Another year of Netflix originals has passed you by, and your television calendar is now free. Perhaps you’re still gathering the guts to give Squid Game the free pass. Or maybe you’re still hurting from Sex Education Season Three’s end.
After another year of social isolation from your social life, you may have scraped the bottom of the barrel on your Netflix series & movies watch list in both 2020 and 2021. Due to the rollercoaster that these years have been, you may have already fallen to comfort programs like Schitt’s Creek, Emily in Paris, and a myriad of others.
But, it’s time for a change!
The year 2022 appears to be a watershed moment for Netflix. No, not because of the amount of content on offer; rather, because of the huge personalities set to return. Unquestionably, the largest original Netflix series & movies as well as some of the most intriguing-looking flicks on the big red streaming machine will make it difficult to leave the sofa in the new year.
On Netflix, there’s never a shortage of content. The streaming site is continually releasing new original Netflix series & movies, as well as documentaries, in addition to its catalog of licensed shows and movies. We’ve compiled a list of nearly every Netflix exclusive coming shortly, including new and returning films, to help you keep track of what’s coming to the service.
- Archive 81 (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – Archive 81 could be the right viewing for you if you’re a terrifying podcast junkie or a cult story super enthusiast. When an archivist is tasked with recovering a collection of broken tapes, he quickly discovers that the tapes contain recordings of a satanic sect. He’ll have to struggle against getting drawn in himself as he strives to learn the truth. Watch Now
- Love is Blind (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – Nick and Vanessa Lachey are quickly establishing themselves as the go-to house guests for wacky Netflix dating series. In The Ultimatum, the two play relationship mediators as two couples—one who issued the stern warning and the other who isn’t ready to commit to each other for the rest of their lives—go through an intense six-week experiment that forces them to decide whether they want to marry or break up toward the end of it. Watch Now.
- Inventing Anna (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – With Inventing Anna, Shonda Rhimes, a showrunner with a Midas touch, is about to make a major mark on Netflix. The series aims to explain Anna Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey, and her chaotic lifestyle. Sorokin/Delvey defrauded New York’s exclusive party scene for four years to pay her bills. She said she had the funds. However, not just now. Sorokin is played by Julia Garner (Ozark), while the journalist playing her is played by Anna Chlumsky (Halt and Catch Fire). Watch Now.
- Vikings: Valhalla (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – Vikings: Valhalla, a History Channel spin-off, is likely to be a cliffhanger, whether you’re a fan of history or just remember Leif Erickson from that Spongebob episode. The series showcases some of the most renowned Norsemen as they raid across Europe, chronicling their legacies as well as new advancements in society, such as the roots of Norse Paganism. Watch Now.
- Bridgerton (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – Bridgerton is back for a second season. And, thankfully, we won’t have to rely on Lady Whistledown’s gossip to find out what the following episodes will feature. “Quinn’s novels offer an intelligent template for where Netflix’s Bridgerton will likely travel next,” showrunner Chris Van Dusen recently told Esquire. The following season, according to this ledger, will center on Anthony Bridgerton, the eldest son who has grown more concerned with duty than with love. Watch Now.
- Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – The newest film by Richard Linklater is a sentimental coming-of-age narrative about the 1969 moon landing, shot in rotoscope and narrated from the perspectives of an astronaut and a youngster who witnessed the event from his home in Houston. The voice cast includes Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Jack Black, and others. Watch Now.
- The Bubble (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – This film, directed by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up), follows a group of actors trapped in a COVID safety bubble as they attempt to finish a dinosaur franchise picture while the country is under lockdown. Watch Now.
- The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – Should you get married or call it quits?
In a provocative reality series, couples put their love to the test while competing with other possible pairings. Watch Now.
- Return to Space (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – This documentary is worth seeing if you’re interested in space flight (but not yet fatigued by Elon Musk and Space X). It’s from the same people who brought you Free Solo and The Rescue, and it follows NASA and Space X as they prepare for a mission to return astronauts to the International Space Station. Watch Now.
- Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – A five-part examination into the unexplained murder of Senzo Meyiwa, a South African soccer player who had been missing for years. Watch Now.
- My Liberation Notes (Now Streaming)
NARRATIVE – When a stranger enters their little hamlet, three siblings who are bored of the routine of their daily lives have their worlds flipped upside down. Watch Now.
- He’s Expecting (Releasing April 21)
NARRATIVE – A Japanese anime about an ad executive who becomes pregnant in a world where cisgender males can.
- Russian Doll Season 2 (Releasing April 22)
NARRATIVE – It’s been three years since we accompanied Natasha Lyonne through a crazy Manhattan time loop, and now it’s time to get psyched about doing it again. The long-awaited return of this dark comedy is still lacking in information, although it appears to be set a few years after the events of Season 1, and Nadia may have discovered a time travel portal somewhere in NYC. But we do know that Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek, Kevin Can F**k Himself) will be joining the cast, so we’re in for a treat.
- Ozark Season 4, Part 2 (Releasing April 29)
NARRATIVE – This spring, we’ll finally discover how Marty and Wendy Byrde manage to get out of their money-laundering scheme (or not). The criminal thriller began the new year with the first half of its last season in January, and the remaining seven episodes will (hopefully) air in April. They’ll have to deal with not just Navarro, but also a furious, bereaved Ruth Langmore.
- Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (Releasing May 23)
NARRATIVE – The war between Public Security Section 9 and a “post-human” danger starts in the second season of Netflix’s Ghost in the Shell sequel, which takes up where Season 1 left off.
- Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 (Releasing May 27)
NARRATIVE – Stranger Things returns with its fourth season after a three-year layoff. Though nothing is known about the upcoming episode of eps, the teaser shows Eleven settling into a new house in California and penning Mike a letter expressing her excitement for their reunion during spring break. The flashes of gunshots, explosions, and weird dolls suggest that the break will be anything but relaxing. Watch Now.
- Hustle (Releasing June 10)
NARRATIVE – Following up on his semi-basketball film Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler is releasing a full-fledged basketball film. He portrays a scout in Hustle who uncovers an outstanding athlete while traveling overseas and seeks to get him to the United States and in front of the NBA.
- The Umbrella Academy Season 3 (Releasing June 22)
NARRATIVE – The Sparrows have arrived at The Umbrella Academy, upending the Hargreeves family’s status quo once more. The superpowered Hargreeves brothers must grudgingly join forces once again to preserve their home from malevolent invaders, one of whom looks to be their long-dead brother, following Season 2’s time travel spectacular.
- Knives Out 2
NARRATIVE – If you thought Rian Johnson’s 2019 mystery Knives Out had a strong cast, wait till you see who he enlisted for round two. Little is known about the narrative, however Benoit Blanc, portrayed by Daniel Craig, will be involved in another case, and characters played by Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Ethan Hawke, Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, and Leslie Odom Jr. will be suspects.
- Lost Ollie
NARRATIVE – This animated Netflix project should be on your radar if you enjoy Toy Story. Shannon Tindle, the creator of Kubo and the Two Strings, Ultraman writer, and Coraline designer, and Peter Ramsey, one of the directors of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will co-pilot the series, which is based on William Joyce’s 2016 book Ollie’s Odyssey and follows a cute plushy toy on the hunt for its boy.
- Luckiest Girl Alive
NARRATIVE – Mila Kunis appears in this thriller, based on Jessica Knoll’s novel of the same name, as a woman who is forced to confront a past she hoped to forget when a documentary team requests her opinion on an incident that occurred at her renowned high school. Jennifer Beals, Finn Wittrock, and other actors also appear in the film.
- Me Time
NARRATIVE – In this comedy, Mark Wahlberg plays a father who has his first weekend away from his wife and children in years and has a crazy time when he reconnects with an old buddy. The cast also includes Regina Hall and Kevin Hart.
- Never Have I Ever Season 3
NARRATIVE – Devi, I’m so sorry! Now that Mindy Kaling’s adorable adolescent comedy Never Have I Ever is returning for Season 3, Bevi and Daxton shippers will have a lot more drama to get worked up over. (Don’t worry, though; this isn’t the series’ final chapter.) Kaling also announced that the show will return for a fourth and final season.)
- The Sandman
NARRATIVE – Neil Gaiman’s dark and renowned superhero fantasy comic will finally be adopted by Netflix this year. The dream is a powerful creature held hostage by a group of occultists for 105 years until he is ultimately liberated and goes out to reclaim his realm of dreaming, starring Tom Sturridge. In addition to Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, David Thewlis, and Jenna Coleman, the film stars Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, David Thewlis, and Jenna Coleman.
- Wednesday
NARRATIVE – Prepare yourselves for a weird, quirky, mysterious, and frightening new spinoff: The Addams Family’s cult beloved character Wednesday Addams will star in her coming-of-age series.
