2020 was a big one full of crisis and fallouts. Nonetheless, television and film were a big sell on streams and other digital platforms. Amidst these releases highlighted some of the best shows and films currently gaining momentum on the award season hopefuls. As the eligibility window stays open for film and TV submissions, there is more time to watch some of the buzziest projects that swept Hollywood on its feet and rearranged the impact of film and television in the world.
On our list of ‘What We Are Watching this Week’, we have curated seven of the best movies and shows from 2020 prepping to become the biggest contenders of 2021 award season.
FILMS
‘Pieces of a Woman’
Cast: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn.
Director: Kornel Mundruczo
Synopsis: A heartbreaking home birth leaves a woman grappling with the profound emotional fallout, isolated from her partner and family by a chasm of grief.
Available to watch: Netflix
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Buttom’
Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo
Director: George C. Wolfe
Synopsis: Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.
Available to watch: Netflix
‘One Night in Miami’
Cast: Eli Goree, Leslie Odom Jr., Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge
Director: Regina King
Synopsis: On the night of Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Cassius Clay joins Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcom X, and they discuss the responsibility of being successful black men during the civil rights movement.
Available to watch: Amazon Prime Video
‘Midnight Sky’
Cast: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo
Director: George Clooney
Synopsis: A lone scientist in the Arctic races to contact a crew of astronauts returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe.
Available to watch: Netflix
‘Miss Juneteenth’
Cast: Nicole Biharie, Alexis Chikaeze, Kendrick Sampson
Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples
Synopsis: A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.
Available to watch: iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video
‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’
Cast: Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Brian Altemus
Director: Eliza Hittman
Synopsis: Faced with an unintended pregnancy and a lack of local support, Autumn and her cousin, Skylar, travel across state lines to New York City on a fraught journey of friendship, bravery and compassion.
Available to watch: Amazon Prime Video, iTunes
‘Mank’
Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lilly Collins
Director: David Fincher
Synopsis: 1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish “Citizen Kane.”
Available to watch: Netflix
TV SHOWS
The Undoing’
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Donald Sutherland
Director: Susanne Bier
Synopsis: A therapist’s life unravels after she learns that her husband might be responsible for a widespread disaster.
‘I May Destroy You’
Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Weruche Opia
Creator: Michaela Coel
Synopsis: After being sexually assaulted in a nightclub, Arabella’s life changes irreversibly and she is forced to reassess everything, including her career, friends and family.
Available to watch: HBO/HBO Max
‘Mrs. America’
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Uzo Aduba, Rose Byrne
Creator: Dahvi Waller
Synopsis: As feminists from all across the American subcontinent rally to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, Phylis Schlafly, a conservative activist, opposes it.
Available to watch: Hulu
‘The Queen’s Gambit’
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy
Director: Scott Frank
Synopsis: Set during the Cold War era, orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.
Available to watch: Netflix
‘Bridgerton’
Cast: Rege-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynover, Nicola Coughlan
Creator: Chris Van Dusen
Synopsis: During the Regency era in England, eight close-knit siblings of the powerful Bridgerton family attempt to find love.
Available to watch: Netflix
