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.
Common Side Effects. Image: HBO Max.

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.

Series. Created by Joe Cappa, Haha, You Clowns is an unexpected new series from Adult Swim that celebrates wholesome family programming. Join the Campbell boys, three doting teenagers, and their tenderhearted dad, as they live, laugh, love their way into your living rooms.

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Alannah Sue is a writer, editor, theatre critic and content creator 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.