The Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch on Netflix in January 2025

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Credit: Netflix

I've pored over Netflix's release schedule to bring you the best movies and TV shows premiering on the service this month. At the top of the list is Back in Action, a domestic spy thriller/comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. There's also a new Wallace and Gromit movie, and, most importantly to me, Cunk on Life, in which my hero Philomena Cunk makes her triumphant return to Netflix. 2025 is going to be the best year ever; I can feel it.

Back in Action

In Back in Action, the star power is turned up past 11. This action-comedy stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz as CIA agents who left the undercover life to raise a family together. But when their cover is blown, these seemingly normal parents come out of retirement to kick ass, take names, and make jokes. It's been over a decade since Diaz has appeared in a feature, so expect something special, and expect extreme leves of screen charisma from Back in Action's stars.

Starts streaming January 17.

Cunk on Life

Cunk on Life illustrates what would happen if the BBC hired the dumbest person on Earth to host a sweeping documentary that examines the meaning of life. Philomena Cunk, played by comedian Diane Morgan, travels the world to interview real academics, philosophers, and other very smart people, ostensibly to ask big, important questions, but really to test their patience with her deadpan, stupid persona. If you like comedy that's actually funny, don't miss Cunk on Life.

Starts streaming January 2.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The beloved stop-motion characters created by Aardman Animations are back in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, in which Gromit (he's the dog) becomes concerned with his master's over-reliance on technology. Wallace has invented a high-tech garden gnome, but it turns evil, forcing an absurd showdown. The roller coaster pace and precise comic timing raise the chaos high enough to earn Vengeance Most Fowl a rare 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starts streaming January 3.

Interstellar (2014)

Christopher Nolan directed this science fiction story about a group of astronauts who fly through a wormhole in search of a new home planet for humans to crap up. With a cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine, thoughtful ideas about down-to-earth values, and a heavy dose of Nolan's unique cinematic style, Interstellar is required viewing.

Starts streaming January 1.

Don't Die: the Man Who Wants to Live Forever

Sorry for spoiling this Netflix original documentary, but its subject, entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, is not going to live forever. He's not going to achieve his more modest goal of living to 200 either. That foreknowledge adds to the poignancy and ridiculousness of Johnson's pursuit—dude is spending millions per year to forestall Death, and Death just does not care. While you and I are probably not going to that level, we're all doing something (even if it's just fretting) and Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever asks some interesting questions about our relationship to the end of life.

Starts streaming January 1.

Missing You

Missing You is a mystery-thriller from novelist Harlan Coben, so expect plot twists that will leave you saying "whoah." Rosalind Eleazar plays detective Kat Donovan whose fiancé Josh, played by Ashley Walters, disappeared years before. When she sees his face on a dating app, Donovan tries to get to the bottom of a mystery that spins in wildly unexpected directions. If you're looking for a potboiler-mystery series, check out Missing You.

Starts streaming January 1.

Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action

If you wanted to pinpoint the moment Western Culture fell off the cliff that led to—gesturing vaguely at everything—this, the popularity of The Jerry Springer Show is a solid contender. Through interviews with the people responsible and plenty of footage from the show, Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the Chicago-based talk show that built an empire on fistfights and scandals, both in front of and behind the camera.

Starts streaming January 7.

American Primeval

This limited series takes viewers back to an 1857, and explores the explosive collision of culture, religion, and community that gave birth the American West. American Primeval doesn't shy away from the darkness and despair of history as its characters fight for survival and control in a lawless, brutal frontier. The cast includes Taylor Kitsch as Isaac Reed, a broken man intent on self-destruction, and Kim Coates as Mormon leader Brigham Young, who uses his personal army, the Nauvoo Legion, to keep his followers alive at any cost.

Starts streaming January 9.

Hereditary (2018)

I love horror movies, and Hereditary is the best one that been made in the last decade at least. Ari Aster's masterpiece is not a movie for the faint-of-heart. It's legitimately disturbing in a primal way, a carefully paced, slow-burn of dread that becomes builds to a shocking conclusion. The cast is amazing, but Toni Collette's portrayal of a mother struggling with mental illness stands out as one of the most unsettling performances in horror movie history.

Starts streaming January 15.

You Hurt My Feelings

It's impossible to not like Tina Fey. In You Hurt my Feelings, the writer-turned-actress plays a novelist whose world is shaken when she overhears her husband's actual opinion of her newest book. Directed by Nicole Holofcener (Friends with Money) and bearing the A24 Films mark of quality, You Hurt my Feelings earned unqualified raves from critics for its subtle, smart story about the lies we tell each other.

Starts streaming January 26.

Last month's picks

Squid Game, Season 2

Netflix's big Christmas present is coming a day late with the December 26 release of season two of Korean dystopian sci-fi drama Squid Game. Season two was written, directed, and produced by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the genius behind season one, and Lee Jung-jae will return as Player 456, who's re-entering the game to tear it apart from the inside. Season one cast members Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo are coming bac,k too, where they'll join a fresh crop of competitors, so everyone can play a new bunch of deadly games. Can't wait.

Starts streaming December 26.

No Good Deed

Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow star in this black comedy about the cutthroat world of real estate in Los Angeles. No Good Deed follows three families competing to buy the same 1920s Spanish-style villa in Los Feliz, each convinced the house will make their dreams come true. But it's actually all a bigger nightmare than trying to buy a real house in Los Angeles. The all-star cast also includes Linda Cardellini, Luke Wilson, Teyonah Parris, and Denis Leary.

Starts streaming December 12.

The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

Wanna hear something weird? Last week I was reading about a ricin attack on President Obama that the FBI traced back to Tupelo, Mississippi and a feud between a karate instructor and an Elvis impersonator. I thought, "I need a documentary series about this right away, so I can learn more about the eccentrics involved and the place that gave birth to them." Then Netflix announced The Kings of Tupelo. Maybe I should have wished for world peace, but this show is a more-than-adequate consolation prize.

Starts streaming December 11.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Based on the masterpiece of magical realism by Nobel-Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the epic story of generations of the cursed Buendía family, condemned to solitude for 100 years. José Arcadio Buendía (Marco González) and Úrsula Iguarán (Susana Morales) are cousins and lovers who set out to build a perfect town called Macondo, but the result is not the Utopia they'd envisioned.

Starts streaming December 11.

Churchill at War

There's a time in every man's life when he become extremely interested in World War II. If you or anyone you know has reached this point, you should be aware of Churchill at War. This Netflix original docu-series looks at the role Britain's leader played during World War II and examines how his complex character affected the fate of his nation and Western Civilization at the time of its greatest peril. If your dad is visiting for the holidays, plop him in front of the TV for this one.

Starts streaming December 4.

Black Doves

In Black Doves, Keira Knightley plays a no-nonsense wife and mother who happens to be a a top-level spy. Ben Whishaw plays a suave assassin who never met a bottle of Champagne he wouldn't drink. This unlikely pair are thrown together by dire circumstances and must find a way to work together to prevent geopolitical catastrophe. If you like international intrigue, dry British humor, and knife fights, don't miss this series. It's currently sitting at 97% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starts streaming December 5.

Compliance (2012)

Not enough people have seen 2012's Compliance, an unnerving thriller that becomes even more disturbing when you learn that it all happened, almost exactly as filmed, many times. Compliance tells the story of an online weirdo who gets his kicks by calling fast-food places and pretending to be a cop so he can talk wage slaves into doing horrible things to each other. It's an examination of both cruelty and subservience that's difficult to watch but totally fascinating for the points it makes about human nature under capitalism.

Starts streaming December 5.

Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld

Ali Wong, Bowen Yang, and Lori Tan Chinn lend their voices to this animated fantasy series about a seemingly ordinary teenager whose life is turned inside out when she discovers she has supernatural fire-abilities. The title character is thrown into a confrontation with demons and uncovers shocking secrets from her family's mysterious past, all while navigating high school. This is going to be a lot of young people's favorite show.

Starts streaming December 5.

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter

In A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, pop star Sabrina Carpenter performs holiday standards and newer songs, acts in comedy sketches, and has many celebrity friends drop by to join her to make jokes, drink eggnog, and sing duets. It's like a throwback to the star-driven variety shows of the 1970s, but instead of Ruth Buzzi and Rip Taylor, you get Chappell Roan and Shania Twain, as well as a ton of other celebrity "friends."

Starts streaming December 6.

Biggest Heist Ever

I cannot get enough of freakshow crime documentaries, and Biggest Heist Ever might be the freakiest. It tells the story of aspiring rapper Razzle and her tech-mogul-wannabe boyfriend. Like the title says, these two doofs pulled off the biggest heist in human history, making off with billions in Bitcoin, despite being absolute idiots. I mean, look at this video; this lame stole more money than anyone else, ever. Every other thief in history should be ashamed.

Starts streaming December 6.

Mary

This biopic (I guess?) tells the story of Mary, no-last-name-needed, the mother of God. According to The Telegraph, this movie "angered Palestinians and Christians alike" before it even came out. (Agnostics, on the other hand, just shrugged.) This is enough of a reason to see it. Here's an unrelated fun fact about Mary: According to Catholic doctrine, Mary is the only person whose body is in heaven. She's not a soul or an angel; she's just a regular person walking around up there. This is not addressed in Mary.

Starts streaming December 6.

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays

While there are a lot of great shows streaming, most of them are disturbing, intense, or suspenseful. Sometimes, as my wife puts it, "You just want to watch a show about cupcakes." If that's you, watch the new holiday episodes of The Great British Baking Show, a "competition" reality show where everyone is fully committed to making elaborate baked goods, but no one is a jerk about anything and no one gets murdered. It's mindless, but not stupid, and all the food looks amazing. In short: This is the ultimate show about cupcakes.

Starts streaming December 9.

Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was

Jamie Foxx has some explaining to do. In this Netflix performance, Foxx comes clean about his "near-death experience," a medical crisis that caused the award-winning actor/comedian to fall into a coma for weeks. I didn't even know he was sick, but now I must know all the details. If you are too, give What Had Happened Was a watch.

Starts streaming December 10.

Polo

This Netflix sports documentary series was executive produced by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, so it's got a royal pedigree. Whether the involvement of the Duke and Duchess of York is enough to get anyone interested in a game that no one you know has ever played remains to be seen, but if you've ever wondered about the world's most exclusive sport, or if you like looking at rich-people shit for some reason, check out Polo. Also: If you have a few million dollars to spare, please establish a polo training center in a blue-collar community so real people can take over the sport in one generation. It would be really funny.

Starts streaming December 10.

Queer Eye, Season 9

It's time for more Queer Eye, the reality show where a pack of gay men change the lives of good-hearted, regular people who need new clothes, new furniture, and new lives. Even though this series has been running for approximately 83 years and each episode is pretty much the same, it's not boring at all. Every great story is about transformation, and watching caterpillars change into butterflies never gets old. I've cried when I've watched this show, not gonna lie.

Starts streaming December 11.

Carry-On

This Christmas-themed thriller is set in at Los Angeles International Airport on Christmas Eve, where a TSA agent who couldn't get the holiday off matches wits with a terrorist mastermind. Taron Egerton plays everyman TSA dude Ethan Kopek who receives a phone call from a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) threatening to kill his girlfriend if he doesn't allow a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight. This is, I think you'll agree, a great set-up for a single-location thriller.

Starts streaming December 13.

The Six Triple Eight

Tyler Perry gets historical in The Six Triple Eight, a movie detailing World War II's only Women’s Army Corps unit of color, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Their job during the war was sorting through a backlog of millions of pieces of mail addressed to American soldiers. Kerry Washington plays Captain Charity Adams who heads up a division of 855 women who help defeat Hitler by making sure letters get to their intended recipients. Because you can't win a war with low morale.

Starts streaming December 20.