Happy New Year, streaming fans! 2022 has arrived, so it's time to look forward to what will hopefully be another bumper year of movies and shows from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and other services.
In previous years January has been a lean month for the big streaming brands. Sure, we're more likely to spend more time indoors due to the bad weather (well, in the northern hemisphere anyway) but new shows and films are sometimes in short supply.
That's not the case for January 2022, though. Not only are there plenty of Netflix movies and Netflix shows to enjoy, there are also new and returning HBO Max shows that may take your fancy. Add in a smattering of interesting and eagerly anticipated Amazon Prime TV series and Disney Plus offerings, and you're spoiled for choice this month.
Below, you'll find 10 of the biggest movies and shows to catch on Netflix, Prime Video and more, including Euphoria season 2 and an extremely creepy-looking Netflix miniseries.
We would have included HBO's Harry Potter 20th anniversary special and The Book of Boba Fett here, but both were released before we assembled this list. Still, they're good watches, and they're worth checking out alongside our 10 other streaming choices for January 2022.
Euphoria season 2 (HBO Max)
When to stream it: Sunday, January 9
Just weeks after helping Spider-Man: No Way Home become the highest grossing movie of 2021, Zendaya heads back to the small screen to reprise her role as recovering teen drug addict Rue Bennett in Euphoria season 2.
The award-winning series' first season was critically acclaimed, with many lauding Zendaya's harrowing performance, and the show's impressive visuals and at times brutally honest depiction of addiction – though there was some criticism of the use of graphic adult content in a show targeted towards a teen audience.
Two specials, which landed on HBO in December 2020 and January 2021 respectively, were equally well received, so expect Euphoria season 2 to build on the solid foundations its predecessors laid.
For UK viewers, Euphoria season 2 will also release weekly on Sky Atlantic and Now TV (with entertainment membership) starting Monday, January 10.
Eternals (Disney Plus)
When to stream it: Wednesday, January 12
Just over two months on from its exclusive theatrical release, Eternals will finally land on Disney's streaming platform on January 12.
Set in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel movie follows a new superhero group – the Eternals, funnily enough – as they step up in the Avengers' absence and seek to avert another potentially world-ending disaster.
Chloe Zhao's MCU offering was billed as a superhero epic and potential 2022 Oscar frontrunner, but a mixed-to-poor response from fans and critics alike may have dealt a blow to those chances. Still, we enjoyed it, and it's pleasing to see Marvel Studios taking big swings with its Phase 4 slate, even if they ultimately fail to resonate with audiences. It'll be free to watch for all Disney Plus subscribers, too, so there's no risk in watching it and making your own mind up.
Peacemaker (HBO Max)
When to stream it: Thursday, January 13
A spin-off series that takes place after James Gunn's soft reboot of The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker will explore the origins of John Cena's anti-heroic titular character, and follow the subsequent missions he undertakes for the secret US Government organization known as Task Force X.
The show, which is billed as a superhero comedy-drama, will reunite fans of The Suicide Squad with humorous supporting characters in Steve Agee's John Economos and Jennifer Holland's Emilia Harcourt. Newcomers include Danielle Brooks' Leota Adebayo, Chukwudi Iwuji's Clemson Murn, and Peacemaker's fellow crimefighter Vigilante, who's played by Freddie Stroma.
James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Slither) has written the series' eight episodes, as well as directing five installments. If you're a huge fan of Gunn and/or Cena's previous works, and superhero fare in general, this R-rated DCEU entry should be right up your street.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformia (Amazon Prime Video)
When to stream it: Friday, January 14
The Hotel Transylvania franchise has received a mixed response from critics thus far, but cinemagoers clearly get a kick out of it – so much so that the film series has grossed over $1.3 billion at the global box office. It's unsurprising, then, that a fourth entry was announced in February 2019, but, rather than being released theatrically, it'll be exclusively premiering on Amazon Prime Video.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformia flips the script on its animated band of monsters. Here, Dracula (Brian Hull) and company are turned into humans by the Monsterification Ray, a new invention courtesy of Van Helsing (Kathryn Hahn), while Dracula's son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg) is transformed into a monster.
With each monster and human in danger of being permanently stuck in their new bodies, Dracula and Johnny face a race against time to locate a cure in what's sure to be an amusing globetrotting adventure. One to keep the kids entertained once they're bored of their Christmas toys.
After Life season 3 (Netflix)
When to stream it: Friday, January 14
After its second season earned mixed-to-positive reviews (much like season 1), Ricky Gervais' gallows humor-tinged Netflix show is back for a third outing.
With Tony Johnson (Gervais) suffering from another major loss in After Life's season 2 finale, it seems that the series' titular character may need more than Brandy the German Shepherdor words of wisdom from the show's supporting cast to help him navigate more heartache. And that's what After Life season 3's trailer teases, with Tony seemingly set to go on a life-affirming trip that may help him find some semblance of closure.
Expect plenty of cussing, shockingly funny moments and heart-wrenching drama – all of which we've come to expect from Gervais down the years – in After Life's final season.
The House
When to stream it: Friday, January 28
The House, an upcoming stop-motion Netflix anthology miniseries, piqued our interest when its trailer landed in December 2021, and with good reason: it looks creepy, unsettling, surreal and bafflingly funny.
A three-part series, The House will follow three storylines – featuring a poor family, an anxious developer, and a fed-up landlady – across different eras that are seemingly tied together by the place where they all reside. With anthropomorphized animals making up large parts of The House's animated cast, fans of those Sylvanian Families toys may never look at such collectible miniatures in the same way again.
The House has been developed for Netflix by Nexus Studios, the production company behind Billie Eilish's Apple TV Plus animated special and Childish Gambino's animated avatar for a 2019 Google Grammy Awards commercial. Get ready to settle into another disturbing Netflix project at the end of the month.
The World According to Jeff Goldblum season 2 part 2 (Disney Plus)
When to stream it: Wednesday, January 19
With its first half launching on Disney Plus in mid-November, The World According to Jeff Goldblum season 2 returns with five more intriguing episodes. Yes, the Jurassic Park and Thor: Ragnarok actor is back to explore more interesting topics in the only way that he can – with plenty of eccentricity and wholesomeness on show.
Season 2 part 2 will see Goldblum learn about five more subjects – Puzzles, Backyards, Birthdays, Tiny Things, and Motorcycles – and discover why these everyday marvels are so fascinating to us. Goldblum will also meet various scientists, experts and passionate fans to gain new insights into this quintet of topics, before delivering his verdict on each in peculiarly trademark fashion.
Munich: The Edge of War (Netflix)
When to stream it: Friday, January 21
Based on Robert Harris' bestselling novel of the same name, Munich: The Edge of War stars George Mackay (1917) and Jannis Niewöhner (Berlin Station) as two former university friends who reunite at the infamous 1938 Munich Conference. The duo, now working for opposing governments, become embroiled in a game of political subterfuge, and it isn't long before their lives are put in danger.
With supporting top-tier talent including Jeremy Irons (Watchmen, Justice League) and Ulrich Matthes (Downfall) as ex-UK Primer Minister Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler respectively, Munich: The Edge of War looks to be a thrilling war drama that could be in the running for the 2022 awards season. One for history buffs to check out.
As We See It (Amazon Prime Video)
When to stream it: Friday, January 21
A retelling of the Israeli TV show On the Spectrum, As We See It follows three twentysomething roommates on the autism spectrum – Jack (Rick Glassman), Harrison (Albert Rutecki) and Violet (Sue Ann Pien) – as they navigate life, work and love with the help of their aide Mandy (Sosie Bacon), families, friends and each other.
Per an Amazon Studios press release, As We See It will show how "these roommates experience setbacks and celebrate triumphs on their own unique journeys towards independence and acceptance". With the series' lead trio of actors identifying as living on the autism spectrum, and with On the Spectrum's showrunners Dana Idisis and Yuval Shafferman executively-producing Amazon's adaptation, it's hoped that As We See It will increase awareness around autism among audiences.
The Legend of Vox Machine (Amazon Prime Video)
When to stream it: Friday, January 28
Based on the first campaign of Critical Role's hugely popular Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) webseries, The Legend of Vox Machina is an adult-oriented fantasy animated series that premieres on Amazon Prime in late January.
Set in the fictional land of Exandria, The Legend of Vox Machine will retell the events of Vox Machina – a party consisting of members including gnome cleric Pike Trickfoot (Ashley Johnson), goliath barbarian Grog Strongjaw (Travis Willingham), half-elf ranger Vex'ahlia Vessar (Laura Bailey) and half-elf rogue Vax'ildan Vessar (Liam O'Brien) – as they look to avenge the murders of Whitestone's rulers at the hands of the vampiric Lord Sylas Briarwood (Matthew Mercer) and his minions.
Amazon's animated offering will tell an all-new story about Vox Machina's seven-strong team in the first two of season 1's 12 episodes, before adapting Critical Role's Briarwood arc for its other entries. Critical Role, D&D and fantasy animation fans should find plenty to enjoy here – and a second season has already been greenlit.
