This Amazon Kids' Fire Tablet Is Half Off Right Now

If you’re in the market for a kid-friendly tablet, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro (2024) is worth a look—especially at its current price of $69.99, half off the usual $139.99. Designed for kids aged six to twelve, this tablet comes with a protective case (available in fun styles like Hello Teal, Discovery, and Jungle Cat) that'll likely survive a few drops or more. Plus, if you’re expecting some rough handling, a two-year warranty covers pretty much any mishaps. You also get six months of Amazon Kids+ for free, giving kids ad-free access to a huge selection of age-appropriate content. After that, though, it’s $5.99 per month if you’re a Prime member (or $7.99 if you're not), so there’s that recurring cost to consider.

New Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet, ages 6-12 | 3GB memory, 8" HD screen, slim case for older kids, ad-free content, parental controls, 13-hr battery, 32GB, Hello Teal, (2024 release)

$69.99 at Amazon

$139.99 Save $70.00

$69.99 at Amazon

$139.99 Save $70.00

The tablet has 3GB of RAM, which generally keeps things moving without major hiccups. Still, you might notice some lag now and then, especially when it’s waking up, which may try the patience of eager little fingers. Additionally, according to this PCMag review, intense gaming apps with 3D graphics tend to lag too, so for a 12-year-old, this tablet might not cut it. The cameras—a 5MP on the back and 2MP on the front—aren’t exactly Instagram-worthy either. Photos tend to look a little washed out, especially in low light, but video chatting works well enough.

Parents, you’ll probably love the control features like setting daily screen limits, managing in-app purchases, and adjusting content based on age, making it easy to keep things kid-friendly. There’s also an option to lock the tablet during specific hours, which is handy for homework time or bedtime. And if you’ve got more than one kid, it supports up to four profiles, so each child can have their own setup. Battery life is decent too, giving over nine hours of streaming.

If you have an older kid who’s likely to want more power or sharper graphics, you might want to consider the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro instead—it’s $109.99 right now (down from $189.99), but that extra boost in speed and screen quality could make a difference for a kid who’s outgrowing simpler tablets.

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The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Work Great and Don't Look Dorky

If this was 1987, I’d create a syndicated adventure show around a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses. Here’s my pitch for CodeName: SPEX: “Sgt. Steve Johnson, accused of a crime he did not commit, liberates a pair of super-intelligent Wayfarers from a secret government lab. Steve and SPEX (Surveillance, Proximity, Enhancement, eXtraction) roam the country using SPEX’s powers to solve mysteries, all while keeping one step ahead of the agents pursuing them.”

All this to say that Meta’s smart glasses are 1980s-syndicated-TV-show, living-in-the-future kind of cool. Not just cool for their impressive technology, but cool because they’re actually useful; maybe not for outsmarting government agents, but for solving everyday mysteries, like “where did I park my car?”

A quick look at Ray-Ban Meta Glasses

Pros

• Stylish design

• Useful AI

• Easy operation

Cons

• No display screen

• AI limitations

Specs

• Price: $329 and up

• Weight: 49 grams

• Still camera: 12 MP, 3024x4032

• Video: 1080p

• iPhone requirements: iPhone 11 or newer, running iOS 14.4 and up

• Android requirements: Google Pixel 5 and newer, or Galaxy S20 and newer, running Android 10 and up

What even are Ray-Ban Meta Glasses?

For the three people who haven’t seen Meta’s ubiquitous advertising campaign: Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are sunglasses/eyeglasses with a built-in camera, speakers, and AI that can be controlled with your voice and simple gestures. They do not have a display screen, though, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if that’s your bag. Meta is working on true AR smart glasses with a built-in display (Orion), but that's likely far off.

Design: Wayfarers are perpetually cool

Credit: Stephen Johnson

The design of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses may prove to be the “killer feature” that elevates them above the competition. With glasses, looks are important—you’re wearing them on your face, after all—and unlike the infamous Google Glasses of years ago or other brands of smart glasses on the market, Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are stylish enough that I’d wear them if they didn’t have built-in technology. They come in three time-tested Ray-Ban frame shapes—Skyler, Wayfarer, and Headliner—and offer multiple colors and lens combinations, including the option of prescription lenses. Ray-Ban Metas weigh 49 grams (10 more than my regular specs) and the built-in camera is unobtrusive, so you can wear them all day and not look like a dork (until you say “Hey Meta, what’s the score of the Eagles game?” to yourself on a crowded bus.)

Technology: Say hello to your little AI friend

There has been a lot of talk in techie circles lately about the possibilities of wearable AI assistants like Humane’s AI Pin or the Rabbit R1, but early reviews have not been positive about either. The idea of replacing your phone with a phone-sized gadget (but only for some tasks, so you still need to carry your phone) just isn’t appealing to most. But cramming AI into your eyeglasses means there’s no extra gadget to take up pocket space, and, because it’s voice activated, it can be operated hands-free. 

The set-up and pairing with the companion app, Meta View, was uneventful. A lot of thought seems to have gone into making the user experience as easy as possible. After a brief tutorial, you’re on your own, but if you forget the gesture controls or something, you can ask your glasses to explain them to you again.

What Ray-Ban Meta’s AI can do

In basic terms, Ray-Ban Meta’s AI assistant can see what you’re seeing, translate text, and answer questions. If you’re looking at a cool flower, you can say, “Hey, Meta, what kind of flower is that?” Or you can ask, “Hey, Meta, what am I looking at?” And it will describe your view with scary accuracy. 

Meta’s AI can translate signs and other text into multiple languages, tell you what the breakfast hours are of the McDonald’s you’re looking at, tell you whether it gets good reviews, and give you a suggestion for what to order. (Meta recommends the Egg McMuffin.) You can ask it general questions too, like “When does the new season of Severance premiere?” or “What’s the address of Circus Liquor in North Hollywood?” It can even tell jokes—not funny jokes necessarily, but things that are technically jokes. 

You can use it to remember things for you, too. Tell it “remember that I have a doctor’s appointment on the 12th” or “remember that my car is parked in the orange section in space 435,” then later have it recall the information. 

What Ray-Ban Meta’s AI can’t do

As cool as it would be to say, “Hey, Meta, book me a room at the MGM Grand Hotel for this Saturday,” it’s not there yet. Complex tasks that would involve potentially using other apps on your phone aren’t possible. It also can’t give you turn-based-directions, identify the song you’re listening to, or remember the name of the person you’re looking at. Also: It only responds to “hey Meta,” not “Hey SPEX” as I’d prefer.

Ray-Ban Meta picture and video quality

Credit: Stephen Johnson

For influencers and other perpetually-online folks, the Ray-Ban Meta’s main selling point is likely its ability to capture images and video, then instantly upload them to Instagram or Facebook with a word. You can also livestream, but only to Instagram and Facebook. A click of the button on the glasses arm, or saying “Hey, Meta, take a picture,” will take a snapshot of what you’re looking at, so you can capture a still or a video while you're riding a bike or driving.

The resolution of the Ray-Ban’s photos doesn’t equal a modern smartphone, but a 12 MP camera that takes 3024x4032 still images and 1080p video isn’t potato-quality, either. It does a fairly nice job with lower light situations, too. Speaking of the video: I was impressed with the Meta-Ray Ban’s image stabilization and the wide field of view, but bummed that it only shoots in one, vertical aspect ratio: perfect for TikTok but bad for a feature film. Check it out yourself:

Because there’s no viewfinder, it’s difficult to frame shots, so it’s best used for casual, on-the-fly images instead of careful compositions, and you’ll probably need to crop everything later for best results. Here's a straight-from-the-glasses photo, taken in a lower-light hallway, to give you an idea of the image quality:

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Ray-Ban Meta glasses as a communication tool

Conversations with your eyeglasses are cool and all, but if you want to interact with other humans, you can use Ray-Bans to send texts, make and answer voice calls, and make video calls. You can switch between your glasses-camera and your phone's camera in a video call on WhatsApp and Messenger, so if you need to show someone something, your pal can see the world through your eyes. (It won't work on FaceTime or other non-Meta platforms.) Kind of creepy, but kind of cool. This all worked exactly as expected, with little hassle—all I really want out of tech gadgets.

Using your Ray-Ban Meta glasses to play music

Along with taking snapshots and telling jokes, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses pair directly with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Calm through a connected device, and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker to play whatever you like. With a command of “play music” you can start the tunes, and then skip ahead with a tap on the glasses or a “skip song” command. The volume can be controlled the same way. 

Like the video quality, the audio is fine, but not near the level of a decent set of headphones or earbuds. The highs and mids are clear; the bass is weak, but it’s adequate overall.

Battery life

The glasses boast a battery life of “up to four hours,” but this varies based on usage. While it might seem short, especially if this is your everyday wear, the Ray-Ban Meta case contains additional battery power, allowing for eight more charges on the go. 

The bottom line: You can have my Ray-Ban Metas when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers

Any discussion of what something is worth is subjective, but $329 for the base Wayfarer model is less than I paid for my last set of frames, and they don’t ever answer me when I talk to them. For comparison, the cost of the cheapest Humane AI pin is $499 and requires a monthly subscription, while the Rabbit R1 runs $199. 

With their retro design, practical AI capabilities, and hands-free operation, Ray-Ban Metas are the kind of glasses Q would have given to James Bond. While there are limitations, like the lack of a display and some complex task constraints, overall, Ray-Ban Meta glasses are an “I didn’t know I always needed this” gadget that makes many things I do anyway, like taking pictures and sending texts, easier and cooler. 

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Apple Will Fix Your iPhone 14 Plus' Camera for Free

Has this ever happened to you? You pick up your iPhone to take a photo or a video of something, but when you pull up the Camera app, nothing appears on screen. The rear camera displays a black screen, but if you tap the "switch camera" button and swap over to the selfie cam, your face pops-up without issue on the preview.

The problem likely lies with your iPhone's rear camera, which for some reason isn't displaying a preview in the Camera app when active. There's often not much you can do yourself to fix it. Force quitting the Camera app, resetting your iPhone, or tapping the back of the camera to shake something loose may not work. The good news is, Apple will happily fix the issue for you for free—so long as your device is an eligible iPhone 14 Plus.

There's an issue with some iPhone 14 Plus phones

According to a new Apple support page, the company has identified a problem with the rear camera on a "very small percentage of iPhone 14 Plus devices." Affected devices won't display anything when you have the rear camera active, so if your 14 Plus' camera is acting up like this, it's probably Apple's fault.

Just because you have an iPhone 14 Plus with this issue doesn't mean it is automatically eligible for the repair, however: Apple says the affected devices were manufactured between April 10 2023, and April 28, 2024. If you bought your iPhone 14 Plus on launch day back in 2022, for example, it isn't covered. You'll need to plug your serial number into the text field on the support page to confirm whether your device is covered under this program.

If your eligible 14 Plus does have this issue, you have a few choices to get it fixed. First, you can simply take your iPhone to an Apple Store: Make an appointment, bring your iPhone, and they'll make your camera work again free of charge. You can also go through an Apple Authorized Service Provider, which is a repair shop that Apple has officially approved for servicing. Finally, you can mail in your iPhone, if you set up a solution first with Apple Support.

If you previously had your iPhone 14 Plus' camera fixed and paid for it, Apple says you can ask them for a refund.

One final caveat: There is a time limit on this program. Apple says it will only fix your camera within three years of the "first retail sale of the unit." That means if you bought yours second-hand six months ago, you still have to go back to when the device was originally sold at retail to figure out when that three-year deadline ends. However, since the first affected devices weren't manufactured until April 10, 2023, the oldest devices in the program are, at most, a year and a half old, so you have until at least April 2026 until the first batch of 14 Plus models won't be covered.

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Blocking People on X Is Officially Pointless

After confirming in September that blocking as we know it would soon be gone from X, Elon Musk’s social media company started rolling out the change over Halloween weekend. This fundamentally alters the way you’ll be interacting with the site from now on, so let’s take a moment to break down how blocking used to work on X, how it works now, and what you can still do to keep your content away from prying eyes.

How blocking used to work on X

In the past, blocking a user on X prevented that user from both interacting with your posts and seeing them altogether. They wouldn’t show up in the blocked user’s timeline, and if all went well, that user wouldn’t even know you had posted. 

It wasn’t a cure-all, since if your posts were public, that user could easily log into a different account and see them elsewhere. But it served as a preventative, forcing anyone who wanted to snoop on you to go out of their way to do so. It also kept blocked users from following you, sending you direct messages, adding your account to a list, sending you notifications, or tagging you in photos.

How blocking on X has changed

Fundamentally, blocking on X maintains most of its features, save for its most obvious one: Blocked accounts can now see your posts.

This allows blocked users to keep tabs on you without swapping to another account, so long as your posts are public. According to site owner Elon Musk, “the block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post [sic].”

In other words, a blocked account will not be able to like, reply, repost, or otherwise interact with a public post or the person who wrote it, but they’ll still be able to view (and screenshot) it.

A quick look at the responses to and quote tweets of Musk’s announcement show that the move has been controversial, although Musk himself said it was, “High time this happened.” Note, however, that it might be some time until the update takes effect for you. When I tried blocking one of my burner accounts from my main account, that account still couldn’t view posts from my main.

Overall, it’s a bit of an unusual move, and it’ll be some time before we know if it will stick. Both Apple and Google’s stores require apps with user-generated content to have blocking functions built-in, and it’s unclear whether Musk’s new rules meet these requirements. For instance, while Google says an app must include “in-app functionality for blocking users,” it does not define exactly what that block function should look like.

How to keep blocking users on X

It’s possible that, in the face of Musk’s change, we’ll see Apple and Google clarify what exactly a block function should entail. However, neither company has made any public statements on the matter yet. In the meantime, there is one step you can take to keep the wrong people from seeing your posts.

The most obvious step will, unfortunately, turn your X account into more of a Facebook-lite: Right now, the best way to ensure abusive posters do not see your X posts is to set your account to private.

X refers to this as protecting your posts, and on desktop, you’ll find the toggle for it in the sidebar’s More menu under Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Audience and tagging. On mobile, click on your profile picture and scroll down to Settings and privacy to find it.

Once you’re on the right page, you’ll see a toggle for Protect my posts and a toggle for Protect my videos. Protected posts and videos will only be visible to your followers, and you’ll see a lock icon next to protected accounts. You’ll also have to approve any future followers, although any followers you had already accrued will still be able to see and interact with your posts. Reposts will be grayed out on your posts, too, and they’ll stop showing up in search engines or when people who don’t follow you search for them on X.

In other words, you’d essentially be limiting your account to interactions with friends and family. That removes some of the functionality that sets X apart from older social media sites like Facebook, but could be helpful if you don’t want to lose track of any friends you’ve made there. All that said, X’s biggest competitors still let you block as usual.

How blocking works on Threads and Bluesky

Anecdotally, I’ve seen a massive slump in posting after Musk announced that he would be changing how blocking works on X, with many of my mutuals leaving the site for either Threads or Bluesky. With that in mind, let’s quickly go over how blocking works on those sites, in case you want to follow suit.

On Threads, blocking keeps users from seeing or interacting with “anything you post,” plus removes their likes from your posts and keeps them from mentioning your username or tagging you. The only complication is that, because Threads is on the Fediverse, you’ll need to request to block users on other servers before they stop seeing your posts. For instance, to block someone on Mastodon, you’ll need to navigate to Settings > Privacy and enter their username and their server under External server username, then hit Send Request. Meta can’t promise that the server will honor the request, but it’s a start.

For something a bit more surefire, you can try blocking on Bluesky. Here, blocking will prevent you and the blocked account from seeing or interacting with each other’s posts. The catch? Your whole blocklist will be public through the app’s API, which could lead to some awkward interactions if you know the person you’re blocking in real life.

And that’s about it. Blocking on these public platforms has always been more about putting steps in between abusive eyes and your content rather than outright keeping them from seeing it, so it’s always best to remain vigilant even on platforms with more restrictive blocking features. Alternatively, if you’re not quite at the point of blocking someone, there are less aggressive steps you can take against them, like muting or restricting their posts, so they don’t show up for you unless you go looking for them. These also tend to be more private, since blocked users will find out they’ve been blocked once they work their way over to your account and see themselves locked out of either viewing or interacting with your content.

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These Are My Three Favorite Appliances to Cook Thanksgiving Dinner (Besides the Oven)

Welcome to The Cheater’s Guide to Thanksgiving. While there are plenty of tips out there for folks making scratch desserts and artisan loaves, the Cheater’s Guide focuses on the person who could use a helping hand—even from some unconventional sources. Some might call it “cheating” (like that’s a bad thing), but there’s nothing wrong with using modern technology and supermarket know-how to help you make a bangin’ traditional feast—with much less of the traditional work.

While the conventional oven might be the most traditional way to prepare a Thanksgiving feast, we have a few transformative modern appliances available now, and it would be silly to leave them on the sidelines. The three that I’ve incorporated into my holiday routine are the slow cooker, air fryer, and microwave. Supporting the leadership of my conventional oven, this team of appliances spreads out the tasks and makes an overwhelming menu almost feel light. 

How to use a slow cooker for Thanksgiving dinner

I have two slow cookers: a large one (an eight-quart) and a small one (a two-quart). You certainly don’t need two but I like having the little one around for warming sauces. I use the large slow cooker to handle any large side dish. It has changed from year to year: One time I used it to take care of the stuffing, and another time I did the mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. For me, the point is that large side dishes are often the most annoying to have in a pot on my stovetop burner or the most cumbersome to try and puzzle into the oven. It helps to get that one high maintenance dish out of my hair, and the slow cooker is exactly the appliance to get the job done. You dump the ingredients in, and hours later, finish it off. No need to stir, whisk, boil, or tend to it.  

For a dinner party like Thanksgiving, I recommend a large one like either of these to handle popular sides because you’re probably making a large batch.

• The Crock-Pot Large 8-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

• The Hamilton Beach 10-Quart Slow Cooker

Crock Pot 8 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

$74.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $25.00

$74.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $25.00

How to use an air fryer for Thanksgiving dinner

You’ll hear me go on and on about the air fryer. It’s the latest to join my roster of Thanksgiving worthy appliances, and it’s my star player. It’s a countertop convection oven, which is the type of oven many restaurants and bakeries use for fast, even cooking. Not only does it give you restaurant-grade cooking power, but they’re mobile, and every year they get more and more affordable. 

Since I have a rather small kitchen, I might not have space to cook one dish while I prepare another. With an air fryer, I can actually move it to a different plug, counter, or different room entirely if I need the kitchen space. I can toss the veggies in the air fryer in the living room, and free up the kitchen counter to cool two pies. Plus, it speeds up the cooking of anything you put in it. You can crisp, roast, and air fry half of your side dishes in the time it takes you to bake a single casserole in the conventional oven. When I’m done, I unplug it and store it away to set up the table for guests. 

I like the Instant Vortex for a small kitchen where you see yourself moving the appliance around, and the Ninja DoubleStack for cooking multiple things independently and simultaneously.

• Instant Vortex XL 6-Quart

• Ninja DoubleStack XL 2-basket

Ninja SL401 DoubleStack XL 2-Basket Air Fryer, DoubleStack Technology Cooks 4 Foods at Once, Compact Design, 10 QT, 6-in-1, Smart Finish & Match Cook, Air Fry, Broil, Bake, Easy Meals, Easy Clean,Grey

$249.95 at Amazon

$249.95 at Amazon

How to use a microwave for Thanksgiving dinner

She isn’t new on the everyday scene, but for Thanksgiving, the microwave is often forgotten. It’s literally the fastest cooking machine, and most people already have one. While you shouldn’t be cooking roasts from scratch in the microwave, you can be smart about how you use it for planning ahead. Knowing you can reheat in the microwave allows you to pre-cook sauces or side dishes. I use my microwave for quick solutions when it’s crunch-time—heating broth or milk for a roux-thickened sauce, melting butter for numerous uses, or cooking crispy bacon for my Brussels sprouts. 

The best microwave for Thanksgiving is definitely the one you already have. If you don’t have one or you’re looking to upgrade (besides finding one that’s the right size), you can check out the following, or spring for a combi microwave—a mashup of a microwave and an air fryer.

• The Cuisinart Stainless Steel Microwave Oven

• Toshiba 6-in-1 Inverter Microwave Oven Air Fryer

TOSHIBA 6-in-1 Inverter Countertop Microwave Oven Healthy Air Fryer Combo, MASTER Series, Air Fryer, Broil, Convection, Speedy Combi, Even Defrost, Sound On/Off 27 Auto Menu Stainless Steel

$259.99 at Amazon

$399.99 Save $140.00

$259.99 at Amazon

$399.99 Save $140.00

While you don’t need to have all three appliances firing to have a delicious Thanksgiving, I do recommend delegating at least one or two side dishes to any of these modern wonders. Check out more of The Cheater's Guide to Thanksgiving to see what recipes you can make in each one. You’ll be pleased to see how a little help removes a lot of stress. 

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You Can Get This HP Stream Laptop on Sale for $120 Right Now

You can get this HP Stream laptop on sale for $119.99 right now (reg. $195). This budget-friendly laptop is a good choice for kids or students, running on a Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and Windows 10 Home, providing enough power and quick boot-up times for everyday tasks. The device also features an 11.6-inch anti-glare display, 32GB of storage, up to 14 hours of use on a full charge, and USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and SD ports. The device is so affordable because it’s refurbished, in grade “A,” near-mint condition, meaning is has only minimal cosmetic wear and a minimum of 80% battery health.

You can get this HP Stream laptop on sale for $119.99 right now (reg. $195), though prices can change at any time.

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The Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch on Netflix This Month

I've pored over Netflix's release schedule to bring you the best movies and TV shows premiering on the service this month. In true November fashion, this month is heavy on Christmas—Netflix is leaning into the holiday hard with a slate of festive films featuring stars like Lacey Chabert and Lindsay Lohan, as well as overstuffed stocking full of Hallmark Christmas movies.

If you do not partake in Christmas hype, there's also Oscar-bait Emilia Pérez, the excellent Rob Peace, and the live Paul vs. Tyson fight, if you want to see a boxing match but don't actually like boxing.

Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez is a genre-defying movie that blends comedy, drama, musical numbers, and action into a potion Netflix describes as "an opera that’s not an opera." It stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez, and tells the story of high-powered attorney Rita (Saldaña) assigned to help a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) fake their death and undergo gender reassignment. Look for this one on Oscar night.

Starts streaming November 13.

Rob Peace (2024)

Directed, adapted by, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 years a Slave), Rob Peace dramatizes the true story of Robert Deshaun Peace, a brilliant young man from a poor background in Newark, New Jersey whose attendance at Yale is cut tragically short. Jay Will plays the title character, Mary J. Blige plays his devoted mother, and Ejiofor plays Peace's imprisoned father.

Starts streaming November 9

Hot Frosty

Lacey Chabert stars in a lighthearted holiday confection in which a snowman turns into a regular man—but he's totally hot. Chabert and the former snowman—an abomination if you think about too much—fall in love, despite the differences in their backgrounds. This is really all there is to say about Hot Frosty. You're either in or you're out with a movie like this.

Starts streaming November 13.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (Live) 

Circus matches are nothing new to boxing—Muhammad Ali fought a Japanese professional wrestler at the height of his career—and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson might be the greatest novelty boxing match ever staged. It will give us a chance to see Iron Mike step into the ring one more time, with the added bonus that he might punch Jake Paul's head clean off, although I'd put my money on a tepid exhibition match with a subtext of "just give me my check."

Starts streaming November 15.

Hallmark Christmas movie collection

Attention should be paid to Hallmark's Christmas movies. The greeting-card-company-turned-cable-network-for-some-reason churns out Christmas-themed romantic comedies with the ruthless efficiency of a German industrial plant. They're usually not bad either, if you're into that sort of thing. I haven't seen any of the movies Netflix is streaming in November, but I assume all are perfectly serviceable background movies for wrapping presents and putting lights on the tree. Here's the list.

• A Biltmore Christmas (2023)

• A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023)

• A Heidelberg Holiday (2023)

• Christmas Island (2023)

• Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023)

• Christmas with a Kiss (2023)

• Miracle in Bethlehem, PA (2023)

• Christmas in Notting Hill (2023)

• Haul Out the Holly (2023)

• Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up (2023)

Starts streaming November 1.

Meet Me Next Christmas

Christina Milian stars in a holiday movie about Layla, who is desperately trying to get her hands on tickets to the sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert. A bright-and-cheery romantic comedy powered by the a cappella musical stylings of Pentatonix is both a can't-miss holiday movie concept and literally my worst nightmare. Meet Me Next Christmas also stars Kofi Siriboe as James, who, unlike me, is handsome and charming and presumably likes listening Pentatonix.

Starts streaming November 6.

Pedro Páramo

Based on Juan Rulfo’s seminal work of magical realism, Pedro Páramo stars Manuel García-Rulfo from The Lincoln Lawyer as the title character, who finds himself in the ghost town of Comala, where the past and present coexist. Described by Netflix as a "mesmerizing story of desire, corruption, and inheritance," Pedro Páramo is the directorial debut of frequent Scorsese cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, so we know for sure it's going to look amazing.

Starts streaming November 6.

Arcane (Season 2) 

You wouldn't think a cartoon series based on the online game League of Legends would be a critical favorite, but the first season of Arcane earned a perfect 100% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Season 2 picks up where 1 left off, with League of Legends champions Vi and Jinx on different paths in the looming showdown between Piltover and Zaun. This is the final chapter of Arcane, and it will be arriving in three acts, on Nov. 9, 16, and 23.

Starts streaming November 9.

Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley

No matter how many Elvis documentaries, feature films, and TV miniseries are made, there's always room for one more. Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley takes us behind the scenes of Elvis' greatest moment, the '68 Comeback Special, where, for a single hour, Presley shook off more than a decade of terrible movies, cynical cash-grab albums, and bad career decisions (courtesy of overbearing manager Col. Tom Parker) to remind the world why they called him the King in the first place.

Starts streaming November 13.

The Lost Children

On May 1, 2023 a Cessna carrying four Indigenous children and their parents crashed in the Colombia wilderness. With the all the adults dead, the children, ages 13, 9, 4 years, and 11 months, were forced to survive 40 days in a harrowing jungle. Featuring archival footage and interviews with the survivors and the people who risked everything to find them in the trackless wastes, The Lost Children is an unbelievable story of survival.

Starts streaming November 13.

Cobra Kai (Season 6 – Part 2) 

They say this season of Cobra Kai will conclude the series, but I wouldn't bet on it. I would bet on the scrappy teens of the Miyagi Do karate school at the Sekai Taikai international hi-YAH competition, where they'll face off against the greatest teen martial artists on the planet. I have a good feeling about their chances. Even though the Americans are underdogs and their karate school is rife with internal conflict, I think they'll rise to the occasion in a surprisingly uplifting way, and take home the trophy or the black belt or whatever the prize in a karate tournament is.

Starts streaming November 15.

Adam Ray Presents: Dr. Phil UNPLUGGED

Comedian Adam Ray does a lot of impressions, but his portrayal of blowhard TV doctor Dr. Phil as a foul-mouthed, oversexed reprobate is the standout by a mile. It's not just that he looks and sounds like Dr. Phil, Ray is so in touch with Dr. Phil's Dr. Phill-ness, it's like he's channeling the man's id, saying everything you know Dr. Phil would say if he could. That impression takes center stage in Adam Ray Presents: Dr. Phil UNPLUGGED

Starts streaming November 19.

A Man on the Inside 

Ted Danson headlines a comedy series about aging. Danson plays Charles, a retired professor at loose ends who takes a job as an undercover detective at a nursing home. Charles soon finds that the geriatrics are fun-loving rapscallions who love partying (and crime, apparently). Season one of A Man on the Inside is based on a true story and sees Charles searching for a stolen necklace, but I'm hoping future season will see Danson tackle the mystery of who keeps moving my pills, determine the identity of the lady who keeps saying she's my daughter, and figure out who keeps shitting my pants.

Starts streaming November 20.

Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy

I don't want to alarm you, but according to Netflix documentary Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, retailers often use questionable tactics to get people to buy things—often things they don't even need! Through interviews with whistleblowers and industry insiders, this documentary shines a light on the covert psychological manipulation that capitalists use to make you spend money, with an eye on the true price of out-of-control consumption.

Starts streaming November 20.

The Merry Gentlemen

With Hot Frosty and The Merry Gentlemen, Netflix is leaning into the combination of hunky guys and Christmas this year. The titular gentlemen are strippers, employed by Ashley (Britt Robertson) in an effort to save her parents' small-town performing arts venue. Expect a lot of abs, a lot of laughs, and lot of old fashioned Christmas romance in this mildly horny holiday flick.

Starts streaming November 20.

Spellbound

Netflix is gunning for animation superiority: The streaming service has employed heavy hitters like director Vicky Jenson (Shrek), songwriter Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and voice actors including Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, and Javier Bardem to bring Spellbound to life. This family-friendly fantasy tells the tale of Ellian (Zegler), the princess of Lumbria, who embarks on daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a spell transforms her parents into monsters. 

Starts streaming November 21.

The Piano Lesson 

Adapted from the stage play by August Wilson and starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family, whose family legacy is expressed on a piano decorated with carvings by their enslaved ancestors. One brother (John David Washington) hopes to sell it, while his sister (Danielle Deadwyler), refuses to give it up.

Starts streaming November 22.

Our Little Secret

Our Little Secret is a holiday-scented romantic comedy that stars Lindsay Lohan, the queen of Christmas, along with Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, and Tim Meadows. Lohan plays Avery, whose holiday visit with her boyfriend's family gets really weird. See, she used to date his brother, so, to keep the peace and survive the holiday, the pair agree to keep their past a secret. Hilarity and romance ensue.

Starts streaming November 27

The Madness

Netflix is closing out November with the premier of The Madness, an action series blissfully free of Christmas cheer. Colman Domingo stars as Muncie Daniels, a media pundit who witnesses a murder deep in the Pennsylvania woods. The killing leads to a deep, dark conspiracy, forcing Daniels to fight for his very life and comes to grips with the fact that what he thinks he knows of the world is not true.

Starts streaming November 28.

Last month's picks

Lonely Planet

Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth star in a thoughtful-but-steamy movie with a May/December romance at its center. Dern plays Katherine, a novelist who travels to Morocco to get over her writers' block. Love is the last thing she's looking for, but when she's thrown together with Owen (Hemsworth) on a roadtrip across North Africa, it finds her anyway. Lonely Planet is the perfect movie if you want to squeeze just a little more heat out of summer before we plunge into Autumn.

Starts streaming October 11. 

Detroiters

Criminally under-appreciated when it originally aired on Comedy Central in 2017 and 2018, Detroiters is too funny to die. This is legit one of the best comedies that has ever been on TV, and if you haven't seen it, I feel bad for you. Tim Robinson, auteur of wildly popular sketch show I Think You Should Leave, created Detroiters and stars as a dope who inherits a Detroit advertising company then hires his best friend, another dope played by Sam Richardson, to make commercials. Seriously: If you do nothing else in October, watch this show.

Starts streaming October 15.

The Platform 2

The Platform was pure cinematic madness and this sequel looks like more of the same. Like the original, The Platform 2 is a horror/sci fi movie set in a tower prison where the people who live on the top floor get an opulent spread of food every day. The inmates on the floor below get what's left over, and the inmates below them get the left-over left-overs, and so on, down to the starving wretches hundreds of levels deep who are killing each other over table scraps. It's not the kind of story that begs for a sequel, but I'm still curious where it's going.

Starts streaming October 4.

Don’t Move

Don't Move aims at suspense stripped of everything but its most basic elements. Kelsey Asbille plays Iris, a young woman (the hero) hiking in an isolated forest (the closed arena). A stranger, played by Finn Wittrock (the villain) injects her with a paralytic drug, and explains how, in 20 minutes, she'll be completely unable to move (the ticking clock). If you're into nail-biting suspense, give this movie a shot.

Starts streaming October 25.

See for Me

This is a good month for taut, high-concept thrillers on Netflix. See for Me is a home invasion movie where Skyler Davenport plays Sophie Scott, a blind woman cat sitting at an isolated home. When murderous thieves break in, Sophie's only hope comes via an app designed to help sight-impaired people by letting strangers see through their camera phones. Sophie's survival depends on letting a stranger from across the continent be her eyes.

Starts streaming October 6.

It’s What’s Inside

Freaky Friday, 17 Again, Rob Schneider's The Hot Chick; I'll watch literally any movie where people switch bodies, so I'm totally jazzed for It's What's Inside. The high concept in this sci-fi/horror/comedy is a group of friends at a pre-wedding party all switch bodies. There's some machine or something; doesn't matter. Body-switching movies are often critically maligned, but this one is even getting decent reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starts streaming October 4.

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Season 2

The first season of this animated series set in the Jurassic World universe earned 100% positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes, so it would be literally impossible to not like it. In Chaos Theory, the dinosaurs have taken over the world. "The Nublar Six," six teenagers with dinosaur experience, embark on a mission to unravel a conspiracy that threatens everything on Earth, humans and dinos alike. This is a perfect series to share with your kids: It's gentle enough for anyone over seven, but adult enough that parents won't want to claw their eyes out.

Starts streaming October 17.

Heartstopper, Season 3

Like Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Heartstopper's first season has a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes and season 2 is sitting at 96%. This British coming-of-age tale tells the story of teens Charlie and Nick whose unlikely friendship blossoms into love. Heartstoppers examines controversial issues with a rare-for-TV level of honesty, intelligence, and sensitivity. Introduce it to the teenager in your life.

Starts streaming October 3.

Hasan Minhaj: Off With His Head

A lot of standup comedy isn't about anything beyond surface-level observations about the minutia of modern life, but Off With His Head promises something deeper. Comedian Hasan Minhaj's promising career—he says he was tapped to host The Daily Show—was derailed when a New Yorker journalist fact-checked some of the details in his comedy routines last year. So the guy has an interesting story to tell. Plus, he's really funny. So if you're looking for something more thoughtful than "what is the DEAL with hats?" check this one out.

Starts streaming October 22.

Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 5

We're on the fifth mini-season of Netflix's revamped version of this series about real-life conundrums, and the mysteries show no signs of stopping. This set of four episodes leans heavier on UFOs and the paranormal than previous volumes of Unsolved Mysteries—there's a Roswell episode, a cattle mutilation episode, and a psychic episode—so if you're into mysteries that are crimes instead of mysteries that are bullshit, this might not be the season for you.

Starts streaming October 2.

The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3

Lawyers with weekly legal imbroglios have been fodder for compelling television since Perry Mason made objections in the 1950s. The Lincoln Lawyer is a particularly solid example of the genre. Now on its third season, the show's main character, Mickey Haller, (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) earned the name by solving cases in his Continental convertible. Like the car, the show is a throwback; it's one of those episodic TV dramas that you don't have to watch in order—exciting enough, but not meant to be taken too seriously.

Starts streaming October 17.

Beauty in Black

Tyler Perry's new series shows what happens whens worlds collide. In Beauty in Black, Taylor Polidore Williams plays Kimmie, a struggling exotic dancer at Atlanta's Magic City strip club. Mallory, played Crystle Stewart, is the head of a hair care dynasty and matriarch of a very wealthy family. When these two cross paths, their fates become entangled and things get sexy and dangerous.

Starts streaming October 24.

The Diplomat, season 2

If you're thinking "Oh, great, a television drama about global politics and diplomacy, sounds fascinating," you're not getting what people liked about the first season of The Diplomat. Yes, Keri Russel plays the U.S. ambassador to the UK, but the show is a pot-boiler packed with snappy dialogue that uses geopolitics to raise the stakes on over-the-top situations. In other words, it's fun, I swear.

Starts streaming October 31.

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