The Best New Movies and TV Shows to Watch in January 2021
With a new year and a vaccine on the horizon, it looks like movie theaters may reopen soon, but TV networks and streaming services are delivering plenty of new movie and series releases in the first month of 2021 to convince you to stay home and binge. From final chapters of favorites like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to brand new adventures in the Marvel universe, take a look at these exciting titles coming to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and more in Janaury.
Satan enthusiasts and magic lovers alike will get to watch their favorite teen witch battle against her own past self and keep her family and friends safe in the latest installment of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Netflix has confirmed that the series’ fourth season will be its last, which means that the many mysteries of Sabrina’s magical world will finally be solved. Sounds complicated? Catch up on three seasons of gothic lace, Peter Pan collars, and Kiernan Shipka’s icy blonde hair before new episodes drop just before New Year's.
On January 4, a new season of The Bachelor will premiere on ABC. Matt James, a former professional football player and real estate broker, will be the first Black lead on reality dating show. Currently, James lives in New York City and operates ABC Food Tours, a group that takes elementary school students on food tours of the Lower East Side. Though host Chris Harrison is doing everything he can to prevent spoilers, Tyler Cameron, a former Bachelorette contestant and James’ best friend, has confirmed he will make a cameo on his former roommate’s season.
Nicolas Cage will host this new Netflix documentary series premiering on January 5. History of Swear Words is made up of six 20-minute episodes, each dedicated to a different curse with appearances from comedians like Sarah Silverman and Nick Offerman. The show is not Cage’s only current project with Netflix. In May, Variety reported that the actor would play Joe Exotic in a scripted Netflix series based on Tiger King.
The upcoming Netflix drama film, releasing January 7, follows a Boston couple after a disastrous home birth experience. Starring Vanessa Kirby and Shia LeBeouf, the film explores Kirby’s character’s grief and her relationships with her husband and mother in the wake of tragedy. The film is also scored by Howard Shore, a masterful composer known for his work on The Lord of the Rings and The Silence of the Lambs.
The first part of the French Netflix series will premiere on January 8. Starring Omar Sy as Assane Diop, the show follows a young man’s quest to avenge his father, who was wrongfully accused of a crime. The series is based on the Arsène Lupin novels by Fench writer Maurice Leblanc.
Elizabeth Olsen stars as Wanda in this Marvel Studios series. Coming to Disney+ on January 15, WandaVision centers around Wanda and Vision, a super-powered duo whose lives in the suburbs are suddenly disrupted. Olsen is joined by Paul Bettany as Vision. Plus Kat Dennings and Randall Park are reprising their roles in the Marvel universe as Darcy Lewis and Agent Jimmy Woo respectively.
Season 5 of Riverdale marks the show's departure from true teen drama. Taking a page from 2000s favorite One Tree Hill, the new season will take place after a seven year time jump into the future, L'OFFICIEL star Lili Reinhart said. Though actor Skeet Ulrich, who played Jughead’s father F.P., will not be returning, Drew Ray Tanner, who plays Fangs Fogarty, will be featured in a larger role. If the upcoming season’s trailer is any indicator, Riverdale is just as wild for young adults as it is for teens. The show will be available on Netflix on January 21.
Netflix acquired the Toronto International Film Festival favorite this fall, and will be premiering it online on January 27. Based on a true story, Naomi Watts plays Samantha Bloom, a mother who is suddenly paralyzed after a vacation accident. As she is healing, her children take in a wounded baby magpie bird, naming it Penguin. So far, Watts has garnered praise for her emotional portrayal of the determined Bloom.
Another prestige drama for Netflix, The Dig follows a fictionalized version of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo. After hiring an amaetuer archeologist to excavate her property, wealthy widow Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) learns that her estate is home to a medieval burial ground. Based on a 2007 novel of the same name, the film shows how the single discovery reveals new truths about Britain’s past, and possibly its future. Ralph Fiennes and Lily James star alongside Mulligan. The film will have a limited release on January 15, and then will stream on Netflix on January 29.
Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto star in this upcoming crime thriller. Directed by John Lee Hancock, the film shows Washington and Malek as a Kern County Sheriff and Los Angeles Sergeant who clash while trying to solve a murder together. The film will stream on HBO Max in conjuction with its theatrical release on January 29, despite criticism from Washington on Warner Brothers' decision to sell the film to the streaming giant.
