The 12 Best Things Coming to Hulu in November

From riveting documentaries to classic holiday films, it’s a great month to be hanging out on Hulu

Tracey Minkin,

AARP

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En español

Published February 02, 2024

/ Updated October 28, 2024

Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s a holiday season bundle of fun and fascination on Hulu this month, kicking off with a National Geographic documentary on the search for Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship, Endurance, that you won’t want to miss. From there, take your pick from a riveting thriller in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, a brand-new standup special from Jim Gaffigan, and a stocking stuffed with classic holiday films to get you in the mood (and take away that Thanksgiving prep stress). Stir up some cocoa and settle in on the sofa: Here are the 12 best things coming to Hulu in November.

Coming Nov. 2

Endurance

It’s one of the great survival – and leadership in crisis – stories in history: polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s harrowing but ultimately triumphant rescue of his crew of 27 men who were stranded in Antartica’s pack ice on the ship Endurance in 1915. More than a century later, a team of modern-day explorers sets out to find the sunken ship. This new documentary from National Geographic Documentary Films links the original story with its dramatic second chapter – great viewing to share with the grandkids.

Coming Nov. 14

Say Nothing

Get your international, drama and history fixes this month all in one place: FX’s nine-episode series based on journalist Patrick Radden Keefe’s bestselling 2018 book about betrayal and murder in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Focusing particularly on the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a Belfast single mother of 10 children, Say Nothing features Lola Petticrew as Dolours Price and Hazel Doupe as Marian Price, two young women who rise to become symbols of radical politics. Anthony Boyle stars as IRA military strategist Brendan Hughes and Josh Finan as Gerry Adams, who denied involvement with the IRA and would eventually help negotiate the peace.

Coming Nov. 15

It’s All Country

Whether you want to study up for the 58th Annual CMA Awards (hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson), which will be streaming on Hulu on Nov. 21, or just want to brush up on your country music iconography, this Hulu Original docuseries is for you. Over the course of six episodes, Bryan uncovers the secrets, the hidden inspirations and the personal moments that shaped the music America loves to love, with appearances including Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, 62, Kane Brown, and Wynonna Judd, 60.

Coming Nov. 19

Interior Chinatown

Meet Willis Wu, the best new protagonist to hit the small screen this year. In this Hulu Original Series based on the 2020 National Book Award-winning novel by Charles Yu (who serves as the series’ showrunner), Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) is a struggling actor relegated to generic “background player” status in a TV procedural called Black & White, but he dreams of being a star. Be careful what you wish for! When he inadvertently witnesses a crime, Wu discovers a real criminal web in Chinatown, as well as discovering his own family’s buried history.

Coming Nov. 21

The 58th Annual CMA Awards

If you didn’t catch ABC’s live broadcast of country music’s biggest night of the year on Nov. 20, catch it here on Hulu a day later. Lainey Wilson joins past CMA winner Luke Bryan and NFL superstar Peyton Manning to host the event, which will name Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen or Wilson herself as performer of the year.

Coming Nov. 22

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny

Taped in Boston earlier this year, this new standup special from popular comedian Jim Gaffigan, 58, https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/stories/info-2020/jeannie-gaffigan-brain-tumor.html launches the streamer’s "Hulu's Laughing Now" brand, which will roll out a monthly standup special to compete with comedy powerhouses Netflix and Max. This is Gaffigan’s 11th special – look for yuks about raising teens and taking appetite suppressants.

Coming Nov. 25

Family Guy: Exclusive Holiday Special

The wildly popular and enduring animated TV series from Seth MacFarlane, 50, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with not one but two holiday specials only on Hulu. With the Halloween special behind us, the weekend before Thanksgiving brings the second special about Christmas with the Griffins in Quahog, Rhode Island.

Coming Nov. 26

Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae

Launching on Hulu as Native American Heritage Month draws to a close, documentary director Yvonne Russo, 54, explores the murder of Annie Mae Aquash, a Mi'kmaq woman, mother, teacher, and activist who was murdered in the 1970s and whose death went unsolved for almost 30 years.

Coming Nov. 27

Elf (2003, PG)

Take the stress out of Thanksgiving prep with the warm-hearted, now-classic holiday movie, starring the irrepressible Will Farrell, 57, as Buddy, the outsize human raised by Santa’s elves, who goes on a hero’s journey in New York City to discover his roots. The film is just the right mix of silliness and sentiment, plus stacked with winning character turns from James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, 71, Ed Asner as Santa Claus and the late, great Bob Newhart as Buddy’s adoptive elf father.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, PG-13)

All Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase, 81) wanted was to create a good old-fashioned Christmas for his entire family. In classic National Lampoon Vacation film fashion (this holiday version marks the third in the series), chaos and hilarity ensue, including city-wide power shortages due to his lighting scheme, a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner (including an electrocuted cat), a kidnapping and SWAT team invasion, and a gas explosion that immolates Santa’s sleigh. At 35 years old (and with a remarkable cast from Beverly D’Angelo, 72, to Randy Quaid, 74, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63) this yuk-fest has achieved holiday movie classic status, so revisit it with the grandkids or just enjoy the ride after the Thanksgiving turkey is put away.

The Polar Express (2004, G)

Many grownup parents might recall reading author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg’s magical 1985 picture book to their children every holiday season. But they may have missed the animated film adaptation nearly 20 years later, directed by Robert Zemeckis, 72, and featuring the warm baritone of Tom Hanks, 68, in a cluster of roles, including the mystical train’s conductor (in fact, Van Allsburg had refused to sell the rights to any filmmaker until he learned of Hanks’s interest). While some critics found the human-capture style of animation off-putting, Roger Ebert said the film had a haunting, magical quality. “There's a deeper, shivery tone, instead of the mindless jolliness of the usual Christmas movie,” Ebert wrote. Stir up a cup of hot cocoa and take the ride for yourself.

Coming Nov. 29

Nutcrackers (2024)

It’s a script out of a Hallmark film, minus the dreamy setting and Gen Z hunk: Here, urban workaholic Mike (Ben Stiller, 58, in his first lead role in six years), has to travel to rural Ohio to look after his recently orphaned nephews. What he imagines will be just a quick pivot to foster care for the kids turns into – surprise! – a type of soul salvation on the farm. Ben Stiller fans will want to give this one a look; everyone else might just migrate to Hallmark for its trademark avalanche of holiday feel-good films.

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