This week's streaming slate offers a compelling mix of dark thrillers, historical drama, and truly jaw-dropping documentaries. From a murder mystery in Atlanta to Victorian London's brutal boxing rings and a family who adopted a bear, there's something for every taste. Here are the seven best shows to add to your watchlist.
Thrilling Dramas and Historical Hell
His & Hers lands on Netflix this Thursday, 8 January. This dark thriller, adapted from Alice Feeney's novel, stars Tessa Thompson as Anna, a broadcast journalist whose career is in freefall. She sees the brutal murder of an anonymous woman as a chance for professional redemption. However, her path crosses with tightly wound detective Jack, played by Jon Bernthal, and it becomes clear the pair share a complicated history. The series uses the steamy heat and fraught racial politics of Atlanta to create a tense, claustrophobic cat-and-mouse game.
Also returning is Steven Knight's brooding boxing drama, A Thousand Blows, for a second season on Disney+ from Friday, 9 January. Set in the squalor of late Victorian east London, a year has passed. Stephen Graham's Sugar Goodson is drowning his sorrows, while Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) fights for scraps and dreams of Jamaica. Erin Doherty's Mary Carr is indebted to a predatory crimelord and hatches a plan requiring clear-headed accomplices. The season introduces wildcards in the form of French anarchists armed with seditious ideas and dynamite, promising more bloody, poetic chaos.
Unmissable Documentary and Comedy Relocation
For something completely different, Hercules the Bear: A Love Story is a delightful and jaw-dropping documentary now on BBC iPlayer. It tells the story of wrestler Andy Robin and his wife Maggie, who adopted a bear cub they describe as looking like a "wee pyjama case." Hercules lived with them in the Scottish Highlands, became part of Andy's wrestling act, and was such a gentle soul he was a regular at their local pub. Maggie fondly recalls the need to monitor his intake of Babycham, as he'd "go a wee bit overboard." It's a charming and utterly unique love story.
Meanwhile, the beloved school comedy Abbott Elementary returns for the second half of its fifth season on Disney+ from Wednesday, 7 January. In a plotline based on real events, the school's heating system fails, forcing a temporary relocation to an abandoned shopping mall. While Janelle James's perpetually flappable headteacher Ava panics, the show continues to blend its character-driven humour with a gently polemical edge, questioning why the teachers are in this predicament in the first place.
High-Stakes Games and Gripping Dramas
Controversial gameshow Beast Games is back for a second season on Prime Video from Wednesday, 7 January. Hosted by YouTube megastar Jimmy 'MrBeast' Donaldson, the show is a dystopian spectacle where teams compete for huge prizes like cars and private islands. Its return comes after the first season faced a class-action lawsuit from contestants alleging mistreatment, which Donaldson has addressed by stating he spoke to hundreds of others who had a great time. It remains a horribly compelling watch.
Paramount+ offers a tense drama in Girl Taken, available from Thursday, 8 January. Adapted from Hollie Overton's novel 'Baby Doll', it stars real-life sisters Tallulah and Delphi Evans as identical twins Lily and Abby Riser. When 17-year-old Lily is abducted, her twin and their town are consumed by the search. Five years later, Lily returns as a scarred adult, and the revelation of her captor's identity—a presumed pillar of the community—unleashes further turmoil. Alfie Allen and Jill Halfpenny co-star.
Finally, the Israeli espionage thriller Tehran returns for a nailbiting third season on Apple TV+ from Friday, 9 January. Mossad agent Tamar (Niv Sultan) remains undercover in Iran, but her position is perilously weak. Mistrusted by her own handlers and close to being unmasked, her situation is complicated by the arrival of a grave South African weapons inspector, Eric Peterson, played by Hugh Laurie. His mission requires Tamar's help but could push her into even greater danger.
