It's officially holiday season and there's plenty of new releases across film, TV and music to enjoy this December.
From a new festive comedy to a fantasy rom-com, a Taylor Swift docuseries, the latest season of Emily in Paris and a new batch of episodes from Stranger Things' final instalment - there's loads to look forward to.
Check out our picks of the best new releases this month.
MOVIES
Tinsel Town, 5 December
It's officially festive season and this latest addition to the Christmas movie canon looks very promising indeed. Rebel Wilson and Kiefer Sutherland head up this charming looking comedy about a washed-up Hollywood action hero (Sutherland) who travels to a small British town to perform in a panto production of Cinderella. Wilson plays Jill, the show's straight-talking choreographer, while Derek Jacobi is the stage door manager.
Jay Kelly, 5 December, Netflix
George Clooney and director Noah Baumbach give us mere civilians a tour of the gilded cage in this breezy and profound Hollywood satire. To his fans looking up at the big screen, actor Jay Kelly (Clooney) appears to have it all. But what's the point in success if you've no loved ones to celebrate it with, or, worse, you have loved ones, but they're not interested in celebrating with you? In an era of best-life braggadocio, there are lessons here for us all - and parents more than most.
Eternity, 12 December
Director David Freyne's fantasy romantic-comedy is set in the afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, and with whom. Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Miles Teller) and her first love (Callum Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive. The excellent cast also includes Da'Vine Joy Randolph, John Early and Olga Merediz.
Eleanor the Great, 12 December
Scarlett Johansson makes her feature directorial debut and casts nonagenarian June Squibb as her leading lady in this New York-set comedy-drama. It's the story of a terrible lie that gets terribly out of hand, leaving the feisty Eleanor in a mess of her own making. Eleanor the Great showcases a brilliant performance from Squibb, and Johansson makes directing look easy. If you're looking for something a little different amidst the December chaos, this is the one for you. Erin Kellyman and Chiwetel Ejiofor also star.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, 12 December, Netflix
Much-loved Irish actors Andrew Scott and Daryl McCormack star in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third instalment of the popular murder mystery film series. The starry ensemble cast also includes the returning Daniel Craig, who plays the super sleuth Benoit Blanc, Challengers star Josh O'Connor, Civil War's Cailee Spaeny, Mayor of Kingstown's Jeremy Renner, Scandal's Kerry Washington, and Family Guy's Mila Kunis. The film is described as the "third and darkest chapter" of the murder mystery opus and it looks very good indeed.
Sentimental Value, 26 December
Sentimental Value, director Joachim Trier's acclaimed film about a quietly fractured family, received a 19-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Cannes film festival in May, where it was awarded the Grand Prix. It follows the complex relationship between a lauded director (Stellan Skarsgård) and his two estranged daughters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), which becomes even more complicated when he decides to make a personal film about their family history. Elle Fanning plays Rachel Kemp, a famous American actress playing the lead role in his latest film.
TELEVISION
With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, 3 December, Netflix
In this festive edition of her lifestyle series Meghan Markle, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, shares top tips about how to make the holiday season especially memorable and meaningful. From holiday feasts, to homemade gifts and season crafts - there's plenty of inspiration to be had.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — The End of an Era, Disney+, 12 December
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour of all time and now the popstar will "close the book" on this remarkable chapter of her life with a six-episode Disney+ docuseries, which promises to give a behind-the-scenes look at how it all happened.
In a trailer for the series, Swift says: "People like to talk about phenomenons, almost as if it was pieces falling into place, as if it just happened.
"The Eras Tour wasn't when all the pieces fell into place. This tour was just when every single one of us who had done so much work, pushing inch by inch, to when we all clicked together.
"We have broken every single record you can break with this tour. The only thing left is to close the book."
The first two episodes of The End Of An Era and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: The Final Show, which features the entire Tortured Poets Department set, will be released to Disney+ on 12 December.
Fallout, Season 2, Prime Video, 17 December
The highly-anticipated second season of Prime Video's Fallout, based on the popular video game series, lands on the streamer on 17 December.
The new season picks up in the aftermath of season one's epic finale, taking audiences along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas as Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) hunt for her father.
Set two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the show also stars Kyle MacLachlan, Aaron Moten, Moisés Arias and Frances Turner.
Emily in Paris, Season 5, Netflix, 18 December
All 10 episodes of the fifth season of Emily in Paris drop on Netflix on 18 December, following season four's split format that saw Emily (Lily Collins) go from Paris to Rome.
The show's creator Darren Star says of the upcoming episodes: "This season is a tale of two cities: Rome and Paris. Straddling both, Emily takes love and life to the next level."
Season five will explore the connection between Emily and Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), who decided at the end of season four that he wanted to be with the marketing maven, after all. But is it too little too late?
Joining the show this season are Bryan Greenberg as Jake, an American living in Paris, Michèle Laroque as Yvette, an old friend of Emily's boss, Sylvie and Minnie Driver as Princess Jane, a friend of Sylvie’s who married into a royal family.
Stranger Things: Season 5, Volume 2, Netflix, 25 December, finale 31 December
Volume 2 of Stranger Things' fifth and final season, which consists of three episodes, drops on Christmas Day, with the sure-to-be explosive finale landing on the streaming service on New Year's Eve. The supernatural drama from the Duffer Brothers has had audiences hooked since it debuted in 2016 - and now they're treating viewers to one last adventure.
A synopsis reads: "The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown.
"Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread.
"The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."
MUSIC
December is a traditionally quiet month for big new albums as the labels smack their lips for the Christmas cash-in and gird their loins for the hot new act of the new year. However, here are some new releases worth listening out for . . .
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Live God, 5 December
This new live double CD captures one of the most electrifying performers on the planet in full flight with the Bad Seeds. An official document of Old Nick's Wild God Tour, which left audiences reeling in Ireland and across the globe, the18-track album includes performances of O Children, From Her To Eternity, Red Right Hand, White Elephant, Papa Won't Leave You, Henry, Into My Arms, and As The Waters Cover The Sea.
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori: Mexico City, 5 December
Recorded in a city that celebrates The Day Of The Dead, here is a new live album from the dark princelings of synth rock and one of the great live acts of the last thirty years.
The Memento Mori World Tour was in support of the band's fifteenth studio album, Memento Mori, and their first concert tour without keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who died in 2022.
Memento Mori: Mexico City includes two Blu-rays and 2 CDs chronicling the band’s three sold out concerts at Mexico City’s Foro Sol Stadium. Conceived and directed by award-winning Mexican filmmaker Fernando Frías, the film blends concert footage and archival material, "delving into the profound connection between music, mortality, and Mexican tradition."
Dove Ellis - Blizzard, 5 December
Having impressed with his debut single, To The Sandals, and a string of intimate live dates, including performances at Other Voices in Dingle, west of Ireland singer songwriter Dove Ellis is set to released his first album, Blizzard. Recorded in London and Liverpool, he has trailed the debut with two new songs, Love Is and Pale Song. Now based in Manchester, Dove recorded the album with Sophie Ellis and Andrew Sarlo, known for their work with Big Thief, Dijon, Mk.Gee, and Bon Iver. He is about to embark on his first US tour, supporting New York gonzo rockers Geese.
Olivia Rodrigo - Live From Glastonbury, 5 December
America’s bitter sweetheart slings out a live album capturing her in action earlier this year during her Sunday night headline slot at Glastonbury and recorded by the BBC. The performance was her second Glasto appearance, following her debut in 2022 on the Other Stage. The gig featured a special guest appearance by Robert Smith of the Cure, who gamely belted out renditions of Just like Heaven and Friday I'm in Love with la Rodrigo. The track listing also includes Obsessed, Drivers License, Love Is Embarrassing, and So American. Gnarly!
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 50, 12 December
It’s defo Christmas. Here’s one for your music mad dad or your vinyl addicted sibling - a deluxe box set, CD, digital, vinyl and, for the first time in Dolby Atmos, remaster of the Floyd’s landmark 1975 album.
A treasure trove - or a saucerful of secrets, if you will - of oddities and rarities, the bonus for completists will be the six previously unreleased alternate versions and demos, including a new Welcome to the Machine demo.
After going to the very edges of the universe on Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd's eighth studio album didn’t exactly see them come back down to earth. The usual Floyd themes of insanity, alienation and the corrosive effects of consumerism are all alive and well on Wish You Were Here but most people will know this record for the still mind and foot expanding homage to Syd Barrett, Shine On You Crazy Diamond. And then there’s the plangent folk meets sci-fi of the title track, and, of course, that cover art.
If you are going all out, the deluxe box set includes a two-CD set, three albums on clear vinyl, an extra LP titled Live At Wembley 1974, a Japanese replica 7" single, a hardcover book with unseen photographs, a comic book tour programme, and a Knebworth Poster.
Alan Corr
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