2022 is coming to a close with a wide range of new releases to keep you merry this festive season
1. Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Dark humor and a good dose of ingenuity are among the characteristics critics have praised about Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ series that was recently renewed not just for a second season (due to start airing on the 2nd) but for a third one, too. The series revolves around a team of British intelligence agents and after a botched operation, one of them is banished to an administrative purgatory that will force him to rethink many things. Directed by James Hawes, the star of the series is none other than Gary Oldman.
2. Hot Skull (Netflix)
From December 2nd you’ll also be able to catch Hot Skull, a new Turkish miniseries using the format of intrigue to reflect on the pandemic. The story is set in a dystopian society in a future Istanbul, where an epidemic is being spread via speech and language. Eight episodes of Hot Skull have already been confirmed and it’s quite possible this series will turn out to have political undertones in terms of criticism of the Erdogan government.
3. His Dark Materials (HBO Max)
His Dark Materials, one of the most popular fantasy series of recent years, returns for a third and final season, with the first episode dropping on HBO Max on the 6th. Lyra and Will return as the two main characters, journeying through peril-filled worlds. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that they are more bound to their destiny than anyone else and that the fate of both the living and the non-living lies in their hands. The drama was created by Jack Thorne, one of the showrunnersof The Eddy, with Tom Hopper as a lead director. Season three is based on the book “The Amber Spyglass” by Philip Pullman.
4. Little America (Apple TV)
And from fantasy it’s back to comedy, with season two of the anthology series Little America landing on Apple TV on the 9th. Inspired by true tales from the pages of Epic Magazine, season one shared eight stories related to immigration to the United States, all of them with a humorous and inspirational angle. Season two is expected to follow suit and features a wide ensemble cast with direction by Lee Eisenberg and Sian Heder.
5. Sort Of (Movistar Plus+)
On December 16, what critics have praised as a brave and ingenious comedy drops on Movistar Plus+. It’s a story about a gender-fluid millennial teenager who straddles various identities and demonstrates that gender is a social construct that defies labels. From Canada, this comedy series of 30-minute episodes was the launching pad for Bilal Baig’s acting career.
6. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Prime Video)
A dose of action is always very welcome and that’s Prime Video’s early Christmas gift to viewers as season three of Jack Ryan rolls out on the 21st. With Graham Roland and Carlton Cuse, one of the creators of the celebrated Lost, at the helm, and John Krasinski heading the cast, the show follows this CIA analyst dedicated to defusing terrorist threats of mass destruction. In this new encounter with Jack Ryan, the trigger is a conspiracy that converts him into a man on the run.
7. The Head (HBO Max)
From December 22, HBO Max will stream season two of The Head, co-produced by The Mediapro Studio in association with Hulu Japan. With an international cast headed by John Lynch and Katharine O’Donnelly, Hovik Keuchkerian and Moe Dunford, the action in season two transports viewers to a scientific ship at Point Nemo in the Pacific, where a key mission for the survival of the planet is set to unfold.
8. The Witcher: Blood Origin(Netflix)
The Witcher can now boast of having its own spinoff on Netflix, with The Witcher: Blood Origin due to drop on Christmas Day and take viewers back a few centuries to the times of Geralt de Rivia, an era in which the first sorcerer in history emerges and the universes of monsters, men and elves merge. Michelle Yeoh, acclaimed for her role in the recent film Everything Everywhere All at Once, is the main face of the series, which is directed by Lauren Schmidt, showrunnerof its predecessor.
