Downton Abbey: A New Era
Sky Cinema, available from 1 January
Like just about everyone else who saw it, we loved the early series of Downton. Its steep decline into cliché and bizarrely unresolved plotlines was, though, initially a disappointment. However, we’ve come to the realisation that no matter the idiosyncrasies of plotting and character, we will still always watch anything Downton, including the 2022 movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era, which sees a film crew come to the estate, and the Dowager Duchess inherit a villa in the South of France from an early paramour. It may be daft, but it’s certainly comfoting. Watch it.
The Lying Of Adults
Netflix, available from 4 January
This adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s book of the same name follows the coming of age of an adolescent girl in a divided Naples. As the book blurb goes, ‘She is searching for a new face in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths, which professes to be a place of excess and vulgarity. She moves between these two cities, disoriented by the fact that, whether high or low, the city seems to offer no answer and no escape.’ The screen adaptation promises to be pitch-perfect. Watch it.
Operation Mincemeat
Sky Cinema, available from 6 Jan
The John Madden-directed Operation Mincemeat (2021) is based on Ben McIntyre’s book and stars Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald and Johnny Flynn. Set in 1943, it tells the story of how British intelligence officers hatch a plan to pull the wool over the enemy’s eyes and thus save some 100,000 lives on a proposed mission in Sicily. The solution? A dead man washing up on shore with a cache of secret papers destined for Hitler’s hands. Watch it.
Colosseum
Sky History, date TBC
Follow the history of the Roman empire as told through the prism of the Colosseum, that crucible of brutality and entertainment and everlasting symbol of ancient Rome. Expect live action sequences and knock-out special effects. Watch it.
Happy Valley
BBC1, 1 January
The multi BAFTA-winning Sally Wainwright brings Happy Valley back to our screens this month. Starring the excellent Sarah Lancashire and James Norton, they say, ‘When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, it sparks a chain of events that leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce [James Norton]. Her grandson, Ryan [Rhys Connah], is now sixteen and has ideas of his own about the kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father, leaving Catherine’s sister Clare [Siobhan Finneran] caught in the middle. In another part of the valley, a local pharmacist gets in over his head when a neighbour is arrested.’ The third and final series is set to have us glued to our sofas once more. Watch it.
Pamela, A Love Story
Netflix, 31 January
From her breakout role in Baywatch to her turbulent romances to *that* sex tape which changed the course of her career, everyone thinks they know Pamela Anderson’s story. In this documentary film, though, she tells it in her own words, under the direction of Ryan White, delving back into the past to offer a glimpse of the lesser known details of her early life. Watch it.
Stonehouse
ITV, available from 2 January
Matthew Mcfadyen stars as Labour MP John Stonehouse who, in 1974, stages his own death after forging two secret relationships: with Czech spymaster Alexander Marek (Igor Grabuzov), and with his secretary Sheila Buckley (Emer Heatley). If you liked A Very English Scandal, you will love this. Watch it.
By Nancy Alsop
January 2023
