5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming now (Dec. 5, 2025)

Streaming

The best of what’s new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more.

Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.

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For even more great streaming options, check out previous editions of our must-watch list here.

New Movies Streaming

‘Jay Kelly’ (2025)

George Clooney is in his element in this Noah Baumbach-directed film, playing the titular past-his-prime Hollywood legend who is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Adam Sandler and Laura Dern are fantastic as Jay’s long-suffering manager and publicist, respectively, who realize how fraught their lives have become while solving their needy client’s every problem.

How to watch: “Jay Kelly” is streaming on Netflix.

‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’ (2025)

In a ranking of “Mission: Impossible” movies, I put “Final Reckoning” seventh out of eight. But while the film is flawed — particularly its incomprehensible first hour — by the time the credits roll, Tom Cruise will make you a believer, thanks to a number of awe-inspiring stunts that shouldn’t be possible. (You can read my full review here.)

How to watch: “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” is streaming on Paramount+.

‘The Muppet Christmas Carol‘ (1992)

Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” but with music and Muppets? Sign us up. The first Muppets film following the death of creator Jim Henson, “The Muppets Christmas Carol” offers just enough of the puppets’ trademark irreverent humor while remaining faithful to the Dickens tale. In particular, Michael Caine is masterful as Ebenezer Scrooge, and his cruelty isn’t diminished in the slightest by the fact that he’s dishing out humbugs to Muppets instead of human townsfolk.

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How to watch: “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is streaming on Disney+.

New TV Shows Streaming

‘The Beatles Anthology’

First, Disney+ and Peter Jackson gave us the impressive Beatles documentary “Get Back” in 2021. Now, Disney+ has used its magic to remaster the landmark 1995 documentary series “The Beatles Anthology,” updating the grainy footage and even adding a ninth bonus episode from unused material. The show’s producers occasionally get heavy-handed with their use of generative AI, particularly with dim footage filmed at the Cavern Club in the first episode. But most of the effects are relatively seamless, and it gives a new generation of fans an opportunity to appreciate the band’s greatness.

How to watch: “The Beatles Anthology” is streaming on Disney+.

‘Mad Men’

Since AMC+ doesn’t have a ton of subscribers, there’s probably a lot of people who haven’t had a chance to stream one of the best TV shows of the 21st century until now, with HBO Max adding the Madison Avenue drama this month. Rewatching the series, it’s incredible how densely plotted every episode is, with creator Matthew Weiner using the full 50 minutes to show us the evolution (and devolution) of ad executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and those in his orbit through good times and bad in the 1960s. If you’ve never watched it before, I cannot recommend this show highly enough. But maybe wait a day or two until HBO fixes these pesky continuity errors.

How to watch: “Mad Men” is streaming on HBO Max.