The Best TV Shows And Movies Coming To HBO Max In December 2021
Holy crap, it's almost December. Which means the year is almost over. Somehow. As we wrap up 2021, we're also about to say goodbye to the Warner Bros. plan to release their new movies both in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time. The last title to receive this presentation will be "The Matrix Resurrections." After that, it's back to theatrical exclusives! Unless WB changes their minds, which could happen. You never know. For now, though, prepare yourselves for the end of the year with the list of new titles that will be dropping onto HBO Max in December 2021. And Happy Holidays, I guess!
The Matrix Resurrections
Yep, it's the big one. I haven't seen "The Matrix Resurrections" yet, so I can't comment on its quality. But c'mon – everyone is going to watch this. Even if you thought the other two "Matrix" sequels were a letdown, you have to admit the prospect of Keanu Reeves reuniting with co-star Carrie-Ann Moss and director Lana Wachowski for a new "Matrix" movie is pretty darn exciting. On top of that, the film doesn't look like your standard sequel. Instead, it's taking a kind of meta approach, finding the characters living in some sort of alternate timeline with seemingly no memory of what happened to them in the previous films. I'm hopeful about this one, folks. It's time to return to The Matrix.
Jackie Brown
Quentin Tarantino followed up "Pulp Fiction" with "Jackie Brown," a surprisingly melancholy movie about people getting old and feeling washed-up. Tarantino was still relatively young when he made this, which makes the movie all the more remarkable. Pam Grier is a flight attendant who gets mixed up with lawmen, drug smugglers, and a bail bondsman (Robert Forster) who grows smitten along the way. "Jackie Brown" wasn't as flashy as "Pulp Fiction," and didn't receive nearly the same amount of hype. But this remains one of Tarantino's best films, and it's only gotten better with age.
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Kermit and the gang head to the Big Apple with hopes of putting on a big Broadway show. But a taxi accident leaves Kermit with a bad case of amnesia, and now his Muppet pals have to find him. "The Muppets Take Manhattan" is yet another wonderful romp for Jim Henson's creations, and there's something utterly delightful about watching the Muppets roam around the streets of New York and encounter a gaggle of stars delivering quick cameos. Plus: songs! One of these days, Disney is going to realize they're blowing it by not making more Muppet movies. We should have a new one every year, gosh darn it!
No Country For Old Men
Staying very faithful to the novel by Cormac McCarthy, Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country For Old Men" is a masterpiece. A slow-burn, bleakly funny bit of neo-noir, the story concerns a Vietnam vet (Josh Brolin) who finds a ton of drug money and makes the unwise decision to keep it for himself. This triggers a series of events that unleash a stone-cold killer (Javier Bardem) who will stop at nothing to get the money. Not because he cares about the money, mind you. Just because he has a point to prove. The Academy often gets things wrong, but they got it right when they gave this a Best Picture Oscar (even though it was up against another great movie, "There Will Be Blood").
Blade II
Guillermo del Toro's "Blade II" is the type of gloriously over-the-top comic book adaptation that we need more of. It has style, it has personality, it has Blade doing wrestling moves. The story has half-human/half-vampire Blade (Wesley Snipes) teaming up with a band of vampires in order to take down a group of mutant vampires. But really it's an excuse for del Toro to showcase gnarly monster effects while Wesley Snipes acts cool as hell. I'm hoping for the best when it comes to Marvel's upcoming "Blade" reboot, but I know it'll never match the fun of this movie.
TV and Movies Coming to HBO Max in December 2021
December 1:
12 Strong, 2018 (HBO)
20 Feet from Stardom, 2013 (HBO)
Adrienne, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
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This HBO feature documentary, directed by Andy Ostroy, the late Adrienne Shelly's husband, is a celebration of the life and work of the actor, filmmaker, wife and mother and a personal exploration of grief.
A Perfect Murder, 1998 (HBO)
All I See Is You, 2016 (HBO)
All Rise, Seasons 1 and 2
The Answer Man, 2009 (HBO)
Blade II, 2002
Bolero, 1984 (HBO)
Breakdown, 1997 (HBO)
Changing Lanes, 2002 (HBO)
Chicago, 2002
Cloud Atlas, 2012
Control Room, 2004 (HBO)
Crazy, Stupid, Love., 2011
Days Of Thunder, 1990 (HBO)
Dragged Across Concrete, 2018 (HBO)
Enough Said, 2013 (HBO)
Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, 2015
Frontera, 2014 (HBO)
The Good Doctor, 2011 (HBO)
The Haunting In Connecticut, 2009 (HBO)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2012 (HBO)
Interview with the Vampire, 1994
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 2013 (HBO)
The Italian Job, 2003 (HBO)
Jack The Giant Slayer, 2013 (HBO)
Jackie Brown, 1997 (HBO)
Jupiter Ascending, 2015
The Lawnmower Man, 1992 (HBO)
Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, 1996 (HBO)
Limbo, 2020 (HBO)
Little Monsters, 1989 (HBO)
The Mask, 1994
Max Steel, 2016 (HBO)
Miss Congeniality, 2000
Mortal Kombat, 1995
Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms, 2021
The Muppets Take Manhattan, 1984
No Country For Old Men, 2007 (HBO)
Percy Jackson Sea Of Monsters, 2013 (HBO)
Pope: The Most Powerful Man In History, 2018
Pulse, 2006 (HBO)
R.I.P.D., 2013 (HBO)
Rubber, 2010 (HBO)
Runner Runner, 2013 (HBO)
Se7en, 1995
Shark Night 3D, 2011 (HBO)
Surrogates, 2009 (HBO)
Troll Hunter, 2010 (HBO)
The Truman Show, 1998 (HBO)
Two For The Money, 2005 (HBO)
Two Lovers, 2008 (HBO)
Viva, 2015 (HBO)
War On Everyone, 2016 (HBO)
The Wedding Singer, 1998
The Wolfpack, 2015 (HBO)
World's Greatest Dad, 2009 (HBO)
The Wrecking Crew!, 2008 (HBO)
XXX, 2002
December 2:
Music Box: Listening to Kenny G, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
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Through several interviews with renowned jazz critics, music professors and writers, and including a new in-depth, intimate interview with the artist, Listening to Kenny G is a multifaceted exploration of the two extremes between the musician's critics and his superfans, revealing a meditation on the larger idea of artistic taste and how our musical preferences define us.
Odo, Cartoonito Season 1 Premiere
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The new series welcomes kids ages three to five to a world full of possibilities as it teaches how to deal with setbacks in a meaningful way while promoting the development of self-efficacy and self confidence.
Perfect Life (Vida Perfecta), Max Original Season 2 Premiere
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Maria (Leticia Dolera) finds it harder to connect with her baby than she ever would have imagined. Though Pablo (Font García) is back in love with Cris (Celia Freijeiro), Cris searches restlessly for the ultimate amorous adventure. Esther's (Aixa Villagrán) wedding with her new partner Julia is coming up but she can never find the right moment to tell her that she's not ready yet.
Santa Inc., Max Original Animated Series Premiere
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Santa Inc. is the story of Candy Smalls, the highest-ranking female elf in the North Pole. When the successor to Santa Claus, is poached by Amazon on Christmas Eve, Candy goes for her ultimate dream— to become the first woman Santa Claus in the history of Christmas.
Space Jam: A New Legacy, 2021 (HBO) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English only on supported devices.)
December 3:
Breathe the Night
Craig of the Creek, Season 3
Hood River, 2021
Mike & Molly
Yerba Buena (HBO), 2020
December 4:
The Last O.G., Seasons 1-3
At the Ready, 2021
Drew Michael: Red Blue Green., Stand-Up Comedy Special Premiere (HBO)
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In this hilarious, confessional hour of stand-up, Drew Michael airs his issues with relationships, social media, and comedy as therapy.
December 5:
Kamikaze, Max Original Season Finale
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The story follows the fierce and charming 18-year-old Julie (Marie Reuther) on a journey of rediscovery, after losing her parents and brother in a plane crash. Suddenly, she finds herself alone in a large mansion with expensive cars in the garage, and, in theory, everything that most people only dream of: youth, beauty and money – lots of money – but material possessions hold no value to Julie anymore and she is forced to search for a reason to go on. She embarks on a wild and turbulent trip that takes her from her native Denmark to the far corners of the world. The series is based on the novel Muleum by Erlend Loe.
December 6:
The Forever Prisoner, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
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From acclaimed director Alex Gibney (HBO's "The Crime of the Century," "Agents of Chaos," "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley"), this documentary tells the chilling story of Abu Zubaydah, the first high-value detainee subjected to the CIA's program of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), later identified as torture by those outside the agency.
Landscapers, Limited Series Premiere (HBO)
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Inspired by real events, LANDSCAPERS tells a unique love story involving Chris and Susan Edwards (Thewlis and Colman), a seemingly ordinary British couple who become the focus of an extraordinary investigation when two dead bodies are discovered in the back garden of a house in Nottingham. Will Sharpe ("The Electrical Life of Louis Wain," "Flowers") directs the exploration of love and fantasy, which is created and written by screenwriter Ed Sinclair. Additional cast includes Kate O' Flynn ("Bridget Jones's Baby"), Dipo Ola ("We Hunt Together"), Samuel Anderson ("The History Boys"), David Hayman ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"), Felicity Montagu ("I'm Alan Partridge"), and Daniel Rigby ("Eric and Ernie," "Flowers).
December 7:
The Slow Hustle, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
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The Slow Hustle, directed by Sonja Sohn, follows Detective Suitor's widow and local investigative reporters as they work to get answers in the Suiter case and hold the Baltimore Police Department and City Hall accountable. The conflicting theories on his death speak to stark divisions between the involved parties – an independent review board ruled his death a suicide, a theory that the Suiter family strongly resists. As new evidence emerges, the mystery deepens. It is revealed that Suiter had been summoned to testify in the now infamous Gun Trace Task Force trial, an elite police unit that proved to be one of the dirtiest in Baltimore's recent history. Was his death a calculated effort to keep him silent, or was Suiter himself a cop under scrutiny with a past he couldn't face?
December 9:
A Thousand Fangs (aka Mil Colmillos), Season 1
And Just Like That..., Max Original Season 1 Premiere
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The Max Original AND JUST LIKE THAT..., the new chapter of the groundbreaking HBO series "Sex and the City," from executive producer Michael Patrick King, follows Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.
Gossip Girl Season 1, Finale
Music Box: Mr. Saturday Night, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
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Brimming with the sights and sounds of the era and hearing from many of the key players at the time, MR. SATURDAY NIGHT details Robert Stigwood's rise on the music scene in Britain in the 60s, and his years of cultural dominance in America as a manager, producer and taste-making genius. His crowning achievement was optioning a gritty New York Magazine article by Nik Cohn titled "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" and taking on the leadership of Paramount Pictures who never quite believed in the "little disco movie." In a prescient coup, he signed TV actor John Travolta and married the rhythmic dance music of the Bee Gees to the resulting movie. While often remembered as a beat-happy story of disco dancing, "Saturday Night Fever" captured the zeitgeist of disaffected youth struggling to break free of their milieu.
The Sex Lives of College Girls, Max Original Season 1 Finale
Summer Camp Island, Max Original Season 5 Premiere
December 10:
Dafne and the Rest (aka Todo lo Otro) , Max Original Season 1 Premiere
DC's Stargirl, Season 2
December 12:
Succession, Season 3 Finale (HBO)
December 14:
The Murders at Starved Rock, Documentary Series Premiere (HBO)
December 15:
What's New Scooby-Doo?, 2002
December 16:
2nd Annual HA Festival: The Art of Comedy, Max Original Comedy Special
Diego, The Last Goodbye (Diego, el último adiós), Max Original Documentary
The Cut (aka O Grande Look) , Max Original Season 1 Premiere
Finding Magic Mike, Max Original Season 1 Premiere
The Fungies, Max Original Season 3 Premiere
Music Box: Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
Station Eleven, Max Original Season 1 Premiere
December 17:
A Forbidden Orange , Max Original Premiere
December 20:
You Keep the Kids (Mama o Papa)
December 21:
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Season Finale (HBO)
December 22:
After the Sunset, 2004
The Matrix Resurrections, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021 (Only available on the $14.99/month Ad-Free plan. Streaming in the US only for a limited time. Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English only on supported devices.)
December 23:
40 Means Nothing (aka 40 No es Nada), Max Original Season 1 Premiere
Beforeigners S2, Max Original Season 2 Premiere
The Suicide Squad, 2021 (HBO) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English only on supported devices.)
December 24:
Black Jesus, 2014
December 26:
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 11 Finale (HBO)
Insecure, Season 5 Finale (HBO)
December 30:
Young Justice, Max Original Season 4 Part A
December 31:
How to With John Wilson, Season 2 Finale (HBO)