1. The Abandons
On horseback and wearing big hats, Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey play two widowed matriarchs fighting over land and power in the American Old West of 1854. Headey is Fiona Nolan, owner of a cattle ranch and head of a tightly knit chosen family of outcasts. Anderson is the wealthy Constance Van Ness, determined to protect the mining fortune she inherited from her husband, which to her means taking Fiona’s land. Christopher Keyser, the series’ executive producer, has said that «in the middle of murder and revenge and a bit of illicit romance», the show delves into questions about family, moral choices, and survival. The title tells you that its sympathies lie with Fiona’s family, The Abandons. But Constance’s attitude and Anderson’s delivery are also quite entertaining. When Fiona speaks up for her God-given rights, Constance icily replies: «If I knew I was getting a sermon, I would have worn my Sunday finery.»
The Abandons premieres 4 December on Netflix internationally
(Credit: BBC)
2. The War Between the Land and the Sea
Russell T Davies, who so brilliantly reinvigorated Doctor Who in 2023, has created this socially charged sci-fi spinoff as part of the Whoniverse. When the ancient species called Homo Aqua – the aliens formerly known as Sea Devils to Doctor Who fans – rise out of the ocean and engage with humans, they set off a global crisis. Russell Tovey, as Barclay, an agent of UNIT (United Intelligence Task Force) has to try to calm things down. Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Salt, the creature who is the aquatic ambassador to humans, and Jemma Redgrave is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the head of UNIT. «This is a huge, spectacular Christmas treat, with heroes and monsters and battles and romance, in a world on the edge of disaster,» Davies has said. But it also has a message about the dangers of today. «We’re already in a climate war. This just dramatises it,» he told Radio Times about the threat from the sea.
The War Between the Land and the Sea premieres 7 December on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK and in 2026 on Disney+ internationally
Paramount+ (Credit: Paramount+)Paramount+
3. Little Disasters
Diane Kruger stars in this psychological thriller as Jess, part of a friend group with three other women who met over a decade before, when they were pregnant at the same time. Her life starts to unravel when she takes her small daughter to the hospital where Liz (Jo Joyner), one of those friends, happens to be the doctor on emergency call. When Jess can’t explain how her child’s serious head injury happened, Liz informs social services, and the suspicion and suspense ramps up all around. The show is based on Sarah Vaughan’s bestselling 2020 novel of the same name, about loyalty, betrayal and motherhood, but its true appeal may lie elsewhere. When the series premiered in the UK earlier this year, the Telegraph called it «undeniably bingeable, mainly thanks to the madly luxurious lifestyle on display».
Little Disasters premieres 11 December on Paramount+ in the US and Canada and is available now on Paramount+ in the UK
Getty Images (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
4. Taylor Swift: The End of An Era
The tour may be over but the spinoffs keep coming. This six-part documentary goes behind the scenes of The Eras Tour, with a close-up look at Swift rehearsing, planning and chatting with colleagues, family and backup dancers. It features an all-star lineup of guests joining her on and off-stage, including Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Ed Sheeran and Florence Welch, along with her ever-present fiancé, Travis Kelce. On the same day as the series premieres, Disney+ will also add the concert film The Final Show, capturing the last Eras show, in Vancouver in December 2024. That will include the full set of The Tortured Poets Department, the album released after the original Eras Tour film was made in 2023. If the constant supply of material from that tour is any clue, when her wedding finally happens we may never hear the end of it, but then too much Taylor may never be enough for her gazillion fans.
Taylor Swift: The End of An Era premieres 12 December on Disney + internationally
Amazon MGM Studios (Credit: Amazon MGM Studios)Amazon MGM Studios
5. Fallout
The first season of this post-apocalyptic series based on the bestselling video game quickly broke viewing records for Prime Video. In this much-anticipated new season, Lucy (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) traipse across the wasteland of the Mojave Desert together. She is searching for her father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), to bring him to justice for his betrayal, and he is looking for the remnants of his family. «At times they are on this buddy road trip,» Purnell told Empire magazine about their odd-couple journey. «And then other times they’re so much at arms.» The trek takes them towards New Vegas, a location well-known to fans of the game. Justin Theroux joins the series as Robert House, who controls the New Vegas Strip, and Macaulay Culkin plays a mysterious figure that Deadline calls a «crazy genius-type character». The show’s amazing lineup of actors includes Leslie Uggams and Zach Cherry in the returning cast.