Why You Can Trust CNET 'His Dark Materials' Season 3: How to Watch and Where to Stream
Lyra and Will are back to close out with a bang.
We'll show you where to find the final season of the show.
His Dark Materials season 3 -- the conclusion to the HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy -- debuts Dec. 5 at 9 p.m. ET. There are several places online where you can stream the excitement, depending on which country you're watching from -- and whether you've got a reliable virtual private network.
Here are the most up-to-date streaming services where you can watch the final season of Lyra and Will's adventures, along with ways to get around geo-blocks and streaming glitches by using a VPN.
Read more: Best VPN 2022: VPNs Tested and Rated by Our Experts
Where to watch His Dark Materials season 3
If you want to stream His Dark Materials online from inside the US, you'll find it exclusively on HBO Max. The season's eight episodes will arrive weekly at 9 p.m. EST, starting Dec. 5.
HBO Max also offers a free, 7-day trial if you're interested in test-driving the service before committing to a monthly cost.
Read more: Best Streaming Service of 2022: HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu and More
How to watch His Dark Materials, season 3, for free
US viewers who would like to take HBO Max up on its free, 7-day trial offer will be able to stream His Dark Material, season 3, for free as part of that trial. But that only helps you watch the first two episodes of the show's eight-episode final season, unless you wait for all eight episodes to be released before starting your trial.
Viewers in the UK, Canada and Australia have similar options to get started -- but only Canadian viewers will be able to watch the premiere on Dec. 5. Viewers in Canada can watch the debut on Crave's on-demand streaming platform. The service costs CA$20 monthly but it offers a free, 7-day trial if you're a new subscriber.
Viewers in Australia will be able to watch the season 3 debut on Tuesday, Dec. 6 on Binge. The streaming platform costs just AU$10 monthly. Its free trial period is more generous, with a full 14 days available to new subscribers.
Finally, UK viewers won't get to watch the season 3 premiere until Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. GMT, when it finally arrives on BBC iPlayer. However, the iPlayer is free to use with a valid UK television license.
We don't recommend seeking out the TV series on fly-by-night illegal streaming or torrenting sites, but if you're determined to do so, we strongly advise you to make sure your antivirus is up to date and your VPN is installed before you navigate to them. And remember: Never give those kinds of sites your credit card information.
Read more: Best VPN for Your Smart TV
How to watch His Dark Materials with a VPN
A well-tested, high-performing VPN can make viewing your favorite streaming platforms much easier. Even if you subscribe to a video-streaming service where His Dark Materials is available, you may have problems accessing it in the catalog of movies available to you. If your internet service provider has issued you an IP address that's wrong for the video library, or if you're traveling while trying to watch your home country's catalog, you may end up only being able to access movies and TV shows that are outside your normal viewing area.
Here's how to quickly use a VPN to get access to the correct media libraries, to stream His Dark Materials when it premiers.
Read more: How We Test VPNs
1. Choose the right VPN for your needs.
If you're choosing a VPN to stream video, you'll want one with a few key criteria: top-notch speed test performance, a strong ability to disguise its traffic as normal traffic (a feature called obfuscation) and a network of servers that are optimized for media experiences so that your streams aren't dropping in and out.
If you're in a country where streaming certain content may be illegal according to local censorship laws, you'll want to make sure your VPN provider offers well-tested security, and that you are only using the VPN on your laptop or home router -- not your mobile phone. You'll also want to make sure you've carefully followed any additional instructions from your VPN provider on configuring your VPN set-up for maximum privacy.
Read more: Casual vs. Critical: When Your VPN Is a Matter of Life or Death, Here's How to Pick One
Our current Editors' Choice for Best VPN manages to offer a high-value balance of both top-notch speeds and excellent security. For users with critical security and privacy needs, we recommend installing ExpressVPN. The service currently holds our record for fastest VPN in our recurring speed tests, and its unique Lightway protocol offers a streaming-friendly flexibility that helps your internet connection adapt to changing speeds without dropping your service.
However, if you're looking for an option that's friendlier on your budget, we recommend a range of affordable VPNs, like Surfshark, that have also passed our security tests with flying colors.
Read more: Best Free VPN 2022: Try Our VPN Experts' Top Picks for Risk-Free Privacy
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
2. Connect to the correct country in your VPN.
Once you've installed your VPN, you'll want to open the VPN app and select the country where His Dark Materials is currently available for streaming on your platform of choice once season 3 premiers. In this case, HBO Max users would select and connect to a US server in your VPN's list. Crave users would connect to Canadian servers.
After Dec. 6, Binge users would connect to Australian servers to watch the series. And, after Dec. 18, BBC iPlayer watchers would select a UK-based server when connecting.
Remember: It's important to connect to your VPN before you log into -- or create a new account for -- your streaming subscription service.
3. Log into your streaming service.
You've installed your VPN, powered it on, and connected to the correct country. You're nearly done!
Now all you have to do is log into your streaming media provider as normal. So navigate to HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, Crave or Binge -- and then log in as you typically would. Once you're in, you can use the platform's search bar to find His Dark Materials.
You're ready to stream!
If you find that your streaming service still doesn't work with your VPN running, make sure you've followed your VPN provider's instructions and installed any browser-based plug-ins your VPN may need. If you've followed the directions and your settings are correct -- then try closing all windows, restarting your machine, and first connecting to your VPN before doing anything else. That will ensure that your device is securely connected to your VPN and reduce the chances that your non-VPN IP address is interfering with your connection process.