The new year has begun and the streaming schedule is getting started. Of course, if you’re enough of a movie buff, you might already be making your picks for the Golden Globes, hosted this year by Nikki Glaser. If you want to watch it live, you can find it on CBS or stream it through Paramount+.
There are also a few hard hitters this week, starting with The Rig, which promises all the supernatural suspense at the edge of the world. For something closer to home, Netflix is bringing the Harlan Coben novel Missing You to the screen for some drama and mystery. And if that’s somehow not real enough for you, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth promises exacting detail about one man’s quest to piece together the truth about the event that cost his daughter’s life.
On the lighter side of things, though somehow still about murder, Darby and Joan is back for a second season as the quirky pair attempt to find answers about the death of Joan’s husband. The quirkiness continues with the mocumentary Cunk on Life, which might get you thinking — but not too much. And finally, pay tribute to one of EDM’s best with the documentary Avicii — I’m Tim; and check out his final performance on Netflix.
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The Rig
Prime Video — Season 2 — January 2
It feels oddly similar to The Head on Max — covered just two weeks ago — but The Rig is another thriller that sends its cast to the cruel and uncaring landscapes (or seascapes) that are deadly enough on their own, but become even more tense when supernatural elements invade the small crews.
The first season took place on the Kinloch Bravo oil rig in the North Atlantic, but the second season sees the remaining crew traveling to the even more daunting Arctic Circle to work on a deep-sea mining facility called The Stac. You would think the crew members wouldn’t be crazy enough to trade one near-death experience for another, but here we are. The nefarious Ancestor also begins to take a more direct role in this season, standing in as a cerebral proxy for the Earth’s retaliation against corporate exploitation of the planet’s resources.
Starring the infamous Iain Glenn (Game of Thrones, Silo), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), and Martin Compston (Line of Duty), The Rig is returning after a two-year hiatus with all six episodes of the second season available together.
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Missing You
Netflix — Miniseries — January 1
Believe it or not, Netflix has had a reasonably good track record with adapting novels to the screen; so plenty of people were excited when the company cut a 14-book deal with popular author Harlan Coben. Since then, the service has produced hits like The Stranger and Fool Me Once from his works, and is now releasing the tenth title, Missing You.
The show is set around Detective Inspector Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) of the Missing Persons Department. Her life becomes very complicated when she stumbles onto the dating profile of an ex that ghosted her 11 years earlier. She also separately learns that her father’s murderer is dying of cancer, and she may only have a short time to learn why her father was killed. She struggles to work through the details of her past as they start to color her views of the cases she’s working on in the present.
While this reads like a drama, there are also mysteries and intrigue throughout the story, and plenty of potential villains. Missing You plays out over five episodes at about 45 minutes each, so you can watch it leisurely over a week, or binge through it like a 4-hour movie if you like.
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Avicii – I’m Tim
Netflix — Documentary — December 31
The EDM scene was torn up by the death of Swedish DJ Tim Bergling in 2018, better known as Avicii. He was one of the most talented and influential musicians in House and EDM, and was in high demand for live performances and collaborations with other famous artists across several musical genres.
Unfortunately, he also struggled with the success, which was overwhelming for a quiet person that preferred a life out of the spotlight. He fell into alcoholism and started experiencing severe health problems.
Netflix’s documentary Avicii — I’m Tim explores his life and success through interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from tours and events. Netflix is also sharing Avicii’s final performance, titled ‘My Last Show,’ a concert from Ibiza’s Ushuaïa on Aug. 28, 2016.
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Cunk on Life
Netflix and BBC — Comedy Mocumentary — January 2
Most documentaries are serious explorations into a subject, taking multiple angles and covering details that most people would never know without the help of the documentarians. Well, that applies to most documentaries, but certainly not this one.
For those unfamiliar with Philomena Cunk (real name Diane Morgan), she’s a comically clueless character based in the UK that first appeared on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe. Since then, she’s gone on to create two mockumentaries: 2018’s Cunk On Britain and 2022’s BAFTA-nominated Cunk On Earth. Now in her third, Cunk on Life, she’s broadening her scope to the meaning of life and the efforts that have gone into understanding it.
Cunk on Life invites Nobel Laureates, neuroscientists, theologian scholars, and other experts to discuss their research and opinions. Will you learn something? Maybe, but let’s hope not. Instead, just sit back and laugh at a not-serious person acting slightly serious about things people take too seriously.
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Darby & Joan
Acorn TV — Season 2 — December 30
A relaxing murder mystery might be a good way to take the edge off of all the dark shows that are featured this week. Yes, you read that right… relaxing murder mystery. Darby and Joan is one of those quirky and adorable shows that doesn’t ask too much from the viewer, it just delivers charming antics by two skilled actors, Greta Scacchi (Joan) and Bryan Brown (Jack Darby), as they roam the Australian Outback trying to solve the murder of Joan’s husband. Along the way, they keep getting sucked into the circumstances and lives of the oddball people they meet along the way.
The second season of Darby and Joan kicked off with two episodes on December 30th, and will be adding a new episode every Monday through January 27th. This season is a bit shorter than the first, producing only six episodes compared to the eight of season one.
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Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Peacock — Miniseries — January 2
Pan Am Flight 103 was infamously the deadliest terror attack ever in the UK, killing 259 passengers and crew, and another 11 people on ground, including Dr. Jim Swire’s daughter. In the years that followed, Swire set out on a mission to find answers and bring the perpetrators to justice. He met constant obstruction by the government and investigators, and his story was eventually turned into a book, and now a movie.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth documents his efforts and findings in dramatic detail, starring Colin Firth as Jim Swire and Catherine McCormack as his wife Jane. The series follows the book closely over five episodes, and conveys the depth and detailed work Swire went through to do what he could in his daughter’s memory.