What to stream: 'Squid Game' returns, the movie 'Bird' and Mariah Carey teams up with the NFL

[December 23, 2024]  The long-awaited second season of “Squid Game” on Netflix and singing superstar Andrea Bocelli’s Christmas TV special are some of the new television, films and music headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the British coming-of-age tale “Bird” from British filmmaker Andrea Arnold and Mariah Carey's Christmas special ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers game.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM DEC. 23-29

— British filmmaker Andrea Arnold (“Fish Tank”) made perhaps her most divisive movie yet with “Bird,” a coming-of-age tale about a 12-year-old named Bailey (Nykiya Adams) that come to MUBI on Monday. Her life in Kent is far from easy, growing up with parents who aren’t far from childhood themselves, including a tattoo covered dad named Bug (Barry Keoghan). But then one day she meets a stranger named Bird (Franz Rogowski) and things take a fantastical turn. In his review for the Associated Press, film writer Jake Coyle wrote that, “A resolutely realistic filmmaker turning to magical realism has the uncomfortable effect of making the whole movie, not just the Rogowski bits, feel inauthentic. Instead of being ‘too real for ya,’ ‘Bird,’ with its in-your-face poverty and narrative extremes, never feels particularly real at all.” MUBI also has Arnold’s “Fish Tank” and “Wasp” available for streaming too.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

NEW MUSIC TO STREAM DEC. 23-29

— Nothing says “happy holidays” quite like tuning into a festive music special. On Christmas Eve, the Recording Academy and superstar Andrea Bocelli will team up for “Christmas with Andrea Bocelli and Friends: A Grammy Holiday Special,” airing live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET. Bocelli will be joined by his family, his wife Veronica and daughter Virginia Bocelli, as well as Jennifer Hudson, Dua Lipa, Sofia Carson and Josh Groban for a memorable night of merry performances.

This combination of images shows promotional art for the series "Squid Game 2," left, the holiday special "Christmas with Andrea Bocelli and Friends," center, and the film "Bird." (Netflix/CBS/Mubi via AP)

— It’s hard to make the whole family happy on Christmas, especially when someone else controls the remote. But this Wednesday, there’s something for everyone with a Netflix subscription to enjoy: Mariah Carey will kick off the NFL Christmas Gameday with a pre-recorded performance of her smash “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” airing ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers game at 1 p.m. ET, and again at 4:30 p.m. ET, when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Houston Texans. Music fans would be wise to stay tuned in for the latter match-up: Beyoncé will take the stage at halftime. Who said sport fans and pop heads couldn’t get along?

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

NEW SHOWS TO STREAM DEC. 23-29

—The long-awaited second season of “Squid Game” begins Thursday on Netflix. Lee Jung-jae returns to lead the seven-episode season, which is already nominated for best drama series at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards. The show follows a game where contestants who are down on their luck and in debt are recruited to compete for a cash prize, only to find out it has deadly consequences. Hwang Dong-hyuk, who created the series and wrote and directed season one, also wrote and directed season two. A third and final season has already completed filming.

— Alicia Rancilio

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