10 end-of-the-year releases to watch out for on Netflix

By Radhika Seth11 September 2019

From the third season of The Crown to Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated mob-thriller The Irishman and Ryan Murphy’s comedy series The Politician, here are Vogue’s top 10 new releases to watch on Netflix in the next few months

This year’s Netflix originals have been some of the buzziest to date (Sex Education, Russian Doll), but the streaming giant has saved its best releases for the final few months of the year. The Crown returns after a two-year hiatus, black comedy The Politician marks the start of Ryan Murphy’s multi-season saga and Martin Scorsese’s crime drama The Irishman reunites Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Here,Vogue picks the 10 films and TV shows worth cancelling plans for.

Unbelievable (Releasing September 13)

Following the success of Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, Netflix has adapted another true crime tale that sheds light on contemporary prejudices. Unbelievable depicts a rape victim (Kaitlyn Dever) who has her story doubted by the police, only to recant it days later. Meanwhile, two detectives (Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) are investigating a string of connected attacks that lead them to a surprising conclusion. Based on the 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica article called An Unbelievable Story of Rape, the mini-series is a nuanced examination of trauma, shame and public judgement.

The Politician (Releasing September 27)

Last year, Netflix lured prolific showrunner Ryan Murphy—the man behind Glee, American Horror Story and American Crime Story—to its platform with the biggest producer contract in TV history, reportedly worth $300 million. His first project for the network? A satirical romp that charts the political rise of a privileged high-schooler played by Ben Platt. With Lucy Boynton as his rival for class president and Gwyneth Paltrow as his glamorous mother, the show navigates nepotism and ambition in modern America. It’s expected to be the first of five seasons, which will follow Platt’s character from student government all the way to the presidency.

The Laundromat (Releasing October 18)

An irreverent dramatisation of the Panama Papers scandal that is part Ocean’s Eleven, part The Big Short? That’s the blueprint for Steven Soderbergh’s dark comedy starring Meryl Streep as a woman who is conned out of a large sum of money. While tracking down the perpetrators, she uncovers a network of lawyers led by Jürgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Antonio Banderas) who are exploiting the world’s financial system. As the narrative zips from China to Mexico, the US and the Caribbean, the true scale of their crimes becomes apparent.

Dolemite Is My Name (Releasing October 25)

Eddie Murphy is real-life comedian Rudy Ray Moore in Craig Brewer’s wacky biopic. After being shut out of Hollywood, Moore reinvents himself as Dolemite, an obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego who becomes a legend in the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s. The cast includes Chris Rock and Snoop Dogg, but Murphy is the main attraction, revelling in a long-overdue comeback that is already generating awards buzz. Look out for the flamboyant fashion, too—the velvet blazers and ruffled shirts come courtesy of Black Panther’s Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E Carter.

The King (Releasing November 01)

Robert Pattinson plays the Dauphin of France, Lily-Rose Depp is the beautiful Catherine of Valois and Timothée Chalamet stars as battle-weary Henry V in David Michôd’s Shakespearian epic. The film chronicles the monarch’s journey from young prince to reluctant king as he prepares for war and seeks counsel from his most-trusted advisor, the ageing knight Sir John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). Edgerton has also co-written the script with Michôd, weaving together brutal set pieces and political scheming to create a Game of Thrones-style medieval melodrama.

The Crown (Releasing November 17)

Almost two years on from the second season of Netflix’s royal saga, The Crown is back to trace the next decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Olivia Colman succeeds Claire Foy in the lead role, while Helena Bonham Carter appears as Princess Margaret, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles. Spanning 1964 to 1977, the third instalment will cover everything from the Apollo 11 moon landings to the rise of prime minister Harold Wilson—and with season four currently in production, fans can expect a shorter wait until the show’s return.

The Irishman (Releasing November 27)

The veterans of gangster cinema are all in attendance in Martin Scorsese’s first big-screen production since 2016’s Silence. The thriller stars Robert De Niro as hitman Frank Sheeran reflecting on his life and career, including his involvement in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, a labour leader played by Al Pacino. The addition of Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel has drawn comparisons with Goodfellas and Mean Streets, while the film’s opening night slot at the New York Film Festival all but confirms it as a major contender for the 2020 Oscars.

Atlantics (Releasing November 29)

In a suburb of Dakar, young lovers Souleiman (Ibrahima Traore) and Ada (Mama Sane) are separated after the former leaves the country by sea in search of a better future. What begins as a romantic drama soon becomes a poetic ghost story in the hands of Mati Diop, the French-Senegalese filmmaker who made history this year as the first black woman to compete for the Palme d’Or. She took home the 2019 Cannes Grand Prix instead and is due to receive the Toronto Film Festival’s inaugural Mary Pickford Award for outstanding female talent.

Marriage Story (Releasing December 06)

American filmmaker Noah Baumbach has captured many families at war with each other —the Berkmans in The Squid and the Whale, the Meyerowitzes in The Meyerowitz Stories—but his new project provides the most devastating portrait of divorce yet. It centres on Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple on the brink of separation. Baumbach gives both sides of the story their due, following Johansson’s character as she moves to Los Angeles with their son and Driver’s as he fights for custody. The outcome is a Kramer vs. Kramer for our time: sharp, nuanced and ultimately heartbreaking.

The Two Popes (Releasing December 20) Acclaimed director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) returns to form with this intimate account of a papal transition of power. It’s anchored by two formidable performances: Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis. When the latter becomes frustrated with his work in 2012, he asks to retire. Instead, Pope Benedict invites him to Rome to discuss the role of the Catholic church. Lavishly shot and carefully constructed, the film is a sensitive assessment of an ancient institution struggling to adapt to a changing world.