Every month, we’ll tell you about new TV shows to hit terrestrial and cable channels, as well as streaming sites in Singapore. We’ll also highlight the television shows that you’ve got to be home (or on your phone) to catch every month.
Overview of new December TV shows
December is another quiet month, but since it’s Christmas, you can be sure of Christmas movies or Christmas-themed movies galore. Lifetime has four Christmas movies airing every week leading up to Christmas — Christmas in Mississipi, Four Christmases and a Wedding, Snowed Inn Christmas, and My Christmas Prince, while Netflix streams a Neo Yokio Christmas special, Pink Christmas this December. Crossroads: One Two Jaga does Southeast Asia proud with a Netflix release in December too, rounding out the Christmas fare with a decidedly non-Christmas film.
Memories of Alhambra (1 Dec)
Netflix
While looking for the cryptic creator of an innovative augmented-reality game, an investment firm executive meets a woman who runs a hostel in Spain.
Memories of Alhambra looks like it has better production values and a more stylised directorial style than the usual K-dramas, which befits its status as a show streamed on Netflix. Although it seems like we can expect the usual Korean melodrama from this series, there’s also the AR aspect which, hopefully, will be an important part of the series.
Crossroads: One Two Jaga (movie) (1 Dec)
Netflix
In the outskirts and back-alleys of Kuala Lumpur, several individuals with money problems struggle to get their lives straight. An Indonesian worker whose sister is in trouble, a Filipino fixer with his hands in the till and a corrupt cop with a neurotic new partner find their paths unexpectedly intersecting – with fatal results.
Netflix’s pivot towards more Asian content means the acquisition of films like Crossroads: One Two Jaga, a film set right next door in Malaysia! The movie saw a Malaysian release earlier this September, although it didn’t do as well as expected. While the crime drama’s premise seems like regular fare for such thrillers, it’s the setting that should truly excite you. Expect to see familiar landmarks and well-travelled roads as the film unfolds, which will make its story cut deeper since it strikes much, much closer to home than the typical Hollywood crime dramas.
Less Than Evil (4 Dec)
Viu
Woo Tae-Seok is a lonely veteran detective. He focuses solely on solving cases. He teeters on a line between good and evil. Woo Tae-Seok crosses paths with a female psychopath, but he is unable to arrest her due to a lack of evidence. The woman eventually helps Woo Tae-Seok solve other cases. Less Than Evil is a remake of the UK television series “Luther” that aired on BBC One from 2010.
Good vs evil is a common theme in crime shows — but how about good co-operating with evil? The female psychopath is probably not going to be as psychopathic as she first seems at first, and you can bet that the pair are going to fall in love by the end of the series. Hopefully this will be an adaptation of just the first season of Luther, so that there can be more twists and turns for future seasons of Less Than Evil.
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas (7 Dec)
Netflix
It’s Christmas in Neo Yokio, the greatest city in the world. Number 2 bachelor Kaz juggles Secret Santa, demons and the true meaning of the season.
If you haven’t caught the Neo Yokio series, it’s an anime of American origins (rather than an imported Japanese anime with an English dub). The offbeat series stars Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) as the voice talent for main character Kaz, who has to navigate the alternate reality fantasy city of Neo Yokio (in our timeline, it’s called New York). The series also stars the voice talents of Jude Law (Charles) and Susan Sarandon (Agatha), and it’s popular enough that it’s spawned a bona fide, original Christmas special: Pink Christmas!
Overprotected Kahoko 2018 Love & Dream (26 Dec, Wednesday 9pm)
GEM (StarHub TV Ch 814 and Singtel TV Ch 519)
It has been a year since the sheltered Kahoko Nemoto married aspiring artist Hajime Magino. Life was supposed to have been fulfilling, but Kahoko is struggling to keep the balance between household duties and managing her daycare center – Kahoko House. The newly-wedded couple is going through a rough time in their relationship with Hajime still working part-time and has not gained success as an artist. Adding to her troubles is her parent’ impending divorce! With her daycare center on the verge of collapsing and relationships around her falling apart, how will Kahoko cope?
Last year’s Overprotected Kahoko introduced us to Kahoko Nemoto (Mitsuki Takahata), a klutzy but well-meaning girl who eventually finds the man of her dreams, Hajime Magino (Ryoma Takeuchi) — who’s the exact opposite of her. While formulaic, there’s no denying that appealing to traditional masculine and feminine stereotypes works well for drama series. One year later, this one-off TV special sees how their lives have progressed after marriage. From the trailer, it looks like nothing much has changed, but we’re sure they’ll learn about the power of love and dreams (as the title puts it) as they overcome these new obstacles.
Terrestrial
Suria
Rintihan Hati (11 Dec, Tuesdays 9.30pm)
Cable
Lifetime (Singtel TV Ch 302 StarHub TV Ch 514)
Christmas in Mississippi (4 Dec, Tuesday 10pm)
Four Christmases and a Wedding (11 Dec, Tuesday 10pm)
Snowed Inn Christmas (18 Dec, Tuesday 10pm)
My Christmas Prince (25 Dec, Tuesday 10pm)
ONE (StarHub TV Ch 823 and Singtel TV Ch 513)
Gangnam Scandal (16 Dec, Sundays 7.30pm)
GEM (StarHub TV Ch 814 and Singtel TV Ch 519)
Overprotected Kahoko 2018 Love & Dream (26 Dec, Wednesday 9pm)
Streaming
Netflix
Memories of the Alhambra (1 Dec)
Crossroads: One Two Jaga (movie) (1 Dec)
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas (7 Dec)
5 Star Christmas (movie) (7 Dec)
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (movie) (7 Dec)
Fuller House (Season 4) (14 Dec)
Roma (movie) (14 Dec)
Bird Box (movie) (21 Dec)
You (movie) (26 Dec)
Viu
Less Than Evil (4 Dec)
Dance Sports Girl (4 Dec)
This article was first written for and published on Yahoo Singapore.
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I’m a television scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Code of Law, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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