Words: Zoe Dickens
The New Year is here and, as we all swap festive parties for green juice and the gym, the demand for top quality TV is going to be higher than ever. As usual, the world’s favourite streaming service has delivered with a slew of new films and shows to get you through the long winter nights ahead. Here’s what you should be streaming on Netflix this month…
Messiah - 1 January
Still lamenting this loss of Homeland? Messiah might be just the thing to fill the gaping political thriller-shaped hole in your viewing schedule. Set around the advent of Syria, a young preacher (Mehdi Dehbi) emerges in the Middle East spreading a message of peace and love which quickly gains him a sizeable following claiming his is the Messiah. CIA agent Eva Geller (Michelle Monaghan), however, isn’t convinced and, while also dealing with becoming a widower and a secret, possibly fatal, illness, embarks on a mission to find out if he is a con man, a terrorist or the real deal.
Inception - 1 January
If the excesses of the festive season have left you craving something slick, smart and familiar then Inception is just the ticket. Originally released in 2010, the famously complex Christopher Nolan-directed film stars a roster of A-listers, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard, as a criminal gang who steal information by entering their targets’ dreams. High concept and even higher execution, Inception won four Academy Awards when it was first released and still holds up a decade later.
AJ and the Queen - 10 January
Created by and starring RuPaul Charles – of Drag Race fame – this heartwarming tale of road-tripping drag queen Ruby Red and her tough-talking 10-year-old sidekick AJ (Izzy G) might be just the thing you need to banish the January blues. Also featuring input from Sex and the City’s Michael Patrick King, along with a host of guest appearances from Drag Race favourites, the show follows the unlikely pair as they travel across America changing lives with their love and acceptance.
Sex Education Season 2 - 17 January
This off kilter comedy became a surprise hit early last year thanks to outstanding performances by a cast which includes A-list names (Gillian Anderson) alongside rising stars (Asa Butterfield, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey). Far more sophisticated than its premise – following a group of awkward teenagers who set up a sex clinic at their high school in rural England – sounds, the second season will continue to focus on late bloomer Otis who must now navigate the trials and tribulations of having his first girlfriend.
Next In Fashion - 29 January
Let’s be honest, sometimes all you really need is some mindless viewing at the end of a long day. Of all Netflix’s new January releases, Next In Fashion will be some seriously easy watching – and you might even pick up some style tips along the way. Queer Eye’s Tan France and Alexa Chung team up to present this Project Runway-style competition searching for the new big fashion design star – with each challenge focusing on a trend or style which has influenced global fashion. Guest judges including Instagram’s director of fashion partnerships Eva Chen and celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart.
The Stranger - 30 January
Based on Harlan Coben’s best-selling novel of the same name, The Stranger tells the story of Adam Price (Richard Armitage), a happy family man whose life is rocked when a stranger sits down next to him at a bar and tells him a devastating secret about his wife. Spanning eight episodes, this tightly packaged thriller also stars Happy Valley’s Siobhan Finneran as the DS tasked with unpicking the dark conspiracy slowly taking over her town. An edge-of-your-seat tale ideal for those long, torturous treadmill sessions.
Ragnarok - 31 January
If December’s The Witcher hasn’t sated your need for mythical creatures and other worldly monsters, Ragnarok almost certainly will. A Riverdale-meets-Thor hybrid, Ragnarok is set in the fictional Norwegian town of Edda whose young inhabitants are not all quite who they claim to be. Offering a new take on the traditions of Norse mythology, the show follows the town’s teenagers as they experience a series of natural disasters that point towards the coming of Ragnarok – unless someone steps in to stop it.
Looking to get outside this January instead? Here are the UK’s best winter walks…
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