What's on TV this week—Stranger Things and The Copenhagen Test

Plus, the season finales of Pluribus and Heated Rivalry.

By Christina Izzo  |  December 21, 2025 | 8:00am
Stranger Things (Photo: Netflix)
TV Features What to Watch
What's on TV this week—Stranger Things and The Copenhagen Test

Welcome to What’s On, our weekly roundup of notable shows and films. Here is what’s happening on TV from Sunday, December 21 to Saturday, December 27. All times are Eastern.

New this week 

Stranger Things (Netflix, Thursday, 8 p.m., season five, volume two premiere)

Another three installments of Stranger Things’ fifth and final season arrive on Christmas, as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a newly powered-up Will (Noah Schnapp), and the rest of the Hawkins crew continue their dogged, Demogorgon-slaying fight against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Look for The A.V. Club’s recap on Thursday.  

The Copenhagen Test (Peacock, Saturday, 3 a.m., season one premiere)

Simu Liu leads this Peacock spy thriller about a Chinese-American intelligence analyst whose brain has been hacked. Caught between his shadowy agency and the unknown perpetrators, he must maintain airs of normalcy at work to flush out who’s responsible. The cast also includes Melissa Barrera, Brian d’Arcy James, and Mark O’Brien. The A.V. Club’s review of the show publishes Friday. 

 Goodbye June (Netflix, Wednesday, 3 a.m.)

Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut with this weeper about four fractured siblings who come together to say farewell to their dying mother over the holidays. Mom is played by Helen Mirren, and Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, and Winslet herself round out the ensemble.   

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (AMC+, Thursday, 12 a.m., season two premiere)

A year after a violent witch hunt drove the Fenns out of Sanctuary in season one, this supernatural drama picks up with sorceress Sarah (Elaine Cassidy) and daughter Harper (Hazel Doupe) hiding it out in scenic Scotland. Soon enough, though, they’re drawn back to the titular English town when yet another magical murder occurs.  

Can’t miss recaps

I Love LA (HBO, Sunday, 10:30 p.m., season one finale)

Fallout (Prime Video, Wednesday, 3 a.m.)

Pluribus (Apple TV, Friday, 12 a.m., season one finale) 

Also arriving

The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball (Hulu, Monday, 12 a.m., season two premiere)

The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS and Paramount+, Tuesday, 8 p.m., standalone special)

Nightsleeper (BritBox, Friday, 12 a.m., miniseries premiere)

Ending soon

The Mighty Nein (Prime Video, Monday, 3 a.m., season one finale)

The Kardashians (Hulu, Thursday, 3 a.m., season seven finale)

Heated Rivalry (HBO Max, Friday, 12.am., season one finale)

Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era (Disney+, Friday, 3 a.m., miniseries finale)  

 
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