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.
If you’re going to do unadulterated nostalgia, at least make it as fun (and occasionally devastating) as X-Men ‘97. The Disney Plus 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.
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. 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, we shall have to wait and see.
The last time Park Chan-wook directed a limited series, it was The Little Drummer Girl. That turned out pretty good. Now, the Korean filmmaker is back with another excellent addition to his filmography.
Based on author Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel of the same, The Sympathizer is described as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.” The cast is led by Hoa Xuande and Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple characters.
The Hulu true crime series is about a 14-year-old girl who goes missing after being invited to a party. Her body is later discovered after she was brutally beaten. The story is told from the perspective of a journalist writing about the incident and a local police officer, played by Riley Keough and Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, as they explore the “hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder — revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.”
Fallout is an adaptation of Bethesda’s behemoth franchise, a story set within the retro-futuristic world that’s captivated console users for years and years. Yes, there are delightful little nods to in-game storylines – Pip-Boys and Nuka-Cola and Radaway, but they either serve a larger purpose or don’t linger for too long, ensuring that the show stands on its own two feet. Long-time gamers should have little to gripe about while those craving better genre fare amidst the streaming glut should come away satisfied. Whether you know its history or not, Fallout is a f*cking blast of a sci-fi show that defies expectations in the most unconventional of ways (and turned Walton Goggins into a sex symbol).
There’s no Keanu Reeves (yet), but Knuckles should delight the lil’ Sonic fans in your home. The Paramount Plus series has Idris Elba reprising his role as the red echidna from the movies, while the rest of the cast includes Adam Pally, Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, and Stockard Channing. Over the course of six episodes, Knuckles goes on a “journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train [Pally’s character] Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior.” Is it too much to hope for a Big the Cat cameo?
Now that everyone remembers Conan O’Brien is a comedic genius, we owe it to him to watch his new show. Conan O’Brien Must Go is a travel series on Max where he “experiences local cultures and connects with fans he previously met on his podcast.” It’s silly and hilarious — in other words, it’s pure Conan. Hopefully he stays away from con men selling monorails, though.
The less you learn in advance about Baby Reindeer, the better. Just know that it’s one of the most talked-about shows of the year so far, and it’s getting favorably compared to I May Destroy You and Fleabag. Don’t waste your time speculating, as requested by creator and star Richard Gadd. Watch it.
The latest Neil Gaiman project to be turned into a show is Dead Boy Detectives. It’s a lot of fun. Creepy, but fun. The series follows two sleuths, Edwin Payne (played by George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), who track down the world’s most elusive ghosts and demons. Did I mention that Edwin and Charles are also ghosts? That’s important to know, as is this: co-creator Steve Yockey compared Dead Boy Detectives to “The Hardy Boys on acid.” OK!
Apple TV’s breakout hit The Big Door Prize returns for a second season, which follows “the residents of Deerfield as the Morpho machine readies them for the mysterious ‘next stage.’ As everyone’s potentials are exchanged for visions, new relationships form and new questions are asked,” according to the official plot synopsis. Chris O’Dowd is back, as is Josh Segarra, in case you’re missing Lance from The Other Two. I know I am.
Jerry Seinfeld created one of the most popular TV shows ever, and he used that clout to make an animated movie about a horny talking bee and another film for Netflix about the invention of Pop-Tarts. Sure! Unfrosted has a solid cast, including Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Max Greenfield, and Peter Dinklage, and it’s a weird enough concept that it might be a good time, no matter what the “extreme left” thinks.
The international spy thriller from creator Steven Knight stars Elisabeth Moss and Yumna Marwan as “two women who play a deadly game of truth and lies on the road from Istanbul to Paris and London. One woman has a secret, the other a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost.” You had me at Elisabeth Moss.
You’ve probably heard about this one. Anyone But You, which has Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell pretending to be the world’s most attractive couple (both on- and off-screen), grossed $219 million at the box office. That’s a massive amount of money for a romantic-comedy. Now it’s on Netflix, in case you want to watch Sweeney sing “Unwritten” to Powell’s naked butt on a loop.
To quote Kimberly Ricci’s glowing review: “Through a skillful turn from the Hacks writers, the third season does something different than its two predecessors and succeeds mightily. Is the power struggle completely over? No way, but there is no question that these two women are meant to be together, and that they enhance each other professionally. As well, they somehow begin to really connect on a personal level and — wait for it — make each other better humans. It sounds sappy, but it rolls well.”
An actually sexy romantic-comedy, what a concept! The Idea of You stars Anne Hathaway as a single mom who attends Coachella with her teenage daughter. While there, she meets Hayes Campbell, played by Bottoms breakout Nicholas Galitzine, the lead singer of the boy band August Moon. The two begin a romance that definitely (wink) isn’t inspired by Harry Styles. The Idea of You is getting rave reviews, as it should: Anne Hathaway rules.
