What a year for fantasy and sci-fi TV 2025 has been, but at long last, we've arrived at the final month of the year. December is a good time for breaking out your ugly holiday sweaters and eating far too many decorative cookies, but it's also the perfect time to catch up on all your favorite television shows. How else are you going to spend your holiday break? Talking to family members? Get out of here!
We've already seen a lot of great shows come and go in the fantasy and sci-fi space this year, but December is ending things with a bang. Let's go over all the biggest releases hitting the small screen this month, so you can spend less time searching for your next favorite show and more time watching it.
1. Pluribus — Apple TV | Now Airing
While the rest of the shows on our list are all series debuting in December, we have to take a second here at the top to shout out a currently airing show that will be finishing out its first season this month. Pluribus is the latest series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. It's a mind-bending science fiction drama, and if you're not watching it right now, you're missing out.
The set up for Pluribus is that an alien virus invades the Earth and links the entire human population into an eerily happy hivemind — except for a few lone survivors who are immune to the virus, such as the chronically unhappy romance author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn). Carol tries to navigate this strangely peaceful apocalypse and find a way to reverse the virus, all while the hivemind of humanity tries to make her happy at every turn. It's a quirky, weird show, but since it's created by Gilligan, you know things are going to get intense and put your heart in your throat at some point.
Five episodes of Pluribus have already aired on Apple TV. The remaining four episodes will air Fridays throughout the month of December, until the show's finale on December 26.
2. The Abandons — Netflix | December 4
It may not be fantasy or sci-fi, but Netflix's new show The Abandons is one that absolutely deserves to be on the radar for any fan of genre fare. This western series stars Game of Thrones' Lena Headey and The X Files' Gillian Anderson as two powerful women who are caught in a struggle for the same parcel of land.
Anderson's character Constance is a land baron who is rapidly expanding the town of Angel's Ridge, and she has her sights squarely set on the home of Fiona (Headey) and her found family. Their clash promises to be an explosive one, with Constance's wealth and privilege pushing Fiona to the gritty edges of frontier justice.
The Abandons drops its entire 10-episode season December 4 on Netflix.
3. Spartacus: House of Ashur — Starz | December 5
Spartacus: House of Ashur is a spinoff of the beloved Starz gladiator series Spartacus, which concluded in bloody fashion back in 2013. More than a decade later, creator Steven S. DeKnight is returning to the blood-soaked sands of the arena, and bringing original cast member Nick E. Tarabay with him.
Spartacus: House of Ashur will have all the pulpy, stylized violence and nudity of the original Roman period piece, but in an alternate "what if" scenario. Ashur (Tarabay) died a traitor's death in the original Spartacus. But what if he didn't? What if he survived, gained glory, and ultimately ended up being given his own gladiator camp, called a ludus? How would history be changed.
These are the questions asked by Spartacus: House of Ashur, which puts one of the most detestable characters from the original show front and center for his own saga. The first two episodes of the show's 10-episode first season premiere December 5 on Starz and the Starz app.
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 — Disney+ | December 10
On the younger end of things from Spartacus we have Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Greek-inspired fantasy series based on the beloved books by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson debuts its second on December 10, launching the titular hero and his friends on a new adventure that will see them head to the Sea of Monsters.
The first season of Percy Jackson was a hit that went over well with new viewers as well as longtime fans of Riordan's books. It saw the teenaged Percy Jackson discover that he was a demigod, and the son of the Greek god Poseidon. He headed to Camp Halfblood, where he trained with other teenaged demigods in order to better harness his powers.
Season 2 follows a storyline from the books where Percy must embark on a voyage to find the Golden Fleece as well as rescue his friend Grover. It premieres its first two episodes on December 10, with new episodes following weekly for the rest of its eight-episode season.
5. Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft season 2 — Netflix | December 11
Netflix's animated Tomb Raider series The Legend of Lara Croft is also coming back for a second season in December. This show serves as a pseudo-sequel to the acclaimed Tomb Raider "Survivor" trilogy of games, which rebooted the PlayStation's most iconic heroine for the modern era. It stars Hayley Atwell as Lara, and is an action-packed, world-hopping adventure.
The second season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft pits Lara against a techno-visionary who is hellbent on collecting magical Orisha masks of African legend and using their powers to remake the world. There's a thread of doubt running through this trailer that Lara may not be as heroic as she believes, which is very much in line with the third game of the series, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It'll be interesting to see how the new season revisits some of those ideas without rehashing the game's story beats.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft season 2 drops December 11 on Netflix.
6. Fallout season 2 — Prime Video | December 17
Speaking of TV shows based on video games, Prime Video's smash hit post-apocalyptic series Fallout returns on December 17. Fallout set itself apart from many of its contemporaries upon the release of its first season, proving that it wasn't only a worthy game adaptation, but a TV show as good as any of the best the medium has to offer.
The first season ended with Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) discovering that her father was harboring some dark secrets, as she made an uneasy alliance with The Ghoul (Walton Goggins). Now the two are hitting the road together, traveling through the Wasteland toward the iconic city of New Vegas in search of answers. The trailer hints at plenty of the hijinks and mayhem Fallout is so well-loved for, and we can't wait to see where the story goes next.
Fallout season 2 premieres its first episode on December 17, with new installments for its eight-episode season following weekly until the finale on February 4, 2026.
7. Stranger Things 5 — Netflix | December 25 & 31
Look, there are some very exciting fantasy and sci-fi shows releasing in December, but we'd be fooling ourselves if we didn't acknowledge that the big kahuna for the month is the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. Netflix's paranormal sci-fi series is the closest thing we've had to a true TV phenomenon since Game of Thrones ended, and now we're finally going to see how it all ends. This is not just a new season, it's an event.
After premiering its first four episodes on November 26, Stranger Things will return for two more episode drops in December. Volume 2 premieres on December 25 at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will consist of episodes 5, 6, and 7. Then on December 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET, the show will debut The Finale. We're expecting at least some of these episodes to be feature-length affairs, given the show's track record for epic storytelling.
When the dust settles, Hawkins, Indiana will never be the same — and neither will viewers. It's always nice when we can mark a month by some excellent television, but events as meaningful as the conclusion of Stranger Things are a rare occurrence. Get ready for one last trip to the Upside Down to ring in Christmas and New Year's Eve, before we head into 2026 and discover what new sci-fi and fantasy shows await!