STREAMING THIS WEEK
WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” Season 4 This Thursday, Dec. 31, get ready for more than just a new year as Season 4 of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” premieres on Netflix. In the wake of a full moon the night before, this Thursday marks the perfect day to launch the fourth and final season of the streamer’s hit teen horrordrama. Featuring a total of eight episodes like Season 3, the last chapter will follow the eponymous half-witch/half-mortal teenager (Kiernan Shipka, “Mad Men”) as she faces the most harrowing threats of her young — albeit experienced and magical — life to date. This time focused on the Eldritch Terrors that were released onto Greendale by none other than Faustus Blackwood (Richard Coyle, “Grabbers,” 2012) himself, Sabrina will once again have to team up with the coven in order to stop all hell from breaking loose (nope, not really an exaggeration in this case). Each episode will last an hour (as is tradition for the show) as the team fights each new creature one-by-one until finally faced with The Void — and, yes, we assure you it is as terrifying as it sounds. With her aunts Hilda (Lucy Davis, “Shaun of the Dead,” 2004) and Zelda (Miranda Otto, “War of the Worlds,” 2005), her cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo, “The Art of Trying,” 2017) and her mortal friends, Rosalind (Jaz Sinclair, “Easy”), Theo (Lachlan Watson, “The Ultimate Life,” 2013) and Harvey (Ross Lynch, “My Friend Dahmer,” 2017), by her side as the other realm wages war on Earth, we will all soon learn how the Book of Spellman draws to a close. Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (“Carrie,” 2013), Season 4 will also see the return of Nick (Gavin Leatherwood, “Bad Therapy,” 2020), Prudence (Tati Gabrielle, “The 100”), Mary Wardwell (Michelle Gomez, “Doctor Who”) and Lucifer Morningstar (Luke Cook, “Katy Keene”).
“Equinox”
Balance the light with the dark when Season 1 of “Equinox” premieres Wednesday, Dec. 30, on Netflix. This six-episode, Danish-language miniseries tells a sinister mystery in the way that only the Scandinavians could. Complete with icy landscapes, hidden truths and unsolved disappearances, “Equinox” follows Astrid (Danica Curcic, “The Mist”) on a hunt for the truth more than two decades after an incident occurred, claiming the life of her sister and her entire school class in 1999. Created by Tea Lindeburg (“Kødkataloget”), directed by Søren Balle (“Follow the Money”) and produced by Apple Tree Productions’ Piv Bernth (“The Killing”), the tension is heightened by the uncanny phone call of a man named Jakob (August Carter, “Land of Mine,” 2015), who claims to have witnessed the disappearance of Astrid’s sister over 20 years prior. Oscillating between the last year of the ‘90s and the present day, this supernatural series is based on the podcast “Equinox 1985,” which grew to be incredibly popular in Denmark. Curcic and Carter are joined by Lars Brygmann (“Dicte: Crime Reporter”), Hanne Hedelund (“The Art of Crying,” 2006), Viola Martinsen (“When the Dust Settles”), Karoline Hamm (“Juleønsket”) and more throughout this thrilling saga.
WHAT’S NEW ON HULU “American Animals” (2018)
As explicitly stated by its trailer, this film “is not based on a true story — this happened.” Tune into Hulu on Sunday, Dec. 27, to watch the true story of the “American Animals.” Enamored with heist films like “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999), a group of four college students organized themselves to perform possibly the most unsuccessful art heist in history. Determined to steal near-priceless books — four double-sized volumes of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America” — from Transylvania University’s Special Collections Library, Spencer Reinhard (portrayed by Barry Keoghan, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” 2017), Warren Lipka (portrayed by Evan Peters, “XMen: Dark Phoenix,” 2019), Eric Borsuk (portrayed by Jared Abrahamson, “Fear the Walking Dead”) and Chas Allen (portrayed by Blake Jenner, “Glee”) dressed up in poorly executed old-man costumes and began their plan. Tied together by interviews with the real-life thieves and the then fiftysomething-year-old librarian they terrorized in the process, Betty Jane “B.J.” Gooch (played in the re-enactment by Ann Dowd, “Hereditary,” 2018), this film is a unique take on a piece of the disappointing personal history of four Kentucky students in 2004. Directed and co-written by Bart Layton (“Paranormal Witness”), this comical heist was adapted for the screen by Clauda Zie (“The Indestructibles”).
“Bayou Caviar” (2018)
Eastern Europe meets the southern States in “Bayou Caviar,” coming to Hulu on Thursday, Dec. 31. Featuring Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire,” 1996) in his directorial debut, “Bayou Caviar” tells the story of former boxing champion Rodney Jones (Gooding Jr.) as his new life as a nightclub bouncer goes from mundane to high-octane in a matter of seconds. While at a rather uncouth business meeting, Jones is witness to a crime and is pulled deep into working with the Russian mafia who has taken over the nightclub. Now with a job he never thought he’d have (and quite frankly never wanted), Jones teams up with a brusque photographer (Famke Janssen, “X-Men,” 2000) and an aspiring star (Lia Marie Johnson, “The Thinning,” 2016) to catch a wealthy real estate mogul (Gregg Bello, “Mother!,” 2017) in a compromising situation per the Russians’ directives … or else. This thrilling slow-burn also stars former American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee (“The House Bunny,” 2008) and American legend Richard Dreyfuss (“Jaws,” 1975).
WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME “Hope Gap” (2020)
Find your happiness this holiday season when “Hope Gap” joins the Prime roster on Monday, Dec. 28. Home for a visit with his parents, Grace (Annette Bening, “Life Itself,” 2018) and Edward (Bill Nighy, “Love Actually,” 2003), Jamie’s (Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”) trip takes a turn for the worse when his father announces that he plans to leave his mother after 29 years of marriage. Based on the William Nicholson stage play “The Retreat from Moscow” and adapted for the screen by the playwright himself, “Hope Gap” first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019 and was released to the U.K. and worldwide this past summer. This raw and emotionally charged look at the complexities of falling out of love after three decades together was also directed by Nicholson and features appearances by Aiysha Hart (“Atlantis”), Sally Rogers (“Little Britain”), Ryan McKen (“Temple”) and introduces Joe Citro (“Holby City”) in his feature film premiere as young Jamie.
“Supervized” (2019)
Retirement is a big transition that requires a lot of adjustment, especially when one of those adjustments includes losing your … superpowers? Switch over to Prime on Thursday, Dec. 31, and ring in the new year with the quirky comedy “Supervized.” Meet the aging heroes who put the “super” in “superfluous” as they band together for one last hurrah. Ray, aka Maximum Justice (Tom Berenger, “Inception,” 2010), Ted, aka Shimmy (Beau Bridges, “Masters of Sex”), Madera, aka Madera Moonlight (Fionnula Flanagan, “The Others,” 2001), and Pendle, aka Total Thunder (Louis Gossett Jr., “Watchman”), abandon the regulated boredom of the Dunmanor retirement home in Ireland and return to their old lives as some of the world’s greatest superheroes to fight against the staff members out to steal their powers. Released worldwide in 2019, this film directed by Steve Barron (“The Durrells in Corfu”) also stars Fiona Glascott (“Brooklyn,” 2015), Hiran Abeysekera (“Find Me in Paris”), Elya Baskin (“Spider-Man 2,” 2004) and Ned Dennehy (“Peeky Blinders”).
WHAT’S ON DISNEY+ “Coco” (2017)
Spend some time with family and cross into a colorful new realm with the recent animated classic “Coco,” available now on Disney+. Born into a superstitious Mexican family that refuses to allow music of any kind into their home, Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez, “Icebox,” 2018) dreams of becoming a famous musician just like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt, “Miss Congeniality,” 2000). Often sneaking away with his dog, Dante, to play guitar out of earshot from his mom and abuela, Miguel finds himself magically transported to the festive Land of the Dead — an odd occurrence for a living boy. While trying to make it back to his own life before Día de Muertos ends and he is stuck in the Land of the Dead for good, Miguel struggles to solve the mystery of his own ancestry while helping a few new friends along the way. Filled with Mexican Day of the Dead folklore, colorful creatures like the alebrijes, legendary icons of Mexican culture — such as Frida Kahlo (voiced by Natalia CordovaBuckley, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) — and beautiful, heartwarming songs, there is no surprise that this film, directed by Lee Unkrich (“Finding Nemo,” 2003) and Adrian Molina (“The Good Dinosaur,” 2015), won two Academy Awards in 2018. Produced by Disney/Pixar’s Darla K. Anderson (“A Bug’s Life,” 1998), “Coco” also features the voices of Alanna Ubach (“Waiting…,” 2005), Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”), Ana Ofelia Murguía (“The Queen of the Night,” 1994) and Gael García Bernal (“Y tu mamá también,” 2001) as Héctor.
“Millions” (2004)
Find out what really makes the world go ‘round with “Millions,” now available on Disney+. After the death of their mother, young brothers Anthony (Lewis McGibbon, “The Royal”) and Damian (Alex Etel, “The Water Horse,” 2007) drifted even further apart personality-wise. While Anthony grew more practical and finance-oriented, his younger brother, Damian, became more and more interested in charitable figures throughout history. With Damian often spending his days dreaming up new worlds and carrying out imaginary conversations with saints and do-gooders, the brothers’ lives are forever changed when a bag of money falls on Damian’s playhouse one day, seemingly from the heavens. While each of the boys has a different idea of what to do with the millions of pounds inside the bag, neither has any clue that the money was part of a well-timed robbery during the U.K.’s transition period from pounds to Euros. Believing the money to be a gift from God to make the world a better place and perform his own saintly act of good — when in reality they’re stolen funds that fell from a passing train — Damian sets out to make a difference in the world, all while the brothers learn a valuable lesson about ethics, humanity and the condition of one’s soul. Written by “The Railway Man” (2013) writer Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” 2008), this family-friendly British dramedy also stars Daisy Donovan (“Death at a Funeral,” 2007) and Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt (“Waking Ned Divine,” 1998).