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The Best Things Coming to Hulu in December

From holiday family films to comedy specials and crime thrillers, there’s plenty to love — and binge — on the streamer this month


a scene from made in korea
"Made in Korea" premieres on Hulu Dec. 24.
Disney

Ho! Ho! Hulu! That’s the spirit at the popular streamer, where there’s enough holiday cheer — from classic Christmas films to fresh holiday specials — to last all month. More in the mood for a gritty crime thriller set on the mean streets of 1970s Korea? How about a brand-new comedy special from award-winning actor-writer-comic Kumail Nanjiani? Or maybe a binge of Dance Moms is just what you want to watch while the sugar cookies bake. No matter what your pleasure, there’s a treat for every taste this month at Hulu. Here are nine handpicked for grownups. 

Coming Dec. 1

Home Alone Franchise

Holiday mayhem begins on the first day of December as Home Alone and its four sequels join Hulu’s streaming lineup. The holiday adventures of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) draws generations of watchers year after year; for many families, it’s a holiday tradition. Cherry-pick or binge all five: Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Home Alone 3 (1997), Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012).

The Santa Clause Franchise

Also coming down the chimney on Dec. 1 is another family holiday classic and its two sequels. Tim Allen, 72, stars as Scott Calvin, an ordinary dad handed an extraordinary new role (complete with a bowl-full-of-jelly set of abs) after a Christmas Eve mishap. All three movies — The Santa Clause (1994), The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) — are ready to stream leading up to Christmas or binge in a row after the presents are opened.

Coming Dec. 2

Dancing With the Holidays

ABC’s 20-year-old reality show has never been hotter than this season, so why not add a special holiday edition that hits Hulu the same day? Dancing With the Holidays transforms the ballroom with festive routines, musical performances and seasonal greetings.

Coming Dec. 3

16th Annual CMA Country Christmas

Get your country holidays on with this annual special, filmed in front of a live audience in Nashville, with all the sparkles. Enjoy a front-row seat to a night full of festive classics and one-of-a-kind musical performances by hosts Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis and luminaries including Lady A, BeBe Winans and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.​

The Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular

Dancing With the Stars champion hoofer Derek Hough hosts a night of family-friendly entertainment against a backdrop of Disney locations. Among the bright roster of multigenerational talent, look for Gwen Stefani, 56, to perform her new holiday song “Shake the Snowglobe” in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Resort, while Trisha Yearwood, 61, brings us “My Favorite Things” from Epcot’s World Celebration Gardens in Orlando. This is a watch for every member of the extended family.

Coming Dec. 5

The Great Christmas Light Fight, Season 13

This reality show purpose-built for the holiday season feels like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition meets Home Alone. Across the six-episode season, four families per episode build eye-popping home holiday displays in a quest for a $50,000 prize per episode and the coveted Light Fight trophy. Trading Spaces veteran Carter Oosterhouse, 49, cohosts with HGTV-featured interior designer Taniya Nayak, 52.

Coming Dec. 8

Dance Moms: A New Era, Season 2

A Lifetime guilty pleasure, this reality show about young girls dancing competitively was a juicy version of a real world subculture populated by domineering dance studio owners and stage mothers from hell. Season 2 of The New Era reboot features coach Gloria “Glo” Hampton of Virginia-based Studio Bleu at the center of the high-kicking, high-volume world of drama mamas and their whirling divas. “Step up,” the trailer advises, “or be stepped on.” 

Coming Dec. 10

Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas

Didn’t catch ABC’s Dec. 9 broadcast of this holiday special that explores the hardships and trials of Mary and Joseph as they seek a manger for their very special baby to lay his sweet head? That’s okay: The two-hour dramatization begins streaming on Hulu the next day. Costner, 70, produces and hosts what he calls “the story of the first Christmas like you’ve never seen it before.”  

Coming Dec. 19

Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts

The Emmy- and Oscar-nominated comedian-actor’s first stand-up special in a decade joins Hulu’s growing slate of original comedy specials that includes big names such as Jim Gaffigan, 59, Bill Burr, 57, and Sebastian Maniscalco, 52. Nanjiani, whose comedy has often explored cultural clashes as a secular Pakistani American Muslim, promises a “clean hour,” so maybe invite the teen grandkids to join you on the sofa. 

Coming Dec. 24

Made in Korea, Season 1

Set in 1970s South Korea, this dramatic thriller follows two men on opposite sides of power — one driven by ambition (Hyun Bin as Baek Ki Tae, a National Intelligence Service department head who also runs a mysterious business), the other by justice (Jung Woo-sung as terrifyingly tenacious prosecutor Jang Geon-young). As the men's worlds collide, the series exposes themes of greed, loyalty and the drive to survive while their battle royal threatens to rock the country. Disney+ has already ordered a second season, so get hooked now. 

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