I'm sure we're all glad to finally be seeing the last of this troubled, troubling year that saw one of the most contentious elections in history and took a few too many beloved celebrities from us. (Don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2016!) And while it looks like 2017 is shaping up to be a year of action and activism for a lot of us, Jan. 1 is still a national holiday — so there's absolutely no shame if you decide to ring in the new year with a little Netflix and chill while you recuperate from the New Year's Eve festivities the night before. If you do, here's what to watch on Netflix this New Year's Day.
Of course, the New Year's Day television schedule will undoubtedly be overflowing with holiday specials and TV reruns and movie marathons this Sunday; but if that all sounds a little overwhelming to you, than that's exactly what Netflix was made for. And there's a surprising amount of appropriately themed offerings on the streaming service, considering the fact that New Year's isn't exactly what you think of when you think of holiday-themed movies. (It's certainly not Christmas or Valentine's Day or Halloween… although there is one horror movie on this list.)
So in honor of '17, here are 17 movies and TV episodes on Netflix you can choose from this New Year's Day:
1. 54
Although it flopped at the box office when it was released in 1998, this movie about the legendary New York City nightclub Studio 54 starring Mike Myers, Neve Campbell, Salma Hayek, and a very young and very cute Ryan Phillippe has since become a cult gay classic. Of course, events in the club come to a head on New Year's Eve, with break-ups, overdoses, and arrests galore.
2. An Affair To Remember
This epic romance starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr started with one of the most romantic movie moments of all time: a forbidden kiss on New Year's Eve, and a promise to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building in six months time. If it doesn't make you swoon, then you must have a Grinch-sized heart.
3. Are We There Yet?
A man (Ice Cube) wooing a single mother (Nia Long) must prove his worth by taking her mischievous children on a cross-country road trip… on New Year's Eve day, no less. What could possibly go wrong?
4. Friends Season 5, Episode 11 ("The One With All The Resolutions") & Season 6, Episode 10 ("The One With The Routine")
Given the fact that the show ran for 236 episodes, it's no surprise that it tackled this holiday a couple of times: first in Season 5 with a bevy of hilarious resolutions, and again in Season 6 — when Ross and Monica tore up the dance floor with their old middle school routine.
5. Fruitvale Station
This may be a much more serious film than you're looking for to celebrate the holiday, but the performances in this film — about the real-life shooting of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009 — are uniformly terrific, particularly from star Michael B. Jordan (Creed) as Grant and Octavia Spencer (The Help) as his mother.
6. Holidays
Halloween may be so two months ago, but fortunately New Year's won't let horror fans down, thanks to this anthology film (featuring a segment directed by Kevin Smith and another starring Seth Green) that charts a year in terrifying holidays, starting with Valentine's Day and working its way through Easter, Christmas, and more — before climaxing on the night of Dec. 31.
7. How I Met Your Mother Season 1, Episode 11 ("The Limo")
A rented limo. A "Get Psyched" mix CD. A foolproof plan to visit five parties in three hours. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a classically hilarious episode of this dearly departed sitcom.
8. A Long Way Down
On New Year's Eve, four total strangers meet on a rooftop — their only connection being the fact that they all went up there to commit suicide. Does that sound too depressing? Well, starring Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul, and Imogen Poots, and adapted from a book by Nick Hornby (About A Boy), their story ends up being surprisingly uplifting.
9. Louie Season 3, Episode 13 ("New Year's Eve")
A duck named Ping. A guest role for Amy Poehler. A tragic death. A trip to China. What do these things all have in common? Watch the Season 3 finale of Louie to find out.
10. Mad Men Season 4, Episode 3 ("The Good News")
"Gentlemen, shall we begin 1965?" Those are the last words spoken in the episode, said by Joan to the staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Price. But it's the hour preceding those words that make this one of the most memorable episodes of Season 4, including Joan's struggles with her husband Greg and Don's New Year's Eve adventures with Lane.
11. The Office Season 7, Episode 13 ("Ultimatum")
You might think it would be a bad idea to put up a New Year's Resolution bulletin board in the middle of your workspace… and you'd be absolutely right, considering the events of this supremely awkward episode.
12. Rent
How do you measure a year? In 525,600 minutes… in seasons of love… or in holidays, as the structure of this year-in-the-life musical does, centering the story of Mark, Roger, Mimi, Maureen, Joanne, Collins, Angel, and Benny around major milestones including an eventful New Year's Eve.
13. Sunset Boulevard
Imagine that you're invited to a lavish New Year's Eve party by a famous aging movie star. Now imagine that you arrive, only to realize that you were the sole invitee and that said movie star is madly in love with you. Now imagine you try to let her down gently, only to get slapped in the face. That's exactly what happens to Joe when he accepts an invitation from Norma Desmond in this classic film noir.
14. Survivor
You may have missed this shoot-'em-up action movie when it came out last year (probably partly thanks to its forgettable title). But if mindless action is what you're looking for this holiday, then you could do worse than thise thriller about a planned attack on Times Square during the annual New Year's Eve celebration starring Pierce Brosnan, Milla Jovovich, Dylan McDermott, and Angela Bassett.
15. That '70s Show Season 8, Episode 22 ("That '70s Finale")
What other way could you possibly end a show about a specific decade than with an episode counting down the minutes until the start of the next 10 years? That '70s Show set its series finale on Dec. 31, 1979, as the well-known cast of characters reminisced about the 199 episodes that brought them to that turning point.
16. While You Were Sleeping
Hot off her star-making performance in 1994's Speed, Sandra Bullock starred in this rom-com about a woman posing as the fiancée of a man in a coma after rescuing him from an oncoming train. (If you haven't seen it yet, I swear it makes sense in context.) Of course, he wakes up on New Year's Eve and she has to work overtime to keep up the facade and prevent his family from finding out the truth. (No really, I swear this is a comedy!)
17. Young Justice Season 2, Episode 1 ("Happy New Year")
Even superheroes and aliens get to celebrate the beginning of a new year. This Cartoon Network series (which is finally returning for a third season four years after airing its second) kicked off Season 2 with an episode about the United Nations, intergalactic bounty hunters — and New Year's Eve, of course, ending with all of our animated teen heroes pairing up for smooches. Not awkward at all…
From cartoons to horror movies, from rom-coms to thrillers, from musicals to very special episodes, there's something for everybody on Netflix this New Year's Day.
