It's the start of a new month and a new year, and Netflix has just added a ton of new shows and movies to the streaming service, so subscribers can kick-start their new year with plenty of fresh choices. More choice isn't always a good thing, though: it can also mean it's basically impossible to keep up with everything new to Netflix each month.
If you aren't quite ready to start building a new 2026 watchlist but still want something new to stream this weekend, allow me to step in. I've combed through everything that's new to Netflix in January and highlighted three recent additions to the streamer's massive library that I think are worth your time.
'12 Years a Slave'
Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is a critically acclaimed adaptation of Solomon Northup's memoir that earned no fewer than nine Oscar nominations (and three wins) back in 2013, and it has endured as a powerful watch ever since, with some championing it as the best watch of that year.
It follows Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a freeborn Black American man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery by two conmen. Northup was then forced to work on plantations for 12 years. As the consensus on Rotten Tomatoes puts it, the movie is "far from comfortable viewing, but '12 Years a Slave's' unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant — and quite possibly essential — cinema."
Stream "12 Years a Slave" on Netflix now
'District 9'
Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" is a gripping sci-fi action film that takes us to Johannesburg for a tale of segregation, community friction, and resistance, revolving around a race of stranded insect-like aliens and a government-appointed agent who becomes their unlikely ally.
Decades after a huge spaceship hovered over the South African capital, the government employs Multinational United (MNU) to evict and move them to a new camp outside the city. We follow MNU worker Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) as he leads the relocation, but his life is turned on its head when Wikus attempts to serve an eviction notice to one of the aliens, and he comes into contact with an unknown alien substance.
Stream "District 9" on Netflix now
'Erin Brockovich'
Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed drama "Erin Brockovich" earned Julia Roberts a Best Actress Oscar, and it's easy to see why: This based-on-a-true-story legal drama thrives with her at the helm as the tenacious lead.
The movie introduces us to Erin, a single mother of three who lands herself a job at a legal firm following a car accident. There, she unearths a corporate attempt to cover up deadly water contamination and works to win justice for a suffering community.
Stream "Erin Brockovich" on Netflix now
Already seen all three of my picks? Be sure to check out our definite round-up of the very best movies on Netflix for tons more top streaming recommendations.
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