Top new OTT releases this week: Showtime, Ricky Stanicky, Maharani Season 3, Merry Christmas

The streaming platform’s releases this week include a biopic based on the life of an Italian adult film actor, dark secrets of the seemingly glamorous film industry, a fantasy adventure in which a princess battles a fire-breathing dragon, an R-rated comedy and a political thriller. The biggest Indian original this week has to be Emraan Hashmi’s Showtime starrer Disney+ Hotstar, where he is seen playing the son of a successful film producer. Another big Indian title making its digital debut is Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi’s Merry Christmas, a crime thriller that actually starts as a romance. Here you will see how the two strangers deal with a dead body on the first night of their date.

For those looking for an easy and fun light watch, we recommend Zac Efron and John Cena’s Ricky Stanicky, which is sure to make you laugh. Here you will meet three childhood friends who invent an imaginary Ricky Stanicky that they can use as a convenient alibi and blame for all their misdeeds. Things take a funny turn when they hire a dumb, washed-up actor to play Ricky when the families become suspicious of his existence. John Cena has done an impressive job as this deceptively confident actor who takes this acting job too far.

For those looking for something from the pages of fantasy, Millie Bobby Brown’s Girlfriend can do it. She plays a dutiful princess whose wedding turns into a nightmare when she learns that she is actually a sacrifice made to settle ancient debts to a fire-breathing dragon.

On the international shore, you can pick up the K-drama Queen of Tears, which follows a married couple struggling with the fading romance in their marriage.

Some other notable OTT releases of the week are Hot Wheels Let’s Race, Full Swing Season 2, The Gentlemen and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy Season 2.

Here are our picks for the best OTT releases of the week.

This week’s best OTT releases

Supersex

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

Supersex is a suspenseful biography of popular Italian pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi. It narrates his journey from ordinary days to how he topped the global adult film industry in no time.

The show opens with a sex convention where Rocko announces his retirement, making way for the rest of the series to be shown in flashback.

Get ready to explore the fame he experienced, the demons of his past, tumultuous relationships and other personal anecdotes from his life in this seven-part series.

The only Indian language in which the series has been dubbed is Hindi. Foreign language options include English, Portuguese, Czech, Spanish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

Show time

When: Now streaming

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

The four-part series will take you to the bottom of the otherwise glamorous Bollywood film industry. Complex power dynamics, cutthroat competition, mistrust and every other dark aspect are covered.

Emraan Hashmi plays Raghu Khanna, the son of a successful film producer whose legacy is threatened after his father’s death. This is Hashmi’s second OTT project after Netflix’s Bard of Blood (2019).

Mouni Roy, Shriya Saran, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajeev Khandelwal and Mahima Makwana can also be seen in prominent roles.

Merry Christmas

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

On Christmas Eve in the 1980s, a man (Vijay Sethupathi) returns to Bombay from Dubai only to find his mother gone. Drowning in his grief, he crosses paths with a beautiful woman named Maria (Katrina Kaif), who sets herself up on a date because she brought her daughter with her. Romance erupts and the two instantly hit it off. Everything was going rosy and they both ended up in her apartment. Soon, tension and crime take over when a dead body is discovered in the apartment. The film was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil.

A girl

When: Now streaming

Where: Netflix

Princess Elodie’s dream tale comes to an abrupt halt when she realizes that her marriage to a charming prince is a sham and that she has been welcomed into the royal family as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. She soon finds herself trapped alone in a cave with a fire-breathing dragon. The rest of the film revolves around the girl trying to get out of the cave alive.

Maharani Season 3

When: Now streaming

Where: SonyLiv

Rani Bharti is still in jail for being falsely accused of trying to kill her husband; is not ready to apply for bail. The ambitious housewife-turned-politician decides to fight honestly for justice and strongly believes that the justice system will prove her innocence. As ugly twists take hold, more drama unfolds in this political thriller exploring the dark underbelly of Bihar politics.

Ricky Stanicky

When now

Where: Prime Video

Three childhood friends (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, Jermaine Fowler) decide to blame all their bad behavior on the imaginary “Ricky Stanicky”. From Halloween pranks to getting out of awkward situations, Ricky Stanicky has been their ultimate savior and cover for nearly two decades. However, when their families finally begin to question whether such a man exists, the trio decide to hire a failed actor named Rod (John Cena), who does bad celebrity impersonations, makes songs about masturbation and plays at a shady club. The rambunctious alcoholic failure actor takes this role of a lifetime way too seriously and immediately steals the show. Get ready for lots of laughs in this light comedy by Peter Farrelly.