Oh hai. The holidays are over. And the new year is very much underway. At least Netflix is offering people a reprieve from Januworry with a fat catalogue escapism in the form of new series, films and documentaries from around the world. These include the return of one of the streamer’s most popular shows ever – back just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Pfangirl Top Picks
His & Hers
Netflix Series releases 8 January
We initially dismissed this series as yet another trashy him vs her actioner that streamers love to greenlight. That said, response to mystery thriller His & Hers, starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, has been excellent.
Set in the sweltering heat of Atlanta, Anna lives in reclusivity, fading away from her friends and career as a news anchor. But when she overhears about a murder in Dahlonega – the sleepy town where she grew up – Anna is snapped back to life, pouncing on the case and searching for answers. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, chasing her into the crosshairs of his own investigation. There are two sides to every story, which means someone is always lying.
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
Netflix Series releases 15 January
If you’re looking for your next small screen mystery fix, with some prestige British flair, there’s three-part Seven Dials, based on the novel by all-time-great whodunnit writer Agatha Christie.
In 1925, at a lavish house party in the English countryside, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly wrong. It will be up to the unlikeliest of sleuths – young inquisitive Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce) – to unravel a chilling plot that will change her life, cracking wide open the murder mystery. Also starring are Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Caterham, and Martin Freeman as Superintendent Battle, who just want Bundle to stay out of trouble.
Love Through a Prism
Netflix Anime Series releases on 15 January
Sure there’s Bridgerton returning at the end of the month, but if you need some visually striking period romance before that, some of Japan’s most celebrated manga creators and animators are delivering.
Set at a London art academy in the opening decade of the 1900s, Love Through a Prism follows Lili Ichijoin, a Japanese student chasing her dream of becoming a celebrated painter. In the process, she finds herself in the same orbit as a talented young British aristocrat. Written by Yoko Kamio, creator of Boys Over Flowers, the coming-of-age series is animated by WIT Studio (Attack on Titan) and directed by Kazuto Nakazawa (Kill Bill: Volume 1 anime sequence).
The Rip
Netflix Film releases on 16 January
This kind of action movie can go either way, honestly. However, your film pick for the month is The Rip, which reteams Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting filmmaking partners and friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon onscreen in a gritty action thriller.
Director Joe Carnahan, who has made his name with crime movies like Smokin’ Aces and Narc, directs this tale of a team of Miami cops, whose trust in one another begins to fray after discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question, including who they can rely on.
Bridgerton
Season 4 releases 29 January
The eight-episode fourth season of saucy period romance Bridgerton kicks off at the end of this month with a Part 1 haul of four episodes. Things take a fairy tale-esque turn this time around as bohemian second Bridgerton son Benedict (Luke Thompson) is loath to settle down – until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball. Benedict sets out to uncover the young lady’s identity, not realising his heart’s desire isn’t a society belle but rather a resourceful maid called Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), working for the formidable Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).
Part 2 of Bridgerton S4 releases on 26 February.
More January Netflix Releases
Harlan Cobens’s Run Away – Netflix Series releases 1 January
Love From 9 to 5 – Netflix Series releases 1 January
My Korean Boyfriend – Netflix Series releases 1 January
Land of Sin – Netflix Series releases 2 January
Marcello Hernández: American Boy – Stand-up Special releases 7 January
People We Meet on Vacation – Netflix Film releases 9 January
Alpha Males – Season 3 releases 9 January
One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 – Netflix Documentary Film releases 12 January
The Boyfriend – Season 2 releases 13 January
Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web – Netflix Series releases 14 January
To Love, To Lose – Netflix Series releases 15 January
Can This Love Be Translated? – Netflix Series releases 16 January
WWE: Unreal – Season 2 releases 20 January
Single’s Inferno – Season 5 releases 20 January
Star Search – Netflix Series releases 21 January
Queer Eye – Season 10, the final season, releases 21 January
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart – Netflix Documentary Film releases 21 January
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! – Netflix Anime Film releases 22 January
Finding Her Edge – Netflix Series releases 22 January
Free Bert – Netflix Series releases 22 January
Skyscraper Live – Netflix Sports Special releases 24 January
Mike Epps: Delusional – Stand-up Special releases 27 January
Take That – Netflix Documentary Series releases 27 January
Miracle: The Boys of ’80 – Netflix Documentary Film releases 30 January