Weekend watchlist: 10 TV shows and movies from Hollywood and Bollywood to check out

‘A Korean Odyssey’ (Netflix): Jin Seon-mi is an odd-ball — she can see ghosts and monsters, and what’s worse, she is their target. This means she has few friends. A chance encounter with two ‘demons’, where she inadvertently ends up freeing one, only adds to her curse of drawing monsters to her. Years later however, the demon she let loose will return to her side and help her battle the forces of evil and he will fall in love with her. It’s not that the premise of this drama is new, but the dynamics of the players on the board will keep you engaged. Be warned though, this 20-episode narrative will probably turn into a binge watch.

‘Wednesday’ (Netflix): The Addams family’s elder child is thrown out of normie school… because she let loose a bunch of piranhas into the pool when the boys who’d been tormenting her brother were in it. Now, expelled, the brooding girl is sent to Nevermore — her mother and father’s alma mater. Here, in a school for outcasts — vampires, warewolves and even gorgons — she will dedicate her time to stopping a serial killer, and while doing so, discover that she can make friends too. (Be warned, this ain’t no retelling of the kooky Addams family story; it’s a whole new narrative.)

‘The Peripheral’ (Amazon Prime Video): At a time when the world is dipping it’s toes into the pool of possibilities tech and AI bring, this ‘Black Mirror’-style web series offers a scary look the implications of unchecked experimentation. A woman, great on VR platforms, is pulled into an alternate reality (set years into her future) where technology infiltrates every cell of existence. Sadly, on her first trip, she manages to see/get something she shouldn’t have - and the people in charge are on the war path to get the information back. The worst part? They are managing to influence her reality. What will the player do?

‘The Dragon Prince Mystery of Aaravos’ (Netflix): In this season of the Dragon Prince, Aaravos’s past is coming to light, and it’s not quite as nice as everyone would like it to be. Claudia is preparing to open the chrysalis and humans and elves are getting closer to war.

‘Kumari’ (Netflix): When Kumari marries the second son of a village landlord in a distant land, little does she know she’s about to step into a cursed village that may well take everything from her, including her unborn child. Human greed, pride, sacrifice are all recurring themes in this horror movie, that will also leave you thinking about the impact parenting style can have on an adult.

‘Bones and All’ (UAE cinemas): Here’s a coming-of-age tale that has two young people with a very strange predicament — they’re both cannibals. Taylor Russell plays Maren, a young woman who is abandoned and has to learn how to survive. She meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), an intense drifter, and they go on a road trip together.

‘Bhediya’ (UAE cinemas): Bollywood meets werewolf lore in this blockbuster starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon. Dhawan plays Bhaskar, a man who is bitten by a wolf and starts to transform into the mythical creature.

‘She Said’ (UAE cinemas): This biographical drama is based on the 2019 book by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who break one of the biggest stories of our time. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play the fierce women behind the newspaper investigation that exposed movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual abuse and misconduct.

‘The Swimmers’ (Netflix): Sally El Hosaini’s movie tells the inspiring true story of Syrian refugee sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who flee Damascus and swim to Greece as asylum seekers. Their tenacity and talent eventually lead them to competing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

‘Itaewon Class’ (Netflix): Based on the webtoon of the same name, ‘Itaewon Class’ is a popular Korean drama that revolves around Park Sae-ro-yi (played by Park Seo-joon), who leaves prison and starts his own restaurant with his friends. He aims to not only grow his business, but also take down the owner of a restaurant franchise giant and his son — both of whom are connected to Sae-ro-yi’s father’s death.