Riz Ahmed and Lily James Thriller ‘Relay’ Sets Netflix Streaming Premiere
The movie picked up rave reviews upon its release this summer and will be exposed to a large audience on Netflix this December.
Picture Credit: Bleeker Street
Netflix US is set to be the streaming home for Relay, a movie that hit theaters this August and VOD platforms more recently, beginning December 19th. This R-rated, high-stakes thriller has received a slew of positive reviews and has yet to hit a streaming platform, meaning Netflix will mark its SVOD debut.
The film follows a world-class fixer, played by Riz Ahmed, who thrives on secrecy and precision as he brokers high-stakes payoffs between powerful corporations and the people capable of bringing them down. His life runs on strict rules and careful anonymity, a kind of moral geometry he never dares to disturb. Then a new plea comes in from a stranger played by Lily James, someone who needs his protection simply to survive. Her arrival bends his rules out of shape and pulls him into a situation where his well-oiled system starts to fracture, hinting that the danger ahead may be unlike anything he has faced before.
Sam Worthington and Willa Fitzgerald are the other two big draws in the cast, with David Mackenzie directing.
The movie comes from Bleecker Street, which has licensed many titles to Netflix in the past and continues to do so today, though rarely as first-window deals. The last time an agreement was publicly announced was back in early 2022, when Showtime struck a three-year output deal to bring up to 12 movie releases to the platform, which is now or will soon come to an end. Whether Relay is a one-off deal with Netflix or part of a new first window deal, similar to the one Netflix has with Sony Pictures in the US currently, is unclear.
As mentioned, the R-rated film received a mix of positive reviews from both critics and audiences throughout its theatrical run. Calling the movie an “old-school thriller,” Christina Newland for Time Out concluded, “By the time everyone’s drawn their guns, I was thoroughly invested.” Sergio Burstein for the Los Angeles Times landed most of their praise on its main lead, writing, “Ahmed, always excellent, perfectly lives up to expectations by playing a man with a very particular sensitivity… while James does her part with ease.”
Picture Credit: Bleeker Street
Will you be checking out Relay when it drops on Netflix US? Let us know down in the comments. For more on what’s coming to Netflix throughout December 2025, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix.