21 new shows to catch in December starring Song Hye-kyo, Daniel Craig, Cha Eun-woo and K-pop stars

21 new shows to catch in December starring Song Hye-kyo, Daniel Craig, Cha Eun-woo and K-pop stars
The Fabulous (left) airs on Dec 23 and Work Later, Drink Now 2 airs on Dec 10.
PHOTO: Netflix, tvN

The holiday season is fast approaching, but what if you’re not in the mood for a feel-good Christmas movie?

Fret not, because December has a lot more in store for us. From psychological thrillers and historical dramas, to a reality show about K-pop stars playing golf, here is an exhaustive list of 21 movies and series you can watch this upcoming month.

Gossip Girl season two

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How long has it been since we heard Kirsten Bell’s voice saying the phrase: “Xoxo, Gossip Girl”?

The remake takes place almost a decade after the events of the original TV series and anonymous blogger Gossip Girl (still voiced by Kristen) continues to reveal and often manipulate the lives of a new generation of elite private school students in Manhattan.

It features the ensemble cast of Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak, Savannah Lee Smith and Grace Duah.

Michelle Trachtenberg is set to reprise her role of Georgina Sparks from the original series.

Season two of Gossip Girl returns to our screens on Dec 1 on HBO Go.

Recipe for Farewell

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Recipe for Farewell is a heartwarming story of a man in his 40s learning to cook for his terminally-ill wife.

The K-drama follows Chang-wook (Han Suk-kyu), a translator and humanities teacher taking care of his wife Da-jung (Kim Seo-hyung), who has bowel cancer. She has difficulties eating and asks for her husband to cook for her, even though he can only make instant ramen. 

It is based on the life of author Kang Chang-rae, who published a kitchen diary of his cooking endeavours.

Recipe for Farewell airs Fridays at 10.30pm on the tvN Asia TV channel, premiering with two back-to-back episodes on Dec 2.

Coffin Mountain Tomb

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Fans of Chinese mythical shows, rejoice.

Adventure mystery Coffin Mountain Tomb is a new movie starring Yuen Biao as Zhang Sanye, a man who is trying to protect the tomb of the deity Magu from the warlord Luo Manzi (Wang Zhengfu), who wants to plunder it and take the rumoured treasures inside.

Coffin Mountain Tomb also stars Wu Hao and Wang Yunhan.

It streams on iQiyi starting Dec 4.

Million Dollar Family

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Million Dollar Family is a Hong Kong drama following Tang (Anson Lo), an orphan working multiple jobs to make ends meet in the expensive city.

He runs into a famous businesswoman who invites him into her home — but there's a catch. She has assembled multiple 'contestants' who must follow her rules for six months to win a grand prize of HK$1 million (S$174,000).

Everyone tries to get along at first, with their eyes on the prize, but problems start to emerge.

Million Dollar Family streams from Dec 5 on Viu.

Connect

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Based on a webcomic with the same name, Connect is a new psychological thriller K-drama.

Jung Hae-in stars as Ha Dong-soo, an immortal humanoid who has his organs harvested. He discovers that his eye was transplanted onto a serial killer, Oh Jin-seob (Go Kyung-Pyo). Being able to see what Jin-seob sees through the transplanted eye, Dong-soo sets out to catch the killer.

Connect airs on Disney+ starting Dec 7.

Get Rich

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Get Rich is a Thai drama following Rose (Minnie Phantira Pipityakorn), a poor but gifted student who is granted full scholarship to an elite private school filled with wealthy students.

Rose meets Lily, the queen bee of the school due to her father's financial backing and status, and finds herself at the bottom of the food chain.

Get Rich also stars Tonhon Tantivejkul, Non Sadanon Durongkaveroj and Ray Venita Loywattanakul.

The Viu original streams on the platform from Dec 7.

Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area Part 2

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Following the worldwide success of the Spanish TV series Money Heist, a Korean version was announced earlier this year, with the first six episodes released in the summer.

Part two releases this December, and sees the ambitious criminals codenamed the Professor (Yoo Ji-tae), Berlin (Park Hae-soo), Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo), Rio (Lee Hyun-woo), Moscow (Lee Won-jong), Denver (Kim Ji-hoon), Nairobi (Jang Yoon-ju), Helsinki (Kim Ji-hun) and Oslo (Lee Kyu-ho) carry out their heist in the mint of the unified Korea.

You can watch Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area part 2 on Netflix starting Dec 9.

The Forbidden Marriage

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The Forbidden Marriage takes us back to the Joseon dynasty of Korea, as all the best historical K-dramas do.

Up-and-coming actor Kim Young-dae plays King Lee Heon who is still grieving seven years after his wife’s death. Because he refuses to marry, the country has banned all single women from getting married until their king does, and people are furious about it.

Ye So-rang (Park Ju-hyun) is a swindler who claims to be a matchmaker able to “interpret marriage harmony signs” and is jailed by officer Lee Shin-won (Kim Woo-seok). In a bid to make her escape, she claims that she can sense the spirit of the king’s deceased wife still living in the palace.

The Forbidden Marriage streams on Prime Video from Dec 9.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

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Award-winning Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is putting his own spin on the children’s classic Pinocchio and the movie is set to release on Dec 9.

Narrated by Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor), a literal cricket who lives inside Pinocchio as his guide and conscience, the animated movie also features Gregory Mann as the titular Pinocchio, David Bradley as Pinocchio’s father and creator Master Geppetto, Christoph Waltz as main antagonist Count Volpe, and Tilda Swinton as the wood sprite who gives Pinocchio life.

The star-studded cast also includes Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett and Burn Gorman.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio streams Dec 9 on Netflix.

Work Later, Drink Now 2

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Adapted from a webcomic, K-drama Work Later, Drink Now shares the story of three women who come together to have one drink at the end of a work day, and season two is set to air on Dec 10.

It follows workaholic broadcast journalist Ahn So-hee (Lee Sun-bin), yoga instructor Han Ji-yeon (Han Sun-hwa) and Kang Ji-goo (Jeong Eun-ji), a YouTuber who does origami.

Super Junior’s Choi Si-won plays Kang Book-go, an entertainment producer-director working in the same department as So-hee.

Work Later, Drink Now 2 streams on Viu and it also airs Saturdays at 9.15pm on the tvN Asia TV channel, premiering with two back-to-back episodes on Dec 10.

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow

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Titled Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow, the second season of the popular K-drama is set to start airing on Netflix on Dec 10.

It takes place three years after the events of the first, and sorcerer Jang-wook (Lee Jae-wook) is resurrected after his apparent death at the end of season one.

In the first season, Nak-su (Go Youn-jung) possesses the body of Mu-deok (Jung So-min) and her own body is destroyed in flames. However, with So-min not returning for the second season, Youn-jung serves as the new female lead, reprising her role of Nak-su. 

It remains to be seen how Nak-su gets her body back, but fan responses are mixed.

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow airs on Netflix Dec 10.

ALSO READ: Alchemy of Souls’ Lee Jae-wook ‘lacked the strength to reprise Jang-wook’ and what we know about season 2 so far

Red Balloon

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Red Balloon follows four individuals who are unhappy with their lives and relationships, who choose to seek comfort in people and get involved in dangerous relationships.

Jo Eun-gang (Seo Ji-hye) is a private tutor who wants to be a school teacher, but has failed to pass her teaching examination. Ji Nam-cheol (Lee Sung-jae) is a man married into a rich family, managing his father-in-law's business with no say of his own. 

Han Ba-da (Hong Soo-hyun) is a jewellery designer and married woman who faces difficulties with her mother-in-law. Go Cha-won (Lee Sang-woo) is a dermatologist married to Ba-da, who doesn't like his job and doesn't know how to help his wife against his own mother.

Red Balloon streams on Viu from Dec 17.

Birdie Boys

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The only reality show on our list, Birdie Boys follows a group of K-pop stars as they go on a golfing vacation.

Catch Super Junior’s Leeteuk and Shindong, 2pm’s Nichkhun, CNBlue’s drummer Kang Min-hyuk, and former Nu’est member Baekho as they travel through South Korea, Guam, Laos and Thailand.

Birdie Boys airs Tuesdays at 10.30pm on the tvN Asia TV channel starting Dec 20.

Big Bet

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Veteran South Korean actor Choi Min-sik returns to TV screens for the first time in 26 years to play Cha Mu-sik, a casino mogul in the Philippines who gets caught up in a murder case.

Joining him are Son Suk-ku as Oh Seung-hoon, a policeman who gets dispatched to the Philippines to chase after Min-suk, and Lee Dong-hwi who plays Jeong-pal, Min-suk’s handler.

Heo Sung-tae (Squid Game, The Handmaiden) has also been announced as a cast member.

Big Bet airs Dec 21 on Disney+.

Missing: The Other Side 2

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The anticipated second season of Missing: The Other Side is releasing on Dec 20.

Taking place in a mysterious village that holds the souls of missing deceased people, Go Soo reprises his role as Kim Wook, a conman who uses his talents for good. Joining him are Jang Pan-seok (Heo Jun-ho) and Lee Jong-a (Ahn So-hee) who help him uncover the disappearances in the villages.

Joining them this season are Kang Eun-sil (Lee Jung-run), a sea captain with a mysterious past, and Oh Il-yong, played by up-and-coming actor Kim Dong-hwi, a man struggling to find out the truth behind his death.

You can stream Missing: The Other Side 2 on Viu from Dec 20.

Alice in Borderland season two

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Alice In Borderland is an immensely popular manga-turned-live-action thriller that first aired back in 2020. And after two years, the wait for season two is over as it returns on Dec 22.

The TV series follows the titular Ryōhei Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), a lazy gamer who gets transported to the Borderland, an apocalyptic world where he and his friends are forced to play games to survive.

He meets Yuzuha Usagi, a young woman who has lost her father, and romance blossoms between them in the dire situation.

In a recent interview with regional media that AsiaOne attended, lead actress Tao Tsuchiya gave some insight into how her character Usagi has grown from season one.

The 27-year-old said: “Usagi was in solitude in the past but then her [emotional] wounds start to open up and she shows her vulnerabilities, anxieties and doubts.”

She added: “By meeting Arisu, Usagi’s emotions become richer.”

Alice in Borderland 2 streams on Netflix starting Dec 22.

ALSO READ: ‘We looked like we were about to die’: Tao Tsuchiya recalls favourite moment in Alice in Borderland 2

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

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Following the 2019 mystery film Knives Out, director Rian Johnson returns with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery this December.

It starts off with tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) inviting his friends (played by Leslie Odom Jr, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista and Kathryn Hahn) to his private island in Greece, named the Glass Onion, for a murder mystery party. 

Of course, the party results in actual deaths and sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) — who has shown up at the party uninvited — has to get to the bottom of it. 

Rian is also starting work on the third instalment of the Knives Out series and wants to release it “as quickly as possible”.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery streams on Netflix starting Dec 23.

The Fabulous

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The Fabulous tells about the glamorous, romantic and often stressful lives of people in Seoul’s fashion industry.

Ji Woo-min (Shinee’s Choi Min-ho) is a freelance photographer who finds himself disenchanted with his job and love life. Pyo Ji-eun (Chae Soo-bin) is the section chief of a marketing agency promoting luxury brands. 

Once lovers, the two reconnect as friends at a fashion show of their mutual friends, designer Joseph (Lee Sang-woon) and supermodel Ye Seon-ho (Park Hee-jung).

The Fabulous airs Dec 23 on Netflix.

Gannibal

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Based on the manga of the same name, Japanese suspense drama Gannibal follows a police officer named Daigo Agawa (Yuya Yagiri) who is assigned to the mysterious village of Okamura.

Though the villagers treat him cordially at first, things take a turn for the worse when he starts investigating the death of an old woman. He starts to suspect the villagers may be eating people.

Gannibal airs on Disney+ starting Dec 27.

Island

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K-drama Island features a motley crew fighting evil spirits on Jeju Island.

Ban (Kim Nam-gil) has been raised fighting evil and kills possessed people, feigning a lack of remorse. Joining him are Won Mi-ho (Lee Da-hae), a school teacher who finds herself embroiled in the hauntings and John (Astro's Cha Eun-woo), a Catholic priest who exorcises evil spirits. 

Trying to foil their plans is Goong-tan (Sung Joon), who was raised alongside Ban but has turned to the dark side.

You can stream Island on Prime Video starting Dec 30.

The Glory

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The Glory shares the story of a woman who dedicates her life to absolute revenge against the childhood bullies who devastated her life.

Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) had to drop out of high school due to relentless bullying and give up on her dream of being an architect. She waits for the ringleader of her tormenters to have a child, and becomes the elementary school homeroom teacher for the child.

The Glory also stars Lee Do-hyun (Hotel del Luna, 18 Again).

It streams on Netflix Dec 30.

ALSO READ: Yoo Jae-seok, Lee Kwang-soo, BTS, NCT 127: Upcoming Korean shows announced at Disney Content Showcase 2022

drimac@asiaone.com

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