This past weekend, Netflix held its annual Tudum event, named for the now-iconic noise that accompanies its logo every time you start a show or movie on what many people consider the best streaming platform going. That makes for perfect timing, given that this is Home & Entertainment Month at T3 – so I went through all the news from the event to pick out five things you should know about.
Some of these are trailers, and others are new release dates, but all of them are worth being aware of if you have a Netflix subscription, or if you're thinking of adding it to your array of streamers soon.
Stranger Things Season 5 release dates
Stranger Things' fifth season has felt like one of the longest and most complicated TV productions in history, largely because that's exactly what it has been. It's three years since we watched a new season of the show, and even its fourth season increasingly started to feel like it was somehow bigger than the label "TV".
Its budgets are seismic, its episode runtimes are basically feature-length, and the final season finally got some release dates attached at Tudum this year. There are three of them to know about:
- Volume 1: 26 November
- Volume 2: 25 December
- Finale: 31 December
That means that Netflix is basically aiming to own the last month or so of the year, with three different batches being released in waves. We'll get a few episodes in late November, then more on Christmas Day, and a huge finale on New Year's Eve. Circle those dates now!
A Frankenstein trailer
I've been waiting ages to catch a proper glimpse of Guillermo del Toro's vision for Frankenstein, and Netflix finally obliged during Tudum, taking a break from TV news to debut a trailer for the movie. Del Toro is a master of the gothic, and he looks to have been given carte blanche for the film.
It stars Oscar Isaac as the notorious doctor who gives the story its title, and will arrive in cinemas and on Netflix in November, although we don't have an exact date yet. My guess would be that Netflix will give it time to breathe before Stranger Things, though, so hopefully it'll be earlier in the month rather than later.
Squid Game Season 3 trailed
In some ways, this year might be the year of Squid Game again by the time it ends – it will host both Season 2 of the show, which is already out (albeit it arrived just at the end of 2024), and Season 3, which is still to come. Now we've got a full trailer for the third and final season, which was filmed back-to-back with the second.
It shows us some more twisted games and confirms that our main character Gi-hun is going to be as desperate as ever, baffled by why he's even alive at this point. However, he might be the only one who can help any of his fellow contestants survive the remaining games, while there's still any chance of doing so.
One of the best things Netflix ever did was signing Rian Johnson up to write and direct Knives Out, a detective story that has spawned one of its biggest franchises. These movies, starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, are simply irresistible fun – but they're also really well-plotted and filmed.
The latest entry will be Wake Up Dead Man, and we got a first proper teaser trailer at Tudum, along with confirmation that the movie will stream on Netflix from 12 December this year. That will make for a real treat this holiday season, and make no mistake about it.
Wednesday Season 2 approaches
For copyright reasons I can't embed a video of the Lady Gaga performance that really set people alight during Tudum, but head out onto social media to search her name and you should find it. She recreated Jenna Ortega's famous dance from Wednesday, in honour of the show's second season approaching quickly.
We also got to see the first six minutes of that season, which will stream on 6 August (before a second half arrives on 3 September). It picks up with Wednesday doing what she loves best – getting into gory situations, and out of them. She's been trapped by a serial killer, but soon turns the tables.
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