What To Watch: Our Picks For The TV Shows And Movies We Think You Should Stream This Week
Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
20. Spaceman (Netflix)
The Sandman is the Spaceman. Adam Sandler stars in Spaceman, a science-fiction drama from director Johan Renck (Chernobyl) about a lonely astronaut who realizes his wife (played by Carey Mulligan) might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things, he gets advice from a mysterious talking spider voiced by Paul Dano, as one does. Spaceman is very odd and very sad, and Sandler is very good in it.
19. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
Did we really need a reimagining of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie? Watch the first few episodes, and you might agree that this effort was not wasted. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine pick up as assassins who happen to be paired together (and “married”), and you aren’t ready for the rollicking, madcap, action-packed set of missions that they must complete (or else?). Even better: John and Jane Smith’s onscreen relationship is as much of daredevil stunt as the action scenes.
18. The Holdovers (Peacock)
Our official position on The Holdovers is twofold: one, we support anything where Paul Giamatti gets to be curmudgeonly; two, we love to see Paul Giamatti thrive. This movie checks both boxes.
17. Abbott Elementary (Hulu)
School’s back in session at Abbott Elementary and the show has made some big changes after the romantic cliffhanger that ended season two. Janine has a new job (and a new love interest), Gregory’s struggling to move on, Josh Segarra from The Other Two is auditing classrooms, and Ava Coleman is a Harvard (adjacent) graduate. Lord help Mrs. Howard. After a longer-than-expected hiatus it’s nice to see the Emmy-winning comedy reinventing itself instead of resting on its laurels, but don’t worry, there are still plenty of Janelle James one-liners and Tyler James Williams pans to camera to keep things comfortably familiar.
16. The Gentlemen (Netflix)
Netflix’s take on this Guy Ritchie banger takes the best part of the crime thriller – the wild accents, the aristocratic drug smuggling enterprise, the suits – and expands on them, trading the frenetic energy of his two hour movie for a more interesting character study disguised as a posh power play. Theo James’ Duke inherits his family’s land, title, and (unknowingly) their stake in a criminal underground filled with the nastiest of characters, all captained by Kaya Scodelario playing a well-dressed, dubiously motivated mob boss with some fantastic one-liners. Should Guy Ritchie have been doing TV all along?
15. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (AMC Plus)
Rick Grimes has been missing from TV screens for a handful of years and in The Walking Dead timeline for over a decade. Now, Michonne is about to save his ass and hopefully torch the CRM while she’s at it. Too much? Nah, this franchise went off the rails a long time ago, and that’s part of the fun. This spinoff ends up being a worthy love story within the parameters of this world, and existing viewers will adore it. Meanwhile, Daryl is still in France, now with added Carol, so they won’t be reinforcements for the “Save Rick” cause, but we can hope for a reunion.
14. Poor Things (Hulu)
What we have here:
- Emma Stone absolutely cooking in an awards-collecting movie about a lady who is brought back to life by a mad scientist and promptly starts skipping across continents on a journey of liberation
- Emma Stone working with director Yorgos Lanthimos again
- Did… you read those first two?
No time like the present, baby.
13. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Disney Plus)
Taylor Swift’s record-breaking concert film is now available to watch whenever you want. But if you only have time for one song from every era, for some reason, make them: “Cruel Summer” (Lover), “Love Story” (Fearless), “Champagne Problems” (Evermore), “Look What You Made Me Do” (Reputation), “Enchanted” (Speak Now), “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” (Red), “Illicit Affairs” (Folklore), “Style” (1989), and “Anti-Hero” (Midnights). Don’t blame me for the lack of songs from debut. That’s on Taylor.
12. The Regime (Max)
Kate Winslet as an unhinged autocrat in a problematic power struggle with her unpredictable mold-eradicating henchman that may or may not spark the downfall of an entire nation? Sign us up. As Elena Vernham, the chancellor of an authoritarian regime in fictional Europe, Winslet smooths over fascist ideals with maternal platitudes while insulating herself from the real problems of the world. It’s only when her home begins crumbling (literally) and her dead father begins haunting its halls (not so literally?) that her iron grip loosens enough for the vultures to sweep in.
11. Bottoms (Prime Video)
Bottoms is a screwball comedy about two gay teenage girls who start a high school fight club as a ploy to hook up with their cheerleader crushes. Ayo Edebiri is in it. So is Marshawn Lynch. There are acts of vandalism set to 80s bangers and football players in cages and none of it makes any sense but it’s absolutely worth just rolling with it.
This one is a blast. And it’s streaming on the same website you bought your coffee maker on. The future is kind of wild.
10. Curb Your Enthusiasm (Max)
After 24 years, 12 seasons, and countless social assassinations; Curb Your Enthusiasm comes to an end this Sunday. It’s been a season filled with familiar faces (Ted Danson, the late Richard Lewis, Cheryl Hines, Vince Vaughn, JB Smoove) and misanthropic delights as Larry David walks off into the sunset so he can strangle more muppets or do whatever else he does when he isn’t kvetching about required niceties and other peccadilloes.
9. Oppenheimer (Peacock)
With this historical biopic, Christopher Nolan unknowingly created an atomic amuse-bouche for a double-feature blockbuster viewing experience that saved cinema last year. But, watching Cillian Murphy’s cheekbones cut glass as he chain-smokes his way to becoming Death, Destroyer of Worlds for three-plus hours is just as much fun at home as it was in a packed movie theater. Sporting a packed line-up of A-list talent (hello Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr.), a bone-rattling score, and some clever monochromatic cinematography to distinguish between its multiple timelines, Oppenheimer has more than earned its place on every nominations list this awards season. Now, go enjoy it in the way Nolan intended – streaming on Peacock.
8. Girls State (Apple TV)
I know. I know. The last thing you want to watch is a movie about politics. But make an exception for Girls State, a sequel of sorts to 2020’s Sundance-winning Boys State. Here’s what it’s about: “What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? A political coming-of-age story and a stirring reimagination of what it means to govern, Girls State follows young female leaders — from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri — as they navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.”
7. X-Men ’97 (Disney Plus)
If you’re going to do nostalgia, at least make sure it’s as good as X-Men ‘97. The animated series is a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired from 1992 to 1997, and follows the team of mutants as they do mutant-like things. Do we really need to explain what the X-Men show is about? It’s about the X-Men.
6. Lisa Frankenstein (Peacock)
Jennifer’s Body is considered a teen movie classic these days, but it was criminally underseen when it first came out. Don’t make the same mistake with writer Diablo Cody’s latest movie, Lisa Frankenstein. The comedy-horror stars the always-fun Kathryn Newton as a teen girl who falls in love with a corpse, played by Cole Sprouse. Fun fact: Lisa Frankenstein was directed by Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda.
5. Sugar (Apple TV)
Colin Farrell is gearing up to appear in Max’s Penguin series, but for the moment, he’s starring as private detective John Sugar, who must track the disappearance of a powerful Hollywood producer’s granddaughter. In the process, Sugar also digs up family secrets that were buried for damn good reasons. Yes, this is a modern spin on film noir, but how could you resist a member of the the Irish renaissance portraying the newest gumshoe on streaming TV?
4. Girls5eva (Netflix)
Anyone who skips the opening credits for Girls5eva should be thrown in prison. Actually, anyone who doesn’t watch Girls5eva, a hilarious joke-a-second comedy about a reunited girl group played by Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell, and Renée Elise Goldsberry, deserves a five-year sentence behind bars. It’s harsh but fair.
3. 3 Body Problem (Netflix)
Netflix wanted a Game of Thrones-sized hit. It got one in 3 Body Problem, the first show from creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (working with Alexander Woo) since, well, Game of Thrones. The sci-fi mystery is about “a tight-knit group of brilliant scientists must join forces with an unflinching detective to stop humanity’s greatest threat.” The cast includes Liam Cunningham (a.k.a. the Onion Knight from Thrones) and Benedict Wong, which is reason enough to watch right there.
2. Shogun (Hulu)
Shogun really is that good. A historical epic set in feudal Japan that follows an English pilot (Cosmo Jarvis) who washes ashore during a time of political strife, it takes the kind of storytelling swings you just wouldn’t expect. Its most fascinating characters speak almost exclusively in subtitles (hello Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawaii, and Moeka Hoshi), its action sneaks up on you, and its political intrigue is cutthroat. It’s Game of Thrones with samurais and it should be on everyone’s must-see list.
1. Ripley (Netflix)
Everybody remembers Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Andrew Scott is fully shaking off his “Hot Priest” days to don Tom Ripley’s grifter duds, this time in a more visually-striking medium, from the looks of this trailer. This series is, of course, based upon Patricia Highsmith’s series of novels, and the title character takes a job in the 1960s that sets him on the deceit-filled path to murder. Whether this debut will lead to adapting more books in further seasons, we shall have to wait and see.