See/Hear: The Best Movies, TV and Music for January 2025

Welcome to See/Hear, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise. Every month, we round up the biggest upcoming movie, TV and album releases, ask some cool people to tell us what they’ve been into lately, make you a playlist we guarantee you’ll have on heavy rotation and recommend a classic (or unduly overlooked) piece of pop culture that we think is worth revisiting.

MOVIES

Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever

Jan. 1, Netflix

You remember Bryan Johnson, the longevity-obsessed biotech CEO who allegedly spends $2 million a year on anti-aging treatments — including plasma infusions from his teenaged son and experimental drugs that have only been tested on mice? He’s the subject of a new Netflix documentary, which will peel back the curtain on all of his insane attempts to live forever, navigate his family’s reaction and, hopefully, examine the hubris it takes to deny your own mortality.

The Last Showgirl

in theaters Jan. 10

It may sound ridiculous, given everything you think you know about Pamela Anderson, to hear that the Baywatch actress is already earning Oscar buzz for her performance in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. But every now and then, a role comes along that’s so perfect for the person inhabiting it that it unlocks something unexpected in them. (See also: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler.) Anderson plays Shelley, an aging Las Vegas showgirl who must find a new career path when her production closes after 30 years. Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis also star.

Hard Truths

in theaters Jan. 10

Whether you want to call it a dark comedy or a drama that occasionally has some funny moments, Hard Truths looks to be a compelling character study. It stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy, a lonely and depressed woman who is slowly but surely alienating herself from all of her loved ones by lashing out at them, alongside Michele Austin as Chantelle, her jovial sister.

Better Man

in theaters Jan. 17

Look, does Better Man — a Robbie Williams biopic in which the singer plays himself in the form of a CGI chimpanzee because, as he puts it, he always felt “less evolved than everyone else” — look like it’ll be good? No, absolutely not. But I have to admit that the otherwise inexplicable monkey idea is a good way to allow the 50-year-old Williams to play a younger version of himself. Is it so crazy it just might work? Probably not, but it’s such a bizarre concept that it’s worth finding out.

September 5

in theaters Jan. 17

It’s been a while since we had a good journalism movie, but this one looks promising. It centers around the ABC Sports broadcasting team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich as they suddenly find themselves covering a hostage crisis in the Olympic Village (one that, as anyone familiar with the real-life event already knows, ended with 11 Israeli athletes and coaches being killed). From the looks of it, September 5 — which features Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro and Ben Chaplin — will focus on all the ethical questions the broadcast team was forced to confront as the story fell into their laps.

Back in Action

Jan. 17, Netflix

Netflix’s long-delayed action comedy finally has a release date. It stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, in her first acting role since she “retired” from the craft in 2017, as former CIA spies who are roped back in after their secret identities are exposed. Kyle Chandler, Glenn Close and Andrew Scott (yes, the hot priest from Fleabag) also star.

Presence

in theaters Jan. 24

Steven Soderbergh’s new psychological thriller offers an interesting twist on the genre: it’s shot entirely in first-person perspective, unfolding from the point of view of a ghost (or “presence,” in this case) as it haunts the family that moves into a suburban home. Which will be scarier, the supernatural entity or the drama that lingers within the dysfunctional family (which includes Lucy Liu and Julia Fox)? That remains to be seen, but either way, this is a fascinating filmmaking experiment.

You’re Cordially Invited

Jan. 30, Prime Video

Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors, The Five-Year Engagement) helms this comedy, in which Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon wage war on each other after a wedding venue accidentally double-books their events. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking concept, but do we really care about that, or do we want to watch Will Ferrell wrestle an alligator?

TV/STREAMING

Lockerbie: A Search for Truth

Jan. 2, Peacock

In December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, a transatlantic flight headed from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s JFK, was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland who were killed by falling debris from the plane. Colin Firth plays Jim Swire, a grieving father who dedicates his life to finding out who was responsible for the attack, in this limited series.

The Golden Globe Awards

Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. EST, CBS/Paramount+

Awards season officially kicks off with 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards. Comedian Nikki Glaser is slated to host as all your favorite stars from TV and film are honored for their work from the past year. Will Ariana Grande take home Best Supporting Actress for Wicked? Is The Bear really a comedy? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

American Primeval

Jan. 9, Netflix

A Western starring Tim Riggins? Sign us up. Taylor Kitsch (yes, he of Friday Night Lights fame) and Betty Gilpin (GLOW) star in this six-part miniseries, which was written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Twisters). Jai Courtney, Saura Lightfoot-Leon and Shea Whigham round out the cast.

The Pitt

Jan. 9, Max

ER fans who have waited more than a decade to see Noah Wyle back in scrubs finally have their wish granted with The Pitt. The Max series sees the seasoned TV doctor playing an emergency room physician at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Before you write this one off as a simple ER ripoff, consider its intriguing format: each episode takes place in real time and will cover one hour of a single 15-hour shift.

The Traitors Season 3

Jan. 9, Peacock

Whoever decided it would be a good idea to round up a group of reality stars, put them in a Scottish castle together and make them play Mafia was a genius. The campy reality show returns for another season, this time featuring familiar faces from Big Brother, various Real Housewives franchises, Vanderpump Rules and even the British aristocracy.

The Critics Choice Awards

Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. EST on E!, streaming on Peacock the following day

Chelsea Handler will host the 30th edition of this awards show. Pope drama Conclave and Wicked lead the film nominations with 11 apiece, while Shōgun tops the TV nominations with six.

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night

Jan. 16, Peacock

We’ll have to wait until February for Saturday Night Live‘s big 50th anniversary bonanza, but we can tide ourselves over with this four-part docuseries that features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with over 60 former cast members and writers. Each of the four episodes is centered around a different theme, with the first episode revealing what goes on in the SNL writers’ room during a show week, while episode two focuses on unseen audition footage. The third episode is a deep dive into the beloved “More Cowbell” sketch, and the final episode covers the disastrous Season 11 and the way it impacted the rest of the series.

Severance Season 2

Jan. 17, Apple TV+

It’s been nearly three years since Severance first introduced us to the Innies and Outies of Lumen Industries and had us all re-evaluating our own work-life balances. (Production on the show’s second season originally began way back in October 2022, but it was later shut down due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.) You’d be forgiven, then, for forgetting everything that happened in the first season’s massive cliffhanger: The Innies infiltrated the outside world, where Mark (Adam Scott) learns he underwent the severance program after his wife’s death and Helly (Britt Lower) discovers she’s actually Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumen’s CEO who participated in the severance program as a way of generating positive press for it. The season finale ended with Mark realizing his late wife Gemma is actually alive inside Lumen, where she’s known as “Ms. Casey,” and Helly ditching a planned speech at a gala to announce to the world that the Innies are being exploited and tortured before she’s eventually subdued. We have no idea where the show will go from here, but given that it’s adding Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever and Alia Shawkat to the cast this season, it’s bound to be entertaining.

Prime Target

Jan. 22, Apple TV+

Apple has yet to release a trailer for this thriller miniseries, but it apparently stars Leo Woodall (you’ll recognize him as the menacing “nephew” from season two of The White Lotus) as a mathematician who discovers some unsavory characters are looking to destroy his work after he uncovers a pattern in prime numbers that would allow him to access every computer in the world.

Paradise

Jan. 28, Hulu

The trailer for this new Dan Fogelman series starring Sterling K. Brown doesn’t give away too many details, but from what we can glean, Brown plays a Secret Service agent who finds the president dead and, being the last person to see him alive, soon finds himself in some hot water. James Marsden and Julianne Nicholson also star.

MUSIC

Ethel Cain, Perverts

Jan. 8

The popular singer-songwriter is back with the second installment of her trilogy exploring generational trauma, which kicked off with 2022’s Preacher’s Daughter. Like her debut record, Perverts leans heavily on Southern Gothic imagery, but it leans even harder into her slowcore, drone and ambient influences, which can be heard on the nearly seven-minute lead single “Punish.” Of that track, Cain writes, “I wonder how deep shame can run, and how unforgivable an act could be that I may still justify it in some bent way to make carrying it more bearable. Would I tell myself it’s not my fault and I couldn’t help myself? Would anyone truly believe that? Would I?”

Franz Ferdinand, The Human Fear

Jan. 10

It’s been seven years since Franz Ferdinand’s last album, but the Scottish five-piece reunited with producer Mark Ralph for The Human Fear. It’s their first album to feature drummer Audrey Tait and guitarist Dino Bardot, who joined the band in 2021 and 2017, respectively. “Making this record was one of the most life-affirming experiences I’ve had, but it’s called The Human Fear,” frontman Alex Kapranos explained in a statement. “Fear reminds you that you’re alive. I think we all are addicted in some way to the buzz it can give us. How we respond to it shows how we are human. So here’s a bunch of songs searching for the thrill of being human via fears. Not that you’d necessarily notice on first listen.”

Ringo Starr, Look Up

Jan. 10

The former Beatle is going country on his latest release, teaming up with the legendary T Bone Burnett, who produced and co-wrote the 11-song record. Look Up features some of Nashville’s best talent, and it includes contributions from Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Larkin Poe, Lucius and Molly Tuttle. “I’ve always loved country music. And when I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think at the time that it would be a country song — but of course it was, and it was so beautiful,” Starr said in a statement. “I had been making EPs at the time and so I thought we would do a country EP, but when he brought me nine songs I knew we had to make an album!”

Lambrini Girls, Who Let the Dogs Out

Jan. 10

If you’re a fan of IDLES, it’s time to get Lambrini Girls on your radar. The U.K. punk duo’s debut album tackles everything from sexual harassment in the workplace (“Company Culture”) to police brutality (“Bad Apple”). The subject matter can be heavy, but the band — Phoebe Lunny (vocals/guitar) and Lilly Macieira (bass) — delivers it all with humor and wit. What else can you expect from an album that includes tracks called “Big Dick Energy” and “Cuntology 101”?

Jan. 17

Singer-songwriter Sophie Jamieson’s second album delves into the complex relationships within a family — love, loss, anxiety, everything. It was co-produced in London with Grammy winner Guy Massey (Spiritualized, Manic Street Preachers). For a book recommendation from Jamieson, check out last month’s edition of See/Hear.

FKA twigs, EUSEXUA

Jan. 24

Move over, euphoria: it’s time for eusexua. What exactly does the FKA twigs-coined term mean? The music video for the lead single of the same name declares that it’s a “practice…a state of being…the pinnacle of human experience.” “EUSEXUA has been my practice for the years that it has been in creation. it is my opus and truly feels like a pin at the centre of the core of my artist,” the singer wrote on social media back in September.

Larkin Poe, Bloom

Jan. 24

The Grammy-winning sister duo out of Nashville returns with their seventh studio album. Of the new record, Rebecca Lovell writes, “Bloom is about finding oneself amidst the noise of the world, about wholeheartedly embracing the flaws and idiosyncrasies that make us real. In one way or another, pretty much all of the songs on this album are about finding yourself, knowing yourself, and separating the truth of who you are from societal expectations.”

The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow

Jan. 24

The Canadian pop star’s sixth studio album is also the final chapter of a trilogy that began with 2020’s After Hours and also included 2022’s Dawn FM. Hurry Up Tomorrow features contributions from Playboi Carti and Anitta, and it’ll be accompanied by a companion film starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan that’s currently slated for a May 16 release.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy, The Purple Bird

Jan. 31

Will Oldham returns with a follow-up to 2023’s Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You. What’s especially notable about The Purple Bird is that it features producer David “Ferg” Ferguson, who also co-wrote seven of the tracks, and marks just the second time in Oldham’s long career that he’s worked with a producer. “He’s a giant of a man, an epic musical force, a dear friend,” Oldham said of Ferguson. “Our work together on this record was the result of years of sharing hard times and great joys, songs and stories, of making music together and apart. There’s a lot of trust in this record on Ferg’s part and on mine, and the trust was hard- and well-earned. When I listen to the record, oftentimes I can’t help but laugh in wonder that life allowed me to participate in such a thing.”

YOUR MONTHLY PLAYLIST

You already know which albums we’re looking forward to kicking off 2025 with, but January is also a time for looking back at the year that was, so with that in mind, I’ve rounded up a playlist featuring 25 of my favorite songs from 2024. It was a hell of a year for music: Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter ushered in a new era of the unabashedly weird pop star, Beyoncé went country, Kendrick Lamar dropped a diss track so brutal that Drake felt compelled to sue Spotify and Universal Music, and MJ Lenderman enjoyed breakout success and also appeared on Waxahatchee’s excellent “Right Back to It.” This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive “best of” list — just 25 tracks that I very much happened to enjoy over the course of this particular trip around the sun, shared with you in the hopes that you’ll enjoy them too.

ARTIST RECOMMENDATIONS

Each month, we catch up with a few musicians, actors, comedians or otherwise cool people whose opinions we respect to hear about a piece of pop culture they’re particularly excited about. This month, it’s Charlie Hall of The War on Drugs, St. Lenox and Rogê.

Transcendent Waves: How Listening Shapes Our Creative Lives by Lavender Suarez

“I like to keep Transcendent Waves nearby and just sort of dive in when I’m looking for a spark or inspiration. Lavender Suarez is a sound healing practitioner, meditation teacher, musician and artist. In this book, she explores so many cool concepts related to how we listen to and interpret sound, and how that affects our own creativity, self-awareness and mindfulness. It’s full of thought-provoking prompts (‘sonic inquiries,’ as Suarez calls them, are peppered throughout the book) as well as anecdotes and really beautifully framed scientific insights into every aspect of sound. Suarez writes, ‘This book is about utilizing listening as a method for developing your creative practice, in whatever form it may take.’ This really is a book for anyone who is interested in communication and the organization of sound — and who wants to listen more intentionally to the world around us in an effort to enrich this precious life.”

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became INVINCIBLE

“It’s a very long title for a fantasy anime series, about a 30-something office worker who decides to become an adventurer late in life, when most adventurers get their start in their teens. Many of the antagonists on the show are prodigies who have family connections, who constantly make the protagonist feel insecure because of his age, despite his obvious skill and power. The series is almost too on-the-nose in its appeal to great resignation Millennials who took up passion projects in their 30s, but sometimes great resignation Millennials need love too. Alternatively, the show is a commentary on indie artists and the great struggle against nepo babies.”

Sea of Death (Mar Morto) by Jorge Amado

“My book recommendation for 2025 is one I reread in 2024: Sea of Death (MAR MORTO) by Jorge Amado. The story captures the soul of Bahia, with its fishermen, the influence of Candomblé, the sea as a central character and its queen, Iemanjá, and the poetry of everyday life. It’s impossible not to think of the great friendship and strong connection between Jorge and Dorival Caymmi, who brought these same stories to music in such a rich and visceral way. This relationship inspires me deeply, and I think it’s evident in Curyman I and II, where I try to translate into sound the Brazilian essence that they so beautifully immortalized. And for those who don’t read Portuguese, the translation still carries the universal strength of the work.”

WORTH REVISITING

Dig! (2004)

Streaming on YouTube TV

Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis will finally kick off their highly anticipated reunion tour in the U.K. later this year, so with that in mind, it feels like an appropriate time to revisit a different long-standing rock rivalry. Directed by Ondi Timoner, Dig! documents the contentious relationship between The Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor and The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe and the starkly different paths their dueling psych-rock bands found themselves on as they rose from the underground and gained more mainstream popularity. The movie, which took home the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004, was filmed over the course of seven years (1996 to 2003) and assembled from over 2,500 hours of footage, and it offers a pretty comprehensive look at the love-hate relationship between the two groups and the ways in which all that dysfunction was amplified by commercial success.

Over the course of the doc, we watch as The Dandy Warhols sacrifice creative freedom for a more polished sound, a major-label deal and a few years of being everywhere, from the omnipresence of “Bohemian Like You” in car commercials to “We Used to Be Friends” serving as the theme song to Veronica Mars. (Their first attempt at a sophomore album, The Black Album, was rejected by Capitol Records because it had “no hit songs.”) The Brian Jonestown Massacre, on the other hand, forge ahead on a different path — one where they stay true to their creative vision but are plagued by other forms of self-sabotage, including substance abuse, Newcombe’s erratic behavior and plenty of in-fighting. The most memorable instance of the latter is captured by Timoner’s cameras at an industry showcase in 1996 after Newcombe fires a bandmate onstage for playing a wrong note. The conflict eventually gets physical and devolves into an onstage brawl that culminates with one of the doc’s most memorable lines: “Fuckin’ broke my sitar, motherfucker.”

Are both of these bands fronted by self-important assholes? Yeah, probably. But Dig! holds up as one of the great rock docs of its era, one that captures a particular scene at a pivotal moment in time. Much of it feels quaint nowadays (remember when record labels had massive amounts of cash to blow on an indie rock band?), but it remains a revealing look at ego and the pitfalls of fame.