What to watch this weekend.
The weekend is upon us, or very nearly so, and even though it’s peak springtime and gorgeous out, after a day of frolicking in the sun, what better way to relax than with a good TV show or movie? Kick off those hiking boots and hit the couch with your friends and family. There are a whole bunch of new streaming options this weekend.
Each week I scour the internet for the best (and sometimes worst) new TV shows and movies on all the streaming apps, from Netflix to BritBox to Apple TV+ and more. One thing I’ve learned doing this is that there is always something new, and a lot of times I haven’t even heard about it until just before it comes out. The following list contains killer robots, talking cats, deadly curses and period crime dramas. There’s something for everyone, in other words.
Check out last week’s streaming guide right here:
As an added bonus, I just posted a guide to some of my favorite UK cop shows, which you can check out here. I do love my cop shows!
Alright, onto the list.
New Shows And Movies
Murderbot (Apple TV+)
I still haven’t read the books by Martha Wells that serve as source material for this Alexander Skarsgard-led sci-fi comedy, but I have watched all ten episodes of the show. It’s pretty good, though it has some tonal issues and Apple is releasing the first season weekly. Normally, I wouldn’t complain about this, but the 20-ish minute episodes are too short to trickle out at this rate, and the show takes awhile to find its stride. It’s worth a watch, but this is one you might consider saving so that you can binge it all at once instead. You can read my review of Season 1 right here.
Love, Death + Robots – Season 4 (Netflix)
A new season of Love, Death + Robots is upon us with ten brand new animated short-films and at least a couple of talking cats. While it can be a bit uneven, I’ve really enjoyed this Netflix Original. It’s fun to have these shorts to dive into without any real time commitment. And it’s spawned some terrific imitators like Secret Level on Prime Video. This season has a ton of variety when it comes to the stories and animation, from a short about the band Red Hot Chili Peppers to a gladiatorial short with T-Rex dinosaurs and MrBeast. I’ve written an episode guide which you can check out right here.
Duster (HBO Max)
Duster is one of those shows that wasn’t even on my radar until researching this weekend’s guide. I’m glad I stumbled across it, because it looks like a lot of fun. The show stars Josh Holloway of Lost fame, as Jim Ellis, a getaway driver who ends up helping the first black female FBI Agent, Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson) to take down a powerful crime syndicate. The story takes place in 1972, so expect some stylish clothes and hairdos, muscle cars and plenty of old-school action.
Tom Segura’s Bad Thoughts (Netflix)
Tom Segura’s new Netflix sketch comedy looks decently funny in the trailer, but it appears both critics and audiences agree that this is just shy of “fresh” with a 56% from both on Rotten Tomatoes. The stand-up comedian and podcaster’s new show is getting lambasted all over social media and reddit, where the most serious accusation you can level at a comedy show is being made over and over: It’s just not funny. Still, you can decide for yourself. All six episodes are out now.
The Brutalist (HBO Max)
A controversial, award-winning three-hour long epic about immigration and architecture, The Brutalist was one of those movies that I missed in theaters thanks to its daunting runtime. Now that it’s out on streaming, I figure I can watch it over the course of a couple nights if it doesn’t draw me in. The movie lands on HBO Max this weekend (and yes, we’re back to HBO Max after WBD’s failed “just Max” experiment).
The Last Breath (Hulu)
Woody Harrelson stars in this true story about deep-sea divers who work undersea gas lines in the North Sea, battling the elements to rescue a crewmate trapped hundreds of feet beneath the surface after an accident causes all hell to break loose. If you’re a fan of the survival-thriller genre, this should bubble up to the top of your list.
Snow White (VOD)
Snow White has been a disaster for Disney since it was announced. The live-action adaptation of the most classic of animated Disney classics has courted controversy since day-one, thanks in part to comments made by its star, Rachel Zegler, and in part to the CGI dwarfs – genuinely nightmarish beings that will haunt your dreams. It bombed at the box office and now you can watch it at home if you feel like buying it on-demand. Of course, it will likely be on Disney+ in a few weeks, so you might want to wait.
A Minecraft Movie (VOD)
I still haven’t seen the Minecraft Movie, and honestly I think it looks pretty bad, but it was a massive hit at the box office and boasts an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (whereas snobby critics gave it a 47%). I’m still waiting for it to come out on streaming, but I’m glad it did well and it looks like fun in a “this movie is bad but fun because it’s bad” sort of way. And hey, critics and audiences both liked it more than Snow White!
Final Destination: Bloodlines (In Theaters)
I admit, I’ve only seen the very first Final Destination movie, but I thought it was pretty good. I just didn’t have any interest in watching the same plot over and over again. Still, when I first saw the trailer for the prequel, Final Destination: Bloodlines, I had to admit it looked really good. Sometimes a good trailer can make a bad movie look good, of course, but this actually has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s impressive for a horror movie, and incredibly impressive for one in a franchise that’s been around this long.
Streaming Weekly
The big shows I’ve been watching lately are:
- The Last Of Us (HBO) – Season 2 remains a mixed bag, with some very strong moments and some great new characters like Isaac (Jeffrey Wright) but also a lot of odd choices and changes from the source material. The penultimate episode airs this Sunday.
- The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC) – I’m deeply unimpressed with the second season of Dead City, the Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) / Maggie (Lauren Cohan) TWD spinoff. I ended up liking the first season more than most of these, but Season 2 is goofy and dull.
- The Studio (Apple TV+) – I think I’m one episode behind on Apple’s hilarious Seth Rogen-led satire of the movie business. So far, this show has exceeded all expectations, blending genuinely funny humor with really terrific cinematography where every scene is a “oner” or single shot, adding to the sense of chaos permeating each episode.
- Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV+) – Jon Hamm is stellar in this dramedy about a man who loses everything and turns to a life of crime, burgling his wealthy friends and neighbors while getting mixed up in various relationships and conflicts. Things are really coming to a head at this point. I really recommend you give this one a shot if you haven’t already.
The big finale this past week was Andor’s series finale. The last three episodes dropped earlier this week and were, as per usual, phenomenal. It’s sad that the show came to an end, and a part of me really wishes they’d been able to stretch this out into at least three seasons, but what we got was pretty close to perfection so I have no complaints. Here’s my spoiler-free Season 2 review. I’m rewatching the show from the beginning now. When TV is this good it demands a second (or fourth) viewing.
There are plenty of other shows I’ve left out, including the second season of Poker Face on Peacock, The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu and so forth, but these are the ones most squarely in my radar that are airing each week. The list gets too long if I include everything!
What are you watching? What did I miss? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
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