Netflix bets on reality, HBO gets twisted
There’s a bounty of new shows and films headed to the biggest platforms
Any plans to scale back your streaming TV habits in 2020 could be derailed before the year even gets underway.
There’s a heaping selection of new shows and films headed to the biggest platforms in January, from the long-awaited return of Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Crave/ HBO, Jan. 19) to the arrival of another season of “Grace and Frankie” (Netflix, Jan. 15).
Here’s a look at several film and TV series worth adding to your must-see list:
“The Outsider”
When the body of an 11-year-old boy is found gruesomely dismembered in a Georgia forest, police detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) begins a deep investigation he’s certain points to a prominent local figure (Jason Bateman). But when an unsettling sequence of events put everything into question, Anderson hires Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), a private investigator who specializes in finding answers in the unexplainable. Stephen King’s unsettling novel gets a 10-episode adaptation that meets somewhere between “The X-Files” and a David Fincher movie. (Crave/HBO, Jan. 12, weekly episodes)
“The Circle”
Netflix is betting big on a new reality competition series that’s a cross between “Big Brother” and “Catfish.” Set in an apartment complex, the show’s contestants interact through a social media platform that conceals their faces and voices behind a wall of text chats. Each player builds an online profile on the Circle platform, with some using their real identities while others hide behind fake profiles created with other people’s pictures.
The paranoia runs thick, and the alliances form fast, as each contestant keeps their eye on the $100,000 prize. The 12-episode series rolls out over three weeks, with four episodes dropping on Netflix each Wednesday.
The platform has high hopes for the franchise, with plans to launch Brazilian and French spinoffs in the future. (Netflix, Jan. 1)
“Little America”
The notion that America is a nation built by immigrants is taken to heart in an eight-episode anthology that explores the humour, hope and sadness that comes with stepping foot into a new country. Filmmakers from across the globe, including Canadians Deepa Mehta and Stephen Dunn, craft narratives that are loosely based on real American stories. Among the highlights is “The Cowboy,” directed by Bharat Nalluri, the tale of one man whose obsession with western films shape how he interprets and becomes a part of the culture of his new home. (Apple TV Plus, Jan 17)
“Avenue 5”
The final frontier turns into an unmitigated disaster when a futuristic cruise ship becomes stranded in space. Flight captain Ryan Clark (Hugh Laurie) is saddled with the responsibility of calming his increasingly irate shipload of tourists while leading a team of bumbling crew members who can barely hold it together themselves. That’s the hilarious premise for the zany new comedy series from “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci that boldly goes where no colossal space age fumble has gone before. (Jan. 19, Crave/HBO)
The Safdie Brothers
Adam Sandler is collecting some of the best reviews of his career with “Uncut Gems,” an adrenaline-fuelled drama about a New York City jeweller whose financial risks land him in world of problems.
But before the film makes its Netflix debut on Jan. 31, explore some of the other gritty delights from acclaimed sibling auteurs Josh and Benny Safdie.
Start with a selection of their short films on Criterion Channel, including the “The Black Balloon” and “John’s Gone,” before hopping over to “Josh and Benny Safdie,” a behind-thescenes documentary on their early careers.
Then jump over to Robert Pattinson’s rattling thriller “Good Time,” on Netflix Jan. 20, about a grimy criminal who reels his autistic younger brother into a failed bank heist.
In Case You Missed It (titles already streaming):
“Pick of the Litter”
Follow the lives of six dogs on the gruelling process of becoming service animals for the blind. Beginning with their first few weeks as puppies, the sixepisode docuseries tails the pooches as they say goodbye to their foster families and begin rigorous training at the Guide Dogs For the Blind school in California. The heartfelt tribute sheds some light on the animals whose dedication to their masters is often underestimated by casual onlookers. (Disney Plus, weekly in January)
“Booksmart”
Actress Olivia Wilde hops into the director’s chair for the story of two academic overachievers (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) who decide they’ve wasted too much of their high school lives on studying and not enough on partying. So they embark on a unbridled night of adventures that kicks off at a murder mystery party and winds through the middle of an Alanis Morissette karaoke session, before things get really crazy. (Amazon Prime Video)