November's streaming schedule combines new productions with returning favourites across Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, the ARD Mediathek and other platforms. Among the month's highlights are a new chapter in the Blade Runner universe, Lee Chang-dong's South Korean drama Possible Love and the German comedy series Friesenjunkies.
Friesenjunkies arrives in the ARD Mediathek on November 6. The eight-part improvised dramedy is set in the fictional Isebek rehabilitation clinic on Sylt, where staff and patients deal with anxieties, neuroses and secrets. Emil and Oskar Belton, known for Die Discounter, are behind the project. Model and presenter Sylvie Meis makes her acting debut as Madison, a patient dependent on medication.
Possible Love, also available on Netflix from November 6, was inspired by events surrounding the South Korean carmaker SsangYong. The film follows Ho-seok and Mi-ok, a couple whose lives become entangled with those of a young documentary filmmaker and her wealthy husband. Through their relationships, the film examines class, desire, solidarity and the question of who has the right to tell another person's story.
Prime Video will launch Blade Runner 2099 on November 25. Set five decades after Denis Villeneuve's film, the series follows a replicant played by Michelle Yeoh and a character portrayed by Hunter Schafer as they investigate a conspiracy in a Los Angeles controlled by replicants.
Other notable November premieres include The Gilded Age season four on HBO Max on November 2, Black Doves season two on Netflix on November 5, City of God season two on HBO Max on November 8 and The Rings of Power season three on Prime Video on November 11. The ARD Mediathek will release season four of Couples Therapy on November 11, while Netflix will add season three of The Empress on November 12. Disney+ will stream season two of Scrubs from November 25.
Among the titles already available, the Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden receives a more critical assessment. Florence Pugh plays Cathy Ames, the central character in Zoe Kazan's adaptation. The attempt to give greater emotional accessibility to Steinbeck's deliberately stark character ultimately struggles to develop an independent artistic identity, according to the assessment cited in the source.
Apple TV+'s Small Prophets takes a smaller and more unusual approach. It follows Michael Sleep, a lonely man whose life has stalled since his partner disappeared. Encouraged by his father, he begins breeding tiny fortune-telling creatures in an attempt to discover what happened. The series combines eccentric humour with melancholy and is described as one of the more charming recent launches.
Prime Video's Tony portrays the early life of chef and writer Anthony Bourdain. Set in 1975, the coming-of-age story follows the 19-year-old Tony after he fails to secure a writing scholarship and unexpectedly begins working at a seafood restaurant. Antonio Banderas plays the restaurant owner, who recognises Tony's potential.
For a classic rewatch, Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Prime Video and Paramount+. The series, which ran from 1987 to 1994, made Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard one of television's best-known starship captains. Star Trek: Picard, which ran from 2020 to 2023, is also available on Prime Video, Apple TV and Paramount+.
Sources: Der Spiegel.