Streaming highlights in January: these films and series are not to be missed

Luca Fontana

1.1.2023

Translation: machine translated

New month, new streaming tips. Whether Netflix, Disney+, Sky Show or Prime Video: Find out what's on streaming services this January.

"Listen, the fireworks you sold me don't work anymore!" - "I don't understand. I tried them specially before?" And with that, a hearty hello to the New Year. Continuing with series and movie tips coming to Netflix and Co. this month.

Kaleidoscope, Season 1

The story? "Ocean's Eleven, but with the guy from Breaking Bad. No, not Walter White. Gus Frings, the over-correct, friendly but all the more deadly drug lord played by Giancarlo Esposito. In "Kaleidoscope" he plays a crook who carries out robberies on a grand scale. At least until he gets screwed by his partner - Esposito (I don't know his character's name, doesn't matter) has to go to prison. His partner builds a business empire with the stolen money. Years later, Esposito wants to pay him back and steal the money back. To do so, he rounds up the best of the best. Because at stake is nothing less than the biggest coup of all time: seven billion dollars. What was that again about honour among thieves, Nathan Drake?

So far, so average. Not that I have anything against so-called heist movies. Or that I'm saying "Ocean's Eleven" didn't itself already copy the concept (but delivered perhaps the best execution ever). But: "Kaleidoscope" actually has something that I haven't seen anywhere like this before. Apparently the series is designed so that you can watch its episodes in any order - and each order thus tells its own story. How cool does that sound?

Start: 1 January
. Where: Netflix

Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Season 2

The Clone Wars are over. The killing isn't. In The Bad Batch, the elite squad known from The Clone Wars moves to the centre of a story about civil wars, betrayal and free will. Because times change. Goals change. A lesson that Hunter, leader of the genetically manipulated elite unit "The Bad Batch", has to learn the hard way. Where yesterday he and his clone brothers fought side by side with the Jedi Knights against the evil Separatist droid armies, today he is tasked with killing insurgent civilians who oppose the Republic - no, that was yesterday - who oppose the new Galactic Empire. Nothing about it is right.

I like the series. Also because once again "The Clone Wars" creator Dave Filoni is pulling the strings. Filoni has an uncanny feel for good "Star Wars" stories that appeal to both younger and older viewers. Nobody saw this coming: at first, his "The Clone Wars" was ridiculed as being too suitable for children. Then he learned and his series became more and more serious, sometimes even really dark. Finally, Filoni surpassed himself with the series finale. Since then, he has been called to higher things: Together with producer Jon Favreau, he is currently helming the third season of "The Mandalorian" and the live-action series "Ahsoka". In the meantime, I'm treating myself to the second season of "The Bad Batch". The Star Wars life is beautiful.

Start: 4 January
. Where: Disney+

The Rig, Season 1

Isolation on the open sea, a mystical, dangerous phenomenon and a seemingly supernatural fog that triggers my claustrophobia - a dangerous mix. I like it. Plus the actors Iain Glen and Owen Teale, known from "Game of Thrones", with their best Scottish accent. I don't think I want to know much more than that. I don't need to know. "The Rig" just screams, "The less you know beforehand, the better."

And with only six episodes, I'm sure the story won't be unnecessarily stretched either, but pleasantly short and intense. Perfect!

Start: 6 January
. Where: Amazon Prime Video

If These Walls Could Sing, Documentary

It's probably the best-guarded recording studio in the world. No one can just walk in here, no, you have to register here and have a good reason. But if you want, you can take a look at the world-famous address from the outside, on the corner of Abbey Road and Grove End Road in the London borough of Westminster. There, on a sunny day in August 1969, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison crossed a certain zebra crossing. The result was the cover of one of the most famous and best albums of all time - "Abbey Road". And the former "EMI Recording Studios" was promptly named after it.

But the story doesn't end here. It doesn't even start here. Abbey Road was already the beating heart of the music industry. Later even that of the film industry, when the legendary John Williams recorded the score for "Star Wars" in those studios in 1977. That's precisely why I'm looking forward to this documentary about the most iconic of all music studios.

Start: 6 January
. Where: Disney+

Welcome to Chippendales, mini-series

Did you know that the legendary, American stripper empire "Chippendales" was founded by an Indian? Neither did I. Nor did I know that Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the founder, went from migrant to one of America's most successful businessmen and then murderer in just ten years - nothing about the rise and fall of the Chippendales in the 1980s and 1990s seems to have happened without show and drama. A mini-series I'm so going to watch, if only for supporting actor Kumail Nanjiani. I already liked him in "Saturday Night Live", "The Eternals" (don't ask me about the movie itself, though) and "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Start: 11 January
. Where: Disney+

Vikings: Valhalla, Season 2

Admit it: I haven't seen a single episode of the hit series from Canada. But "Vikings", I'm told, is one of the most authentic and best series about the warlike Vikings in 793, with six seasons made between 2013 and 2020. And lead actor Travis Fimmel, who plays the legendary King Ragnar Lothbrok - supposedly a direct descendant of Odin, the father of the gods - became a star.

"Vikings" is one of the most authentic series about the Vikings in 793.

"Vikings: Valhalla" is indeed from the same producers as "Vikings". But the series explicitly does not want to be seen as a sequel or spin-off. So if, like me, you haven't seen "Vikings" yet, you needn't worry: "Valhalla" only begins in the early 11th century, at its centre is Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), the most famous Viking explorer in history, and the necessary context is given to us by the characters in the series itself. So now would be a good time to watch the first season before the second starts.

Start: 12 January
. Where: Netflix

Hunters, Season 2

A boy who has yet to mature into a man (Greg Austin) loses a loved one. By murder. An old, oddball man (Al Pacino) seeks him out and offers him revenge. The boy would get revenge if he joined the man's gang - a strange group that takes the law into its own hands and in which every member is an expert on something forbidden.

Sounds amazing.

Sound like Amazon's "The Boys"? It isn't. In "Hunters" the superheroes are Nazis and the Boys are Nazi hunters. What's more, the whole thing is set in 1970s New York and is supposedly based on true events. And: Jordan Peele, director of "Get Out", "Us" and "Nope", is the executive producer. What sounded like a successful no-brainer back in 2020, when the first season came out, actually struggled to win over audiences. I never understood that. I like the quirky, tragic series. Maybe the second (and last) season will turn the tide after all.

Start:

Maybe the second season will turn the tide after all.Start: 13 January . Where: Amazon Prime Video## The Last of Us, Season 1[[video:215542]]If I could only pick one thing from this list - it would be The Last of Us. It's not just me. Gaming editor and colleague Domagoj is already just as hyped. No wonder, after all, we're talking about the series adaptation of one of the best games of the past decade, if not ever. Not necessarily because of the gameplay. Rather because of what is perhaps the most beautiful, exciting and sad story ever told in a videogame."Such high expectations can only be disappointed," you're probably thinking to yourself now. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic. Firstly, because leading actor Pedro Pascal has never done anything bad. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Secondly, because "The Last of Us" is produced for the American series delicatessen channel HBO - also a kind of quality seal. And thirdly, because Craig Mazin is pulling the strings as showrunner. Mazin made "Chernobyl" in 2019, by far the best series of the entire year in my eyes. That on top of that Neil Druckmann, the writer and director of the game, ensures that the adaptation stays true to his creation is just icing on the cake for me.Start: 16 January . Where: Sky Show with Entertainment PassTitelfoto: Pedro pascal in «The Last of Us» / Sky Show

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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