PTo help you stick to the good resolution to watch all the shows in our January selection, we’ve made it easier for you with five miniseries that, while less time-consuming, are still very satisfying. In addition, they will take you from the United States to France, via England, Germany and even Quebec. Happy new year seriesphile!
Welcome to Chippendales
If you missed the traditional broadcast of the Crazy Horse’s New Year’s Eve show, you can catch up with Welcome to Chippendales, a miniseries dedicated to the birth of the mythical men’s strip club in Los Angeles at the end of the 1970s. This biopic by Robert Siegel (Pam & Tommy) and Jenni Konner (Girls) looks at the American dream – which will eventually turn into a nightmare – of Steve (formerly Somen) Banerjee, an Indian immigrant fascinated by the success of Hugh Hefner and his Playboy empire. The combination of sex + scandal + true crime is already irresistible, but add to that the fabulous performance of Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, Eternals) in his first major dramatic role opposite the scorned choreographer played by Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and all you have to do is take your seat for the show.
Available on Disney+ on January 11
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Vortex
What if your New Year’s wish was to fix the past? This is precisely the mission of Ludovic Béguin, the commander of the Brest judicial police played by Tomer Sisley (Balthazar), in this fantastic Franco-Belgian thriller. When he discovers a time rift at a crime scene linking the present (in this case, the year 2025) and 1998 – a few days before the death of his wife Mélanie (Camille Claris) – he wants to try to prevent his fall from the top of a cliff. All fans of time travel series (Dark, The Time Traveler’s Wife) will recognize the risk inherent in this kind of manipulation: the butterfly effect that modifies the future. But Ludovic is now remarried and a father…
Not only the scenario of Vortex, written with four hands by Camille Couasse and Sarah Farkas, is extremely well put together, but the special effects are at the cutting edge of virtual reality, using the same technique as The Mandalorian. Immersion guaranteed!
Available on France 2 on January 2
A Spy Among Friends
This six-part miniseries was created by Alexander Cary (a former soldier and producer on Homeland) from Ben MacIntyre’s biographical book titled Kim Philby, the spy who betrayed his friends (2014). It traces the complex friendship between Kim Philby (played by a dark Guy Pearce) and Nicholas Elliott (impeccable Damian Lewis), two British secret service agents who met during the Second World War.
The plot opens in the early 1960s, when Philby is suspected of being a double agent who has been operating for thirty years against MI6 for the benefit of the USSR. This psychological thriller, with an atmosphere as refined as that of London’s gentlemen’s clubs, takes the time to explore the consequences of the most spectacular betrayal in the history of the Cold War on an intimate scale. Despite some lengths, we remain fascinated by the ambiguous dynamic between Philby and Elliott brought to the screen by two actors at the top of their game. A Spy Among Friends also has the good taste to approach the themes of moral duty, political convictions and male loyalty with nuance. Because, if there is one thing that the genre of spy movies and series has taught us, it is that, in this world of window dressing, there is no clear separation between the good and evil.
Available on OCS on January 3
The Black Forest Disappeared
To prolong the winter atmosphere, head for the Franco-German border. This TF1 back-to-school event production takes us to the chilling depths of the Black Forest. The headline missing are 12 bodies buried in a mass grave – some for several years – discovered by local police forces. To carry out the investigation, Inspector Maes (Grégory Fitoussi) and Captain Agerland (Tchéky Karyo) are joined unofficially by the examining magistrate Hartmann (Hélène de Fougerolles), whose career has been on hiatus for a year at after a car accident that left her amnesiac. Will the trio manage to shed light on this affair which affects them more closely than they think? Let yourself be taken on board without hesitation in this snowy thriller which received the grand prize for the dramatic series at the Cognac Polar Festival 2022.
Available on TF1 on January 5
The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCq7rbXRYCg
A family drama with a touch of horror, a melodious Quebec accent and an original soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and David Fleming, who could say better? Welcome to the always bewitching universe of Xavier Dolan, who is making his first series here based on the play by Michel Marc Bouchard (with whom he had already collaborated in 2013 for his film Tom at the farm). The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up follows the reunion of a dysfunctional sibling – the Larouches – made up of Julien (Patrick Hivon), Denis (Éric Bruneau), Elliot (Xavier Dolan) and Mireille (Julie Le Breton). For the sister who had distanced herself from the clan, the return to her hometown after thirty years of absence is triggered by the last wishes of their mother Madeleine (Anne Dorval), who has just died. As a teenager, Laurier Gaudreault (played by Pier-Gabriel Lajoie) was Mireille and Julien’s inseparable friend until a disturbing incident caused the trio to break up. But what happened during the night mentioned in the title?
Available on Canal+ in January
Returns not to be missed
Servant– Season 4 and finale on Apple TV+ on January 13
Hunters – Season 2 and finale on Prime Video on January 13
The return of The Walking Dead with the spin-off Tales of the Walking Dead on OCS on January 15
The return of That’70s Show with the sequel That’90s Show on Netflix on January 19