Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, December 10th, 2025:
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE OUTRAGE TARGETING NETFLIX
On Monday, I broke the news about a secret conservative media effort to sink the Netflix bid for Warner Bros. studios and streaming by claiming the streamer was too woke, too connected to the Obamas and produced programming that was anti-family and pro LGTBQ.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I wrote that piece.
In the past couple of days I have heard from a number of people working in the conservative media landscape and it's been enlightening to hear how the engagement farming on places such as X works. And it's a bit unnerving to discover how quickly a story pushed by a few well-placed tweets can explode into the national conservative media ecosystem.
Netflix has a movie entitled Queen Of Coal premiering on December 19th. It is a Spanish-Argentine co-production (with the original name Miss Carbón) and it is based on the story of Carla Antonella "Carlita" Rodríguez, a trans woman and the first trans miner in the Patagonia. Women were not allowed to work in the mines, because of the superstition that the presence of women inside the mine would bring collapses and bad luck.
Queen Of Coal is not a Netflix production, it's a theatrical film that was released in June of this year in Spain and in Argentina in October, where it garnered overall solid reviews.
And no one seemed to notice the film in the U.S. until Netflix added it to its lineup of upcoming titles a bit over a week ago. I couldn't trace where the complaints about the film began, but they exploded on social media and in conservative news sites over the past 48 hours, particularly once critics realized the star of the film - Lux Pascal - is the transgender sister of actor Pedro Pascal.
And as you can imagine, conservative critics have taken this project and turned it into "proof" that Netflix isn't worthy of owning any part of an American institution such as Warner Bros.:
A lot of these complaints are fairly nonsensical. Warner Bros. doesn't own Sesame Street. In fact, the show just moved to Netflix. And I have no idea what they mean with the argument that Netflix is a "deep state money laundering machine."
Regardless, you are going to see this story explode in conservative media and soon Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity will be devoting segments to the film's release.
For its part, Netflix seems to be keeping a low profile with promotion. Not only have I been unable to get a screener of the film, there isn't anything about the movie on the Netflix media site.
Not that the quality of the film matters much in this case. It's just a well-timed excuse to punch away at Netflix in the media and hopefully convince Donald Trump that Netflix can't be trusted with Warner Bros.
ABOUT TCM....
When Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced they had made a deal, I was curious about the fate of the linear network Turner Classic Movies. At one point early in his reign as WBD CEO, David Zaslav had laid off people at TCM and it looked as if the channel might go away entirely. But after an intense lobbying campaign led by Steven Spielberg, Zaslav relented and the network was deemed valuable enough that when the plan to split WBD into two parts was first announced, Zaslav told reporters that TCM would be staying with the studio and streaming side of the business.
I was curious if that was still the case under this new deal, so I reached out to a publicist at Netflix, who assured me on the record that it was not part of the deal. But I was hearing the opposite thing from people at WBD, so I contacted another communications person at Netflix. Who repeated that TCM wasn't staying with the studios. And to be honest, they came off as if they were annoyed that I questioned them about it.
But today, Vulture's Joe Adalian received confirmation from WBD that TCM was staying with Netflix after all. It's a wonder I don't drink more.
This confusion just highlights the chaos around the details of this deal. Warner Bros. Discovery has a lot of moving parts and it's not clear where all of them are going to end up once the deal closes. Assuming that Paramount Skydance doesn't acquire the entire company.
For instance, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (a live show and stage play business) is currently part of the same division - Warner Bros Entertainment - that currently houses the WB Studio facilities (in Burbank and Leavesden UK), Fandango Media (a 25% ownership with Versant), WaterTower Music (an in-house record label) and Flagship Entertainment Group, which is film production company co-owned with a Chinese consortium.
The Warner Bros. Television Group includes all sorts of companies which may or may not end up with Netflix. It houses the British Animation studio Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, as well as a 12.5% share of The CW, along with ownership of The CW Plus and the FAST network CW Seed.
And then there is the 12.5% share WBD owns in the entertainment-centric streamer Philo.
There are also questions about the fate of some ancillary companies that don't appear to be core priorities for Netflix, but which depend on WB IP for their survival, such as the Global Themed Entertainment division, which includes a small ownership stake in the theme park Parque Warner Madrid.
WBD also apparently owns a small stake on Vox Media. Ands I am just touching on the highlights.
My point in recounting all of this is that even when (or if) Netflix and WBD close this deal, there are a lot of things to work out. And from what I can tell, no one at either company has a strong sense of the answer to many of these questions about where various parts will end up in late 2026.
ODDS AND SODS:
* A Soulful Christmas premieres Thursday, December 25th on BET+. Here is the official logline: "When the children of two feuding musical legends are forced to collaborate on a holiday song remake, their rivalry turns into an unexpected romance. But with family legacies, unresolved grudges, and a ticking Christmas Eve deadline, they must learn to harmonize on and off the stage before the past repeats itself."
* The new financial series Maxxed Out premieres Saturday, January 10th on OWN.
* The original K-drama Made In Korea premieres Wednesday, December 24th on Hulu. Here is the official logline: "Set in 1970s Korea, “Made in Korea” Season 1 follows Baek Kitae, an ambitious KCIA agent who’s living a double life. Driven by his thirst for power, Kitae works as an agent by day and a smuggler by night. Smart, suave, cunning and capable, Kitae rapidly moves up the ranks after using his smuggling operation to consolidate power, protect his brother, and generate vast sums of money for the agency. Seemingly unstoppable, only one thing stands in his way — a tenacious prosecutor who can't be reasoned with, bought or bribed. With everything at stake for both men, the series will follow the duo as they look to take each other down."
* Season two of Unlocked: A Jail Experiment premieres Wednesday, January 7th on Netflix. Here is the official logline: "In Pinal County, Arizona, a newly elected sheriff launches a bold six-week experiment, unlocking the doors to an entire pod and giving inmates unprecedented control. Years of violence, lockdowns, and repeat offenders have created a cycle of aggression that seems impossible to break, and now the jail becomes a testing ground for a revolutionary approach to rehabilitation."
* The YA film How To Lose A Popularity Contest premieres Friday, January 16th, on Tubi.
* The new David E. Kelley series Margo's Got Money Problems premieres Wednesday, April 15th on Apple TV. The cast includes Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicole Kidman, and Nick Offerman.
FOX ANNOUNCES ITS WINTER PREMIERE DATES
Here is the rundown, along with some info on the series premieres:
Tuesday, January 6th:
Best Medicine Series Premiere
Logline-"Based on the series Doc Martin, the series centers on Dr. Martin Best (Josh Charles), a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he's all they've got. Although Martin can expertly address any medical ailment or mystery in this idiosyncratic town, he’s really just desperate to be left the hell alone. Instead, he keeps getting dragged right smack into the middle of their personal chaos, feuds and fantasies. What the locals don’t know is that Martin’s terse demeanor masks a debilitating new phobia and childhood trauma that prevent him from experiencing true intimacy with anyone. But tenacity is the creed of everyone in their small village, and the people who live there may be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Doc Winter Premiere
Thursday, January 15th:
Going Dutch Season Two Premiere
Sunday, January 25th:
Memory Of A Killer Series Premiere
Logline-"Inspired by the book and 2003 award-winning Belgian film “De Zaak Alzheimer,” Memory of A Killer is a dramatic thriller starring Patrick Dempsey as a hitman, Angelo Doyle, leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret. Michael Imperioli stars opposite Dempsey in the role of Dutch, Angelo’s oldest friend and an accomplished chef whose restaurant is a front for criminal enterprise. The series also stars Richard Harmon as Joe, a hitman; Odeya Rush as Maria, Angelo’s daughter; Daniel David Stewart as Jeff, Maria’s husband; Peter Gadiot as Dave, a local police detective and Gina Torres as Special Agent Linda Grant.
Monday, January 26th:
Extracted Season Two Premiere
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH:
* Merv (Prime Video)
* Mrs. Brown's Boys Season Five Premiere (BritBox)
* Percy Jackson And The Olympians Season Two Premiere (Disney+)
* Record Of Ragnarok (Netflix)
* Simon Cowell: The Next Act Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Accident (Netflix)
* 30 For 30: Boo-Yah: A Portrait Of Stuart Scott (ESPN)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH:
* Had I Not Seen The Sun (Netflix)
* Little Disasters (Paramount+)
* Lost In The Spotlight (Netflix)
* Man Vs. Baby Series Premiere (Netflix)
* My Mother The Madam (LMN)
* Music Box: Whizkid: Long Live Lagos (HBO)
* NBC 2025 Year In Review (NBC)
* Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis (BET+)
* The Fakenapping (Netflix)
* The Game Awards 2025 (Prime Video)
* The Town (Netflix)
* Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Laura Croft (Netflix)
SEE YOU EARLY THURSDAY MORNING!