Ever notice how the Christmas season starts earlier every year? That means more than two months of Christmas music (most of it written by Jewish songwriters), Christmas movies (many of them written, directed or starring Jewish show biz professionals) and Christmas episodes of our favorite series (same).
As we round the final sprint of the holiday season and reach the festival of Chanukah, we’re guessing you may be hankering for some Jewish-themed fare. Here’s a rundown of some of the best Jewish films and TV programs now streaming on premium channels.
(Note: We’re omitting obvious-though-bingeworthy shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Schitt’s Creek,” “Fauda” and “Shtisel” since you probably don’t need us to tell you about them. Instead, we’ve focused on shows and movies that premiered in late 2023 and 2024.)
1. “Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
Many of you have likely already seen this series about a non-Jewish podcast host (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with an unconventional rabbi (Adam Brody), but it’s still worth mentioning since it’s exceedingly popular with so many. That said, there’s been some controversy over the show’s portrayal of Jewish women. As Glamour’s Jewish writer Jessica Radoff put it, “We come off as controlling, marriage-hungry women who want to plan dinner parties and alienate anyone who doesn’t share those same dreams.” Even so, Radoff admitted that the show’s leads have “undeniable chemistry” and “Nobody Wants This” is “genuinely funny.”
Why not give it a whirl and see what you think?
2. “Lady in the Lake” (Apple TV)
What could be more fun that a series based on a novel by Baltimore writer Laura Lippman that takes place in Pikesville, stars Jewish A-lister Natalie Portman and is directed by Israeli-American filmmaker Alma Har’el? We can’t think of many better ways to spend your screen time. This limited series, set in the 1960s, tells the story of a bored, unhappily married Jewish housewife (Portman) who becomes fixated on solving the murder of a Black woman in Baltimore City.
3. “A Real Pain” (Coming to Netflix Dec. 31)
You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to see “A Real Pain” at home. But based on the glowing reviews of this film – which was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, and stars Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin — it’s well worth the wait. The film is a comedy about two estranged cousins who team up on a trip to Poland to honor their late grandmother and discover their ancestral roots. During the trip, the cousins confront not only their family history but also each other.
4. “Between the Temples” (Apple TV)
Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane star in this comedy about a grieving cantor whose elementary school music teacher turns up in his adult b’nai mitzvah class. Hilarity and healing ensue. Directed by Nathan Silver.
5. “We Were the Lucky Ones” (Hulu)
When author Georgia Hunter was 15, she discovered that her grandfather and his relatives were Holocaust survivors. Hunter spent years researching her family’s wartime experiences and published in 2017 “We Were the Lucky Ones,” a book about their miraculous survival. Early in 2024, Hulu released an eight-part historical drama mini-series starring Jewish actors Joey King and Logan Lerman based on the book. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%, it’s definitely worth a watch.
6. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” (Peacock)
Another historical fiction miniseries about the Holocaust, based on a novel by New Zealand author Heather Morris, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” tells the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Jewish concentration camp prisoner who is forced to tattoo identification numbers on fellow prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The series earned four Emmy nominations and three Emmy wins.
7. “Rough Diamonds” (Netflix)
If you loved the Israeli series “Fauda,” you’re bound to enjoy this one, created by director Rotem Shamir and writer Yuval Yefet. Starring Belgian actor Kevin Janssens as Noah Wolfson, a man returning to the Haredi community in Antwerp that he left 15 years earlier. The thriller follows an Orthodox family in the Belgian city and their dealings in the less-than-wholesome diamond trade. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz called “Rough Diamonds” a “gem … from the heart.”
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