This year is for the horse girls — the Fire Horse girls, that is. February 2026 begins the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Fire Horse, which symbolizes volatile growth and fiery intensity. “In Eastern culture, the horse represents action, freedom, speed, and breakthrough,” traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and acupuncturist Susan Gu told Vogue. “It reflects a stage of life that moves boldly forward without the fear of obstacles, placing [an] emphasis on being in motion rather than standing still.”
Basically, from Feb. 17, 2026, to Feb. 20, 2027 — when the Fire Horse reigns (or reins, get it?) supreme — you can expect chaotic change and forward motion in every aspect of your life. That might sound like a lot, but it doesn’t need to be a bad thing. Sometimes you need a swift, loving kick in the rear, whether that’s from the universe, your friends and family, or some endearingly erratic fictional characters. The stars of these movies and series below either already have or are working on embracing that Fire Horse mentality. Read on to learn more, and let them show you the way.
Villanelle (Jodie Comer) might be a psychopath, but, c’mon, who doesn’t want to take some of that confidence into their Fire Horse era? This spy thriller follows British intelligence officer Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), who, after growing bored with her day-to-day protection gig at MI5, becomes obsessed with tracking down a chic international assassin known only as Villanelle. Unfortunately for Eve — or, maybe, fortunately — her mark is just as enamored with her. The two play an epic game of cat and mouse with the potential to destroy them both over the course of this four-season series based on Luke Jennings’s Villanelle novels, and created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Crashing) and executive produced by Emerald Fennell (Wuthering Heights).
A hardened detective knows a thing or two about taking action. When a young woman is found dead in the trunk of a car, private investigator Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley) is on the case after she received a mysterious phone call right before the victim died. While the town’s hapless homicide detective (Charlie Day) proves unhelpful, an intriguing police officer (Aubrey Plaza) has some ideas. And the bombastic preacher (Chris Evans) down the road? He’s definitely involved — Honey just has to find proof. This neo-noir black comedy, directed by Ethan Coen (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and also stars Kristen Connolly (House of Cards), Talia Ryder (Do Revenge), and Billy Eichner (Friends from College).
Mavis Beaumont (Michelle Buteau) is also working on harnessing her Fire Horse energy — so why not face this new era together? When Mavis’s relationship with her long-term boyfriend falls apart, she moves into a new apartment and rediscovers how to be single as she untangles their lives. Luckily, she has her friends to keep her honest and grounded as she pursues her dream of being a top-tier stylist in New York City. Co-created by Buteau and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (Up Here), this two-season comedy series — with a third on the way — co-stars Tone Bell (Disjointed), Marouane Zotti (Vetro), Tasha Smit (The Deliverance), and Anissa Felix (Sins of the Bride).
If the Year of the Fire Horse is about embracing change and charging forward with conviction, then Eleanor Morgenstein (June Squibb) could be its mascot. After her best friend and roommate, Bessie (Rita Zohar), dies, 94-year-old Eleanor moves to New York City to be closer to her family. At the local Jewish community center, she’s adopted by a group of Holocaust survivors after she passes off Bessie’s traumatic childhood as her own in an attempt to fill the void. When a journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman), takes an interest in Eleanor’s story — not knowing it’s a ruse — the two strike up an intergenerational friendship with the potential to change them both. Scarlett Johansson’s (Marriage Story) directorial debut also stars Jessica Hecht (The Sinner) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard).
Chaos, thy name is Nadia (Natasha Lyonne). When the software engineer becomes trapped in a Groundhog Day–style time loop on her 36th birthday, she’s forced to relive the day over and over. But unlike in the Bill Murray classic, she always dies at the end: She’s hit by cars, tumbles down stairs, and falls off fire escapes so many times it’d make anyone lose their marbles. As she descends into madness, she meets a man named Alan (Charlie Barnett), with whom she has more in common than she thinks. This sci-fi dramedy was co-created by Lyonne, Leslye Headland (Sleeping with Other People), and Amy Poehler (Wine Country), and it co-stars Greta Lee (A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE), Yul Vazquez (The Infiltrator), Elizabeth Ashley (The Carpetbaggers), and Chloë Sevigny (Bloodline).
