SO you’ve made it through the week between Christmas and New Years and you have no idea what else to watch right?
Well don’t worry, as The Celeb Report’s TV Mag can point you in the right direction for lots of streaming content to take you into 2022.
WHAT’S NEW?
The Fixer Upper Mysteries – Acorn TV
In telly land, you don’t have to be an actual, you know, trained detective to solve murders. You can be a PR guru (Agatha Raisin), a priest (Father Brown), a novelist (Jessica Fletcher), a magician (Jonathan Creek) or even a gardener (Rosemary & Thyme). Three-part murder mystery series The Fixer Upper Mysteries adds another profession to the list: renovation expert.
In the opening episode, we meet Shannon Hughes (played by 90s singer-songwriter Jewel), the owner of a construction company and, yes, a home renovation expert, who suspects foul play when her friend’s father dies in suspicious circumstances. Teaming up with a new client – crime writer Mac (Colin Ferguson) – Shannon sets about unravelling the mystery.
While The Fixer Upper Mysteries is unlikely to win too many prizes for originality, all three episodes are polished, smartly plotted and feature a winning performance from Jewel.
Available Monday
Ru Paul’s Drag Race – WOW Presents Plus
Is it possible to have too much Drag Race on TV? Of course not! With the UK series – not to mention – Canada’s Drag Race still fresh and fabulous in the memory, it’s time for the US version to strut confidently across our screens once again, for a remarkable 14th series.
And, 13 years after it first launched, the show still manages to evolve. This series features Drag Race’s very first-ever heterosexual male contestant, Maddy Morphosis. “I don’t con-sider myself a straight drag queen,” says Maddy. “I’m just a drag queen who happens to be straight.”
There’s also a host of exciting guest judges, including Alicia Keys, Ava Max, Lizzo and Dove Cameron, and at the heart of it all, of course, Ru will be ruling the roost.
Available Friday
Ghost Hunters – Discovery+
If there’s something strange in the neighbourhood, who you gonna call? No, not the Ghost-busters, the Ghost Hunters. Jason Hawes and his troupe of intrepid spook spotters – the At-lantic Paranormal Society – return for a 14th series, striding bravely into some of the most terrifying haunted locations in the US, armed only with cameras and a bunch of complicat-ed-looking electronic equipment.
Joining Jason this time round are Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango and Shari DeBenedetti, and they start the series at a creepy 1900s restaurant and brewery in Pittsburgh. Formerly a church, a school and a rectory, the building is rumoured to be haunted by a number of par-anormal presences, including the ghost of a woman accidentally killed by her husband many years ago.
Spine-tingling fun.
Available Saturday
Signs Of A Psychopath – Discovery+
Gruesome but gripping, Signs Of A Psychopath revisits the horrendous crimes of some of the most dangerous killers in history and uses original news footage, interviews and the words of the killers themselves to reveal the traits that prove their psychopathic tendencies. The 13-part series begins the horrifying case of Texan teenager Kevin Davis, who brutally murdered his own mother, 50-year-old Kimberly Hill, and left a note at the scene, which read: ‘Chase me. Sorry for the mess.’ When the police finally did catch up with him, interro-gations revealed Kevin to be a twisted psychopath who’d been fantasising about the killing for years.
It’s nightmarish stuff, but if you can stomach more, all 13 episodes will arrive at once.
Available Monday
January 6th – Discovery+
It has gone down as one of the most infamous and controversial days in American political history. On 6 January last year, a violent, Donald Trump-supporting mob stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC – the symbolic heart of US democracy – assaulting police, intimidating the politicians within, causing damage and occupying the place for a number of hours. In the end, five people died as a result of the attack, hundreds were injured and the shockwaves continue to be felt over the pond.
This startling new documentary tells the story of that dark day, and even if American politics aren’t your thing, it’s impossible not to be appalled and disturbed by the events that unfold-ed.
Available Thursday
Gossip Girl – BBC iPlayer
While the rebooted incarnation of Gossip Girl hasn’t had the same impact as the original series, it’s still pretty addictive. After all, who doesn’t love watching impossibly glamorous young people bitching and backstabbing to an Olympic level standard?
After a mid-season break, the show’s back, kicking off with an explosive Thanksgiving epi-sode. Will half-sisters Julien (Jordan Alexander) and Zoya (Whitney Peak) fall out perma-nently over Obie? Will creepy Rafa expose teachers Kate, Wendy and Jordan – the trio responsible for the Gossip Girl Instagram account? Or will they find a way to out him first for all his wrongdoings?
Oh, the drama…
Available Tuesday
Top 5
Cobra Kai – Netflix
Even the most passionate fans of The Karate Kid could never have predicted a hit spin-off series 24 years after the original movie. But Cobra Kai has been an unexpected success, picking up the story of former teenage rivals Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) a quarter of a century after their epic showdown at the 1984 All Valley Karate tournament.
Season four has recently dropped, with Daniel and Johnny joining forces to take down mean old Kreese and his Cobra Kai dojo. But with Terry Silver back on the scene, can Danny and Johnny stay united?
Lost In Space – Netflix
Not every show that reboots a classic series manages to escape the shadow of the original. But Lost in Space, a remake of the iconic 60s show, has done it. Following the adventures of space engineer Maureen Robinson (Molly Parker) and her family, who become, erm, lost in space when their spaceship falls through a wormhole, the fun has continued into a third and final series.
Having waited two years for the series to arrive, fans have lapped it up – and it’s not hard to see why. Action-packed, effects laden and featuring a satisfying conclusion for all the main characters, it’s out-of-this-world entertainment.
True Story – Netflix
Don’t be confused by the title, True Story is very much a work of fiction – and a gripping one at that. The seven-part series stars Kevin Hart as a successful stand-up comedian known only as ‘The Kid’, who wakes up after a big night out next to a dead body. Calling upon his conflicted older brother Carlton (Wesley Snipes) to help get himself out of this terrible mess, The Kid soon gets sucked into a world of violence, dead bodies and terrifying mobsters. While hardly revolutionary stuff, it’s fun watching Hart play it serious, while Snipes brings some serious heft and intensity to the role of Carlton.
Selling Tampa – Netflix
If you’re totally sold on Selling Sunset and fancy even more luxury estate-agent-based reality shenanigans, then spin-off series Selling Tampa is the show for you.
Moving the action down to Florida, this eight-part series follows the agents of Allure Realty, run by no-nonsense former US paratrooper Sharelle Rosado. Ambitious and focused, yet still lots of fun, mum-of-three Sharelle demands high standards from her team but, as with , the stress of juggling the job and complicated personal lives leads to lots of delicious friction.
You Don’t Know Me – BBC iPlayer
Based on the crime novel of the same name by Imran Mahmood, four-part legal drama You Don’t Know Me is a refreshingly different and diverse take on the usual, well-worn clichés of TV courtroom dramas.
Young man Hero (Samuel Adewunmi) is up in court accused of murder, with all the evidence pointing to his guilt. Unhappy with his defence barrister, he decides that he himself will tell the jury his story – but will they believe him? Fresh, compelling and armed with a genuinely unexpected twist, You Don’t Know Me is a gripping triumph.
TV Mag is available for free every Saturday, only in The Celeb Report.
