If the risk/reward ratio for making a movie sequel grows more skewed with both how beloved the original is and how much time has passed, A Christmas Story Christmas may be one of the most fraught films ever made. I certainly can’t help but greet the followup to 1983's perennial basic cable classic A Christmas Story, arriving inauspiciously on HBO Max on Nov. 17, with skepticism. It’s either going to be a better-than-passable nostalgia trip (Bill and Ted Face the Music) or an unmitigated disaster (take your pick; there have been a lot of them lately).
It’s too soon to tell, and we haven’t seen much footage yet. All we know is that the story follows the now-adult Ralphie (played once again by Peter Billingsley, whose sparkling blue peepers haven’t aged a day, even as the rest of him makes me feel impossibly ancient) as he returns home to “give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child” and see some old friends, with many of the kids from the original returning to remind us that every Christmas (and every viewing of A Christmas Story) brings us one step closer to death.
A Christmas Story Christmas | Official Teaser | HBO Max
I’m much less concerned about another long-awaited (by me) return; the second season of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the very good show with the very bad title that not nearly enough of you are talking about, premieres Nov. 17 too. Created by Mindy Kaling, it blends the spark and character authenticity of her Netflix series Never Have I Ever with enough frank sexuality that it garnered early comparisons to Sex and the City, but it reminds me more of an uncensored version of the gone-too-soon early aughts Fox sitcom Undeclared. Anyway, binge the first season now.
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) HBO Max in November, including a new reality show called The Big Brunch (Nov. 10), hosted by Dan Levy, and doesn’t that sound delightful (or insufferable, based on your tolerance level for the Schitt’s Creek alumni); and Love, Lizzo (Nov. 24), a documentary about the large and larger-than-life rap superstar. Titles with (HBO) next to them are available on HBO and HBO Max; everything else is exclusive to HBO Max.
What’s coming to HBO Max in November 2022
Arriving Nov. 1
Three Amigos, 1986 (HBO)(500) Days of Summer, 2009 (HBO)50 First Dates, 2004Accepted, 2006 (HBO)Amazing Grace, 2006 (HBO)American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince, 1978Arthur Christmas, 2011The Automat, 2021The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (HBO)The Big Shave, 1967The Bucket List, 2007Caddyshack, 1980A Christmas Dream, 1984City Hall, 1996 (HBO)Devil’s Due, 2014 (HBO)Draft Day, 2014 (HBO)Equals, 2015 (HBO)Excess Baggage, 1997 (HBO)From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, 1999 (HBO)From Dusk Till Dawn 3: Hangman’s Daughter, 1999 (HBO)A Guy Thing, 2003 (HBO)Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2001Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2009Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone: Magical Movie Mode, 2001Ingrid Goes West, 2017 (HBO)It’s Not Just You, Murray!, 1974Italianamerican, 1974Leatherface, 2017 (HBO)Legion, 2020 (HBO)Little Woods, 2018 (HBO)Lizzie, 2018 (HBO)Loser, 2000 (HBO)The Man With Two Brains, 1983 (HBO)A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, 1982 (HBO)A Million Ways to Die in the West, 2014 (Extended Version), (HBO)Miss Sloane, 2016 (HBO)Morris From America, 2016 (HBO)Mr. Mom, 1983 (HBO)Murder In The First, 1995 (HBO)My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985 (HBO)National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, 1989The Next Karate Kid, 1994Never Goin’ Back, 2018 (HBO)Neighbors, 2014 (HBO)Pieces of April, 2003 (HBO)A Prayer Before Dawn, 2017 (HBO)Prom Night, 2008Race, 2016 (HBO)Raging Bull, 1980 (HBO)Richard III, 1995 (HBO)Se7en, 1995See How They Run, 2022 (HBO)Shutter, 2008 (Extended Version), (HBO)Slice, 2018 (HBO)Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 1979 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, 1982 (HBO)
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, 1984 (HBO)Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986 (HBO)Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, 1989 (HBO)Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, 1991 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)Star Trek: Generations, 1994 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)Star Trek: First Contact, 1996 (HBO)Star Trek: Insurrection, 1998 (HBO)Star Trek: Nemesis, 2002 (HBO)Stargate, 1994 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)Time Freak, 2018 (HBO)What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?, 1992While We’re Young, 2014 (HBO)Yentl, 1983 (HBO)
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What’s leaving HBO Max in November 2022
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