It’s now December. This means that for most people, work is just an illusion, and their brains are elsewhere, conjuring up images of holiday festivities and, if we’re lucky, vegging out around the home. Every year, a litany of Christmas films is launched for viewers everywhere to consume, with some standing the test of time while others are simply more entertaining background noise. However, one streaming service has arisen to prove itself a holiday-producing juggernaut—Netflix. Netflix Christmas programming is many, but we have you covered.
Over the past decade or so, Netflix has been releasing and acquiring holiday films to launch on its service, making it one of the one-stop shops for Christmas movie fixes. They even have their own Holiday Movie Universe, which has been mostly built up by their many holiday romance films over the years. For 2024, Netflix created a decent amount of holiday films and TV shows to add to their already extensive Holiday log, and I’m not just talking about the various kinds of burning fireplace specials they have on the service.
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Ranging from romance to family-friendly films – both live-action and animated -and even an action thriller aiming to be the next Die Hard, there’s plenty for viewers to take in this season as they wind down for the year. Check out what’s arrived and is soon to be arriving on the streaming service:
Netflix Christmas Films 2024
Meet Me Next Christmas
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Writers: Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis
Cast: Christina Milian, Devale Ellis, Kofi Siriboe, Tymika Tafari, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Matt Sallee, Kalen Allen, Nikki Duval, Wesley French, and Brendan Morgan
Synopsis: In pursuit of a fairytale romance with the man of her dreams, Layla must race through New York City to get her hands on the hottest ticket in town: the sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert.
Our Thoughts: “Meet Me Next Christmas starts this Netflix holiday viewing season right. The world is extra dark right now, and for some of us, it’s the time of year when we glom hard onto holiday movies to distract us from real life. Throw in an extra helping of romance, and you have the recipe for comfort. It shouldn’t be difficult, yet not every holiday movie hits the mark. Thankfully, Meet Me Next Christmas hits the right spot – both romantically and festively – in selling us holiday romance goodness.”—Sarah Musnicky
Now Playing on Netflix.
Hot Frosty
Director: Jerry Ciccoritti
Writer: Russell Hainline
Cast: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Craig Robinson, Joe Lo Truglio, Katy Mixon, Lauren Holly, and Chrishell Stause
Synopsis: Two years after losing her husband, Kathy magically brings a handsome snowman to life! Through his naïveté, the snowman helps Kathy to laugh, feel and love again, as the two fall for each other just in time for the holidays…and before he melts.
Our Thoughts: “This is the time of year when holiday films can range from serious to heartfelt to sheer nonsense, and Hot Frosty falls in the latter category. Much like the tale of Frosty the Snowman, Netflix’s latest addition to their Holiday Movie Universe requires some suspension of disbelief to make it land. And it mostly sticks. There’s a little slush here and there, with an ending that is hastily tossed together like a pizza. However, Hot Frosty is just as silly as its premise promises, with Dustin Milligan giving peak golden retriever energy and then some.”
Now Playing on Netflix.
The Merry Gentlemen
Director: Peter Sullivan
Writer: Marla Sokoloff
Cast: Britt Robertson, Chad Michael Murray, Marla Sokoloff, Beth Broderick, Michael Gross, Maxwell Caulfield, Hector David Jr., Colt Prattes, and Marc Anthony Samuel
Synopsis: To save her parents’ small-town performing venue, a former big-city dancer decides to stage an all-male, Christmas-themed revue.
Our Thoughts: “As a film with the hook of bare-chested men dancing to save a business around the holidays, The Merry Gentlemen knows the audience it’s gunning for. It’s me. I’m the audience. However, despite its witty title and shiny trappings, its embrace of the shallow also extends to its romance.
For a movie tapping into the sensual dance stylings ala Magic Mike, the chemistry between the two leads is so stiff that no amount of stretching out can warm up this otherwise frigid start to love. And that’s not without Chad Michael Murray‘s best efforts.” —Sarah Musnicky
Now Playing on Netflix.
Our Little Secret
Director: Stephen Herek
Writer: Hailey DeDominicis
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Ian Harding, Kristin Chenoweth, Tim Meadows, Jon Rudnitsky, Henry Czerny, Judy Reyes, Chris Parnell, Dan Bucatinsky, Katie Baker, Jake Brennan, Ash Santos, and Brian Unger
Synopsis: Two resentful exes are forced to spend Christmas under the same roof after discovering that their current partners are siblings.
Our Thoughts: “Netflix and Lindsay Lohan’s partnership continues to succeed with the latest holiday rom-com, Our Little Secret. Since she returned to film with Falling For Christmas, Lohan has steadily chipped away at a place at the rom-com table, with hopefully more in store in the future after Our Little Secret. In Lohan’s latest project, there is a more subtle approach to storytelling that not only shows that holiday rom-coms don’t need to be outlandishly crazy to keep viewers watching but that sometimes keeping things grounded is just enough.”—Sarah Musnicky
Now Playing on Netflix.
The Snow Sister
Director: Cecilie Mosli
Writers: Maja Lunde and Siv Rajendram Eliassen
Cast: Mudit Gupta, Celina Meyer Hovland, Ole Steinkjer Øyen, Jan Sælid, Samsaya, Gunnar Eiriksson and Advika.
Synopsis: Christmas Eve is approaching. It is also the day Julian will turn eleven years old. Usually, it is the best day of the year, filled with the fantastic aroma of gingersnaps and tangerines, the sound of a crackling fire, the decorated Christmas tree, and the flickering candlelight. But this year, nothing is as usual. Julian and his family mourn the death of his big sister, and Julian feels that Christmas has just been canceled.
Then, one day, Julian meets the happy and Christmas-loving Hedvig, and he begins to believe that perhaps there will be Christmas after all. But there’s something strange about Hedvig’s house, and who is the old man who is lurking around the house all the time?
Our Thoughts: “While the holidays are typically a joyous time, for some, like the main character Julian (Mudit Gupta) and his family in The Snow Sister, it is a time of grieving. The presence of those lost lingers with the reminder that the year is almost over. But it is not something we can avoid, or else we run the risk of never truly being able to move on.
Through his chance encounter with the strange Hedvig (Celina Meyer Hovland), both Julian and the audience learn to confront grief and death head-on rather than bury it. It just takes a while to reach that lesson in this slow-paced magical drama.”—Sarah Musnicky
Now Playing on Netflix.
That Christmas
Director: Simon Otto
Writers: Richard Curtis and Peter Souter
Voice Cast: Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen, Katherine Parkinson, Sindhu Vee, India Brown, Zazie Hayhurst, Sienna Sayer, Jack Wisniewski, Rosie Cavaliero, Paul Kaye, Guz Khan, Andy Nyman, Kuhu Agarwal, Bronte Smith, Freddie Spry, Ava Talbot, Bill Nighy, and Rhys Darby.
Synopsis: Based on the charming trilogy of children’s books by beloved multi-award-winning writer/director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday), That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys!
Our Thoughts: “That Christmas may not be the most revolutionary holiday film, but there’s enough heart, silliness, and prime messaging in this animated film to give it its wings. And, if anything, it can serve as a distraction with its own interpretation of the most chaotic Christmas holiday ever.”—Sarah Musnicky
That Christmas is playing in select theaters now and is now streaming on Netflix.
Carry-On
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: T.J. Fixman
Cast: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Sinqua Walls, Logan Marshall-Green, Theo Rossi, Josh Brener, Dean Norris, Tonatiuh, Curtiss Cook, Joe Williamson, and Gil Perez-Abraham
Synopsis: A young TSA agent fights to outsmart a mysterious traveler who blackmails him into letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight.
Carry-On will stream exclusively on Netflix on December 13, 2024.
Netflix Christmas Specials 2024
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter
It’s a nonsense holiday and we’re so here for it. In this special with musical guests, pop icon Sabrina Carpenter will perform songs from her holiday EP fruitcake and other iconic chart-topping holiday covers. This special will also feature show-stopping music performances, comedic guests, unexpected duets, plus many more surprises and fun cameos.
The show will feature duets with Chappell Roan, Tyla, Shania Twain, and Kali Uchis and appearances from Nico Hiraga, Quinta Brunson, Cara Delevingne, Kyle Mooney, Megan Stalter, Sean Astin, Owen Thiele, and Jillian Bell.
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter will stream exclusively on Netflix on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 6 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. EST.
Netflix Christmas TV Series 2024
Is It Cake? Holiday
Host: Mikey Day
Guest Judges: Rachel Bloom, Wayne Brady, Sebastian Maniscalco, Hannah Berner, Tiffany Haddish, Devon Walker, James Austin Johnson, Chris Witaske, Sasheer Zamata, Terry Crews, Punkie Johnson, and Randall Park
Bakers: Jonny Manganello, Andrew Fuller, and April Julian from Season 1. Elizabeth Rowe, Miko Kaw Hok Uy, and Danya Smith from Season 2. Henderson Gonzalez, Grace Pak, and Jujhar Mann from Season 3.
Synopsis: Talented bakers, unbelievable illusions, and joyful holiday vibes. Is It Cake? Holiday brings back nine All Star bakers from past seasons for the ultimate holiday showdown. Across four episodes, watch as bakers return to craft tasty replicas of ice skates, wreaths, nutcrackers, and more in this holiday spin on the mind-bending baking competition.
Bakers will baffle the celebrity judges with their festive and delicious deceptions and fight their way to the ultimate grand prize.
Now Streaming on Netflix.
Black Doves
Directors: Alex Gabassi and Lisa Gunning
Creator/Writer/EP: Joe Barton
Cast: Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Buchan, Kathryn Hunter, Ella Lily Hyland, Gabrielle Creevy, Omari Douglas, Andrew Koji, Luther Ford, Adeel Akhtar, and Paapa Essiedu
Additional Cast: Finn Bennett, Tracey Ullman, Sam Troughton, Adam Silver, and Ken Nwosu (Look the Other Way and Run).
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of London at Christmas, Black Doves is a sharp, action-filled, and heartfelt story of friendship and sacrifice. It follows Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), a quick-witted, down-to-earth, dedicated wife and mother — and professional spy. For 10 years, she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for: the Black Doves.
When her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to keep her safe. Together, Helen and Sam set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason and why, leading them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy linking the murky London underworld to a looming geopolitical crisis.
Our Thoughts: “Grounded by Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, Black Doves is a holiday-adjacent action series well worth binging. The story is engrossing, the characters are compelling, and the action is well executed, standing out in a TV season filled with action (Lioness, The Agency, The Day of the Jackal).”—Kate Sánchez
Now streaming on Netflix.
Whether you’re in need of some Christmas romance to watch while snuggling next to a fire or need something action-packed, ala Die Hard, it’s clear that Netflix has invested in creating holiday films and shows that will satisfy any viewer need.
If you don’t see something from 2024 that will fulfill your Christmas viewing wish, you can check out Netflix’s large holiday viewing selections when you log in. They’re working hard to make sure their subscribers are set this season and the next.
