The holidays are here and there are neverending entertaining shows and films to catch on your favourite TV streaming services. From a high-budget, satirical film following two astronomers warning mankind of a catastrophic comet to an intense legal K-drama remake of season one of the BBC series Criminal Justice, we are certain Netflix, Viu and Disney+ will have you glued to your screens for hours.
Single All The Way
Starring Michael Urie and Philemon Coolidge, Single All The Way is Netflix’s first gay holiday rom-com movie. The film centres around two best friends and roommates (played by Urie and Coolidge) who have kept their relationship platonic until one of them brings the other home for Christmas. This is also screenwriter Chad Hodge’s first attempt at writing a Christmas movie. Hodge, who is gay, is an acclaimed showrunner who has created the popular drama series Runaway, The Playboy Club, and Good Behaviour.
Single All The Way is now streaming on Netflix.
One Ordinary Day
A remake of the first season of the 2008 BBC series Criminal Justice, One Ordinary Day is an edgy, legal K-drama where the princely South Korean actor Kim Soo-Hyun plays a university student who becomes wrongly accused of murder after a night of partying. As the title hints, an ordinary day for Kim’s character turns into a horrifying night. The sober drama series is directed by Lee Myung-Woo, who previously directed popular K-dramas Backstreet Rookie and The Fiery Priest.
One Ordinary Day is now streaming on Viu.
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Ron’s Gone Wrong follows the story of a socially awkward middle-schooler Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer) who received a robot that could walk, talk and connect to the internet. It became ‘Ron’ (Zach Galifianakis), his “Best Friend out of the Box” B-Bot. But Ron comes with a few malfunctions and incomplete codings, compared to the ones his peers have in school. Through their messy yet action-packed adventures, Barney and Ron explore the meaning of friendship, offline and online, during today’s social-media age.
Ron’s Gone Wrong will be streaming on Disney+ from 15 December 2021.
The Witcher: Season 2
The Witcher: Season 2 picks up from the battle of Sodden. We witness the return of Henry Cavill as Geralt, who escorts Ciri (Freya Allan) to Kaer Morhen, where he is trained to hunt monsters. Anya Chalotra also makes a return as Yennefer, who was presumed dead because of the battle. The plot of the new season has Geralt increasingly twisted into the politics of the Continent, complicating his mission to escort Ciri to his childhood home. Vesemir, the man who raised Geralt, is making an appearance in this new season. He is played by Kim Bodnia.
Production for this new season was delayed due to the pandemic, resulting in Thue Rasmussen being replaced by Basil Eiden for the role of Witcher Eskel. Lauren Schmidt Hissirch, the producer and screenwriter of The Witcher, had said that this new season would be “much more focused” story-wise. Video gamers and fans of the book series, rejoice!
The Witcher: Season 2 will be streaming on Netflix from 17 December 2021.
When Flowers Bloom, I Think of The Moon
At a time of strict alcohol prohibition in the late Joseon era, desperate commoner Kang Ro-seo (portrayed by Hyeri) challenges the status quo by brewing and selling alcohol to make ends meet for herself. Nam Young (portrayed by Yoo Seung-Ho) is a man of principle and strict morals. As a judicial inspector, his duties include cracking down on those who break the alcohol prohibition law. An unlikely love affair ensues between the two in this romantic historical K-comedy series.
When Flowers Bloom, I Think of The Moon will be streaming on Viu from 21 December 2021.
Emily in Paris: Season 2
Having gained much fanfare and ire last year, Emily in Paris returns for a new season on Netflix. Despite its cliché views of the city, the drama, which follows a clueless American woman (portrayed by Lily Collins) in Paris, is still as entertaining as ever. In season one, we saw a very fashionable Emily traverse Paris and take selfies everywhere, make inappropriate comments, commit several faux pas, and sleep with many men without a care in the world. Season two is where the American social media strategist makes huge decisions, and perhaps even comes clean to her hot neighbour’s girlfriend for sleeping with him too. The show stars Mindy Chen as Emily’s acquaintance-turned-friend Ashley Park and Lucas Bravo as her hot neighbour Gabriel.
Emily in Paris: Season 2 will be streaming on Netflix from 22 December 2021.
Don’t Look Up
This upcoming satirical science fiction black comedy will have you split your sides. From the trailer, we spot several notable A-listers starring in this film. They include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande and Timothée Chalamet. The film follows two astronomers (played by Lawrence and DiCaprio) heading on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that is capable of destroying Earth, only to be dismissed and ridiculed.
Don’t Look Up will be streaming on Netflix from 24 December 2021.
The Silent Sea
In a post-apocalyptic world set in the future, the planet Earth is plagued by desertification and is drained of water and food supplies. A group of astronomers embarks on a perilous top-secret mission to the moon to retrieve samples from an abandoned facility. As the team lingers to find clues to unveil the mysteries behind why the place was abandoned, a shocking truth emerges. The suspense-filled K-drama stars Gong-Yoo, Kim Sun-Young, Lee Joon, Bae Doona, and Lee Sung-Wook.
The Silent Sea will be streaming on Netflix from 24 December 2021.
Queer Eye: Season 6
In the sixth installment of Queer Eye, the Fab 5 Bobby Berk, Kamaro Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness returns to empower the lives of others. This time, the Emmy Award-Winning reality show heads over to Austin, Texas. More than just cowboy boots and lasso tossing, the quintet explores the Texan culture in Austin, celebrating another American city.
Filming for the season was a bumpy ride at first, with production grinding to a halt during the pandemic in early 2020. However, the shutdown turned out to be a welcome break for the hosts. The series’ showrunner Jenifer Lane mentioned that everyone spent so much time away that “having the Queer Eye family come together again in the spring of 2021 was like a big, long, overdue, (and) much-needed hug”.
Queer Eye: Season 6 will be streaming on Netflix from 31 December 2021.
Snowdrop
Starring up-and-coming Korean actor Jung Hae-In and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, Snowdrop is the latest melodrama set to release in late December on Disney+. The two leads play college students caught up in a passionate romance during the 1987 Democracy Movement in South Korea.
Snowdrop will be streaming on Disney+ from December 2021.
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