Weekend watchlist: 10 TV shows and movies to check out

‘Criminal Minds’ (Disney+): Join a group of elite and intelligent profilers, who are part of the US Federal Bureau of Investigations, as they hunt down the country’s most prolific serial killers. Besides the interesting cases, it’s the group’s dynamics that hold the most charm here. If you like series like ‘Bones’, ‘The Blacklist’ and even ‘NCIS’, this drama is sure to pique.

‘Incantation’ (Netflix): In this Taiwanese horror movie, Ronan was cursed for breaking a taboo. Now, six years on, if she doesn’t find a way to undo the curse she’s suffering from, it’s her daughter who will pay the price.

‘The Broken News’ (Zee 5): Two competing channels; journalists with egos and viral news bits collide. When they stumble upon a conspiracy that implicates a major conglomerate and government ministers, will the journalists be able to put their grudges aside and come together for the good of the country?

‘Encanto’ (Disney+): In a family full of people with exceptional skills is born Mirabel, the only girl without one. But she may hold the key to all the magic of the land — and peace for her family, which has over the years being living under the weight of others’ expectations. With great power you see, comes a lot of responsibility — sometimes, too much.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (UAE cinemas): In case you’ve not seen this yet: In this film, we finally get to know what happened between Thor, the deity of Thunder, and his human love, Jane Foster. When Thor races to defend the Asgardians on Earth while chasing Gorr the God Butcher, he meets Foster, who is now wielding his old weapon, Mjölnir, and it’s given her special powers. As Gorr kidnaps the children of Asgard, Foster and Thor must reunite and embark on a tough journey to save all the deities from being wiped out of existence. There is all the irreverent humour and fantastic fight scenes that the series has become famous for. All-in-all, a must-watch for fans like us.

‘Ghost Doctor’ (Netflix): This Korean drama has been topping the global charts and makes for a perfect weekend watch. It follows the story of a first-year thoracic surgery residency resident who is afraid of blood. He gets possessed by the ghost of an arrogant but genius cardiothoracic surgeon who has a golden touch, thus become a highly sought after physician overnight.

‘Dopesick’ (Disney+): Delve deep into the US’ opioid crises with this eye-opening mini-series that stars Hollywood veteran Michael Keaton. He plays a doctor who unknowingly doles out highly addictive pain killers to people in his mining community. The show uncovers the corruption and misinformation that went on behind the scenes, leading to the worst drug epidemic in American history.

‘Persuasion’ (Netflix): The much-anticipated film adaptation of Jane Austen’s last novel ‘Persuasion’, which was published in 1817 following the literary icon’s death, is finally out. In the retelling of the Regency-era story, Dakota Johnson plays Anne Elliot, who is faced with reuniting with her former fiance Captain Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis) eight years after her friends and family convinced her to break up with him. At age 27, and still single, she pines for her long lost love.

‘Shabaash Mithu’ (UAE cinemas): Head to theatres to see Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu hit it out of the park as she plays real-life cricket player Mithali Raj in this sports biopic. It’s film based on struggles and milestones of Raj, who is a former Test and ODI captain of the India women’s national cricket team.

‘HIT: The First Case’ (UAE cinemas): Ready for some weekend thrills? Rajkummar Rao takes the lead in the Hindi remake of the 2020 Telugu action-thriller of the same name. He plays Vikram, a police officer in the Homicide Intervention Team, who is assigned to investigate a case of a missing girl, all while he’s coping with past traumas. The stakes get higher when a girl named Preethi disappears and Vikram has to race to solve the case.