Complicated relationships, creepy cults and action-packed new takes on The Most Dangerous Game. Love and murder. Spinoffs that literally nobody asked for. Cartoons about cats and documentaries about apes. There’s a little bit of something for everyone this weekend when it comes to new TV shows and movies on all your favorite streaming apps.
This guide includes both brand new shows and movies as well as ongoing series streaming weekly, plus new theatrical releases in case you, like me, enjoy a trip to the movie theater from time to time. I’ve been sick this past week (over a week now) and I’ve been catching up on new shows and feeding my British cop drama habit by binging my through several seasons of Scott & Bailey on BritBox, which I highly recommend.
I also watched Bugonia this week (on Peacock) and enjoyed it a lot, though I wasn’t particularly surprised by the twist. And I introduced my daughter to the wonderful French film, Amélie, which is an absolute delight.
As always, I’ve scoured the internet for the best TV shows and movies streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ and more this weekend. If you have any recommendations, or there’s something I missed, shoot me a note and I’ll add it in an update. Send me any tips you have on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Be sure to also check out last weekend’s streaming guide below:
Onward to the list!
New TV Shows To Watch This Weekend
Half Man (HBO Max)
Richard Gadd wrote, starred-in and created the heartbreaking Netflix drama, Baby Reindeer, and now he returns with Half Man, a new limited series on HBO Max. It’s getting much more mixed reviews than Gadd’s first series, though it looks to be treading similar ground in its exploration of a complicated, tumultuous and at times violent relationship between two very different men across two different times in their lives. I started the first episode last night but was a bit too tired and decided I’d finish it later. I will report back with my impressions. New episodes drop Thursdays on HBO Max.
Stranger Things: Tales From 85
Isn’t it interesting how quickly Stranger Things dropped off the face of the earth once its final season aired? It reminds me a bit of Game of Thrones. At one point, a huge cultural phenomenon and then, after a lousy final season, just gone. If Netflix hoped to revive Stranger Things with Tales From 85, it appears not to have worked. Critics gave the animated midquel (is that a word?) 67% on RT but audiences were harsher, with just 48%. The series takes place between Seasons 2 and 3 with voice actors whose voices don’t sound much like the main cast and animation that is painful to look at.
I’m not sure why they didn’t A) set this somewhere else with a new cast and a new story and B) give it a retro animation style that would fit the 80s setting better. Either way, I’m pretty much done with Stranger Things at this point. Sad.
Running Point – Season 2 (Netflix)
I don’t remember even hearing about Running Point when the first season came to Netflix, and honestly I can’t remember the last time I saw Kate Hudson in anything. The show is about Isla Gordon (Hudson), a reformed party girl who finds herself in charge of her family’s pro basketball team. I guess it’s a bit like Ted Lasso?
Unchosen (Netflix)
The story of a woman entrenched in a religious cult who tries to get out after she falls for a stranger. I like a good cult story as much as the next guy. Unfortunately, this has a rather rotten 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics noting that what could have been a compelling story about a woman’s attempt to break free from a cult instead turns into a by-the-numbers thriller. Oh well.
Kevin (Prime Video)
There are so many of these adult animated sitcoms that I can’t really keep track of them anymore, and it’s honestly hard to tell them apart much of the time because they all look so similar (and few are as good as Bojack Horseman). Kevin, however, is about a cat. It has mostly positive reviews, but not particularly glowing ones, but if you’re a cat person it might be right up your alley.
Killing Grounds: The Gilgo Beach Murders (Prime Video)
This one is pretty self-explanatory. A docuseries about the Gilgo Beach serial killer case, which is deeply disturbing and ought to be rather fresh in everyone’s memory. The victims’ families discuss the tragic events and we get to learn more of the gory details.
Criminal Record – Season 2 (Apple TV)
For some reason I don’t remember hearing about Criminal Record when Season 1 came to Apple TV even though it looks like my kind of show. I am rather obsessed with my UK mysteries, after all. The story follows two detectives played by Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, as they work together – and clash with one another – to solve mysteries. New episodes land on Wednesdays, which translates to Tuesday evenings on Apple TV.
New Movies To Watch This Weekend
Apex (Netflix)
Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton star in this Australian film about a grieving woman who heads out to the Australian outback and finds herself pursued by a serial killer. It’s another take on The Most Dangerous Game. Critics and fans praise the gorgeous scenery (it was filmed on location) but it’s getting mixed-to-positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Marty Supreme (HBO Max)
I didn’t catch Marty Supreme in theaters, so I’m glad it’s finally out on HBO Max. Josh Safdie’s film loosely based on table tennis player, Marty Reisman (Timothee Chalamet) had a ton of buzz when it landed in theaters. This is definitely moving to the top of my movie watchlist.
Orangutan (Disney+)
Josh Gadd (another Gadd!) narrates this documentary about adorable orangutans. They really are the cutest. Watch this one with your kids for sure.
New Movies In Theaters This Weekend
Michael
Another Rotten Tomatoes split for the big biopic, Michael, which just landed in theaters. Critics did not like it, with a very rotten 40% but audiences are in love, giving the film 96%. Why the gap? Michael Jackson still has superfans galore and I suspect they are really loving this movie, whereas critics are judging it less from a Michael Jackson standpoint and more from a filmmaking standpoint. Jackson is played by his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, which is pretty cool. The movie was directed by Antoine Fuqua of Training Day fame.
Over Your Dead Body
Samara Weaving and Jason Segel star in this dark comedy about a married couple who goes to a remote cabin, each planning to kill the other. Things take a turn. Or, well, a series of turns. It looks like a lot of fun, one of those mid-budget films we used to see before the death of DVDs.
TV Shows Currently Streaming Weekly
From – Season 4 (MGM+)
FROM returned last weekend with a strong Season 4 premiere. Harold Perrineau stars as Boyd, the sheriff of a Fromville, a mysterious town that traps unsuspecting travelers and subjects them to all sorts of deadly evil. The series was created by some Lost veterans and is definitely the same subgenre, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll get satisfying answers both throughout Season 4 and in the fifth and final season. New episodes drop Sundays.
Outlander – Season 8 (Starz)
I wrote about my problems with Outlander’s final season here, so give that a read if you want my more extended take on what has been, so far, a mixed season with a lot of disappointing choices. Including this weekend’s episode, we only have three remaining before the show is over for good. I have no idea how they’ll wrap it up.
Invincible – Season 4 Finale (Prime Video)
Invincible’s Season 4 finale dropped this week and I thought it was pretty good but not exactly great. There were too many PTSD hallucinations, for one thing. The big moral dilemma that Mark faces in the end was not at all surprising, as I’d basically predicted what the Viltrumites would want to do with Earth already, and I’m always a little annoyed when I predict something but nobody in the show thinks of it, when they really ought to be. Still a very good, very intense season overall.
The Boys – Season 5 (Prime Video)
I really loved the latest episode of The Boys. The whole setup at the abandoned military base where everyone was looking for V1 was great. It felt like a more foul-mouthed episode of The X-Files. I loved Frenchie in this episode, and Soldier Boy, and they both got standout moments. Definitely my favorite episode of the season and one of the best in years. Only four more to go and this show is over. New episodes land on Prime Video on Wednesdays.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)
Elle Fanning stars as Margo, a young college student who gets knocked up by one of her professors and decides to move back home and have the baby. Her parents are played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman. I watched the first episode and thought it was quite good. I’ve been a big fan of Fanning since The Great and she is, once again, great here. I haven’t watched enough of the show to have a full-fledged opinion, but so far it’s pretty funny and very well-written.
The Testaments (Hulu)
This new spinoff of The Handmaid’s Tale follows Agnews (Chase Infiniti of One Battle After Another) and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), young women at Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives. Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) is the major crossover from the original series, though it appears she’s having a major change of heart. Naturally, our heroes begin to question the brutal regime they are a part of, and rebellious thoughts begin to guide their actions. New episodes land Wednesdays on Hulu. I’m still not sure whether or not I’ll watch this one. I never did finish the original series. Just too bleak!
Euphoria – Season 3 (HBO Max)
I’ve still never watched Euphoria, though it’s been on my to-watch list forever. Unfortunately for longtime fans of the HBO series, Season 3 has broken an unfortunate record on Rotten Tomatoes: Its 45% RT score is abysmal compared to Season 1 (80%) and 2 (78%). I’ll be curious to see what fans have to say after the first episode releases this Sunday. There was a lot of dismay when the first trailer dropped, with many fans commenting that this looked like an entirely new show altogether.
The Audacity (AMC / Samsung TV Network)
AMC’s new tech-bro drama, The Audacity, is an interesting series so far. I’ve seen the first two episodes and I can’t decide if I like it or not. The story follows Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen) a very anxiety-prone, mildly sociopathic tech CEO whose relationship with his therapist, Dr. JoAnne Feder (Sarah Goldberg) takes some ethically dubious turns. Like Succession, none of these people are likable at first. The big question is whether they’ll be likable enough to keep watching. Somehow Succession managed to get us to care about the rich, spoiled Roy family. The Audacity creator, Jonathan Glatzer, was a writer on that show as well. We shall see. New episodes drop Sundays.
Your Friends & Neighbors – Season 2 (Apple TV)
Your Friends & Neighbors star John Hamm is joined by James Marsden this season because Marsden is everywhere (or just seems to be since I just watched Jury Duty). We’re only a couple episodes deep, but so far Season 2 feels a lot like Season 1, though not as novel for obvious reasons. Still a fun watch. New episodes drop on Friday.
Hacks – Season 5 (HBO Max)
HBO’s popular comedy, Hacks, returns for its fifth and final season this Sunday with a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, which is pretty much in keeping with every previous season (after cratering to 98% in Seasons 3 and 4). I confess, this is yet another HBO series I’ve never seen, but the stellar reviews mean I must add it to my massive – one might say infinite – backlog. New episodes drop on Thursdays.
For All Mankind – Season 5 (Apple TV)
I’ve heard lots of good things about Apple TV’s optimistic sci-fi series, For All Mankind, and someday I will start it, but my god the sheer number of actors they have to grey and age-up for Season 5 is truly . . . offputting. I watched this trailer without paying attention to the story (spoilers and all that) and I think it must just be a pet peeve of mine, but I am really turned off by the makeup/grey hair on actors who are clearly much younger. I understand that this is necessary – each season takes place across a different decade of alt-American history in which the space race actually took off – but it’s weird-looking. Season 5 has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score. New episodes drop Fridays on Apple TV (which translates to Thursday evening).
Daredevil: Born Again – Season 2 (Disney+)
I’m shocked – shocked, I say! – to see the second season of Daredevil: Born Again out already. The first season came out last year. TV shows are supposed to come out every two or three (or ten) years, aren’t they? I jest, but seriously we went from the standard being a new season every year to much more spread out series, and it’s been a real problem for viewer retention and hype. In any case, if you’re a fan of Daredevil and Kingpin, new episodes come out on Tuesdays. This season has a smashing 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, up from 87% for Season 1.
Rooster – Season 1 Finale (HBO Max)
Steve Carell stars in this new HBO series about a college professor and his complicated relationship with his daughter. It’s described as a sentimental comedy, which makes sense since it was created by Bill Lawrence, the producer behind Ted Lasso, Scrubs, Bad Monkey, Shrinking and other feel-good comedies that also tug on the heartstrings. New episodes release on Sundays.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Season 2 (Apple TV)
Starring Kurt and Wyatt Russell, the Monsters Universe series, Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters, follows the Monarch organization, unraveling dark secrets in a globetrotting adventure that occasionally boasts some truly impressive, gargantuan monsters. I’m still behind, having only just started Season 1 due to a bit of Godzilla fatigue (though I loved Godzilla: Minus One!) New episodes come out Fridays on Apple TV.
Be sure to check out last week’s streaming guide right here.
Check out the previous weekend streaming guide here.
What are you watching these days? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
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