5 things you have to watch on TV this Christmas weekend
Rian Johnson's Knives Out sequel, The Witcher prequel, a new Netflix K-drama, and more
Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, December 23, to Sunday, December 25. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is finally here
Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which got a one-week-only theatrical release in November, is finally releasing globally on the streaming platform. Rian Johnson directs the whodunit, which follows Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc on a new case after the first Knives Out film. He goes to tech billionaire Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) private island to find out who among Miles’ group of friends might want to murder him. The cast includes Janelle Monae, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline. Here’s an excerpt from The A.V. Club’s review:
“Without spoiling anything, a delightfully inventive pivot that occurs more than halfway through the film reminds viewers that some of the murder mystery genre’s foundational expectations have not even been met, and the story is already closer to its payoff than to the crime that set their hunt in motion.”
2. Michelle Yeoh leads The Witcher spin-off
Netflix, Sunday, 3:01 a.m.: Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich’s limited series is a prequel to Netflix’s The Witcher. Blood Origin, set 1200 years in the past, will explore the creation of the first Witcher and the ancient Elven civilization before its demise. Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, and Lenny Henry lead the cast. Here’s an excerpt from The A.V. Club’s review:
Coming in at only four episodes, most of which feature the great Michelle Yeoh and a cast of surprisingly engaging (if not wholly fleshed out) adventurers, it doesn’t really require a big investment—and at the end of the day you still get to see someone become a proto-witcher and watch them destroy a big monster. The fight scenes are well done (even when a ton of CG is involved), and the costumes and general art design are both impressive and varied.
3. Disney brings Strange World to your TV screens
Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: The animated sci-film film Strange World comes to the small screen. It follows a legendary family of explorers who must set aside their differences for a journey to a mysterious land inhabited by surreal lifeforms. The voice cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaboukie Young-White, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, and Gabrielle Union. Check out The A.V. Club’s review here.
4. Get ready for a brand new K-drama, The Fabulous
Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: Netflix ends the year with another promising K-drama, The Fabulous, about the friendship between four young people who begin working in the fashion industry, navigating their work/life balance. The show will consist of eight episodes.
5. Peacock reflects on 2022 with Kenan Thompson and Kevin Hart
Peacock, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: In the retrospective special 2022 Back That Up, Kenan Thompson and Kevin Hart team up to revisit the year that went by. Ready or not, they’ll deliver their unfiltered takes on everything from politics to sports to pop culture. There will be cameos from Quinta Brunson, Terry Crews, Lauren Lapkus, and Amber Ruffin, among others.