Streaming sneaks: Love stories and bad romances for Valentine’s Day

From toxic obsession to contract lovers to Indonesia’s edition of the hit dating reality series The Bachelor.

Here is a sneak peek at five upcoming streaming titles that will make you fall for all the good and bad sides of romance ahead of Valentine’s Day. 

You Season 4 Part 1

Premieres on Feb 9 on Netflix

This creepy series about a serial killer named Joe (Penn Badgley), who often falls into a pattern of being psychopathically obsessed with his romantic interests and has no qualms killing anyone who stands in the way of his romance, is back.

After a bloody finale in the third season, in which Joe burned down his old life and abandoned his family, he starts a new life in London, masquerading under the name Jonathan Moore. But to his surprise, Joe finds out that he is not the only killer in his social circle and embarks on a search to uncover which other monster hides among men. 

Why it is worth the watch: To see what happens when a killer is fixated on another killer. Will Joe finally meet his match?

Love To Hate You

Premieres on Feb 10 on Netflix

All the best-loved romantic-comedy formulas are to be found in this K-drama, which stars Kim Ok-bin and Yoo Teo in leading roles. Kim plays an entertainment lawyer who despises men after being disappointed by many, while Yoo is an A-list romance actor who develops a distaste for women due to a childhood trauma.

However, circumstances force them to enter into a three-month contract, in which they have to pretend to be a couple.

Why it is worth the watch: Indulge in the most tried-and-tested tropes of enemies-turned-lovers and contract relationships.

The Bachelor Indonesia

Premieres on Feb 10 on HBO Go

Richard Kyle – a 34-year-old businessman, actor, model, presenter and wildlife advocate – is ready for love as Indonesia’s first Bachelor in the country’s adaptation of the hit dating reality series The Bachelor (2002 to present). 

Kyle, who believes in love at first sight, will search for his true love among 19 contestants over 10 episodes. 

Why it is worth the watch: While dating reality series are a dime a dozen now, The Bachelor is still an institution.

The Heavenly Idol

Premieres on Feb 16 at 9.15pm on tvN Asia (StarHub TV Channel 824 and Singtel TV Channel 518). Also available on Viu

Catch Kim Min-kyu in his last role before he enters the military. This fantasy K-drama, based on a Web comic of the same name, follows Pontifex Lembrary, a powerful agent of God in another dimension who somehow gets transported to a different world while fighting a devil.

He wakes up to find himself in the body of Woo Yeon-woo, a member of the unpopular K-pop boy band Wild Animal. His biggest and perhaps only fan is his manager, who develops a special bond with him.

Why it is worth the watch: Before he became an actor, Kim was a K-pop idol trainee alongside the members of Seventeen, one of the hottest groups of the moment. Let’s see how much of his idol training he retained.

Call It Love

Premieres on Feb 22 on Disney+

In this love story with a twist, Sim Woo-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) goes into a downward spiral after discovering her father’s extramarital affair. It gets worse, however, when he dies and his mistress kicks Woo-joo out of her home. 

Woo-joo plots her revenge, but it accidentally turns to romance when she falls in love with Han Dong-jin (Kim Young-kwang), the son of the woman who ruined her life.

Why it is worth the watch: It is like Cinderella – if Prince Charming was the son of her evil stepmother.