Ian McKellen's "wonderful" drama hailed as 'one of 2026's best films' lands new UK streaming home

If you fancy catching Ian McKellen's acclaimed drama The Christophers, we have good news as it has just landed a new streaming home. Co-starring Michaela Coel, the dark comedy follows a forger who is hired by the children of a renowned artist to help secure an inheritance.

Coel plays young artist turned forger Lori Butler, who is tasked with finishing a series of uncompleted canvases created by McKellen's Julian Sklar. However, it appears that the elderly Julian isn't as naive as thought.

Also starring James Corden and Jessica Gunning as Julian's children, The Christophers has now landed on streaming service HBO Max, which Prime Video users in the UK can add as a channel.

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The movie comes from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, and received huge acclaim upon its original release, sitting on a near-perfect 95% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 174 reviews.

FilmWeek called it a "really wonderful film" and "very funny, but also sort of moving", while Time reckoned it was "one of the best movies of the year so far".

"This is how you make the kinds of movies people didn't know they wanted, which are maybe the only movies worth making at all," the latter added.

"Narrative cogs whirr so gracefully you don’t even notice the film explaining itself," added Financial Times. "Also — and feel free to read this as if in all caps — The Christophers is very funny."

The Guardian wrote: "Terrifically exhilarating and funny, as bracing as a large vodka and tonic before lunch: fast, literate and funny with a key plot progression elliptically and unsentimentally managed."

"I had a blast with The Christophers. In the end, it’s a script worthy of McKellen’s gifts – which, in turn, makes it a gift to us all," Baltimore Magazine further wrote.

The Christophers is streaming now on HBO Max.

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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.