The new year just tipped off a few weeks ago and there are familiar faces and franchises popping up on the various streaming services. There’s a number of choices in the coming week to help deal with the arctic air that’s been treating denizens of Northeast Ohio like we’re polar bears who revel in the frigid temperatures.
There are four noteworthy choices spanning several genres that may be of particular interest:
‘Star Trek: Section 31’
Streaming: Jan. 23 on Paramount+
Michelle Yeoh returns to the ‘Star Trek’ franchise after nearly five years away doing other roles and winning Academy Awards. In this made-for-streaming movie with a reported budget of $80 million – $12 million of which was her salary. This is a curiosity more than a slam dunk. Look for a review later this week, but this film is attempting to carve out some room as to what “Star Trek” can be veering far off the ethos established by Gene Roddenberry in the original series. The “Trek” property to take such a bold swing: “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
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‘The Night Agent’
Streaming Jan. 23 on Netflix
Back for season two comes lower-rung FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) in “The Night Agent.” Instead of saving the president in this run of episodes, he’s tasked with finding a CIA mole. While he stumbled on to his last crisis, his work was so admirable he’s moved up the career ladder. “The Night Agent” was a happy accident for Netflix in its inaugural season in 2023. It stayed at the top of the service’s most popular series list as people discovered it. It was pure – albeit improbable – entertainment.
‘Watson’
Will premiere Sunday on CBS and stream 24-hours after each episode on Paramount+
“Watson” offers a different take on Sherlock Holmes’ trusted assistant, as much as the 2012-2019 series “Elementary” did by changing the character’s gender. This time Dr. John Watson is presented as an African-American male and he’s portrayed by Morris Chestnut, a veteran of television and film – most notably “The Best Man” movies. Yup, I’m in for taking a look at this show, primarily because Chestnut has proven himself to be a charismatic actor who not only has presence, but power as well. His career has been uneven – deserving of far more opportunities than he’s likely received. Here’s hoping “Watson” finds its audience.
Prime Target
Streaming: Apple TV+
In its debut, this Apple TV+ series presents an intriguing premise. A brilliant mathematician (portrayed by Leo Woodhall of “The White Lotus”) is close to showing the pattern within prime numbers (don’t ask me what that means, there’s a reason I write for a living). If he unlocks that key, he will have control of every computer in the world. What do you think happens to someone with that kind of knowledge? Correct. He becomes the focus of powerful entities like the NSA.
George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal.