TV guide for Singapore in January 2021: Kyojo 2, Riverdale S5, Nancy Drew S2 and more

Every month, we’ll tell you about new shows to hit terrestrial and cable channels, as well as streaming sites in Singapore. We’ll also highlight the television shows that you’ve got to be home (or on your phone) to catch every month.

Overview of January's shows

2021 is off to a promising start with the return of several favourite series — Season 5 of Netflix's Riverdale and Season 2 of FOX Life's Nancy Drew. But teen dramas aren't the only shows coming back, as we've got a continuation of Kyojo in the form of Kyojo 2 on Viu, as well as a Doctor Who special, Revolution of the Daleks, on BBC First. A new 9pm drama, My Star Bride, begins on Channel 8 too, as well as a second season of Old Taste Detective. And K-drama fans have Miss Ripley and You Are So Pretty on Oh!K to look forward to.

Highlights

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (special) (2 Jan, Saturday 8am)
BBC First (Starhub Ch 502)

With the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) incarcerated in outer space far, far away from Earth, things look dire. They get worse when there's a Dalek sighting and only Ryan (Tosin Cole), Graham (Bradley Walsh), and Yaz (Mandip Gill) are left. Fortunately, they have the immortal Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who has returned to aid them in this fight. But will that be enough to prevent the Daleks from taking over?

Set after the cliffhanger ending of Season 12, this New Year's special is the last time we will be seeing Ryan and Graham on screen. While the Daleks have attacked before, this special promises to handle it differently from all their previous incursions. More curiously though, is how the Doctor will escape from her rather precarious situation at the end of Season 12. Doctor Who has come a long way, and it'll be fun to see how they will stop the Daleks again.

Kyojo 2 (movie) (4 Jan)
Viu

Police academy instructor Kimichika Kazama (Takuya Kimura) returns in Kyojo 2 as he teaches a new class of students and imposes his insanely high expectations upon them. However, conflict and secrets lurk in this new batch of students, and not everyone will graduate from the academy. It's a clash of personalities as a ferocious instructor meets his most challenging class yet.

Based on the mystery novel series of the same name, the popularity of the first Kyojo was probably due to a premise that almost every Asian student can relate to — a harsh tutor who means well but can appear thorny at first. While Kyojo 2 focuses on a different group of students, writer Ryoichi Kimizuka is determined to retain the elements that made the first one so popular. Will we see it become a serialised drama soon?

Riverdale (Season 5) (21 Jan)
Netflix

Riverdale returns for a fifth season, as it opens with the prom that was promised at the end of Season 4. Archie and the gang graduate this season, which will feature a seven-year time jump to explore the protagonists' adventures as young adults. What new horrors will they uncover in the sleepy town of Riverdale as they grow up?

Season 4 was shortened due to the pandemic, so it's understandable why the videotape plot continues into Season 5, and we finally get the prom that was intended for Season 4. Since the parents are no longer such a core part of the series, it's fitting that we see Archie and the crew grow up, and possibly into the people their parents were. What's interesting is the apparent love triangle we may get — we've never really had a serious one before (and the Betty-Veronica-Archie love triangle was a critical element of the comics), so will we finally get one this season?

Nancy Drew (Season 2) (21 Jan, Thursdays 10pm)
FOX Life (Starhub Ch 501; Singtel Ch 301)

Season 2 of Nancy Drew begins with another violent crime that the Drew Crew has to solve. However, a lingering threat hovers over them — the Agleaca's predictions of each of their deaths. Will they manage to stay alive long enough to solve this new crime, or will they succumb to fate in this season?

The supernatural twist on Nancy Drew continues for a second season, even as her friends find themselves thrown into a new mystery. But what we really want to know is more about Nancy's lineage (spoiler alert if you haven't caught Season 1) and how exactly she's connected to the antagonists of the series. It looks like there'll be more horror, more drama, and more fun in this season.

Terrestrial

Channel 8

Old Taste Detective (Season 2) (4 Jan, Mondays 8pm)

My Star Bride (28 Jan, Mondays to Fridays 9pm)

Suria

Bicara Cinta Tertangguh (7 Jan, Thursdays 7pm)

Cable

BBC Earth (Starhub Ch 407)

A Perfect Planet (11 Jan, Mondays 8pm)

The Persians: A History of Iran (26 Jan, Tuesdays 9pm)

BBC First (Starhub Ch 502)

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (special) (2 Jan, Saturday 8am)

The Watch (4 Jan, Mondays)

Dublin Murders (22 Jan, Fridays)

BBC Lifestyle (Starhub Ch 432)

The Great British Bake Off (Season 11) (2 Jan, Saturdays 11am)

Donal's Super Food in Minutes (29 Jan, Fridays 7pm)

Boomerang (Starhub Ch 317; Singtel Ch 228)

Alive and Lewis (30 Jan, Saturdays 4pm)

Cartoon Network (Starhub Ch 316; Singtel Ch 226)

Total Dramarama (23 Jan, Saturdays and Sundays 9am)

CBeebies (Starhub Ch 303)

Jojo & Gran Gran (Season 2) (18 Jan, Mondays 6.35pm)

FOX (Starhub Ch 504; Singtel Ch 330)

Resident Alien (28 Jan, Thursdays 10.40pm)

FOX Life (Starhub Ch 501; Singtel Ch 301)

A Discovery of Witches (Season 2) (9 Jan, Saturdays 9pm)

Nancy Drew (Season 2) (21 Jan, Thursdays 10pm)

The Unicorn (Season 2) (25 Jan, Mondays 10pm)

FX (Singtel Ch 310; Starhub Ch 507)

Moonbase 8 (12 Jan, Tuesdays 10pm)

HBO (Starhub Ch 601; Singtel Ch 420)

Tiger (11 Jan, Mondays 10am)

C.B. Strike: Lethal White (21 Jan, Thursdays 10am)

National Geographic (Starhub Ch 411; Singtel Ch 201)

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (22 Jan, Friday 10pm)

Oh!K (Starhub Ch 816; Singtel Ch 525)

Miss Ripley (4 Jan, Mondays 7.40pm)

You Are So Pretty (21 Jan, Tuesdays to Fridays 9pm)

Streaming

HBO GO

The Rook (4 Jan)

meWatch

Dare To Try (1 Jan)

Netflix

The Minimalists : Less is Now (movie) (1 Jan)

Dream Home Makeover (Season 2) (1 Jan)

Surviving Death (6 Jan)

Tony Parker: The Final Shot (6 Jan)

Pieces of a Woman (7 Jan)

The Idhun Chronicles Part 2 (8 Jan)

The Heartbreak Club (movie) (14 Jan)

Outside the Wire (movie) (15 Jan)

Hello Ninja (Season 4) (19 Jan)

Carmen Sandiego (Season 4) (21 Jan)

Riverdale (Season 5) (21 Jan)

The White Tiger (movie) (22 Jan)

Fate: The Winx Saga (22 Jan)

Busted! (Season 3) (22 Jan)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 (22 Jan)

Blown Away (Season 2) (22 Jan)

Snowpiercer (Season 2) (26 Jan)

Go Dog Go (26 Jan)

The Dig (movie) (29 Jan)

Finding Ohana (29 Jan)

Viu

The Swordsman (movie) (2 Jan)

Kyojo 2 (movie) (4 Jan)

Familiar Wife (8 Jan)

The Legend of Mekong River (15 Jan)

Ink at Taiping (18 Jan)

To My Star (22 Jan)

Diva (movie) (23 Jan)

Colour Rush (30 Dec)