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This week’s What to Watch picks include Amy Adams Disney sequel Disenchanted, the FIFA World Cup kickoff, the return of Dead to Me, new ocean thriller 1899, and Ryan Reynolds/Will Ferrell Christmas comedy Spirited. Get thee to the remote!
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What’s premiering this week
Disenchanted | Disney+ | Comedy, fantasy
Movie premiere, Friday, November 18: The sequel to 2007 Disney hit Enchanted catches up with Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) 15 years later as they move from the city to suburbia, where they’ll probably complain that they can’t find a decent craft beer brewpub. Giselle is feeling disenchanted, hence the title, so she uses magic to transform the ‘burbs into an IRL fairytale—with unexpected sinister side effects. Of course there are musical numbers, silly.
2022 FIFA World Cup | FOX, FS1 | Sports, soccer
Coverage begins Sunday, November 20: The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off with Qatar vs. Ecuador on Sunday, followed by daily Group Stage matches leading up to the final face-off on December 18. France is the defending champion from 2018, and the US and Canada are in the mix this year. You can watch every FIFA World Cup game live on FOX and FS1 or delayed on-demand (for free) through Tubi. If you want it in Spanish, go with Telemundo or Peacock.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Dead to Me | Netflix | Comedy, drama
Season 3 premiere, Thursday, November 17: The twisty tale of unlikely BFFs Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) comes to end with Season 3, so get ready for 10 episodes of tears (seriously, this show is dehydrating). Dead to Me left off with a car-crash cliffhanger in 2020, and it was looking like Jen’s murder coverup was unraveling—will she finally be caught? With a new hotshot FBI agent (Garret Dillahunt) on the case, her time may well be up.
1899 | Netflix | Drama, horror
Series premiere, Thursday, November 17: Dark creators Baran Bo Odar and Jantje Friese are back with an even more ambitious mystery thriller, the seabound 1899. A 19th-century European ship bound for America encounters an abandoned sea vessel in the middle of the Atlantic, and it turns out that each of the ship’s passengers has a connection to the mysterious ghost boat (why wasn’t this titled Ghost Boat, anyway?). All eight episodes drop on November 17.
What to watch on HBO Max this week
A Christmas Story Christmas | HBO Max | Comedy, family
Movie premiere, Thursday, November 17: Those not familiar with 1994’s It Runs in the Family or 2012’s A Christmas Story 2 are better off for it—A Christmas Story Christmas is the only sequel to the 1983 classic A Christmas Story you need. Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is all grown up and returning to his childhood home for the holidays; wackiness more resembling National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation than A Christmas Story ensues. Is Ralphie the new Chevy Chase?
The Sex Lives of College Girls | HBO Max | Comedy, drama
Season 2 premiere, Thursday, November 17: Despite the title that grabbed your attention (admit it), The Sex Lives of College Girls is more of a goofy comedy than a raunchy romp, as you’d expect from Mindy Kaling, who co-created the series with Never Have I Ever and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Justin Noble. The four freshmen (Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, and Alyah Chanelle Scott) are back from fall break and ready to party. OK, maybe the title fits.
What to watch on Hulu this week
Fleishman is in Trouble | Hulu | Comedy, drama
Series premiere, Thursday, November 17: Newly-divorced New York doctor Toby (Jesse Eisenberg) is enjoying his best dating life—until his ex-wife Rachel (Claire Danes) suddenly disappears, leaving him to take care of their two young kids. Toby’s friend, unemployed journalist Libby (Lizzy Caplan), takes it upon herself to investigate this Gone Girl scenario, telling the narrative from both sides. Two of eight Fleishman is in Trouble episodes stream November 17.
Dual | Hulu | Comedy, sci-fi
Movie premiere, Sunday, November 20: When Sarah (Karen Gillan) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she has herself cloned to spare her boyfriend and mother the pain of losing her. But, when she inexplicably goes into full remission, she learns that her loved ones now prefer the clone to her. Even worse, by Near-Future Law, Sarah will now have to fight Sarah’s Double in a public duel to the death(!). Dual is a dark sci-fi comedy that’s deeper than it first appears (but still funny).
W2W wildcards of the week
The People We Hate at the Wedding | Prime Video | Comedy
Movie premiere, Friday, November 18: American siblings Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt) reluctantly attend the wedding of their estranged half-sister in the English countryside, along with their mother (Allison Janney), with whom they’re also on none-too-friendly terms. The People We Hate at the Wedding, based on the novel of the same name, is a dysfunctional family comedy full of terrible-but-somehow-likable people—a new holiday alt-classic? Maybe.
Spirited | Apple TV+ | Comedy, musical
Movie premiere, Friday, November 18: Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell? Together? In the same movie? Sounds like a bit . . . much . . . but this new take on A Christmas Carol has a Scrooged/Step Brothers vibe that can’t be denied. Spirited also brings together the odd coupling of the director of Daddy’s Home and the musical team behind La La Land—just imagine if they could have dragged Mark Wahlberg and Ryan Gosling into this, or even John C. Reilly!
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