Welcome to On the Radar, your monthly reminder of what’s coming down the pike in the world of entertainment.
We’ve got the latest TV shows, movies, books and more — all coming out in December.
READ MORE: On the Radar: Our November entertainment picks
Take a look and see what’s up this month.
TV
Vikings (History)
Release date: Wednesday, Dec. 4
It’s six months after the battle of Kattegat and Bjorn is now King. But as he struggles with the responsibilities of kingship, he finds he can’t rely on his mother, Lagertha — she has other plans. Can Lagertha lead a quieter life and leave her days as a shieldmaiden behind?
Meanwhile, Ivar falls into the hands of the Kievan Rus, and in their ruthless and unpredictable ruler, Prince Oleg, he may finally have met his match. Intrigued by Ivar’s claims to be a god, Oleg decides to put him to the test.
Bargain Mansions (HGTV Canada)
Release date: Thursday, Dec. 5
For home restoration expert Tamara Day, there’s no such thing as a home that’s too big. This mother of four specializes in restoring the neglected large homes that others are too scared to take on. She brings these big beauties back to life so that new families can move in and love them again.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)
Release date: Friday, Dec. 6
Midge and Susie discover that life on tour with Shy is glamorous but humbling, and they learn a lesson about show business they’ll never forget. Joel struggles to support Midge while pursuing his own dreams. Abe embraces a new mission and Rose learns she has talents of her own.
Harley Quinn (Adult Swim)
Release date: Sunday, Dec. 8
This half-hour adult animated action-comedy series follows Harley Quinn as she has finally broken things off once and for all with the Joker and attempts to make it on her own as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City. The series features Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn, Lake Bell as Poison Ivy and a whole cast of heroes and villains, old and new, from the DC Universe.
Love Island: Australia (hayu)
Release date: Monday, Dec. 16
You’ve got a text, Australia! Get ready to fall in love as Cupid shoots her arrow not once, not twice, but multiple times when Love Island: Australia returns for Season 2. Sophie Monk returns as host, taking 10 singles to a tropical paradise to play the ultimate game of love and lust in a format that has taken the world by storm. (New episodes daily from Dec. 16).
Love & Hip Hop: New York (hayu)
Release date: Sunday, Dec. 22
They’ve supported their men on the road to hip-hop stardom, and the women featured in this docuseries have mostly remained in the background. Now they’re looking for their share of the spotlight and a lot more respect in a largely male-dominated industry. Seasons feature a cast of returning fan favourites joined by a new crop of young, talented artists and managers hungry to make it big in the Big Apple.
You (Netflix)
Release date: Thursday, Dec. 26
You, a Netflix original series, is the riveting story of Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), an obsessive yet brilliant New Yorker, who exploited today’s technology to win the heart of Beck (Elizabeth Lail) amid the growing suspicions of her best friend, Peach (Shay Mitchell). Joe transformed himself from stalker to boyfriend while doing whatever it takes to eliminate all obstacles standing in his way — even if it means murder — in Season 1.
Joe returns for Season 2 of You on Dec. 26.
Movies
W Network’s Countdown to Christmas
Available Friday, Nov. 1 to Jan 1, 2020
Corus Entertainment’s W Network has announced the lineup of festive movies that will be featured in Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas. W Network brings viewers the annual tradition, which will feature more than 30 new and beloved holiday-themed titles, including A Christmas Love Story, Merry & Bright, Write Before Christmas and Holiday Date.
6 Underground (Netflix)
Release date: Friday, Dec. 13
After faking his death, a tech billionaire recruits a team of international operatives for a bold and bloody mission to take down a brutal dictator. 6 Underground stars Ryan Reynolds, Melanie Laurent and Corey Hawkins.
Uncut Gems
Release date: Friday, Dec. 13
A charismatic New York City jeweler, always on the lookout for the next big score, makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win. Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, and Eric Bogosian.
Black Christmas
Release date: Friday, Dec. 13
Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. But as Riley Stone (Poots) and her Mu Kappa Epsilon sisters — athlete Marty, rebel Kris and foodie Jesse (Star’s Brittany OGrady) — prepare to deck the halls with a series of seasonal parties, a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority women one by one.
As the body count rises, Riley and her squad start to question whether they can trust any man, including Marty’s beta-male boyfriend, Nate, Riley’s new crush Landon, or even esteemed classics instructor Professor Gelson. Whoever the killer is, he’s about to discover that this generation’s young women are not about to be anybody’s victims.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Release date: Thursday, Dec. 19
Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
The film stars Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, with Ian McDiarmid and Billy Dee Williams.
Music Releases
Camila Cabello, Romance
Release date: Friday, Dec. 6
Roddy Ricch, Please Excuse Me for Being Anti-Social
Release date: Friday, Dec. 6
Stormzy, Heavy Is The Head
Release date: Friday, Dec. 13
Harry Styles, Fine Line
Release date: Friday, Dec. 13
Cam’Ron, Purple Haze 2
Release date: Monday, Dec. 16
Concerts
DaBaby
DaBaby’s Kirk tour will beat Rebel Nightclub in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Celine Dion
Celine Dion’s tour will be at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 9 and Tuesday, Dec. 10.
A$AP Ferg
A$AP Ferg’s tour will be at Rebel Nightclub in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Oseko: Winter Classic
After the release of his debut album Sankofa, Oseko will be hosting his annual Winter Classic with special guests at JMW Lounge in Whitby on Dec. 21.
Books
Reputation by Sara Shepard
Available Dec. 3
Aldrich University is rocked to its core when a hacker dumps 40,000 people’s e-mails — the entire faculty, staff, students, alums — onto an easily searchable database. Rumours and affairs immediately leak, but things turn explosive when Kit Manning’s handsome husband, Dr. Greg Strasser, is found murdered.
Kit’s sister, Willa, returns for the funeral, setting foot in a hometown she fled 15 years ago after a night she wishes she could forget. As an investigative reporter, Willa knows something isn’t right about the night Greg was killed, and she’s determined to find the truth. What she doesn’t expect is that everyone has something to hide. And with a killer on the loose, Willa and Kit must figure out who killed Greg before someone else is murdered.
Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard’s new thriller about a college campus divided by an email leak affecting tens of thousands of people is due out on Dec. 3.
Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating by Christy Harrison
Available Dec. 24
In Anti-Diet, Christy Harrison takes on diet culture and the multi-billion-dollar industries that profit from it, exposing all the ways it robs people of their time, money, health, and happiness. It will turn what you think you know about health and wellness upside down, as Harrison explores the history of diet culture, how it’s infiltrated the health and wellness world, how to recognize it in all its sneaky forms, and how letting go of efforts to lose weight or eat “perfectly” actually helps to improve people’s health — no matter their size.
Drawing on scientific research, personal experience, and stories from patients and colleagues, Anti-Diet provides a radical alternative to diet culture, and helps readers reclaim their bodies, minds, and lives so they can focus on the things that truly matter.
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