Your weekend dining and entertainment guide

Friyay!: What to watch

Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix.
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix. PHOTOS: APPLE TV+, MEDIACORP, NETFLIX
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix.
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix. PHOTOS: APPLE TV+, MEDIACORP, NETFLIX
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix.
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix. PHOTOS: APPLE TV+, MEDIACORP, NETFLIX
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix.
Yeo Yann Yann (far left) in Wet Season by Anthony Chen, and a scene from Singapore GaGa (left) by Tan Pin Pin. Both will be available on Netflix. PHOTOS: APPLE TV+, MEDIACORP, NETFLIX

SINGAPORE TITLES

NETFLIX'S NATIONAL DAY CURATION

Available on Netflix

The global streamer is adding more Singapore titles - including films, series, animation and documentaries - just in time for the National Day long weekend.

Film lovers can check out director Anthony Chen's Wet Season (2019), which will be available from Monday. The movie, about a Chinese teacher who forms a unique bond with her student, earned Yeo Yann Yann the Best Actress accolade at the Golden Horse Awards.

Those who prefer documentaries can check out director Tan Pin Pin's In Time To Come (2017), which follows the exhuming of a time capsule. It will be released tomorrow. Or catch her Singapore GaGa (2005), a whimsical take on Singapore's soundscape - from street buskers to veteran musicians - from Monday.

Other local works include the Joanne Peh period drama Last Madame (2019), which will drop today, and the 2015 musical comedy film Mr Unbelievable, a spin-off from veteran actor Chen Tianwen's viral music video, which will be available from Sunday.

PERIOD DRAMA

THIS LAND IS MINE

Premieres on Channel 5 and meWatch on Monday, 9.30pm

Based on former attorney-general Walter Woon's 2005 book The Devil's Circle, this period drama is set in the tumultuous time between the end of the Japanese Occupation in Singapore in 1945 and the restoration of civilian rule in 1946 during the British Military Administration.

The 15-episode series depicts Singapore's struggle for its own identity. Pierre Png and Rebecca Lim play cousins who work at the same law firm. Png portrays a lawyer tasked to defend a Japanese military officer who is on trial for war crimes. Lim is a legal clerk who encounters a young British girl living in a Malay kampung. Tensions arise when the girl refuses to follow her aunt back to England.

Home-grown musician Shabir plays a former war hero who is posted to an army camp and ends up in an explosive confrontation with his British commander.

COMEDY

TED LASSO 2

Available on Apple TV+

If you are craving sports-themed entertainment during Olympics season, check out comedy Ted Lasso. It is about the titular American football coach (played by Saturday Night Live alumnus Jason Sudeikis), who is hired to coach an English Premier League team.

In its second season, which debuted last month, a sports psychologist is hired to help with the players' mental health and figure out why the team cannot seem to score a win.

The show surprised critics and viewers alike with its hilarious yet charming first season, which shows how Ted goes from a mocked and taunted outsider to a beloved coach, mentor and friend, winning people over with his sincerity and kindness.

Sudeikis was named Best Actor - Television Series Musical Or Comedy at this year's Golden Globe Awards. The show has snagged a whopping 20 nominations at September's Emmy Awards - including for Outstanding Comedy Series - making it the most nominated freshman comedy series in Emmy history.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 06, 2021, with the headline Friyay!: What to watch. Subscribe