New seasons of ‘Lingo’ and ‘Your Honor,’ plus the innovative ‘Kaleidoscope’: Here’s what streaming on Netflix, Crave and more this week

With so many streaming platforms and cable offerings to navigate through, choosing what to watch has never been harder. To make things easier, here are our best tune-in tips for the week ahead.

WEDNESDAY

Lingo

Fresh off the heels of the season premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the affable host is back to launch a new series this week. “Lingo” was a big hit in the U.K. and is now ready to make its debut in North America. The high-stakes competition series pits teams of two in fast-paced rounds of guessing letters to eventually reveal seemingly simple words. In what could be described as a twist on Wordle, CTV and CBS are both hoping this interesting concept coupled with the award-winning RuPaul as its figurehead will spell out success.

Wednesday Jan. 11, 9 p.m. EST, CTV & CTV.ca

FRIDAY

Break Point

This new doc follows a group of tennis players in their respective attempts to make it into a final while also looking at the inspirations behind their personal drives to become No. 1. Everyone reading this should tune in, if only to support Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who is one of the six featured athletes. The Montreal player, currently ranked sixth in the world, stars in the series alongside the controversial Nick Kyrgios, Paula Badosa and Frances Tiafoe among others. The show was filmed over the course of a year that was primarily spent following the players across the globe as they competed in all four Grand Slams along with other ATP and WTA tours.

Netflix

Super League: The War For Football

This four-part series is about last year’s failed attempt to set up a new European super soccer league. The doc includes access to league presidents, club owners, and the people who came up with theasinineidea to launch the new federation. The European Super League was intended to include Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus among others, which would have eliminated their participation in long-established tournaments like the Champions and Europa Leagues. Many believe money was the sole motivator as astronomical bidding wars were expected for the broadcasting rights.

Apple TV Plus

Your Honor

Showtime’s “Your Honor” returns for its second season this Friday. For those new to the series, Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) plays a respected New Orleans judge whose life is turned upside down after his teenage son is involved in the accidental hit-and-run killing of the son of a notorious crime boss.

Crave

The Territory

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is behind this new documentary that provides an in-depth look at the Indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people of the Brazilian Amazon and their fight against the deforestation efforts by farmers and illegal settlers. The film provides unprecedented access to those illegally burning the protected land.

Disney Plus

Servant

The fourth and final season of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Servant” premieres this Friday. The series about a Philadelphia couple who decide to use radical transitory object therapy to move past the death of their newborn son ended with a jaw-dropping Season 3 finale. While you would definitely need to binge the first three seasons before watching this one, the effort is worth it given Shyamalan’s penchant for stunning conclusions.

Apple TV Plus

SUNDAY

Doug and the Slugs and Me

In her new documentary, filmmaker Teresa Alfeld explores the story of Doug Bennett, the leader of legendary Canadian party Band Doug and the Slugs, who (as it turns out) is also the father of her childhood best friend. In the early ’90s, Alfeld spent a lot of time with her friend, Shea Bennett. After the pair grew apart in high school, Alfeld understandably lost touch with the family leaving her shocked by the news of Doug Bennett’s death in 2004. To gain a better understanding of her friend’s father, the filmmaker decides to interview a who’s who of Canadian music in an effort to learn more about the band. Musicians featured in the documentary include Ron Sexmith, Steven Page, and Bif Naked.

Sunday Jan. 15, 8 p.m. EST, CBC

The Last Of Us

Based on the videogame of the same name, HBO presents this TV adaptation of “The Last Of Us.” The series takes place 20 years after the end of modern civilization where Joel (Pedro Pascal) is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenage girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. The two must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other to survive.

Sunday Jan. 15, 9 p.m. EST, Crave

DON’T MISS

Kaleidoscope

The top pick of the week is this heist drama on Netflix that was actually released on New Year’s Day and something many of us might have missed. “Kaleidoscope” stars Giancarlo Esposito (or as literally everyone in the world remembers him, Gus Fring on “Breaking Bad”) which should be enough to sell you on the show in and of itself. But wait… it gets better. Esposito plays Leo Pap, a master thief who, along with his crew, is attempting a massive robbery. Thing is, there is a twist. Similar to how Netflix broke new ground with the “Bandersnatch” episode of “Black Mirror,” where audiences could choose where they wanted the story to go, the streaming service is innovating once again. “Kaleidoscope” is designed so that the episodes can be watched in any order! Each episode is named after a colour, a technique developed so the episodes can be “mixed and matched” to form new patterns. This lets the series be enjoyed in any random order you select. The one catch is that whatever order you choose will affect your view of the ensuing story. If you save the “White” episode for last (the only recommendation), according to Vulture, there are 5,040 possible combinations of the seven episodes leading up to it. Incredible. A must-see.

Netflix

Murtz Jaffer is a Toronto-based Entertainment writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @murtzjaffer

SHARE: