House of the Dragon

Need to Know
House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama series that’s a prequel to Game of Thrones. The latest season continues the story of the civil war amongst House Targaryen.

Creators: George R. R. Martin, Ryan Condal
Cast: Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Olivia Cooke, Tom Glynn-Carney, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best

Why Is It Worth Watching?
Based on parts of George R. R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood, the series’ events take place around 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest and nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Following the death of King Viserys, the rightful heir, his daughter Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) from his first wife, is set to take the throne. But on his deathbed, his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), mishears his final words and chooses to believe the king had a change of heart and instead picked their first-born son to succeed the throne. Her misgivings are further emboldened by her megalomaniac father, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans).
Any hopes of peacefully resolving the decision for the next rightful successor to the throne is thrown out of the window when Queen Rhaenyra’s son is brutally murdered by Queen Alicent’s son and his dragon.
The lines are drawn, as various ruling houses are forced to pick sides and prepare to face off in a Targaryen civil war against the newly crowned Aegon II, Rhaenyra’s halfbrother. Also, there are over a dozen dragons involved in this war!

X-Men ’97

Need to Know
X-Men ’97 is an American animated series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team called the X-Men. The show is a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997) and continues the story of the X-Men who face new challenges following the loss of their leader, Professor X.

Creator: Beau DeMayo
Cast: Matthew Waterson, George Buza, Cal Dodd, Ray Chase, Lenore Zann, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith

Why Is It Worth Watching?
X-Men ‘97 is the direct continuation of the beloved animated series from the ’90s, widely recognised as the spark that eventually set off the explosion of superhero movies from the early 2000s onwards.
In this universe, mutants are people born with superhuman abilities that do their best to coexist alongside humans in a highly hostile world. The X-Men are a team of mutant superheroes brought together by Professor Charles Xavier to protect themselves and humans alike. At the end of the original show, Professor Xavier is killed in an assassination, which leaves the X-Men in disarray. X-Men ‘97 takes place a year later and sees the team facing new challenges and through unexpected circumstances falling under the leadership of their former adversary, Magneto.
The show continues the action-packed sci-fi madness of the original offering in a brilliantly written new storyline that’s brought to life by the interesting, morally complex and deeply flawed characters that made us all fans of the show decades ago.
Also, familiar names from the original series reprise their voice acting roles. Nostalgia never looked so good!