Netflix

What to Watch on Netflix this December

‘Kings of Jo’burg’, ‘How to Ruin A Christmas: The Wedding’, and more!

Published

2 months ago

Dec 3, 2020

Now that we are within December, I’m tempted to lie through my teeth and say the year flew by so fast. It didn’t. It felt more like a couple of years stuffed in one. Some rest and great entertainment this festive season is essential. Some popcorn, maybe smooth bev, and a whole lot of bingeing.

Netflix will be launching no less than two new local originals.

First, there’s the supernatural drama, Kings of Jo’burg, which marks the first time the Fergusons partnered with the streaming platform to produce a series. Then there’s ‘How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding’. It’s a 3-part romantic comedy special that stars a bevy of local actors soaking us in some festive bubbles.

The highly anticipated, Bridgerton – a Shondaland first on the service, will also be launching this Christmas (literally on Christmas day) as well Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring the late great Chadwick Bosman and Viola Davis. All of this is and more,coming to Netflix this December.

WHAT TO WATCH

Kings of Jo’Burg – Netflix Original Series 12/4/2020

The Masire brothers rule Johannesburg’s criminal underworld, but a supernatural family curse and a tangled web of betrayal threaten to destroy them.

How To Ruin Christmas: The Wedding – Netflix Original Series 12/16/2020

Prodigal daughter Tumi goes home for the holidays and manages to ruin her sister’s wedding plans. Now she must make things right before it’s too late.

INTERNATIONAL CONTENT TO STREAM

The Holiday Movies That Made Us: Season 1. Will Ferrell in Elf. Episode 1. c. Moviestore/Shutterstock

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Netflix Original Film 12/18/2020

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020): Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. Cr. David Lee / Netflix

Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson’s play.

Bridgerton – Netflix Original Series 12/25/2020

From Shondaland and Creator Chris Van Dusen, Bridgerton follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dyvenor), the eldest daughter of the powerful Bridgerton family as she makes her debut onto Regency London’s competitive marriage market.

Hoping to follow in her parent’s footsteps and find a match sparked by true love, Daphne’s prospects initially seem to be unrivaled. But as her older brother begins to rule out her potential suitors, the high society scandal sheet written by the mysterious Lady Whistledown casts aspersions on Daphne.

Enter the highly desirable and rebellious Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), committed bachelor and the catch of the season for the debutantes’ mamas. Despite proclaiming that they want nothing the other has to offer, their attraction is undeniable and sparks fly as they find themselves engaged in an increasing battle of wits while navigating society’s expectations for their future.

Bridgerton is a romantic, scandalous, and quick-witted series that celebrates the timelessness of enduring friendships, families finding their way, and the search for a love that conquers all. The series also stars Golda Rosheuvel, Jonathan Bailey, Luke Newton, Claudia Jessie, Nicola Coughlan, Ruby Barker, Sabrina Bartlett, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Polly Walker, Bessie Carter and Harriet Cains and Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown. The series is inspired by Julia Quinn’s novels.

The Holiday Movies That Made Us – Netflix Original Series 12/1/2020

Unwrap the real stories behind these iconic Christmas blockbusters, thanks to insider interviews and behind-the-scenes peeks.

Selena: The Series – Netflix Original Series 12/4/2020

Mexican-American singer Selena and her family work hard and rise to fame in the Tejano music world, navigating challenges along the way.

Big Mouth: Season 4 – Netflix Original Series 12/4/2020

BIG MOUTH (L to R) Alia Shawkat as Roland, Maya Rudolph as Avery, Jak Knight as Del, John Oliver as Harry, Paul Scheer as Schwartz, Mitra Jouhari as Bahar, Maria Bamford as October, and Emily Altman as Milk in episode 1 of BIG MOUTH. Cr. NETFLIX © 2020

On the brink of eighth grade, the friends contend with summer camp torments, shady alter egos, new make-out frontiers and Tito the Anxiety Mosquito.

The Prom – Netflix Original Film – 12 12/11/2020

A group of down-on-their-luck Broadway stars shake up life in small-town Indiana as they rally behind a teen fighting to bring her girlfriend to prom.

The Midnight Sky – Netflix Original Film 12/23/2020

This post-apocalyptic tale follows Augustine (George Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to stop Sully (Felicity Jones) and her fellow astronauts from returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe. Clooney directs the adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s acclaimed novel Good Morning, Midnight, co-starring David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir and Tiffany Boone.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 4- Netflix Original Series 12/31/2020

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina re-imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Over the course of Part 4’s eight episodes, The Eldritch Terrors will descend upon Greendale. The coven must fight each terrifying threat one-by-one (The Weird, The Returned, The Darkness to name a few), all leading up to…The Void, which is the End of All Things. As the witches wage war, with the help of The Fright Club, Nick begins to slowly earn his way back into Sabrina’s heart, but will it be too late?

LICENSED TITLES

Silver Linings Playbook – 12/1/2020

After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

iZombie: Season 5 – 12/1/2020

BON APPETIT — While investigating the murder of Eleanor Barba, a chef at a high-end restaurant, Liv consumes her brain and becomes an unrelenting perfectionist who knows just how to break a person to their very core. Meanwhile, Major is on a mission to find out who is betraying the commander.

Leap Year – 12/31/2020

Anna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose marriage to her boyfriend Jeremy on Leap Day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.

Bridget Jones’s Diary – 12/31/2020

Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Battleship – 12/31/2020

A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.

Hannibal – 12/31/2020

Living in exile, Dr. Hannibal Lecter tries to reconnect with the nowwith now disgraced F.B.I. Agent Clarice Starling, and finds himself a target for revenge from a powerful victim.

Ouija – 12/31/2020

A group of friends must confront their most terrifying fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board.

What have you been bingeing on? Hit us up in the comments section below!

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Netflix vs Showmax: 7 Hot Series to Stream this January

Bridgerton, Real Housewives of Durban, Bling Empire and more.

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REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DURBAN | SHOWMAX

QuenchSA reported this week that season one of the Real Housewives of Durban is now a Showmax exclusive. The Durban version of the popular international franchise had been initially commissioned for 1Magic, but will now premiere weekly episodes on Fridays from January 29th on the streaming platform.

Real Housewives of Durban

If you’ve seen the Johannesburg and international series in the franchise, you are au fait with the drill.

In a nutshell, the series will give us a glimpse into the opulent lives of six influential housewives in the Ethekwini upper echelons. We are expecting lots of glitter, beautiful gowns, tactful shade and the occasional champagne flute flying across the room in one of the heated dinners. The frenemy dinners always come.

The main cast features Ayanda Ncwane, Sorisha Naidoo, Kgomotso Ndungane, Nonkanyiso Conco, Annie Ludick and Nonku Williams. We’ve heard enough, bring out the girls we need to see the money filter.

BRIDGERTON | NETFLIX

Shonda Rhimes snapped, again, and we are here for it. Created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Rhimes, the American period piece is based on Julia Quinn’s novels set in Regency London’s competitive marriage market.

The period drama series follows the Bridgerton family Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton; her four sons, Anthony, Benedict, Colin and Gregory and her four daughters, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca and Hyacinth. Also featured are the Featheringtons: Portia, Lady Featherington; her husband the Baron; their three daughters, Philippa, Prudence and Penelope, and their cousin Marina Thompson.

P-VALLEY | SHOWMAX

Late last year, the STARZ American drama television series launched premiere episodes simultaneously on 1Magic for linear viewing, and on Showmax for those of us who haven’t sat in front of an actual TV set in years. With a critics score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a pretty high score on QuenchSA as of now, the series comes highly recommended.

P-Valley is an adaptation of a play called Pussy Valley, if you ever wondered about the title. The drama series follows the lives of a group of people working at a strip club called ‘The Pynk’ in the fictional city of Chucalissa, Mississippi.

The series is so good that I definitely wanted to work at the Pynk at some point (No cryin’ at the Pynk!). No skills or banging bod to be a stripper but the Pynk family is tight. So much heart and hope in a broken place.

Also two words; Uncle Clifford!

LUPIN | NETFLIX

The series chronicles the life of professional scammer Assane Diop, the only son of a Senegales immigrant who came to France looking for greener pastures for his son.

The point of departure comes with Assane’s father is framed for stealing an expensive piece of diamond jewellery from his boss, the rich and influential Hubert Pellegrini. Out of shame, he commits suicide in his prison cell, leaving behind an orphaned teenage son.

More than two decades later, inspired by a book about a crafty thief Arsène Lupin he’d received as a birthday gift from his late father, Assane plots revenge on the Pellegrini family. Using his charm and mastery in thievery and deception, he embarks on a mission to expose Hubert’s crimes.

POWERBOOK II: GHOST | SHOWMAX

The Power spinoff picks up the pieces Ghost left all over the place. Tariq and Tasha must survive.

By the time Tariq shot his father James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick to his shocking death at nightclub ‘True’, we’d started guessing that the new show would most likely focus on the rise of Tariq as the new leader in the drug underworld of New York City.

Power S6 South Africa Tariq

After all, much of the ‘final betrayal’ season centered on how he and her mother Tasha had to go to extreme measures to eliminate Ghost for self-preservation. After trying to throw Tariq under the bus while abandoning Tasha and Tommy as a fair trade in his rise to the office of governor, it became clear that lines were drawn.

And that’s how Ghost dug his own grave. Running his mouth with the folk in his campaign, trying to get his son to do time in prison while he ascends within political ranks, leave Tommy to bury his skeletons and draw the final curtain on his dysfunctional marriage to Tasha.

THE WORLD OF THE MARRIED | NETFLIX

Someone pitched this show to me as ‘top tier Korean mgowo’ and I haven’t been able to forget it. There’s a reason The World of The Married surfaced as one of the most-streamed Korean shows in South Africa in 2020. It’s probably the same reason the television series is now the highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history.

This is a beautifully written, brilliantly portrayed and outstanding screenplay of love and tragedy. Not forgetting a mind-blowing display of how marriages can rank amongst the highest scams.

The Korean series follows the life of Ji Sun-woo (the woman’s wardrobe is a topic!), an established medical doctor with what appears to be a perfect life. She has a handsome husband Lee Tae-oh, with whom she has a teenage son Lee Joon-young.

Then the betrayal from her husband and close friend comes, and it goes downhill from there. You will have to watch the unravelling of some intense drama yourself.

BLING EMPIRE | NETFLIX

Take Kwa Mam’Khize, Rich Kids and Real Housewives of Johannesburg and add the most mesmerising aspects of the wealth flaunted on those shows. Take your time. Now, multiply those visuals of high life living and you get Bling Empire. Netflix’s new reality shows follows the lives of people with an insane amount of wealth. Old money; someone was saying there that “My husband could be the emperor of China and our son the Prince”.

Honey.

Bling Empire follows a wealthy group of Asian and Asian American friends who live in Los Angeles. These are collectors of haute couture, lovers of private jets with personal shoppers. It’s a multi-billion network of friends with a flair for expensive shopping sprees, fabulous parties, and overspending for the fun of it. Lofty.