From Oscar-touted dramas to festive holiday adventures, there\u2019s plenty to watch this weekend.<\/b>
\nWe\u2019ve been warning you all for the past few weeks, but Christmas has well and truly arrived on streamers in 2021. This weekend will see several new festive movies and TV shows landing on the likes of Netflix, HBO Max and Prime Video \u2013 but we\u2019ve made a conscious effort to also highlight those that aren\u2019t designed to extract every last ounce of joy from your wintery bones. Alongside the latest holiday adventures, you can expect to enjoy Jane Campion\u2019s awards-touted The Power of the Dog and the second part of Money Heist\u2019s fifth and final season over the next few days \u2013 both of which are now available to stream on Netflix. There\u2019s plenty more great content to dig into, though, and below you\u2019ll find our pick of the best new movies and TV shows worth paying attention to this weekend. Money Heist (or La Casa De Papel, if we\u2019re being specific) returns to Netflix for the second part of its fifth and final season this weekend to bid farewell to Spain\u2019s most famous crew of bank robbers. Speaking ahead of part one\u2019s release earlier in the year, the show\u2019s creator, \u00c1lex Pina, said part 2 will \u201cfocus more on the emotional situation of the characters\u201d and act as \u201ca journey across their sentimental map that connects us directly to their departure.\u201d As such, we’re assuming new episodes will contain more tears than tear gas, though being Money Heist, we\u2019re not ruling out further explosive set-pieces, shouty soldiers and shocking deaths. Now available to stream on Netflix It\u2019s safe to say that Jane Campion\u2019s The Power of the Dog has been the critical hit of the year so far \u2013 and with just a few weeks to go until 2022, it wouldn\u2019t be premature to describe this one as the best movie of 2021. Widely praised for its slow-burning psychological drama, The Power of the Dog follows the story of a menacing rancher (Benedict Cumberbatch) who doesn\u2019t take kindly to the arrival of his brother\u2019s new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). To say more would hinder the film\u2019s suspense, but just know that it\u2019s being touted as one of the best Netflix movies to date. It helps, too, that Cumberbatch gives a career-best performance as the volatile Phil Burbank in this one \u2013 which should make interesting prep for next year\u2019s Doctor Strange 2. Now available to stream on Netflix From the mind of Girls Trip creator Tracy Oliver comes Harlem, Prime Video\u2019s latest comedy series following the misadventures of a group of stylish and ambitious girlfriends in the eponymous New York City neighbourhood. Megan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Jerrie Johnson and Tyler LePley star alongside guests like Whoopi Goldberg and Andrea Martin in this 10-episode first season, which looks set to reinvent the Sex and the City formula in interesting ways. What\u2019s more, as part of Harlem\u2019s premiere, Prime Video has made a concerted effort to promote Black female entrepreneurs based in Harlem and other neighboring New York City communities, so keep your eyes peeled for references to real-life businesses throughout. Now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video The It\u2019s Always Sunny crew return to Hulu for season 15 of the hit show this week to make it the longest-running live-action comedy series in American television history (hurdling the 1960s show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet). This time around, The Gang stands at a crossroads in the wake of everything that went awry in 2020 \u2013 so expect the likes of Covid-19, Trump and the Epstein scandal to play a lead role in the ensuing mayhem. The usual suspects return, with Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito) primed to deliver more of the show\u2019s trademark \u2013 and extremely popular \u2013 brand of humor. Now available to stream on Hulu in the US Sticking with the comedy theme, Santa Inc lands on HBO Max to subvert everything you thought you knew about innocent animated Christmas adventures. In this stop-motion series, Sarah Silverman stars as a foul-mouthed elf who hopes to someday become the first female Santa Claus. Seth Rogen offers his distinctive voice as the big man himself, while the likes of Maria Bamford, Nicholas Braun, Craig Robinson, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman also feature in this eight-episode debut season. Santa Inc comes from the creators of Sausage Party, so if deliberately controversial gags are your calling, this one is an easy recommendation. Now available to stream on HBO Max Those that watched the debut season of Alex Rider will know that the Sony-produced spy show was something of a sleeper hit in 2020. Based on the best-selling novel series by Anthony Horowitz, it followed the book one adventures of the eponymous British teenager. It\u2019s no surprise, then, that season 2 dramatizes the events of Horowitz\u2019s second book in the series, Eagle Strike, which sees Alex do battle against a megalomaniac intent on using nuclear weapons to destroy the drug-making countries of the world. If that all sounds a bit silly, that\u2019s because it is, but Alex Rider will undoubtedly prove an enjoyable, care-free watch to anyone looking to scratch a James Bond-sized itch. Season 2 is available to stream on Prime Video now via the free IMDB TV channel. Now available to stream on Prime Video (via IMDB TV) It wouldn\u2019t be a December streaming roundup without the inclusion of a bona fide Christmas movie, and Single All the Way looks to have more than a few festive feels up its sleeve. In this Netflix original, frustrated singleton Peter (Michael Urie) convinces his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to join him for the holidays and pretend the pair are in a relationship. Why, you ask? It\u2019s all an elaborate ruse to avoid his family\u2019s judgement towards his solitary status. Now, we\u2019re not saying Single All the Way will turn out to be the most intellectually stimulating film of all time, but if you\u2019re after a heartfelt \u2013 and maybe slightly trashy \u2013 Christmas movie this December, look no further than Netflix\u2019s latest effort. Now available to stream on Netflix<\/p>\n