 December

Standup comedy from the standup comedian Sebastian Maniscalco.

Tom Papa: What a day! | Wednesday 13 December

Stand-up comedian Tom Papa returns to Netflix for his second hour-long special, What A Day! Tom shares the highs and lows of parenting, his reliance on modern technology, rescuing his pet pug, and how his marriage has evolved over time.

Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery | Friday 15 December ^{TOP PICK}

Improv comedy that sees Will Arnett joined by celebrity guests. Senior Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is back and this time, the case is critical. Along with his two celebrity guest stars, Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph, he is on a mission to figure out...who killed Santa? But here’s the catch: Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph aren’t being given the script.

Emily in Paris S3 | Wednesday 21 December ^{TOP PICK}

Faced with two very different paths, Emily will have to decide exactly where her loyalties lie — at work and in her romantic life — and what those decisions mean for her future in France, all while continuing to immerse herself in the adventures and surprising twists and turns that life in Paris provides.

Chelsea Handler: Revolution | Tuesday 27 December

The celebrated, award-winning comedian lets loose on her life – including her choice to remain childless and alone (with the exception of her dogs), dating during the pandemic while her family invades her home, and her vision for a future where men don’t wear flip flops.

Family

Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure | Wednesday 13 December ^{TOP PICK}

Having resigned themself to the fact that they will just end up on someone’s plate, Gudetama just wants to be lazy all the time. But, swept up by the go-getting, overbearing chick Shakipiyo, they leave the refrigerator and head out into the world. Together, these polar opposites go on an adventure to find their mother!

Sonic Prime | Friday 15 December

The action-packed adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog go into overdrive when a run-in with Dr. Eggman results in a literal universe-shattering event. Desperate to piece his prime reality back together and save his old friends, Sonic races through the Shatterverse, discovering strange worlds and enlisting new friends in an epic adventure of a lifetime!

Documentary

Sr. | Friday 2 December ^{TOP PICK}

From documentarian Chris Smith (American Movie) comes a lovingly irreverent portrait of the life, career, and last days of maverick filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., whose rebellious spirit infused decades of counterculture movie-making. “Sr.” widens the lens from Downey’s art to the life with which it was deeply intertwined, including an intimate examination of his relationship with son Robert Downey, Jr.

In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case | Thursday 8 December

This documentary unveils evidence of corruption in the investigation into the murder of five people in the Narvarte neighborhood of Mexico City in 2015. Documentary film, 108 mins.

Harry & Meghan | Thursday 8 December

An intimate and comprehensive portrait of the last few years of their relationship from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Last Chance U: Basketball Season 2 | Wednesday 13 December

The critically-acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series returns to East Los Angeles College (ELAC) to give viewers another honest, gritty look inside the world of community college basketball. Picking up a year after COVID caused an abrupt and emotional end to ELAC’s 2020 championship run, head coach John Mosley is eager to get back on the court with an almost entirely new roster of Huskies. Off the court, players get vulnerable sharing their personal struggles of family instability, mental health, homelessness, and more.

Reality & Light Entertainment

My Unorthodox Life Season 2 | Friday 2 December

After fleeing her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, Julia Haart inspired millions around the world with her story of liberation, instantly becoming a spearhead for the modern women’s movement. When she and her husband surprise the world with a blindsiding removal as CEO – followed by filing for a divorce – Julia is left to battle for control of her business empire, which quickly turns contentious. Will she lose everything or gain more than she could ever imagine?

Too Hot to Handle S4 | Wednesday 7 December

Will this wild cast be able to stick to the rules and abstain from sexual contact (or self-gratification) in order to form meaningful connections, and keep that prize money as high as their sex drives? Or will temptations prove too strong to resist?

Cook at All Costs | Friday 16 December

Do luxury ingredients always make the best dishes? Or can humble items be transformed into a recipe for success? Hosted by chef and restaurateur Jordan Andino, Cook at All Costs is a cooking competition where skill meets strategy, as three home cooks put their money where their mouths are to bid on ingredients in a high-stakes, auction-packed cook of.

Dance Monsters | Friday 16 December

Amateur dancers disguised as CGI avatars bring their best moves, hoping to wow our panel of judges and win $250,000. Ne-Yo, Lele Pons and Ashley Banjo serve as judges, with Ashley Roberts as host. Essentially, think as close as you can get to the Masked Dancer without actually ending up in court.

The Circle: Singles | Wednesday 28 December

The Big-Brother-crossed-with-Catfish reality show returns with a new twist: what if everyone in The Circle is looking for love? Or, at least, pretending to be…?

Internationals

Hot Skull | Friday 2 December ^{TOP PICK}

In a world shaken by an epidemic of madness that spreads through language and speech, reclusive former linguist Murat Siyavus is the only person mysteriously unaffected by this disease. Hunted by the ruthless Anti-Epidemic Institution, Murat is forced to leave the safe zone and flee within the flames and ruins of the streets of Istanbul, where he searches for the secret of his “hot skull” - a lasting mark of the disease. Based on the novel HOT SKULL by Afşin Kum.

Smiley | Wednesday 7 December

In Smiley, Álex is heartbroken. He was building fantasies with a boy that, a couple of weeks later, disappeared giving him a perfect ghosting. And he is really upset because of it. He picks up the phone and asks out for an explanation in a voicemail that will have unexpected consequences… because he ends up sending it by mistake to Bruno, who he doesn’t know at all. This innocent first misleading is the first one in a chain of events that will change Alex and Bruno’s life forever.

The Most Beautiful Flower | Wednesday 7 December

Curvy, curly, confident Mich knows she’s fabulous. Now she just has to convince everyone else at her Xochimilco high school to believe it too.

A Storm for Christmas | Friday 16 December

A group of people arrive at Oslo airport. Some to welcome their loved ones, some to travel home to their families, and some to fly away and escape Christmas. But in one way or another, their Christmas mission goes awry. They are all stranded at the airport and the clock is ticking - only 24 hours til Christmas - so what do they do?

Netflix Original Films

Troll | Thursday 1 December

Deep inside the mountain of Dovre, something gigantic awakens after being trapped for a thousand years. Destroying everything in its path, the creature is fast approaching the capital of Norway. But how do you stop something you thought only existed in Norwegian folklore?

Lady Chatterly’s Lover | Friday 2 December

Marrying Sir Clifford Chatterley, Connie’s life of wealth and privilege seems set as she takes the title of Lady Chatterley. Yet this idealistic union gradually becomes an incarceration when Clifford returns from the First World War with injuries that have left him unable to walk. When she meets and falls for Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on the Chatterley family estate, their secret trysts lead her to a sensual, sexual awakening. But as their affair becomes the subject of local gossip, Connie faces a life-altering decision: follow her heart or return to her husband and endure what Edwardian society expects of her. Emma Corrin stars in this DH Lawrence adaptation.

Burning Patience | Wednesday 7 December

Mario is a young fisherman who dreams of being a poet, and by becoming Pablo Neruda’s postman, is involved in a world of metaphors and verses to achieve not only his desire of being a writer, but also to conquer Beatriz, the woman of his dreams.

The Marriage App | Wednesday 7 December

A young couple with children find themselves going through a crisis and seem to have exhausted all opportunities to solve their marriage problems. As a last resource, they decide to use an app that gives (or subtracts) points for each good deed they do to one another. At the beginning this seems to be the solution they have been waiting for, until the obsession to pile up points and win independence from each other will spiral things out of control.

Pinocchio | Friday 9 December

Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and award winning, stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson reimagine the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy with a whimsical tour de force that finds Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that transcends worlds and reveals the life-giving power of love. Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor, and David Bradley star.

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths | Friday 16 December

An epic, visually stunning and immersive experience set against the intimate and moving journey of Silverio, a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles. After being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, Silverio is compelled to return to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Friday 23 December ^{TOP PICK}

Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colourful suspects. At a lavish private estate on a Greek island, Blanc soon meets a distinctly disparate group of friends gathering at the invitation of billionaire Miles Bron for their yearly reunion. When someone turns up dead, everyone is a suspect

White Noise | Friday 30 December ^{TOP PICK}

At once hilarious and horrifying, lyrical and absurd, ordinary and apocalyptic, White Noise dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world. Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, and Don Cheadle star in Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of the Don DeLilo novel.