New year, new shows: Streaming platforms unveil films, series to binge-watch

MANILA, Philippines — With the threat of the coronavirus pandemic still active and with new variants being discovered, authorities advised Filipinos to still stay at home.

Luckily, staying at home will be more entertaining with new series and movies on different streaming sites.

Netflix, for one, gave a sneak peak of the full list of the new movies it will roll out on its platform every week for the rest of 2021. These include superheroes, westerns, thrillers, rom-coms, action, comedy, and sometimes all of those things combined — starring the world's biggest and best stars, directors and fresh faces.

'Bridgerton'

If you have a taste for glamour, swoon-worthy romance and juicy scandals, then Netflix’s “Bridgerton” is for you.

The mysterious lady, voiced by the award-winning actress Julie Andrews, will share what’s really happening behind closed doors in the reimagined Regency London’s high society life, where everyone’s reputation is at the mercy of her pen.

Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) is the picture-perfect young debutante waiting her entire life to make her grand debut on the marriage mart. Poised to be the season of 1813’s forthcoming Incomparable, Daphne’s set to take the town by storm – but not everything goes exactly as planned for this diamond of the first water, especially after she meets a certain Duke.

Having newly returned to London, the Duke of Hastings Simon Basset (Rege-Jean Page) finds himself the primary topic of conversation among marriage-minded misses and ambitious mamas alike. Yet, for reasons of his own, our devastating Duke has zero interest in his title, society, or taking a wife.

Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is the eldest Bridgerton sibling and dutiful head of the family since assuming his late father’s title of Viscount. Endlessly handsome, charming and rich, he’s quite the catch on this year’s marriage mart. But if he has any hope of fulfilling his oftentimes overwhelming duty of marrying and producing an heir, Anthony must first learn to temper his pursuit of pleasure.

Another cast member is the whip-smart, brazen and rebellious Eloise Bridgerton, who is definitely not here for turning into just another young simpering and mincing debutante. She believes she’s destined for something much greater, though she’s quite rapidly approaching marriageable age.

Penelope Featherington, meanwhile, is the vastly intelligent girl with a sharp wit and kind heart. She would prefer to quietly sway near the perimeter of any ballroom rather than take center stage. She’s been born into a family who will never truly understand her — as if dealing with the cutthroat, mean girls of 1813 Regency London weren’t enough.

'Space Sweepers'

Netflix recently confirmed the release date for its new film "Space Sweepers" on February 5.

Set in 2092, spaceship Victory is one of the many that live off salvaging space debris. Crewed with a genius space pilot Tae-ho (Song Joong-Ki), a mysterious ex-space pirate Captain Jang (Kim Tae-Ri), a spaceship engineer Tiger Park (Jin Sun-Kyu), and a reprogrammed military robot Bubs (Yoo Hai-Jin), Spaceship Victory surpasses all other space sweepers.

After successfully snatching a crashed space shuttle in the latest debris chase, Victory’s crew finds a 7-year-old girl inside. They realize that she’s the humanlike robot wanted by UTS Space Guards, and decide to demand ransom in exchange.

The teaser trailer reveals a glimpse of the spaceship crew’s characters and their plans for exchanging a humanlike robot found from piles of space debris. With its stunning space action and thrills, "Space Sweepers" also show comical tension between these four extraordinary spaceship crews who do not harmonize with each other.

'The Uncanny Counter'

Fantasy K-drama "The Uncanny Counter" is one of the trending shows on Netflix.

Featuring a group of demon hunters clad in red tracksuits pursuing justice and protecting innocent people, the series is based on a popular webtoon. Most demon hunters are portrayed as priests or nuns, but here they are ordinary humans who work at a noodle restaurant. Ga Mo-tak (Yu Jun-sang), Do Ha-na (Kim Se-jeong) and Chu Mae-ok (Yeom Hye-ran) were all in a comatose state before becoming demon-hunting Counters. So Mun (Cho Byeong-kyu) was not in a coma when he was selected, but his disability was healed after becoming one. Each of the Counters has a partner spirit who gives them supernatural abilities.

The rich backstory behind the magical world of "The Uncanny Counter" contributes to the perfect amount of fantasy, action, mystery and drama.

A good show can be offset by weak actors. The show, however, doesn’t have that issue with the main cast being well-cast and talented. Yu Jun-sang and Yeom Hye-ran are veteran actors who have been in many successful works and received many awards throughout their careers. Younger actors Cho Byeong-kyu and Kim Se-jeong especially stand out and hold their own while acting alongside their senior actors. Other actors portraying the villains and demons are also quite impressive. The solid acting definitely enhances the show and enraptures effectively.

There’s something extremely appealing about finding superheroes in everyday people. The Counters do have supernatural powers, but they were basically selected to become Counters because they are simply good humans. Ga Mo-tak, Do Ha-na, and Chu Mae-ok work at a popular noodle shop with high school student So Mun becoming a part-time server later. Transforming into Counters also gifted them with curly locks, and they wear red tracksuits when pursuing demons. It’s quite a funny contrast to the thieves from “Money Heist.”

'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” returns with season 13, available to stream and download first in the UK and Ireland on Hayu.

Cynthia Bailey, Kandi Burruss, Porsha Williams and Kenya Moore return this season. Joining the ladies for season 13, new housewife Drew Sidora steps onto the scene as a triple threat – actor, singer and housewife. Marlo Hampton and Tanya Sam return as friends of the cast, along with new friend LaToya Ali.

With her wedding quickly approaching, Cynthia Bailey is elated to be marrying the man of her dreams, even as they face wedding planning obstacles set in place by COVID-19. Determined to walk down the aisle, moving forward with her dream ceremony in the midst of a pandemic creates tension between Cynthia and her fiancé. Back at the ranch, Lake Bailey is a full house with Cynthia’s sister, Mal, temporarily taking residence there, leaving little alone time for the happy couple.

Kenya Moore’s fairytale romance continues to be on the rocks after a difficult year, but she remains determined as ever to live her life on her own terms. Still undecided about the future of her relationship, Kenya decides to reclaim her life and remodel her house – adding in the pool and cabana she’s always wanted. As she continues to delve into motherhood with her beautiful daughter Brooklyn, a budding friendship with newcomer LaToya Ali begins to develop right on time.

Less than a year after welcoming baby Blaze, Kandi Burruss’s life shows no signs of slowing down. Her restaurant empire continues to boom as she and Todd prepare to open an upscale steakhouse in Atlanta, but despite being as busy as ever, their personal life remains hot and heavy. As Riley prepares to leave the nest to start college in New York City, Kandi worries this may be a permanent move.

Porsha Williams steps into her family legacy, tirelessly lending her voice and efforts to the Black Lives Matter movement. Speaking out against systemic racism, attending protests and amplifying the message, Porsha is passionate about fighting for justice. Surrounded by the support of her mother and sister, her daughter Pilar Jhena continues to be the sunshine in Porsha’s life as her relationship takes a bit of a backseat. Porsha’s fun-loving side is always around, despite working overtime on her many business endeavors.

'Something Just Like This'

“Something Just Like This” is a Chinese new romantic comedy focusing on the lives of Qian Xi Xi who grew up living with Duan Ran, a second-generation heir of a rich family.

The two childhood sweethearts are inseparable even after they enter the work force as e-commerce entrepreneurs. They experience ups and downs, obstacles and complications that are beyond what they had imagined.

But throughout the process, they made friends with people who share similar ambitions and together, they carve out their own path.

“’Something Just Like This’ has not only sweet love, but also fighting spirit to start a business. Along both the love line and career line, the audience can see their own wonderful stories. I believe it can meet different needs of the audience," the series' actress Wu Jinyan said.

This C-drama (Chinese drama) can be exclusively binged-watch on online video streaming service iQIYI (iQiYi.com).