Melissah Yang, Patricia Karounos and Alicia Lansom share their picks of can’t-miss TV shows and movies that have them texting up a storm. Trust, you will be too.
If there’s one thing we love in TV and film, it’s finding stories that not only centre women, but also depict the diverse range of experiences and perspectives they embody. This month, we’re in for an absolute treat, because so many of our most-anticipated premieres do just that — from Wicked (the big-screen, star-studded musical adaptation that tells the story of two witches, played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, in the land of Oz) to Emilia Pérez (the genre-bending Spanish-language musical that tracks four very different women on a quest to find their version of happiness), and Bad Sisters (a comedy about a group of, well, sisters who may or may not have committed murder).
Ahead, read about our picks for what to watch in November. There’s a lot to discuss. (We haven’t even brought up the Dune spin-off series, Dune: Prophecy, which follows the rise of the powerful Bene Gesserit sisterhood.) As Saoirse Ronan says in the oft-memed Little Women scene: “Women.”
Young, British and Anti-Abortion
Taking a deep dive into the world of pro-life activists in the UK, new BBC documentary Young, British and Anti-Abortion explores the new wave of Gen Z anti-abortionists hoping to make abortion illegal in the UK. Fronted by filmmaker Poppy Jay, the documentary wades into the online world of young people hoping to change the minds of their pro-choice peers with viral TikTok videos, pastel coloured posters and a no ‘over 40’s’ protest policy.
Interviewing the young women hoping to amplify their pro-life messaging, the documentary examines the new strategy some Gen Z campaigners are taking: framing their message as a secular topic surrounding human rights and feminism rather than one connected to religious beliefs. Despite this, a traditionalist Christian presence within the movement continues, with Jay also speaking to members of religious youth groups pushing graphic anti-abortion imagery in public spaces.
While the documentary was filmed before Trump’s election win, the connection between the infringements on reproductive rights in the US and the growing popularity of anti-abortion beliefs among Gen Z in the UK is alarming, making documentaries examining the topic more vital than ever.
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
When: 20th November
Watch if you like: America’s New Female Right, Reversing Roe
Emilia Pérez
Whatever you think Emilia Pérez is, think again. The film — which started generating Oscar buzz early when it made history at the Cannes Film Festival as the first film to have its cast win the Best Actress award as an ensemble (as opposed to a single actor) — follows a Mexican cartel leader who fakes her death so she can transition and live as her truest self (the titular Emilia, played by Karla Sofía Gascón), while blending genres in the most mystifying, mesmerising ways. Somehow, writer/director Jacques Audiard has crafted a story that’s part crime thriller, part musical, part telenovela, part legal drama, part redemption tale, part family affair, and part romance.
If that sounds like a lot, it is. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s too much for some. But there’s one clear reason the fever-dream of a movie deserves a shot: its star. As Emilia, Gascón (who’s also the first trans actor to win Best Actress at Cannes), effortlessly holds the camera and viewers’ attention. She’s menacing and fierce as a violent cartel head, but, when she walks into life with the freedom to be herself, she becomes warmer and more hopeful. It’s impossible not to be moved as Emilia steps into her own and tries to have a more positive impact on her corner of the world.
Then, there’s the rest of the cast, who, as the Cannes jury agreed, is also excellent. Zoe Saldaña plays Rita, the lawyer who helps Emilia change her life (and stuns throughout the movie’s musical numbers); Selena Gomez is Jessi, Emilia’s wife pre-transition, and shows a new side to her talents; and Adriana Paz is Epifanía, her new love interest, who brings more dimension to the story. We’ll be hearing a lot about Emilia Pérez as awards season ramps up.
Where to watch: Netflix
When: November 13
Watch if you like: Joker: Folie à Deux
Bad Sisters Season 2
For a show that’s technically about murder, I don’t think you’ll find something that’s more fun to watch. Created by and starring Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe), the Irish dark comedy centres around the close-knit (but very different) Garvey sisters, who find themselves caught in the middle of an insurance investigation when the abusive husband of second-eldest Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) unexpectedly dies.
Season 2 jumps ahead two years, and while the Garvey sisters are trying to leave their past behind, it isn’t long before old secrets threaten to re-emerge. It’s easy to see that Horgan and company are in their element with this show, which is why it’s so easy and pleasurable to watch. Come for the genuine laughs and clever-but-not-convoluted mystery, stay for the dynamic characters (Grace’s husband, who we see through flashbacks, is arguably the most hateable TV character in recent memory) and the authentic relationship between the sisters. They may not always like each other, but, at the end of the day, they’ll do anything to help one another — something that many people with siblings will recognise within themselves, too.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
When: November 13
Watch if you like: Big Little Lies, Catastrophe, Dead to Me
Silo Season 2
I think Rebecca Ferguson is one of the most compelling actors working today. Best known for her roles in the Mission: Impossible franchise and Dune (hi, Lady Jessica), there’s a quiet power behind the Swedish star’s every move, and she steals every scene she’s in without trying. She’s the reason I watched the first season of sci-fi series Silo when it premiered last year. (I didn’t know what to expect, I just knew I wanted to spend more time with Ferguson.)
Ferguson carries the show as its lead, delivering the exact level of performance fans have come to expect from her. But I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that she wasn’t the only reason to watch: Adapted from Hugh Howey’s trilogy of novels of the same name, the dystopian series is set in a future where the last (allegedly) 10,000 human beings on Earth live in a giant silo, divided by class, that stretches hundreds of stories underground, and are subject to a strict set of rules that they’re led to believe protect the greater good. When Ferguson’s Juliette begins to suspect that her boyfriend was murdered, she starts to uncover a string of lies that make her question everything about life as she knows it.
Season 2 continues spinning the mystery-box tale, and the stakes are even higher this time, because Juliette (Season 1 spoiler!) has broken the number one rule of their community: She’s stepped outside of the silo, and has discovered that there are multiple similar structures surrounding them.
Silo isn’t perfect — some of the rules of the fictional world are still unclear, and it often moves at a… leisurely pace — but it’s a rich story that keeps you guessing. It’s the kind of show that inspires theorising and turning to Reddit to see what other people think is going on. And who doesn’t love doing that?
Where to watch: Apple TV+
When: November 15
Watch if you like: Westworld, Severance, Snowpiercer
Wicked
Musical theatre fans have been asking for a big-screen adaptation of Wicked, the famed production inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name (itself inspired by The Wizard of Oz), which originally starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Those fan dreams are finally coming true this November — and in spectacular fashion.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), the film stars Cynthia Erivo (!!) and Ariana Grande (!!) as Elphaba and Glinda, two witches in the land of Oz who become unlikely friends. Elphaba is outcast because of her green skin, while Glinda is the popular girl on campus, but their relationship irrevocably changes as the former gradually transforms into the Wicked Witch of the West and the latter becomes the Good Witch of the South. The cast surrounding Erivo and Grande is stacked, too: Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond. But be warned: This is only part one, meaning we’ll have to wait until next year to see the complete story play out on screen.
Where to watch: Cinemas
When: November 22
Watch if you like: Wicked the musical, The Wizard of Oz, Into the Woods
Gladiator II
We haven’t actually seen Gladiator II, filmmaker Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to the 2000 historical epic starring Russell Crowe, but we’re ready to head to a cinema the second we can. We’re simply not strong enough to deny the irresistible combo of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington in the same movie.
This film begins over two decades after the events of the first, and follows Lucius (Mescal), the former heir to the Roman Empire. When he’s forced into slavery, he agrees to fight as a gladiator while helping his mentor, Macrinus (Washington), overthrow the current regime. This includes facing off against lethal general Marcus Acacius (Pascal) in the iconic Colosseum. It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve had a big, audacious historical action movie like this, so grab a bucket of popcorn, sit back, and enjoy.
Where to watch: Cinemas
When: November 22
Watch if you like: Gladiator, Troy, 300
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