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HBO Max: best new shows & films to stream this week

Discover the best new shows & films to stream from 15 to 21 December 2025 on HBO Max with this guide.

15 Dec 2025 9:06

Alannah Sue

Streaming

Common Side Effects. Image: HBO Max.

Best shows to watch on HBO – quick links

HBO Max: new this week

Common Side Effects – 16 December

Series. A new anime-influenced animated series from the US, Common Side Effects follows former high school lab partners Marshall and Frances who begin to unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the federal government to suppress knowledge of a rare mushroom that may hold the key to curing all the world’s diseases.

They’re big dudes with big feelings who are learning to navigate life in the wake of their mother’s death, sensing her presence in everyday adventures.

Set in 1900, the film follows the students and staff of Appleyard College during a summer excursion to Victoria’s Hanging Rock, where a seemingly idyllic picnic unravels after several girls and a teacher mysteriously disappear.

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Alannah Sue

Alannah Sue is a journalist, writer and theatre critic with a passion for arts and culture and all that glitters. She relocated to Melbourne in 2025 after spending over a decade embedded in the Sydney arts landscape and finishing up her tenure as Arts & Culture Editor at Time Out. In addition to contributing to ArtsHub and ScreenHub, her freelance portfolio also expands to editorial and copywriting for lifestyle and arts publications such as Limelight and Urban List, cultural institutions like the Sydney Opera House, and marketing and publicity services for independent artists. She is always keen to take a chance on weird performance art, theatre of all kinds, out-of-the-box exhibitions, queer venues, and cheap Prosecco. Give her half a chance, and she will get on a soapbox when it comes to topics like the magic of musical theatre, the importance of rigorous arts criticism, and the global cultural implications of the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. Connect with Alannah on Instagram: @alannurgh.