New on Netflix Jan 6-12: 5 and a half best TV shows and movies, picked by our expert
It's a new year but that doesn't mean Netflix is taking time off, as the world's biggest streaming service still has a long list of new TV shows, movies and documentaries gracing its platform through January.
There are actually quite a few new additions coming to Netflix this week (between Saturday, January 6 and Friday, January 12), and so to help you find what's worth watching, we've pulled What to Watch's streaming expert off his Christmas break to trawl through the streamer's January lists.
Our new on Netflix list this week offers a nice range of content including sports documentaries, reality competitions, international shows and a movie (yep, just one hits Netflix this week, but it's a biggie). We've made the rare choice to also include a special mention, which is new on Netflix in some regions but not others, hence the 'and a half' in the headline.
This round-up only includes Netflix Originals, because they come to all regions, so whether you're in the US or UK you can watch all of these shows and the movie. So let's take a look at the six options that we've picked for you to watch...
Break Point season 2
Type: sports docuseries | releases: Wednesday, January 10 | for fans of: Netflix's other sports shows, especially Break Point season 1
If you're looking forward to the Sunday, January 14 start of the Australian Open 2024, then Break Point's second season will help you get excited for the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year.
Break Point season 2 follows a similar narrative for the first season: it follows the men's and women's tennis champions as they prepare for, and undertake, the four major Grand Slams of the year. The first season, which released in 2023, looked at the 2022 season, and fittingly this new season looks at the 2023 events.
Unlike with season 1, it doesn't seem that Break Point season 2 will be split into two parts, letting you enjoy the whole thing at once.
The Trust: A Game of Greed
Type: reality competition series | releases: Wednesday, January 10 | for fans of: The Traitors, other reality shows
'Tis the season for The Traitors with both the UK and US versions of the reality competition show getting second seasons in January, but Netflix also has a rival show hitting the platform in the month too.
The Trust is a competition show in which eleven strangers are given a big lump sum of money — $250,000 between them — with no strings attached... except for the fact that they can choose to vote out other contestants, meaning there are fewer people to share the cash between. As you can imagine, betrayals ensue.
The exact rules for The Trust haven't been announced, so it's not totally clear what will happen over the course of eight episodes, but maybe that makes it even more worth watching.
Champion (honorable mention)
Type: drama series | releases: Thursday, January 11 | for fans of: Top Boy, Rap Sh!t
Champion is our honorable mention, and that's because while it's new on Netflix, it's not actually a new show everywhere around the world: this UK show was originally broadcast in the country in 2023, and is now on Netflix elsewhere due to it being a co-production between the streamer and the BBC.
Champion is about a rapper Bosco, who does time in prison, and upon release finds that his sister Vita has taken his mantle as the newest hit musician. Family drama and artistic rivalries ensue, as the two siblings jostle to one-up each other.
The show has been compared to Top Boy, with some cast in common, and also the US' Rap Sh!t which has a similar topic.
Detective Forst
Type: murder mystery series | releases: Thursday, January 11 | for fans of: thrillers, European murder shows
Would it be our weekly new on Netflix round-up if there wasn't a new murder mystery on the docket? This time our entry is Detective Forst.
A Polish series, Detective Forst follows the titular detective. His off-the-book attitude to policing means he's kicked off the force, just as a series of murders in Poland's Tatra Mountains kicks off. Because he can't investigate for his job, he teams up with a journalist to investigate his way.
Netflix hasn't publicized Detective Forst too well but if you're a fan of murder mystery thrillers, this could be the next binge watch for you.
Lift
Type: movie | releases: Friday, January 12 | for fans of: action comedy movies, Kevin Hart
Our only movie this week is Netflix's first big feature of the year: Lift, an action comedy starring Kevin Hart and an all-star supporting cast.
In Lift, Kevin Hart needs to team up with a crew of thieves to pull off a heist that takes place on a passenger plane, all while Interpol tries to stop him. He'll do so with Vincent D'Onofrio, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen and Yun Jee Kim, and other big names like Sam Worthington and Burn Gorman show up too.
The movie is directed by F. Gary Gray, who also did Straight Outta Compton, Law Abiding Citizen, The Negotiator and Friday, so it promises to be a fun and action-packed watch.
Love is Blind: Sweden
Type: dating show | releases: Friday, January 12 | for fans of: dating shows, other Love is Blind shows
You can tell if you'll like Love is Blind: Sweden based on the name alone; there have been plenty of seasons and spin-offs to Netflix's Love is Blind already, so you should have already decided if it's for you or not.
If you've somehow missed it, Love is Blind is a dating show that puts contestants in pods so they can talk, get to know each other and plan their wedding... all without seeing each other. Then, when the weddings come around, they're finally given a chance to see the other person. Sweden works the same as all the other shows, except everyone is Swedish.
Unlike some Netflix shows, this has a staggered release, with 4 episodes per week until the end of January.
