Netflix and myCANAL: three series recommendations to get 2023 off to a good start – CNET France


2022 is almost coming to an end, and if you fancy catching up on some under-the-radar shows, or just don’t feel like diving into the Netflix series catalog in apnea, the editorial staff of CNET France has what you need. To make the transition between the two years, we recommend an ambitious thriller, an endearing fantasy series and a very offbeat mockumentary: Giri/Haji, Half Bad – Mal & Son and Documentary Now! Follow the guide.

What series to watch this weekend on Netflix and myCANAL?

An ambitious international thriller on Netflix: Giri/Haji

Summary: A lawman travels to London to find his mob killer brother as a yakuza war threatens Tokyo. Who to trust?

The opinion of CNET France: Two murders in quick succession, one in London, the other in Tokyo. The threat of a war between clans of yakuza is present, especially since the weapon used belongs to a criminal who was supposed to have been killed years ago. Incidentally, it is the brother of a local inspector, Kenzo Mori (Takehiro Hira, imperial), who is discreetly dispatched to London to shed light on the case. And reconnect with his brother. Giri/Haji, created by screenwriter Joe Barton, is undeniably ambitious: shot between London and Tokyo, in both Japanese and English, with an international cast. Far from the clichés of mafia thrillers, it offers a fascinating study of characters where the characters are torn between their attachment to their role and their professional duty, and a shame that they must bear intimately, whether for a family they do not serve enough or loved ones they cannot save. The dichotomy is summed up in the title of the series, translated as “Duty/Shame”.

Showing London’s underworld through the eyes of a determined but lost expat, Giri/Haji weaves a very singular web of fascinating relationships and characters and with many shades of gray. It is also an opportunity to find Kelly Macdonald, known for Trainspotting and Boardwalk Empire, in a role of solitary and discreet trainer who will find herself collaborating with Kenzo Mori in his investigation. A universe just waiting to be immersed body and soul in it, during its eight episodes.

  • Discover the troubled universe of Giri/Haji through its trailer:

An intense fantasy series on Netflix: Half Bad, Mal & Son

Summary: Caught in a pincer movement in a clan war, the son of a notorious sorcerer responsible for a massacre tries to make a place for himself in the sun, and to master his powers.

The opinion of CNET France: This series shares the same creator with the previous recommendation: Joe Barton. A very different universe, more epic and just as ambitious, with the backdrop of a war between wizards that threatens to degenerate with the threat of the most powerful of them, Marcus, who claimed a dozen victims by transforming into a wolf , and recovering their powers in the most bloodthirsty way possible. In the center, the illegitimate son of Marcus, Nathan (Jay Lycurgo), who grows up with his grandmother and his half-sister who hates him, Jessica: we are afraid that with his 17th birthday, his evil powers inherited from his father turn it into a threat. Only, Nathan does not seem to have any inclination to do evil, but he is constantly hated and harassed by a high school entourage more than aware of the abominable misdeeds of his father.

Rather than a riot of special effects to transcribe spells, the series treats witchcraft as an ultimate evil, often off-screen, and often used to humiliate or kill. A very dark environment that gives free rein to the dynamics between characters, very conflicting; despite a mischievous teenage personality, Nathan is very often bullied and serves as an illustration of what the series is about: is the evil inherited and irremediable, or can a human being be worthy of tracing his own path and do good? The voltage of Half Bad, Mal & Son is based on this human time bomb that is Nathan, but also offers a lucid look at the wizards supposed to protect him, by subjecting him to military discipline and tough love. A fascinating series, unfortunately recently canceled at the end of a season, but which deserves a New Year’s catch-up.

  • The war between wizards rages on in the trailer for Evil & Son :

A hilarious mockumentary on myCANAL: Documentary Now!

Summary: documentary UFO, Documentary Now! pays homage to documentaries that have marked history by deliciously parodying them. Presented by Helen Mirren, each episode, shot in a reportage style, looks back on “great events” that never took place.

The opinion of CNET France: You don’t need to be an expert in documentary films to appreciate Documentary Now! But, in some cases, it helps to appreciate the meticulousness of this American project apart. From the fertile imagination of former screenwriters and actors from the Saturday Night Live, the series offers a collection of mockumentaries based on one, or more, cult films, to draw from them absurd situations played out with papal seriousness. Several episodes take music documentaries as their basis, such as the one about the Eagles for the last episode of season 1; a result that will be reminiscent This Is Spinal Tap for the ridicule and vanity of the portrayed rockers.

During the first two seasons, we see two actors playing most of the main roles: Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, who has since been cast in an acclaimed series, barry (on HBO and OCS). The fourth season, broadcast on Canal since December 19, makes up for their absence with a host of guest stars, including Alexander Skarsgaard (True Blood) as a documentary filmmaker who films the indigenous peoples of the Urals… at the same time as the pilot of a sitcom on the spot, all in the 1970s. Better still: Liliane Rovère, the Arlette of Ten percent, is at the center of the last episode of season 4 …. in the role of a demanding and singular artist who is reminiscent of a certain Agnès Varda. A beautiful program which is helped by a stunning recreation of the making of the parodied documentaries.

A glimpse of the delusions of Documentary Now! with the Season 4 trailer:

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Netflix and myCANAL: three series recommendations to get 2023 off to a good start – CNET France


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