The 5 New and Under-the-Radar Shows You Can’t Miss In December
Photo Courtesy of Netflix TV Lists list
This December, it truly may be the most wonderful time of the year for television lovers. The dual industry strikes are finally over and writers and actors are back to work! Get ready for the return of your favorite shows and a plethora of new ones. This month, Paste will be covering final episodes of Netflix’s The Crown (December 14th), Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians (December 20th), and the second season of Prime’s Reacher (December 15th).
But with all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays (have you mailed your holiday cards yet?), we want to offer you a reprieve. Take a break from figuring out just who is going to deal with your politically incorrect uncle at Christmas dinner and check out the five new shows you can’t miss this month.
Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?
Stars: Geddy Lee, Krist Novoselic, Les Claypool, Melissa Auf der Maur, and Rob Trujillo
Premiere Date: All four episodes premiere December 5th on Paramount+
Geddy Lee, the bass player for the band Rush for almost 50 years, visits the homes of four famous bass players—Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Les Claypool (Primus), Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins), and Rob Trujillo (Metallica) to interview them about their life and career. The four-episode series is a follow up to his 2018 book Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass, and aims to show that, in Lee’s own words, “fellow bass folk are more than just the shadowy figures we see skulking around the stage.” First up is a trip to Sonoma County, California and visit to the “Rancho Relaxo” home of Claypool, founding member of the band Primus. “My life as a bass player has been leading up to this moment,” Lee jokes as he works Claypool’s John Deere excavator.
Archie
Stars: Jason Isaacs, Laura Aikman, Harriet Walter, Dainton Anderson, Calam Lynch, Oaklee Pendergast, and Kara Tointon
Premiere Date: The first two episodes premiere December 7th on BritBox
No, this isn’t about the comics. This four-episode series, which premiered across the pond last month, takes its title from Cary Grant’s real name Archie Leach and is executive produced by Grant’s daughter, Jennifer Grant, and his ex-wife, Dyan Cannon. Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in all the Harry Potter movies) stars as the title character in a series which reflects on the beloved actor from his childhood in Bristol, England all the way to the twilight of his career. Just who was the man who starred in Charade, North by Northwest, and An Affair to Remember? Archie aims to tell you.
My Life With the Walter Boys
Stars: Nikki Rodriguez, Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, Noah LaLonde, Ashby Gentry, Connor Stanhope, Johnny Link, Corey Fogelmanis, Dean Petriw, Lennix James, Alix West Lefler, Isaac Arellanes, Myles Perez, Zoë Soul, and Alisha Newton
Premiere Date: All 10 episodes premiere December 7th on Netflix
Is your life missing a melodramatic teen drama? Netflix is here for you. After the death of her parents and older sister (what is this, a Disney movie?), Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) leaves her glamorous New York City life behind to move to Colorado to live with her mother’s best friend Katherine (Sarah Rafferty), Katherine’s husband George (Marc Blucas), and their ten—that’s right, ten—children (eight sons plus two cousins). Taking a page from Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jackie soon finds herself torn between two brothers (one of whom is introduced in slow motion emerging from the pool, naturally). Let the angst begin!
Science Fair: The Series
Premiere Date: All three episodes premiere on NatGeo December 10th and on Disney+/Hulu December 11th
Like the 2018 documentary Science Fair, this three-part series follows students competing to become one of the 2,000 students who qualify for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which takes place in Atlanta. This competition pulls from 78 countries and over 30 million students. These high school students tackle projects including how to predict adolescent suicide, the genetic mutations of human ovarian cancer cells, and the creation of a hyper-efficient jet wing. As one student puts it, “It’s like the Olympics of science fairs.”
In Jericho, NY, science teacher Dr. Serena McCalla’s famed research program draws students from all over the world. Dr. McCalla has been teaching for 14 years and has her students doing “graduate student research which will change the world.” In Zimbawe, Memory, an effervescent student at an all-girls high school, is working on sustainable fuel production. It’s clear that this globe-spanning series showcases a much different science fair than you remember from your childhood.
Extended Family
Stars: Jon Cryer, Donald Faison, Abigail Spencer, Sofia Capanna, and Finn Sweeney
Premiere Date: December 23rd at 8 p.m. on NBC
We are celebrating this comedy from Mike O’Malley about Jim (Jon Cryer) and Julia (Abigail Spencer), a happily divorced couple who are committed to getting along even when Julia embarks on a new romance with Trey (Donald Faison), owner of the Boston Celtics. Why are we so excited? So glad you asked. The series, which will get a sneak preview on December 23rd before premiering on January 2nd in its regular time slot, represents the first network scripted shows to premiere since the dual industry strikes (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) ended. A sign of more (and better) TV to come, we think. Huzzah!
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter (@AmyTVGal).
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