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Sonal Pandya

Times Now and Zoom

Sonal Pandya is the Associate Producer for Times Now and Zoom, and earlier worked at Hindustan Times, and Cinestaan.com as deputy editor. Prior to becoming a film journalist, she worked as a CG artist and digital compositor in the animation industry.

All reviews by Sonal Pandya

Image of scene from the film Young Sherlock

Young Sherlock

Action & Adventure, Mystery (English)

Prequel Series On Famed British Detective Gets The Guy Ritchie Treatment

Fri, March 6 2026

The fictional but thrilling origin story of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes goes back in time to explore his early days and relationship with his complicated family.

After The Gentlemen and MobLand, Guy Ritchie turns his attention to Sherlock Holmes. The filmmaker has already directed two features on the Arthur Conan Doyle character with Robert Downey Jr as the Baker Street detective. Ritchie returns to Victorian England as the Amazon Prime Video series Young Sherlock looks at the origin story of Sherlock, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin playing the 19-year-old investigator. The web series is a mixture of Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes book series and the original Doyle detective. The result is an engaging, twisty mystery series about the young Sherlock that goes around the world to reveal how he got his start. The mostly British cast has a roaring good time, peeling back the layers of the murder at Oxford University, and viewers will have plenty of sleuthing to uncover as the series unveils some major shockers.

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Image of scene from the film Monarch: Legacy of Monsters S02

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters S02

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure (English)

Monsterverse Spinoff Balances New Titan With Family Drama And Lore

Fri, February 27 2026

The spinoff series from the film Godzilla (2014) delves into Titan lore and follows troubled family dynamics for the Randa family.

After two and a half years, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters returns with an answer to the cliffhanger ending of Season 1. Will Colonel Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) be rescued from Axis Mundi? Affirmative. Kurt and son Wyatt Rusell, who plays the younger version of Lee in the past, are back as the Monsterverse spinoff series adds yet another Titan to the mix and deals with the complicated Randa family relationships now that Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto) has returned from the dead. Developed by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tries its hand at family conflict again.

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Image of scene from the film Bridgerton S04 Part 2

Bridgerton S04 Part 2

Drama (English)

Benedict And Sophie's Romance Satisfies Amid Other Complicated Storylines

Fri, February 27 2026

The wildly addictive Regency romance series returns after a month to wrap up the love story between Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Baek).

In the first half of Bridgerton Season 4, viewers were introduced to a magical Cinderella tale between second brother Bendect Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) as the mysterious Lady in Silver. And at the end of the fourth episode, Benedict proposed that Sophie become his mistress. The Netflix series returns to explore the fallout of the proposal, as Benedict must decide whether to defy society and his family for the sake of love. Furthermore, other younger Bridgertons have significant goings-on in their lives as the series sets up what’s next for seasons ahead.

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Image of scene from the film The Last Thing He Told Me S02

The Last Thing He Told Me S02

Mystery, Drama (English)

Jennifer Garner Leads Starry Guest Cast In Engaging Family Drama

Sat, February 21 2026

Based on the sequel from author Laura Dave, the mystery thriller ably expands on the story from Season 1 and picks up five years later.

Jennifer Garner is back as Hannah Hall in this family thriller, The Last Thing He Told Me. In the first season, Hannah watched as husband, Owen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), disappeared after his tech company faced financial issues. She and her stepdaughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice), learn to move on with their lives. The Apple TV series returns after a three-year gap with Owen back in their lives, opening up a whole can of worms. The mystery drama series leans heavily on its past with several Hollywood stars from David Morse, Rita Wilson, and Judy Greer, as the show travels to France to close out a traumatic chapter.

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Image of scene from the film Heated Rivalry

Heated Rivalry

Drama (English)

Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams Carry Cliched But Endearing Queer Hockey Romance

Sat, February 21 2026

Based on the romance series by Rachel Reid, the buzzy Canadian show follows the decade-long romance between two rival players, Canada’s Shane Hollander and Russia’s Ilya Rozanov.

Created, written, and directed by Jacob Tierney, Crave’s Canadian series Heated Rivalry has taken the world by storm. On February 20, it lands in India on Lionsgate Play. The show adapts the books of author Rachel Reid, which focus on the unlikely love story between two top players, Canada’s Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russia’s Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). Tierney’s show elevates the material, getting to the heart of the matter as the two men meet when they are teenagers as rivals and end up as each other’s partners, away from the public eye. The low-budget series connects strongly due to its heartwarming screenplay and the refreshing performances from the cast.

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Image of scene from the film The Night Agent S03

The Night Agent S03

Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery (English)

Gabriel Basso's Everyman Hero Delivers The Goods Again In Thrilling New Instalment

Sat, February 21 2026

Created by Shawn Ryan, the spy series churns out its best season yet as FBI operative Peter Sutherland digs deep to uncover a conspiracy.

Last season, Peter Sutherland made a deal with the devil, and this time, it comes back to haunt him again. The likeable and dependable Gabriel Basso is back to lead Netflix’s The Night Agent for its third season. Created by Shawn Ryan, the espionage drama loses a few key players from previous seasons, but gains intrigue with another White House mystery that leaves viewers on the edge throughout. The first season of The Night Agent is ranked tenth in Netflix’s most-watched shows of all time, and the drama has enough juice to power a few more seasons, going by the quality of this latest instalment.

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Image of scene from the film Kohrra 2

Kohrra 2

Crime, Drama (Hindi)

Barun Sobti, Mona Singh Shine Even As Murder Mystery Falters

Thu, February 12 2026

Created by Gunjit Chopra, Diggi Sisodia & Sudip Sharma, the Punjab-set drama returns with a new location and mystery that takes its investigating team down another dark path.

The melancholy crime drama Kohrra is back after nearly three years, minus one of its lead actors. While Suvinder Vicky’s Sub-inspector Balbir Singh is missed, he is replaced by the more than worthy Mona Singh as Dhanwant Kaur. And, of course, the excellent Barun Sobti returns as Assistant Sub-Inspector Amarpal Garundi. This time, the character is transferred to Dalerpura, where they investigate a new NRI murder, with dark secrets uncovering another family tragedy. Creators and writers Gunjit Chopra, Diggi Sisodia, and Sudip Sharma have crafted another complex character study that will linger long after the series is watched.

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Image of scene from the film Scarlet

Scarlet

Animation, Action, Drama, Science Fiction (Japanese)

Mamoru Hosada's Ambitious Hamlet Retelling Is Visually Gorgeous But Muddled

Sat, February 7 2026

Returning after four years, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosada tackles William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in his latest action drama that complicates the powerful tale.

Mirai director Mamoru Hosada’s newest offering is a genderbeat version of Hamlet. In Scarlet, a pink-haired princess travels through the Otherworld to avenge the death of her father at the hands of her own uncle, the king who has usurped his throne. Battling trials and obstacles, Scarlet has help from an unlikely ally and travels to enter the Infinite Land. Mashing up a new mythology created for his film with the classic tragedy by William Shakespeare, Scarlet is action-filled and visually stunning. However, the Japanese anime feature falters in its message of self-discovery versus revenge.

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