The ‘Star Trek’ movie headlines this week’s entry

On By Littum

The new year tipped just a few weeks ago, and familiar faces and franchises are appearing on the various streaming services. There are a number of options this coming week to help deal with the arctic air that has been treating Northeast Ohioans like we’re polar bears reveling in the frigid temperatures.

There are four notable selections spanning multiple genres that may be of particular interest:

‘Star Trek: Section 31’

Streaming: January 23 on Paramount+

Michelle Yeoh returns to the ‘Star Trek’ franchise after nearly five years away with other roles and winning Academy Awards. In this made-for-streaming film with a reported budget of $80 million — $12 million of which was her salary. This is a curiosity more than a slam dunk. Look for a review later this week, but this movie tries to make some room for what “Star Trek” might be moving away from the ethos established by Gene Roddenberry in the original series. The “Trek” property to take such a bold turn: “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

‘The Night Agent’

Streams January 23rd on Netflix

Back in season two, lower ranking FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) enters “The night agent.” Instead of saving the president in this series of episodes, he is tasked with finding a CIA mole. While he fell to his last crisis, his work was so admirable that he has moved up the career ladder. “The Night Agent” was a happy accident for Netflix in its inaugural season in 2023. It remained at the top of the service’s most popular series list when people discovered it. It was pure – albeit improbable – entertainment.

‘Watson’

Premiering Sunday on CBS and streaming 24 hours after each episode on Paramount+

“Watson” offers a different take on Sherlock Holmes’ trusted assistant, much as the 2012-2019 series “Elementary” did by changing the gender of the character. This time Dr. is presented. John Watson as an African-American man and he is portrayed by Morris Chestnut, a veteran of TV and movies – especially “The Best Man” movies. Yes, I want to check out this show, mainly because Chestnut has proven that he is a charismatic actor who not only has presence, but also power. His career has been bumpy – deserving of far more opportunities than he’s likely received. Here’s hoping “Watson” finds its audience.

Primary target

Streaming: Apple TV+

In its debut, this Apple TV+ the series presents an exciting premise. A brilliant mathematician (portrayed by Leo Woodhall from “The White Lotus”) is close to showing the pattern within prime numbers (don’t ask me what that means, there’s a reason I write for a living). If he unlocks that key, he will have control over every computer in the world. What do you think happens to a person with that kind of knowledge? Correct. He becomes the focus of powerful entities like the NSA.

George M. Thomas covers film and television for the Beacon Journal.