Sky Cinema/NOW December 2022: New movies and TV from I Hate Suzie Too to The Batman

It's the festive season on Sky Cinema and NOW, with Christmas specials arriving for some of Sky's biggest comedy shows — as well as a handful of brand new Christmas films. Meanwhile, the science behind Home Alone's brutal slapstick goes under the spotlight courtesy of a trio of comedians.

Among the pick of the Christmas specials is Billie Piper's return to the world of her acclaimed series I Hate Suzie, for a trio of festive-themed episodes. Another star of British TV steps up elsewhere, with Suranne Jones taking on the Scrooge role in a new spin on A Christmas Carol.

For those with a less festive personality, Warner Bros' latest dark take on Batman — with Robert Pattinson in the title role — will be available to stream. There's also a streaming debut for The Secrets of Dumbledore, which is the latest movie in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts.

Read more: Everything new on Netflix in December

Read more: Everything new on Paramount+ in December

Read more: Everything new on Disney+ in December

Read more: Everything new on Prime Video in December

Here's everything new we know about on Sky Cinema and NOW in December 2022...

New movies on Sky Cinema and NOW in December 2022

Prancer: A Christmas Tale (4 December)

James Cromwell leads this instalment of a festive franchise built around the titular reindeer. He plays the widowed grandfather to 10-year-old Gloria, with the pair of them befriending the magical creature at a family Christmas gathering. Gloria, though, fears their fantastical discovery might lead her grandad to be sent to a retirement home.

This Is Christmas (9 December)

This festive comedy tells a charming story of togetherness over the Christmas period. Alfred Enoch — best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter franchise — stars alongside Kaya Scodelario, with the duo as a couple who see the same people every day on their commute from a Northern village to London. Their journey home for Christmas is put at risk when the train breaks down in the countryside, prompting Enoch's character to decide that the regular commuters should connect for a festive celebration of their own.

The Amazing Maurice (16 December)

This animated movie is based on a 2001 novel by the late Terry Pratchett, which was the first of his Discworld novels to be written for children. Hugh Laurie provides the voice for a ginger cat who teams up with talking rats and a human boy for a money-making scam, in which they travel from city to city carrying out pretend infestations they can then avert. It's a massively starry voice cast, including Emilia Clarke, David Tennant, Himesh Patel and Joe Sugg.

Der Kaiser (23 December)

German defender Franz Beckenbauer won more than 100 caps for his country in the 1960s and 1970s, winning the World Cup both as a player and as a manager. His incredible career is the subject of this drama film, in which Das Boot actor Klaus Steinbacher portrays him as he works his way up the ranks to the summit of the football mountain.

STEWART (26 December)

Tracing the remarkable career of motor racing icon Sir Jackie Stewart, this documentary explores his rise to fame and F1 championships in the 1960s, as well as his subsequent campaigning to improve the safety of the dangerous sport.

New TV on Sky and NOW in December 2022

Predators S1 (1 December)

Tom Hardy narrates this eye-catching nature documentary series, which focuses on some of the most successful and impressive apex predators on the planet. Each episode focuses on a different creature, with cheetahs, polar bears, lions, pumas and wild dogs getting their turn in the spotlight.

Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive (2 December)

Via an enormous treasure trove of new material, this documentary provides a completely new impression of the inner life of comedy icon Spike Milligan. Using his own words, it explores his work and the way his personal life affected his comedy.

Branson (4 December)

Richard Branson's life has taken him from dropping out of school to space travel, so there's plenty of material there for this documentary series. It explores every up and down of his entrepreneurial career, from his earliest days as a teenage magazine publisher to the process of getting his own personal spacecraft off the ground.

New Amsterdam S5 (7 December)

The fifth and final season of this medical drama, which is currently airing in the USA, begins in the UK this month. Ryan Eggold returns once again to lead the cast as Dr Goodwin, aiming to turn around the fortunes of one of the oldest public hospitals in the States. Former Doctor Who companion Freema Agyeman is also in the cast.

Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything (7 December)

Sheridan Smith plays the title character in this comedy series, who is addicted to just about everything — booze, chocolate, caffeine, cigarettes. As the show begins, a horrifying incident triggers her to determine that she needs to clean up her act and ditch all of her vices. But will this leave her as a completely different person, rather than just a better version of herself?

A League of Their Own Christmas Special (12 December)

Famous faces from the worlds of comedy and sport unite for a festive special of the panel show, which focuses on a lively Christmas dinner and a celebrity golf tournament, as well as a look back at the best of the previous series. Romesh Ranganathan and team captains Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards are joined by stars including Maisie Adam, Alex Brooker, John Barnes, Eve Muirhead and H from Steps.

Never Mind the Xmas Buzzcocks (15 December)

The recently revived music panel show is back for a Christmas special, with host Greg Davies and panel regulars Daisy May Cooper, Noel Fielding and Jamali Maddix. They are joined for this new episode by Claire Richards from Steps, stand-up comic Tom Allen and the controversial noughties star Pete Doherty.

The Unofficial Science of Home Alone (19 December)

Every year, news outlets across the internet get in touch with science boffins to ask them how the slapstick chaos in Home Alone would play out in real life. This year, comedy buddies James Acaster, Guz Khan and Alex Brooker unite to try to answer the question definitively. Brooker jets off to the USA to meet some of the people behind the film, while Acaster and Khan construct booby traps and see how much of Macaulay Culkin's potentially lethal antics they can handle.

I Hate Suzie Too (20 December)

Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper step back into the world of I Hate Suzie for three new episodes set around the Christmas period. We find Suzie trying to earn the love of the British public again by dancing her way through a Saturday night reality TV show, all while trying to keep her personal life in check and maintain a stable life for her son.

Rob & Romesh vs Christmas on Ice (21 December)

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan asked fans of their show to decide which skill they should take on for their festive special — and the winner was Disney on Ice. The two comics will take to the rink to show off their skills, before eventually joining Mickey Mouse and friends for one night of their blockbuster UK tour.

The Nation's Favourite Christmas Carols (22 December)

This special concert is due to reveal the results of a poll to decide which Christmas carol the British public loves the most. It will be a classy affair at the London Coliseum, featuring the choir and orchestra of the English National Opera.

Red Riding Hood: After Ever After (23 December)

David Walliams returns to his explorations of classic fairy tales after the final line, with Little Red Riding Hood the focus of this tale. Set 50 years after the story we all know, it features Red as a feared wolf hunter teaching the ropes to her granddaughter Boots. The tables eventually turn though, with Boots determined to save wolves from extinction due to the unbalancing of their forest home.

Wonderland: The Story of Christmas (23 December)

The Sky Arts series returns with a special episode exploring the way some of the most celebrated authors in British history have used Christmas in their work. There's an appearance by Sir Michael Morpurgo, who discusses his own novel The Best Christmas Present in the World — set in the trenches on Christmas Day in 1914.

Christmas Carole (24 December)

In the wake of the Apple TV+ comedy movie Spirited, Sky is providing yet another new take on the story of A Christmas Carol. Suranne Jones leads the cast of this one as the Scrooge-like Carole — mean owner of a successful business selling festive gear. It doesn't take a genius to suggest that she might well be visited by some ghosts, hoping to change her outlook on life.

Christmas in Ireland with Imelda May (24 December)

Imelda May performs at the famous Pepper Cannister Church in Dublin for this hour-long tribute to the traditions of an Irish Christmas. It features the Irish singer-songwriter paying tribute to everything Dublin in a cosy evening of chat and music.

Rob Beckett: Wallop! (26 December)

The London comic, known for his work on the panel show circuit, is set to debut his first ever stand-up special on Boxing Day. The show he performed across 160 tour dates will now be available for all to see, recorded live at Cliffs Pavilion in Southend.

Lionesses: How Football Came Home (27 December)

More than five decades after the England men's football team lifted the World Cup, it was the turn of the women to send the country into raptures when they won the European Championships this summer. This documentary explores and celebrates every moment of Sarina Wiegman's team's journey to the crown, including Beth Mead's goals, Alessia Russo's backheel and Jill Scott's potty mouth.

Katherine Ryan: Missus (29 December)

In the wake of two successful specials on Netflix, Katherine Ryan brings her latest show to Sky for those looking for a way to fill the time between Christmas and New Year. Recorded at Edinburgh Playhouse, it focuses on Ryan's rediscovery of a previous romance and her subsequent journey into monogamy.

Other movies and TV on Sky Cinema and NOW in December 2022

2 December

The Batman (2022)

3 December

Together Together (2021)

Watch: Trailer for The Batman

10 December

The Nan Movie (2022)

11 December

Inbetween Girl (2021)

17 December

Firestarter (2022)

24 December

The Duke (2020)

Hell Hath No Fury (2021)

Watch: Trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

25 December

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

26 December

The Bad Guys (2022)

Boxing Day (2021)

31 December

Hounded (2022)

Watch: Trailer for The Bad Guys