Charlie Brooker’s daring sci-fi series imagines dystopian futures filled with high-tech inventions, depraved characters and terrifying twists. The fourth season, due just before the New Year, delivers six new bizarre, unsettling and mind-blowing stories: a overprotective mother who monitors her daughter through a chip implanted in her head; a gamer who gets swallowed by a Star Trek–like VR experience; and a couple in a creepily controlling matchmaking experiment. Available December 29.
In the late 20th century, one name reigned supreme in polka: Jan Lewandowski. The Polish-American singer performed for presidents and the Pope, earned a Grammy nomination and toured relentlessly across the world—until authorities discovered that he’d been bilking his admiring fans out of millions of dollars. Jack Black stars as Lewandowski, bringing a goofy charm and unconvincing accent (remember Nacho Libre?) to the rise-and-fall biopic. It hits Netflix the same day as the related documentary The Man Who Would Be Polka King. Available January 12.
A few months after its European premiere, this German period thriller hits English audiences. The series, set in 1920s Berlin, follows a detective whose case—busting a mafia-run pornography ring—quickly spirals out of control, forcing him to confront the bleak realities of interwar Germany: political unrest, unemployment, inflation. The show balances those heavy topics with plenty of seedy crime and sex, glimpses of a bustling nightlife scene and dazzling ‘20s costumes. Available January 30.
The best older title coming to Netflix this month is undoubtedly Spotlight, a dramatization of the Boston Globe’s investigation into child sex abuse in the Catholic church. It won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2016 thanks to its snappy writing, its understated ensemble performance, and its amazingly accurate depiction of the inner workings of a newspaper. Available January 18.
In 2016, Netflix accidentally categorized this Australian horror flick as an LGBT film, inadvertently turning it into a seminal entry in the queer film canon. Now that it’s on Netflix Canada, a warning: the movie is nowhere near as quirky or lighthearted as the meme. It’s 95 minutes of pure psychological terror about a top-hatted monster who torments a single mother and her young son. Available January 1.
Available January 1
Anne With An E (season one)
13 Minutes
Age of Shadows
AlphaGo
Camp Cool Kids
Chonda Pierce: Enough
Dries
Eastsiders (season three)
Functional Fitness
Glacé (season one)
Lovesick (season three)
Maddman: The Steve Madden Story
Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World
Murder on the Cape
Not Alone
Open Season: Scared Silly
Penn and Teller: Fool Us (season one)
Planetarium
Splash and Bubbles (season one)
Super Dark Times
Superbad
The Layover
The Rehearsal
The Vault
Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable
Unleashed
Available January 2
Shameless (season seven)
Cheapest Weddings (season one)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Mustang Island
Rent
Zumbo’s Just Desserts (season one)
Available January 3
6 Days
A Ghost Story
Available January 5
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Collections
All Eyez on Me
Devilman Crybaby (season one)
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (season two)
Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha
Rotten
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part Two
Available January 6
House of Z
Killing Ground
The Journey
Available January 10
Alejandro Riaño Especial de Stand Up
Available January 12
Disjointed (part two)
Boyka: Undisputed
Somebody Feed Phil
The Man Who Would Be Polka King
Available January 14
Carol
Tom Segura: Disgraceful
Available January 15
Manolo: The Boy Who Mades Shoes for Lizards
Rip Tide
Unrest
Available January 16
Katt Williams: Great America
Helix (seasons one and two)
Available January 17
Arange y Sanint: Ríase El Show
Available January 18
Bad Day for the Cut
Dear White People
Kill the Messenger
Mr. Holmes
Mortdecai
The 5th Wave
Tiempos de Guerra (season one)
Available January 19
The Open House
Drug Lords (season one)
Grace and Frankie (season four)
In the Deep
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (season one)
Ven Helsing (season two)
Available January 23
Black Lightning (season one)
Todd Glass: Act Happy
Available January 24
Ricardo Quevedo: Hay Gente Así
The Good Catholic
Available January 25
Acts of Vengeance
Available January 26
Llama Llama (season one)
A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Dirty Money
One Day at a Time (season two)
Sebastián Marcelo Wainraich
The Adventures of Puss in Boots
Mau Nieto: Viviendo Sobrio... Desde el Bar
Available January 28
El Ministerio del Tiempo (season three)
Available January 29
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Patient Seventeen
The Force
Available January 30
Retribution (season one)
Available January 31
Cars 3
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