The new year always brings with it fresh promise. Refreshed and recharged, many often dedicate the early days of January into productive activities, be it serious goal setting or adopting a new lifestyle habit. On the flip side of the coin, the first month of the year also brims with fresh promise on the entertainment front. And for those who are looking to switch up their watchlist and possibly even try something different, this month’s streaming line-up is definitely one worth keeping an eye on.
First up, some seasonal returns of highly-awaited shows across genres. Dystopian drama Severance Season 2 returns with a bang, after Season 1’s cliffhanger ending. All is not what it seems at Lumon Industries, where certain employees have ‘severed’ their consciousness and memories, to live as two different people in the same body. On a more lighthearted note, XO, Kitty, Netflix’s spin-off series to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, sees Kitty return for her second semester at her international school in Seoul. More romance, coming-of-age sentiment and teenage drama are surely par for the course, but fans of the original series can also watch out for Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), who will be making a guest appearance in Season 2.
All eyes will also be on the South Korean entertainment slate this month. We’re starting 2025 strong with epic sci-fi romance When The Stars Gossip, which sees Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin as its main leads. Beyond a whopping suite of other A-listers who have also joined its cast (or are set to guest star in the colossal production), it is notably also helmed by K-drama juggernauts writer Seo Sook-hyang and director Park Shin-woo, who were behind Jealousy Incarnate and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay respectively.
Fans who adore their bit of reality drama can also hold tight for the fourth season of Single’s Inferno, whilst those curious about what goes on in the Duchess of Sussex’s kitchen can look forward to her cooking show With Love, Meghan. But if it’s a quiet sense of intrigue you’re after? Allow Hirokazu Koreeda’s Japanese family drama Asura to switch up your usual tempo. Below, a Vogue shortlist of what to watch on Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+ this January.
1 / 7
Severance Season 2
Back to the perfect world of work-life balance, or so it seems. In the uncanny universe of Severance, a select group of employees at Lumon Industries—namely Mark S (Adam Scott), Helly R (Britt Lower) and Dylan G (Zach Cherry)—have undergone a severance procedure that has surgically divided their consciousness and memories between their work and personal lives. But after Season 1’s cliffhanger reveal that Mark’s therapist, Ms Casey, is actually also his Outie’s wife, the severed team at Lumon Industries is forced to confront an unsettling truth that all is not what it seems.
Severance Season 2 will be streaming on Apple TV+ from 17 January.
2 / 7
When The Stars Gossip
Confined in zero gravity, what’s a brilliant astronaut and a mysterious space tourist to do? Fall in love, of course. Lee Min-ho plays Gong Ryong, an established doctor who is the prospective son-in-law of one of South Korea’s largest chaebol conglomerates, MZ Group, who joins a space mission as a seeming space tourist. Yet his real motive on the space station remains unbeknownst to the crew—and he comes head to head with the commander, Eve Kim, played by Gong Hyo-jin. Beyond the starry duo, they’re also joined by Oh Jung-Se, who plays Kang Kang-soo, one of the fellow crew members, and ex-boyfriend of Gong-ryong’s current heiress girlfriend.
When The Stars Gossip is now on Netflix.
3 / 7
XO, Kitty Season 2
New year, same Kitty. The To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before spin-off returns for its second season and Kitty Song (Anna Cathcart) returns to Seoul for her second semester at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS). Whilst she’s mostly closed the love square chapter from Season 1, the newly-single Kitty is all up for some drama-free, casual dating—but in typical XO, Kitty fashion, that’s not really going to happen as new faces come to play. There’s also the curious relationship between Kitty and Minho (Sang Heon Lee), whom we know confessed to her in the final moments of the first season.
XO, Kitty: Season 2 is available on Netflix from 16 January.
4 / 7
Asura
A serialised remake of 2003 film Like Asura arrives in Asura. Directed by the acclaimed director Hirokazu Koreeda and helmed by a stellar female cast of Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, and Suzu Hirose, the Japanese family drama seeks to honour the essence of its original whilst conveying a slice of family life that resonates across cultures. Set in the 1970s, four sisters—Tsunako, Makiko, Takiko and Sakiko—are forever changed by the discovery that their aging father has another lover, and a child with her. As the girls promise to keep the secret from their mother, other secrets begin to unravel.
Asura will be available on Netflix from 9 January onwards.
5 / 7
Single's Inferno Season 4
We’re heading into 2025 with a sizzling new season of Single’s Inferno. It’s back to Inferno for an all-new set of hot, ready-to-mingle singles—and they’re more fired up than ever to find love. The main goal? To meet their match and escape to paradise together, where they can deepen their connection in the ultimate lap of luxury, away from the prying eyes of fellow competitors. But there’s no telling when a twist will come their way, as rule changes and new singles get mixed into the crowd at all times.
Single’s Inferno Season 4 will be on Netflix from 14 January onwards.
6 / 7
Unmasked
South Korea’s got a knack for utilising its drama-thrillers to spin narratives on the nation’s politics and justice system. Disney+’s Unmasked bites into a slice of that pie, this time around with a focus on Trigger, a team of investigative journalists—led by the wilful Oh So-ryong, played by veteran actor Kim Hye-soo. After running a controversial story, the team find themselves scrambling to salvage their careers through solving an impossible task: the twenty-year-old cold case of a missing actor who disappeared without a trace all those years ago.
Unmasked will be on Disney+ from 15 January onwards.
7 / 7
With Love, Meghan
Some royal fun is about to be whipped up in the kitchen. Enter Meghan Markle’s upcoming lifestyle show. Whilst billed as a cooking show, the recently released trailer of With Love, Meghan shows her sharing her love for the culinary world extends to her knowledge out in the garden as well. Set to unfold over eight episodes, the Duchess of Sussex will be sharing a slice of her life through the food she loves—and she’ll be joined by the likes of actor-director Mindy Kaling and chef Roy Choi.
With Love, Meghan will be streaming on Netflix from 15 January onwards.
