PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s almost the new year, and that means a ton of great content from our friends at AMC Networks! AMC Networks’ targeted streaming services are offering up an extensive catalog. We’re talking horror, dramas, fan-favorite franchises, films, and timely collections on AMC+, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, IFC Films Unlimited, Shudder, and Sundance Now.
Great stuff! Read on for the details!
On ACORN TV
Queens of Mystery, Season 2 (Acorn TV Original)
Three 2-Part Mysteries Premiere Mondays Beginning January 10 Through January 24
Queens of Mystery follows the adventures of three crime-writing sisters, Beth (Sarah Woodward, The Pale Horse), Cat (Julie Graham, The Bletchley Circle, Shetland, Penance), and Jane (Siobhan Redmond, Unforgotten) Stone, and their 28-year-old niece, Detective Sergeant Mattie Stone (Florence Hall for S2, The Princess Switch: Switched Again). Using their knowledge of crime – both real world and fictional – together they solve murders in the picturesque English region of Wildemarsh. But no matter how many cases they are able to crack, the unsolved mystery that haunts all the characters is that of Mattie’s mother’s disappearance 25 years ago.
Help (Acorn TV Exclusive)
Film Premieres Monday, January 31
In the Rose d’Or Award-winning film Help, young care worker, Sarah (Emmy® winner Jodie Comer, Killing Eve, Free Guy), forms an unlikely bond with nursing home resident, Tony (Stephen Graham, The North Water, Line of Duty), living with young onset dementia. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hits, her character and their relationship are put to the test under horrifying circumstances. Written by BAFTA winner Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes, His Dark Materials), Help also stars Ian Hart (The Terror, The Last Kingdom) and Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey, Three Girls).
The Larkins (Acorn TV Exclusive)
New Episodes Continue Mondays; Season Finale January 17
This exciting new adaptation of H.E. Bates’ classic novel The Darling Buds of May follows the warm-hearted, wheeler-dealing adventures of the iconic Larkin family in the idyllic Kent countryside. Set in the late 1950s, each episode contains a story of the week concerning their personal family sagas, and the politics of their village life alongside series arc stories. Starring Bradley Walsh (Law & Order UK), Joanna Scanlan (No Offence) and Sabrina Bartlett (Bridgerton). The first season ends with a Christmas special, where all the talk in the village is about the pantomime and an ongoing slate of burglaries.
*Full Acorn TV programming schedule for the month available HERE!
On ALLBLK
Equal Standard (ALLBLK World Premiere Movie)
Premieres Thursday, January 6
New York City police officers’ lives collide in interweaving stories of race, rank, loss, and betrayal (2020)
Cast: Ice-T, Jules Willcox, Marc John Jefferies, Tobias Truvillion, Robert Clohessy, Maurice Benard, Fredro Starr
https://youtu.be/dRIUlesKqeo
A House Divided Season 4 (ALLBLK Original)
Premieres Thursday, January 13
The Sanders family saga continues in full swing as Carissa struggles with learning to trust again, while fighting for her life. Cameron Sr. navigates an international extortion plot while trying to maintain his freedom, but to no avail. Jupiter, uses her wits and sex appeal to outsmart just about everyone, as Auntie Mae and Cam Jr. make power moves in order to exert their power. Truths are revealed, more lies are told, and the family unravels further in the fourth season of A House Divided.
Social Society Season 2 (ALLBLK Original)
Premieres Monday, January 24
A one-hour sketch comedy variety show bringing some of your favorite “instafamous” sketch comedians together for laughs, live performances, and the latest in today’s entertainment news.
*Full ALLBLK programming schedule for the month available HERE!
On AMC+
Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks
New Year’s Day Special Premieres Saturday, January 1
Jodie Whittaker stars in BBC America’s all-new special premiering New Year’s Day. Mandip Gil and John Bishop will also appear in the annual holiday tradition, as well as several notable guest stars including Aisling Bea (This Way Up), Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted). In the new special, Sarah (Bea) owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick (Salmon) is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned.
A Discovery of Witches Season 3
New Season Premieres Saturday, January 8
In the final season of A Discovery of Witches, Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) return from their trip to 1590 to find tragedy at Sept-Tours. They must find the missing pages from the Book of Life and the Book itself before it’s too late. Their enemies are gearing up against them, and a monster from Matthew’s past who has been lying in wait will return for revenge. A Discovery of Witches Season 3 is based on the ‘The Book of Life’ novel from Deborah Harkness’s bestselling All Souls trilogy and is the third and final installment.
La Fortuna (AMC+ Original)
New Series Premieres Thursday, January 20 with First Two Episodes
In La Fortuna, Álex Ventura (Álvaro Mel), a young and inexperienced diplomat, unintentionally becomes the leader of a mission that will put all his convictions to the test: to recover the sunken treasure stolen by Frank Wild (Stanley Tucci), an adventurer who travels the world plundering items of common heritage from the depths of the sea. Forming a unique team with Lucía (Ana Polvorosa), a combative public official, and Jonas Pierce (Clarke Peters), a brilliant American lawyer with a passion for old pirate tales, Álex sets out on the adventure of a lifetime, on which he learns about the importance of love, friendship and commitment to your own beliefs.
Firebite (AMC+ Original)
New Episodes Continue Thursdays; Season Finale February 3
A high-octane, highly original spin on the Vampire genre and fantasy series, Firebite follows two Indigenous Australian hunters, Tyson (Rob Collins) and Shanika (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), on their quest to battle the last colony of vampires in the middle of the South Australian desert. Set in a remote desert mining town, a hive for the last vampire stronghold shipped from Britain to Australia in 1788 by the colonial superpower to eradicate the Indigenous populations. Sheltering from the sun in the underground mines and tunnels that surround the town until the present day, the colony’s numbers and hunger is growing. War is coming. Tyson and Shanika stand vanguard to the war. But what hope does an expertly reckless man full of bravado and a 17-year-old orphan possibly have to defeat these vicious blood-thirsty parasites, when legions of warriors before them have failed?
*Full AMC+ programming schedule for the month available HERE!
On IFC FILMS UNLIMITED
Olympic Dreams
Film Premieres Wednesday, January 5
Set against the splendor of the Winter Olympic Games, an intimate and unexpected love story develops between two lonely hearts, each at their own crossroads in life. Penelope (Alexi Pappas) is a first time Olympian and introverted cross-country skier, who, after finishing her event early on in the games, finds herself spending time in Athletes Village with the gregarious and outgoing volunteer dentist, Ezra (Nick Kroll). The first movie on location during the Olympics in Athletes Village, Olympic Dreams offers audiences a never-before-seen side of the Games.
Resistance
Film Premieres Wednesday, January 5
Before he was the world-famous mime Marcel Marceau, he was Marcel Mangel, an aspiring Jewish actor who joined the French Resistance to save the lives of thousands of children orphaned at the hands of the Nazis. Based on the inspiring true story, Jesse Eisenberg stars in this compelling drama about a group of unsung heroes who put themselves in harm’s way to rise above the hatred and oppression during World War II.
Greener Grass
Film Premieres Wednesday, January 19
In a day-glo-colored, bizarro version of suburbia where adults where braces on their already-straight teeth, everyone drives golf carts, and children magically turn into golden retrievers, soccer moms and best friends Jill (Jocelyn DeBoer) and Lisa (Dawn Luebbe) are locked in a passive aggressive battle-of-the-wills that takes a turn into the sinister when Lisa begins systematically taking over every aspect of Jill’s life – starting with her newborn daughter. The hilariously demented, Stepford Wives-on-acid satire is destined to be an instant cult classic.
On SHUDDER
A Discovery of Witches Season 3
New Season Premieres Saturday, January 8
In the final season of A Discovery of Witches, Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) return from their trip to 1590 to find tragedy at Sept-Tours. They must find the missing pages from the Book of Life and the Book itself before it’s too late. Their enemies are gearing up against them, and a monster from Matthew’s past who has been lying in wait will return for revenge. A Discovery of Witches Season 3 is based on the ‘The Book of Life’ novel from Deborah Harkness’s bestselling All Souls trilogy and is the third and final instalment.
The Last Thing Mary Saw
New Film Premieres Thursday, January 20
The Last Thing Mary Saw begins in Southold, New York, 1843: Young Mary (Stefanie Scott, Insidious: Chapter 3), blood trickling from behind the blindfold tied around her eyes, is interrogated about the events surrounding her grandmother’s death. As the story jumps back in time, we witness Mary, raised in a repressively religious household, finding fleeting happiness in the arms of Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan), the home’s maid. Her family, who believe they are seeing, speaking, and acting on God’s behalf, view the girls’ relationship as an abomination, to be dealt with as severely as possible. The couple attempt to carry on in secret, but someone is always watching, or listening, and the wages of perceived sin threaten to become death, with the tension only heightened by the arrival of an enigmatic stranger (Rory Culkin, Waco, Halston) and the revelation of greater forces at work.
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
New Film Premieres Thursday, January 27
Beginning just before his debut as Frankenstein’s creation, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster compellingly explores the life and legacy of a cinema legend, presenting a perceptive history of the genre he personified. His films were long derided as hokum and attacked by censors. But his phenomenal popularity and pervasive influence endure, inspiring some of our greatest actors and directors into the 21st Century – among them Guillermo Del Toro, Ron Perlman, Roger Corman & John Landis all of whom and many more contribute their personal insights and anecdotes. Directed by Thomas Hamilton.
*Full Shudder programming schedule for the month available HERE!
On SUNDANCE NOW
The Pact (Sundance Now Exclusive)
Season Finale Premieres Thursday, January 6
Gripping six-part thriller, shot in beautiful Wales. When a young brewery boss (Aneurin Bernard, Dunkirk) is found dead, a chain of events is triggered that draws his four employees Anna (Laura Fraser, Better Call Saul), Nancy (Julie Hesmondhalgh, Broadchurch), Louie (Eiry Thomas, Keeping the Faith), and Cat (Heledd Gwynn, Ordinary Lies) into a fragile pact of silence, bound by a secret that will change their lives forever.
A Discovery of Witches
New Season Premieres Saturday, January 8
In the final season of A Discovery of Witches, Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) return from their trip to 1590 to find tragedy at Sept-Tours. They must find the missing pages from the Book of Life and the Book itself before it’s too late. Their enemies are gearing up against them, and a monster from Matthew’s past who has been lying in wait will return for revenge. A Discovery of Witches Season 3 is based on the ‘The Book of Life’ novel from Deborah Harkness’s bestselling All Souls trilogy and is the third and final instalment.
Total Control (Sundance Now Exclusive)
Season 2 Premieres Thursdays, Beginning January 20
In Season 1, fearless Indigenous senator Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman) engineered a remarkable coup, unseating the Prime Minister and the woman who betrayed her, Rachel Anderson (Rachel Griffiths). But now she faces the ultimate test in a democratic system: the nation is going to the polls and Alex will have to face the judgement of the people by running as an Independent. She’ll be ready for the inevitable dirty campaign tactics and to compete again the well-financed machinery of the major parties, but that won’t make things easier. Alex will be confronted by vile online trolls, threats to her family and political opponents riled by the audacity of a Black woman using her voice. Can she survive a system determined to shake everything she values?
Close To Me
Season Finale Premieres Thursday, January 20
Jo Harding (Connie Nielsen, Gladiator, Wonder Woman) is a woman who has a perfect life with her partner (Christopher Eccleston, Doctor Who) until a fall erases an entire year from her memory. As she struggles to piece events together, Jo discovers that her life was in fact far from perfect.
*Full Sundance Now programming schedule for the month available HERE!
Final Thoughts
Wow! Lots to see on the various AMC Networks in January. We are, of course, particularly interested in Shudder and its offerings. What about you? What are you looking forward to most from AMC in January? Tell us in the comments!
