Amongst the new series and films premiering in the new year in the US and beyond are the 35 titles that make up our curated list for January 2023.
Below is our curated list of 35 programs from countries in Africa, Asia, North America, and South America that are premiering in the US and other territories in January 2023. Additional programs are listed on our “viewing guide” page.
(For details about the premieres of programs from the UK, Ireland, English-speaking Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and subtitled original-language programs from countries in Europe, visit The British TV Place, The Down Under TV Place, and The Euro TV Place.)
Programs and dates for the programs below are subject to change without prior notice.
Videos below may contain content that is not suitable for everyone.
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Amr’s in Trouble (Egypt)
In this romantic comedy film, Amr’s antics get out of hand at school, prompting the principal to reach out to his legal guardian, only to find out that things are even more chaotic at home. Amr’s in Trouble premieres in the US and other territories on Sunday, January 1, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Kaleidoscope (US)
Loosely inspired by the real-life story where seventy billion dollars in bonds went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy, this action-crime drama is an anthology series that follows a crew of masterful thieves and their attempt to crack a seemingly unbreakable vault, one guarded by the world’s most powerful corporate security team, and with law enforcement on the case, for the biggest payday in history: $7,000,000,000. The eight episodes span 25 years, from 24 years before the heist to 6 months after, with each episode revealing a piece of an elaborate puzzle of corruption, greed, vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals.
Viewers can watch each of the eight episodes in any order, with the order in which they watch affecting their viewpoint on the story, the characters, and the questions and answers at the heart of the heist.
The cast of the eight-episode series includes Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle), Paz Vega (The OA), Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Rosaline Elbay (Ramy), Jai Courtney (Stateless), and Peter Mark Kendall (Chicago Med), along with Niousha Noor (The Accidental Wolf) and Jordan Mendoza (Comedy Central – As Seen ON CC).
Kaleidoscope, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Sunday, January 1, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now,)
Lady Voyeur (Olhar Indiscreto) (Brazil)
This mystery-crime thriller centers on Miranda (Débora Nascimento, The Good Side of Life!), a hacker who, with binoculars, cameras and hacked computers, gets off on spying on her neighbor, Cléo (Emanuelle Araújo, Orphans of a Nation), a high-class prostitute in the opposite building. One day Cléo asks Miranda to take care of her dog while she goes on a trip — a day that forever changes Miranda’s destiny: She meets the man of her dreams… and murders another man in self-defense. What Miranda doesn’t realize or even suspect is that everything is part of a bigger plan.
Lady Voyeur, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Sunday, January 1, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Mousa (Egypt)
In this sci-fi action drama, engineering student Yehia (Kareem Mahmoud Abdel Aziz) invents the first-of-its-kind robot in the Middle East in an attempt to avenge his father’s death and achieve justice. But things go sideways and the authorities pursue Yehia and his robot.
Mousa premieres in the US and other territories on Sunday, January 1, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Old Enough!: Season 2 (Japan)
This reality series follows toddlers, aged two to four, as they are sent to run errands — from delivering items, to going grocery shopping — all by themselves (while being filmed and chaperoned by off-camera crew to ensure their safety.) Old Enough!: Season 2 premieres in the US and other territories on Sunday, January 1, on Netflix.
Stealing Raden Saleh (Indonesia)
This drama follows a group who plans to steal The Arrest of Prince Diponegoro, a priceless historical painting by Raden Saleh, the first modern artist from Indonesia, from the Presidential Palace.
Stealing Raden Saleh premieres in the US and other territories on Sunday, January 1, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Side Dish (South Africa)
This crime drama follows four friends, all married women, who take a boozy weekend trip that spirals out of control. After one woman invites her Ben 10 lover (a younger man with an older woman) over, he shows up and ends up sleeping with one of her friends. An argument erupts and the guy is killed by accident. Now faced with the dilemma of whether to report the death or not, the ladies decide to bury him, as they see it as their only way to keep themselves out of prison and save their marriages.
Side Dish premieres in the US and other territories on Monday, January 2, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
The Kings of the World (Los reyes del mundo) (Colombia)
In this drama, five homeless friends from the streets of Medellín set out on a perilous journey through rural Colombia to recover a piece of land that was bequeathed to one of them.
Starring Carlos Andrés Castañeda, Davison Florez, Brahian Estiven Acevedo, Cristian Campaña and Cristian David Duque, The Kings of the World, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Wednesday, January 4, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now,)
#ABTalks: Season 3 (United Arab Emirates)
Presented by entrepreneur, interviewer, and speaker Anas Bukhash, this interview program showcases the “raw” side of celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and influencers as human beings. #ABTalks: Season 3 premieres in the US and other territories on Thursday, January 5, on Netflix.
Leligar (Egypt)
Khaled El-Sawi (The Blue Elephant) stars in this drama as Mukhtar, who experiences bizarre incidents in his rented apartment every day, including seeing the figure of a girl who looks like the cousin of his neighbor. Lel-Igar premieres in the US and other territories on Thursday, January 5, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now,)
Mars One (Marte Um) (Brazil)
This drama follows the Martins, a lower-middle-class Black family of optimistic dreamers, who feel the strain of their new reality after the newly-elected far-right extremist president is inaugurated. While matriarch Tércia (Rejane Faria) wonders if she’s cursed after an unexpected encounter, her husband, Wellington (Carlos Francisco), puts all of his hopes into the soccer career of their son, Deivinho (Cícero Lucas), although Deivinho wants to study astrophysics and colonize Mars. Meanwhile, his sister, Eunice (Camilla Damião), falls in love with a free-spirited young woman.
Mars One premieres in the US and other territories on Thursday, January 5, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now,)
LOL: Last One Laughing Quebec (LOL: Qui rira le dernier?) (Canada)
Hosted by Patrick Huard (Bon Cop Bad Cop), this French Canadian version of Amazon’s hit unscripted comedy competition series sees ten Québécois comedians try to make everyone but themselves laugh during six hours together. The last one to laugh (or not laugh, as it were) wins the contest and CD$100,000 for the charity of their choice.
LOL: Last One Laughing Quebec premieres globally on Friday, January 6, exclusively on Prime Video. (You can add it to your watchlist now.)
Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld (India)
This feature-length true-crime documentary takes viewers back to 1990s Mumbai, where a crime boss and his network wielded unchecked power over the city — until the rise of “encounter cops,” who brazenly killed their targets. Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld, a Netflix Documentary, premieres globally on Friday, January 6, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now,)
The Pale Blue Eye (US)
Based on the best-selling historical mystery novel of the same name by Edgar® Awards and Dagger Awards nominee Louis Bayard, and starring Oscar® winner Christian Bale (The Fighter, American Hustle, Vice), this drama follows Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), a retired, world-weary detective who’s hired to investigate a gruesome murder in 1830 New York.
In the early hours of a gray winter morning, a cadet is found dead at West Point, seemingly the victim of suicide. It isn’t until his corpse arrives at the morgue that the tragedy is discovered to have been a murder, one made worse by an act of utter savagery: the young man’s “heart was carved from his chest.” Fearing a scandal would cause irreparable damage to the fledgling military academy, its leaders turn to local detective Augustus Landor to solve the crime discreetly.
But the cadets’ code of silence proves a hindrance instead of a help, so Landor enlists the assistance of one of their own to help unravel the case: an eccentric cadet with a disdain for the rigors of the military and a penchant for poetry — a young man named Edgar Allan Poe (played by Harry Melling of the “Harry Potter” films).
The cast includes Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia), Toby Jones (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Harry Lawtey (Magpie Murders), Simon McBurney (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), and Robert Duvall (The Godfather).
The Pale Blue Eye, a Netflix Film, has its global streaming premiere on Friday, January 6, 2023, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches (US)
Based on Anne Rice’s best-selling Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy of novels, this supernatural-horror series centers on Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario, The White Lotus), an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As Rowan grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.
The eight-episode series costars Jack Huston (Fargo) as Lasher, Tongayi Chirisa (Another Life) as Ciprien Grieve, and Harry Hamlin (L.A. Law) as Cortland Mayfair.
The world premiere event for Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches happens Sunday, January 8, at 9 PM ET/PT on AMC, AMC+, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV, and WEtv. The series’ premiere episode will also stream on Shudder, Sundance Now, Acorn TV, and ALLBLK starting Thursday, January 12.
Gina Yei (Puerto Rico)
Didi Romero (Mixtape (The Movie)) stars in this musical comedy-drama as Gina, a cheerful and creative girl who dreams of writing songs. Thanks to her lyric-writing skills, she gets the chance of a lifetime when she wins a scholarship to the prestigious Caribbean Music Institute on the island of Puerto Rico, the best place in the world to study Latin music and the birthplace of reggaeton.
Gina Yei, a Disney+ Original, premieres in the US and Canada in its entirety on Wednesday, January 11, exclusively on Disney+.
Noise (Ruido) (Mexico)
This drama stars Julieta Egurrola (Deep Crimson) as Julia, a mother searching for her daughter, Ger, who has been missing for two years. Julia’s search leads her to a support group, where she shares her story and bonds with other women whose lives similarly have been destroyed by violence — a tiny microcosm in Mexico that represents people worldwide whose lives have been upended by brutality against women.
Costarring Teresa Ruiz (Narcos: Mexico) and Erick Israel Consuelo (ZeroZeroZero), amongst others, Noise, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Wednesday, January 11, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (Japan)
Based on the best-selling and award-winning manga Maiko in Kyoto: From the Maiko House by Aiko Koyama, this drama series, set in the geisha district of Kyoto, follows the daily life of Kiyo (Nana Mori, Blue, Painful, Fragile), a makanai (person who cooks meals) at a house where maiko (apprentice geishas) live together. After graduating from school, 16-year-old Kiyo leaves her home in Aomori and goes to Kyoto with her friend, Sumire (Natsuki Deguchi, Girl Gun Lady), and dreams of becoming a maiko herself. But she is told that she is not suited to being one, so the heartbroken Kiyo is about to return home when her cooking skills are discovered and she is hired as a makanai. Meanwhile, Sumire, believed to be a once-a-century talent, quickly grows into a beautiful maiko and becomes famous along the streets of the traditional Gion town.
The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Thursday, January 12, 2023, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Scattered Barriers (United Arab Emirates)
This drama miniseries sees a taxi driver and his family face upheaval, unemployment, and devastating personal tragedies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scattered Barriers premieres in the US and other territories on Thursday, January 12, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Trial by Fire (India)
Based on true events, this historical drama follows two grief-stricken parents who, after the deadly Uphaar cinema fire, navigate the loss of their children and a dogged fight for justice. Trial by Fire, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Friday, January 13, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
MIU404 (Japan)
This crime drama series follows an untrusting, analytical detective and his partner, an inexperienced, impulsive detective, as they attempt to solve cases within 24 hours for the Mobile Investigative Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. MIU404 premieres in the US and other territories on Monday, January 16, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Quartet (Japan)
In this drama, after meeting by chance, four musicians — Maki (Takako Matsu), Suzume (Hikari Mitsushima), Iemori (Issey Takahashi), and Beppu (Ryûhei Matsuda) — decide to form a quartet and spend the winter sharing a villa in Karuizawa… but a secret hangs over them.
Quartet premieres in the US and other territories on Monday, January 16, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
AlKhallat+ (Saudi Arabia)
This feature, the first Netflix film from Saudi Arabia, consists of four stories that explore trickery and deception — from tire thieves crashing a wedding, to a man’s frantic attempt to bury a secret for a deceased friend.
AlKhallat+, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Thursday, January 19, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Awaken (South Korea)
In this sci-fi mystery-crime drama series, police investigators delve into dark secrets that link a series of present-day murders with mysterious events that took place in a town more than 25 years ago.
Awaken premieres in the US and other territories on Friday, January 20, on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Fauda: Season 4 (Israel)
In the new season opener of Israel’s hugely-popular and longest-running action series, Doron (Lior Raz) deals with his guilt over his teammate’s death and his anger for being thrown out of the counter-terrorism unit.
Fauda: Season 4, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Friday, January 20, exclusively on Netflix.
Jung_E (South Korea)
Set in a post-apocalyptic near-future on an an uninhabitable 22nd-century Earth, this sci-fi drama follows a researcher at an AI lab who leads the effort to end a civil war by creating a robot mercenary through cloning the brain of an elite, heroic soldier: her mother.
Jung_E, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Friday, January 20, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Mission Majnu (India)
Inspired by true events, this spy drama set in the 1970s follows an undercover Indian spy, who takes on a deadly mission to expose a covert nuclear weapons program in the heart of Pakistan.
Mission Majnu, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Friday, January 20, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Shanty Town (Nigeria)
This drama sees a group of courtesans attempt to escape the grasp of a notorious kingpin, but political corruption and blood ties make their freedom a near-impossible goal. Shanty Town, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Friday, January 20, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Accused (US)
Adapted from the BBC’s BAFTA- and International Emmy® Award-winning British series Accused, this crime-of-the-week anthology series tells the stories of ordinary people (from their point of view) who get caught up in extraordinary situations, revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.
Amongst the cast are Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Michael Chiklis (The Shield), Jack Davenport (“Pirates of the Caribbean” films), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (His Dark Materials), Rhea Perlman (Cheers), Wendell Pierce (Suits), and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Resident).
Accused premieres in the US on Sunday, January 22, on Fox.
Physical: 100 (South Korea)
In this fierce survival-of-the-fittest competition, 100 contestants in top physical shape compete to claim the cash prize and the honor of being the most fit as the last one standing.
Physical: 100, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Tuesday, January 24, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Against the Ropes (Contra las cuerdas) (Mexico)
This comedy-drama series sees Ángela, after being released from prison for a crime she didn’t commit, decide to do something drastic to regain the love and respect of Rocío, her young daughter. Rocío is a fan of lucha libre wrestling, so Ángela sets about to enter the ring herself as a mysterious new persona.
Starring Caraly Sánchez (An Unknown Enemy) and Scarlet Gruber (Quererlo todo), amongst others, Against the Ropes, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Wednesday, January 25, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
Mila in the Multiverse (Mila no Multiverso) (Brazil)
Laura Luz (Vencer la ausencia) stars in this family series as Mila, who receives a special gift for her 16th birthday: the ability to travel back and forth between different parallel universes. She uses it to travel through the multiverse to look for her mother, Elis (Malu Mader, Burning Hearts), which makes Mila a target of The Operators, a mysterious and dangerous group that wants to exterminate all universes. Mila in the Multiverse, a Disney+ Original, premieres globally on Wednesday, January 25, exclusively on Disney+.
Poker Face (US)
Created and directed by Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Poker Face is a mystery-of-the-week series that follows Charlie (Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll, Orange Is the New Black), who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. As Charlie hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda, she encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve with every stop she makes.
Featuring in the ten-episode series are Benjamin Bratt (Star), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and S. Epatha Merkerson (Chicago Med), amongst others.
Poker Face, a Peacock Original, premieres in the US with Episodes 1-4 on Thursday, January 26, exclusively on Peacock. New episodes will drop weekly.
Kings of Jo’burg: Season 2 (South Africa)
The new season of this crime thriller will be without the talent of the late Shona Ferguson, who played Simon “Vader” Masire alongside Zolisa Xaluva as Mogomotsi “Mo” Masire in Season 1, which followed the Masire brothers, the titular kings of Jo’burg, as they ruled Johannesburg’s criminal underworld, while a supernatural family curse and a tangled web of betrayal threatened to destroy them. Now, with the loss of Simon, the family must adapt to a new king as well as new enemies.
Kings of Jo’burg: Season 2, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Friday, January 27, exclusively on Netflix.
Grassroots (South Africa)
This multilingual series (in Xhosa, Zulu, and English) is a coming-of-age drama that follows two teens from the rural Eastern Cape, who relocate to a boarding school in Johannesburg to follow their dreams of being rugby stars. Filled with Xhosa traditions, it also explores the ageless themes of manhood and takes a contemporary approach to traditional customs and expectations.
Monwabisi and Asanda are young Xhosa men from Butterworth, where their families had a close business relationship and friendship until the death of Monwabisi’s father — a tragedy that ended up tearing the families apart. Rugby fanatic Asanda has disappointed the community leader by turning his back on the initiation ceremony in order to play a match for his school team. By contrast, Monwabisi has completed the initiation ceremony; however, he feels conflicted without his father by his side to guide him, and as a result he struggles to become the man he must be.
At an elite Johannesburg boarding school steeped in tradition and decorum (at least on the surface), Asanda and Monwabisi feel a need to prove themselves on and off the rugby field. As their rivalry reveals past family transgressions and leaves the young men to forge their own paths, they face questions of forgiveness, family duty to assume chieftaincy, and their own interpretation of how to “become a man.”
Grassroots premieres in the US and Canada on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, exclusively on MHz Choice and its digital channels, including MHz Choice on Amazon. (The series is part of MHz Choice’s January 2023 slate of international series. Read about the Euro TV portion in this article.)
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For details about the premieres of programs from the UK, Ireland, English-speaking Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and original-language programs from countries in Europe, please visit The British TV Place, The Down Under TV Place, and The Euro TV Place.
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