Every month, we’ll tell you about new comedies and dramas 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 January 2019 TV shows
It seems that the channels are hitting the ground running in January, with HBO releasing new seasons of four television series — True Detective, Crashing, High Maintenance, and Strike Back. Suria also introduces a new slate of dramas for viewers, and Netflix keeps up its December streak with a diverse array of enticing offerings, like Godzilla: The Planet Eater and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. For Korean drama lovers, Touch Your Heart debuts towards the end of January on Viu with a promising premise. There’s no better time to sign up for streaming or cable packages, with all the shows that are coming up!
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (1 Jan)
Netflix
Tidy guru Marie Kondo comes to the rescue by helping people tackle the clutter that’s holding them back. It all comes down to one question: does it spark joy?
In our consumer-driven world, there’s that occasional hollowness that comes with owning too many things. While Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is neither a drama or a comedy, it seems to strike the right chord by telling stories of ordinary people trying to accept change in their life. For once, we have a reality programme that seems genuinely interested in helping people rather than exploiting their suffering for more eyeballs, and here’s hoping that Marie Kondo can work her magic on them. Plus, it debuts on New Year’s Day — is there a more apt date for cleaning up?
Godzilla the Planet Eater (movie) (9 Jan)
Netflix
Humanity, their alien allies, and Godzilla all enter their endgame as the powerful destructive entity known as Ghidorah arrives on Earth.
In the final installment of the Godzilla anime film trilogy, we finally see fan favourite Ghidorah (or King Ghidorah, if you’re a purist) arriving to battle Godzilla. While it’s not entirely necessary, catching Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters and Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle will help to give new viewers more context to the conflict. Plus, there’s more kaiju action to be seen if you watch the entire trilogy!
Setia Menunggumu (5 Jan, Saturdays 9.30pm)
Suria
Husin, a drug addict, accidentally finds a newborn baby while taking a break at a mosque. Instead of caring for the baby, he decides to sell it illegally so that the money he receives can fund his drug activities. But his intention comes to a halt when Mak Jah, his neighbor, wants to care for the baby.
The main story of Setia Menunggumu actually starts after the above mentioned baby, Akhdiat (Saharul Ridzwan) grows to adulthood. It’s an interesting premise that’s rife with potential for character development, beyond the usual family soap operatics and “safe” topic that other series will cover. What will become of the child — and will we find out where he came from?
High Maintenance (Season 3) (21 Jan, Mondays 11.30pm)
HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601)
Based on the web series from Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, High Maintenance stars Sinclair as “The Guy,” a bike-riding, weed-delivery salesman with an eclectic variety of Brooklyn clients.
After starting out as a popular web series, High Maintenance made the leap to television, while still retaining its trademark brand of offbeat humour. Regardless of whether you relate to the situations that the characters find themselves in (hopefully not, for legal reasons), it’s still an interesting and humorous character study that shows us just how universal the human experience is.
A Sister’s Secret (23 Jan, Wednesday 10pm)
Lifetime (Singtel TV Ch 302, StarHub TV Ch 514)
Based on true events, twin sisters secretly swap places on their thirtieth birthday, a harmless pastime turns into a nightmare when one of them is murdered. The clock is ticking as the only living sister still acting as her twin begins to uncover a sinister plot for “her” murder, while the killer realizes he took the wrong woman’s life.
A Sister’s Secret starts out with a premise reminiscent of The Parent Trap, before taking a much, much darker twist on the story. Given that twins are usually used as a comedic plot element, it’s fascinating to see a different take on the timeless tale of twins switching places.
Touch Your Heart (31 Jan)
Viu
Oh Yoon-Seo is a popular actress. She is famous for her beautiful appearance, but her acting is bad. She gets involved in a scandal with the son from a chaebol family. Her acting career declines precipitously. Oh Yoon-Seo hears that a famous screenwriter wants her to play the lead female role for a drama series. The character works as a secretary for a lawyer. To gain experience for the role, Oh Yoon-Seo is required to work as a lawyer’s secretary for a few months. Meanwhile, Kwon Jung-Rok is an attorney for a law firm. He is arrogant and cold-hearted. One day, his boss asks Kwon Jung-Rok to let actress Oh Yoon-Seo work as his secretary for 6 months. He is not happy about the situation, but he has to accept.
Yes, it may be a convoluted premise that sees two individuals from vastly different backgrounds being forced to interact for six months, but there’s so much potential for comedy in this situation! After all, one can relate to good-looking but talentless actors and actresses repeated nabbing great roles, all thanks to plastic surgery (an oddly apt observation considering the genre that Touch Your Heart is in), plus everyone has that workaholic friend who needs to loosen up. By tapping into these everyday character archetypes, Touch Your Heart will, hopefully, touch your heart with genuine characters.
Terrestrial
Suria
Ti Amo, Sweetheart 100 Hari! (3 Jan, Thursdays 9.30pm)
Setia Menunggumu (5 Jan, Saturdays 9.30pm)
Hilang Kasih Di Sarajevo (9 Jan, Wednesday 9.30pm)
Cable
Lifetime (Singtel TV Ch 302, StarHub TV Ch 514)
House of Darkness: New Blood (9 Jan, Wednesday 10pm)
A Father’s Nightmare (16 Jan, Wednesday 10pm)
A Sister’s Secret (23 Jan, Wednesday 10pm)
Sea Change (30 Jan, Wednesday 10pm)
HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601)
True Detective (Season 3) (14 Jan, Mondays 10am and 10pm)
Crashing (Season 3) (21 Jan, Mondays 11am and 11pm)
High Maintenance (Season 3) (21 Jan, Mondays 11.30pm)
Strike Back (Season 6) (26 Jan, Saturdays 11am and 10pm)
Streaming
Viu
What’s Wrong, Poonsang? (10 Jan)
My Lawyer, Mr Joe 2: Crime and Punishment (8 Jan)
Touch Your Heart (31 Jan)
Netflix
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (1 Jan)
Godzilla the Planet Eater (movie) (9 Jan)
Sex Education (11 Jan)
Titans (11 Jan)
The Last Laugh (movie) (11 Jan0
Io (movie) (18 Jan)
Close (movie) (18 Jan)
Soni (movie) (18 Jan)
Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2) (18 Jan)
Polar (movie) (25 Jan)
Kingdom (25 Jan)
Black Earth Rising (25 Jan)
Club De Cuervos (Season 4) (25 Jan)
This article was written for and first published on Yahoo Singapore.
Follow Marcus Goh (yes, referring to myself in third person) on Facebook and Instagram for more (presumably) good updates!
I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, 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.
Send me an email if you want to get in touch!
Leave a Reply