Every month is a big month for the biggest and best streaming services in the world, but Netflix does seem to have a knack for one-upping itself as the year unfolds. It always has new series and movies coming out, but the latter months of the year do tend to have a few more big-hitters all at once.
This November, it has one of the most jam-packed release schedules that I've ever surveyed, full of some of the biggest franchises and brands that the streamer has to offer. There are blockbuster movies, indie darlings, and the long-awaited start of Stranger Things' finale – check out the five highlights you can't miss, below.
Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1
- Streaming from: 26 November
If it feels like forever since we last got a dose of Stranger Things, that's because it really has been ages – mid-2022 was the last time new episodes dropped, so we're more than three years into the wait. Now it's just a matter of weeks, though, until Stranger Things 5 starts, and it promises to be perhaps Netflix's biggest series finale ever.
In November, though, we'll just get the first part, before a continuation in December and a grand finale on New Year's Eve. So, expect to pick up the story of Eleven and her friends as they continue to grapple with the cosmic threat of the supernatural Upside Down, and the horrifying baddies spilling out of it.
Frankenstein
- Streaming from: 7 November
Spoilers – I've already seen this one, after racing to a central London cinema to watch it on the big screen. Guillermo del Toro's long-awaited adaptation of Frankenstein confirms his status as one of the foremost auteurs of gothic cinema, and he's not afraid to flex his muscle in this epic movie.
You'll get to see Mary Shelley's classic tale adapted with an impressive level of faithfulness, complete with the perspectives both of the relatively horrible Victor Frankenstein (product of a loveless upbringing) and the so-called monster he creates (also the product of unloving parentage). It's a rollicking story full of memorable sets and costumes, and definitely one to make sure you don't miss.
The Beast in Me
- Streaming from: 13 November
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in a new thriller series that looks like it could be quite a stunner for Netflix, not least because it reunites Danes with some of the team that made her show Homeland, which became a massive hit. This time around she plays an author who starts to suspect that a new neighbour might be more than he looks like.
The show looks twisty and tense – with both Rhys and Danes' characters clearly having some skeletons in their closet (perhaps literally) as they dance around each other trying to figure out their respective motivations. Rhys seems to revel in playing a bad guy, too, so expect him to have great fun with this role.
Death by Lightning
- Streaming from: 6 November
This one's a slightly more niche proposition, but when you cast Matthew Macfadyen in a TV show you get my attention. This time, it's a costume drama, of sorts, one that takes a look at the fateful Presidential career of one James Garfield – a politician whose rapid rise to power was matched by an abrupt end at the hands of Charles Guiteau (played by Macfadyen).
It looks like we'll get to see a portrait of a deluded man convinced that he has a grand part to play in the politics of his day. Indeed, based on the historical facts in play, he'll manage to get the level of influence he desperately seeks, through the most terrible means. Expect a tour de force from Macfadyen, if I'm any judge.
Train Dreams
- Streaming from: 21 November
Finally, for those who want something slower-paced and more contemplative this November, I think this movie could be a real runner – and if its trailers are anything to go by, it might be one of the most beautiful movies Netflix has ever produced. Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton as a railway worker in the era of frontier construction, seeing the continent of North America from a very different point of view.
It looks like we'll get ruminations on the natural world, humanity's place within it, family, the nature of work, and much more as the movie unfolds, giving us a portrait of one man's life at a pivotal time in history. I'm most excited about the cinematography, though, which looks stellar.
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