Netflix has it all this year — Knives Out 2, Stranger Things 4, and the new film from Noah Baumbach. This is GQ’s guide on what you need to watch.
There tends to be an assurance of quality you don’t get with other streamers — we’re looking at you, Apple TV+ — and, while their catalogue of classic cinema leaves much to be desired, it’s at least improving on that front, too.
What they do boast in abundance is an increasingly unparalleled roster of original screen productions. In recent years, they’ve funded passion projects from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, and Noah Baumbach — films that, in a world where audiences are spending less on cinema tickets, might not otherwise get studio funding. (The culpability of Netflix in this very paradigm notwithstanding.)
Between returning series’ like Stranger Things 4, and feature-length projects like Knives Out 2, 2022 looks to be a bumper year for the platform. Here’s our list of all the shows and movies you’re gonna wanna see.
Bridgerton Season 2
Release date: 25 March
Jonathan Bailey takes centre stage in season two of Bridgerton, which is set to focus on Anthony Bridgerton’s search for love. Simone Ashley joins the cast as Anthony’s main love interest, Kate Sharma, as the story continues to follow Julia Quinn’s historical fiction series. Season 3 and 4 have already been confirmed by Netflix.
Russian Doll Season 2
Release date: 20 April
Sequels, what a concept! The belated follow up to Russian Doll, one of Netflix’s best original series’ when it dropped back in 2019, is allegedly very different to the first instalment — unsurprisingly so, given how self-contained the first season was. It still stars Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, and Charlie Barnett, as they have to deal with yet another sinister time-loop. After all: “When the universe fucks with you,” as Lyonne’s Nadia says in the trailer, “let it!”
Ozark Season 4 Part 2
Release date: 29 April
The final seven episodes of Ozark drop in April, picking straight up from that devastating part one finale. Ruth (Julia Garner) wants revenge, and as a teaser for part two says, “the end arrives sooner than you think”. How the end will come for the criminal Byrde family is yet to be seen, but in true Ozark fashion, expect a whole lotta death.
Stranger Things 4
Release date: 27 May (volume one), 1 July (volume two)
We’re going back to Hawkins, and the Upside Down is volatile as ever. “It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt,” says the official synopsis for Stranger Things 4: “Struggling in the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time — and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier.” We’re getting bigger Stand By Me vibes than ever. Oh, and Hopper (David Harbour) is in a Soviet gulag.
Hustle
Release date: 10 June
If you need to know something about Adam Sandler, aside from the fact that he’s secretly one of the most talented actors in the world (see: Uncut Gems, The Meyerowitz Stories) it’s that he absolutely loves basketball. Leave it to him, then, to star in the second film produced by NBA legend LeBron James. The tantalising logline: “A former basketball scout tries to revive his career by recruiting a player with a checkered past from overseas to play in the NBA.”
The Umbrella Academy Season 3
Release date: 22 June
Breaking away from the strict continuity of the Gerard Way comic book series on which the show is based, The Umbrella Academy — led by the likes of Elliot Page, Tom Hooper, and Mary J. Blige — has a lot of threads to pick up in season three. Details are sparse, with the cast mostly keeping stum, but star Emmy Raver-Lampman has called the new season “massive”. Who are we not to believe her?
Resident Evil
Release date: 14 July
Another Resident Evil adaptation, really? Well, after the unequivocal dud that was Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, it’s fair to be cynical. But this new TV adaptation, which begins over a decade after an apocalypse set off by the Umbrella Corporation has destroyed mankind, looks super interesting — plus, it has The Wire’s Lance Reddick. So how bad can it be?
The Gray Man
Release date: July
The Gray Man reunites directorial team the Russo Brothers — of Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: Civil War fame — with star Chris Evans, along with Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. It pits Gosling against Evans in a cat-and-mouse spy thriller: Gosling’s Court Gentry is a CIA mercenary forced on the run, with Evans leading the manhunt to track him down. A classic action-thriller if we’ve ever seen one.
Knives Out 2
Release date: TBC
Definitely the most hotly anticipated movie on Netflix’s upcoming slate, Knives Out 2 will see the return of Daniel Craig’s soft-spoken, Southern gentleman detective, Benoit Blanc. Plot details are sparse, but filming last year took place on a Greek island, and the slivers of footage released so far have indicated a sun-soaked murder mystery.
Don’t miss the best movies of the year to watch without going to the cinema.
Enjoy it with your family at home, here is a list of the films:
