What to watch this weekend.
It’s Friday, and that means one thing and one thing only: My weekend streaming guide is back, and we have a ton of top-notch shows and movies to cover. You will not run out of stuff to watch this weekend, especially since I can almost guarantee that your backlog looks a lot like mine: Daunting, in other words. There are a couple big premieres out this week and a couple big finales, too.
As readers of this column know, I spend each week pouring over the various streaming services we all subscribe to these days and tracking down the best (and sometimes worst) new shows and movies, including theatrical releases since we can’t always watch everything from the comfort of our own home. The box office is having a resurgence thanks to The Minecraft Movie though honestly, you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming to watch that in theaters.
In any case, lots to watch after your busy days soaking in the sun. Let’s dive right in!
If you have any tips or I missed something, shoot me a message on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You can check out last weekend’s streaming guide right here.
What’s New & Notable This Weekend
The Handmaid’s Tale — Season 6 (Hulu)
I reviewed the first four seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale rather religiously (so to speak) and went through something of a grieving process during its fourth season. Season 1 was just unbelievably excellent, and Season 2 was pretty great also. Elisabeth Moss was so perfect as June Osborne—or Offred in the terrifying dystopia of Gilead—and the rest of the cast was also brilliant. Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, Yvonne Strahovski as his wife Serena Joy Waterford, Ann Dowd as the complex Aunt Lydia, and on down the line. It was beautifully shot, and a really great adaptation of the novel by Margaret Atwood. And then, it just started to outwear its welcome. Little things, like the close-ups of Moss’s face with her little smirk, used so frequently as to lose all meaning, began to irritate me. The story spun its wheels. The bleakness started getting under my skin. I stopped watching in Season 5. I’m debating whether or not I should catch up so I can write about the final season. What do you think? Is it worth it, dearest readers? I really feel like the story lost steam by Season 4.
Black Mirror — Season 7 (Netflix)
Black Mirror is one of the best sci-fi anthology series ever made, and certainly one of the best shows you’ll find on Netflix. Season 7 returns with six new episodes and a genuinely phenomenal cast, including Cristin Milioti (who recently blew us all away in The Penguin), Rashida Jones (whose excellent Apple TV+ show Sunny was tragically cancelled), Paul Giamatti, Issa Rae, Awkwafina and so many more. It looks dark and thought-provoking and weird, which is exactly what you’d hope from Black Mirror. Alas, Netflix did not give me screeners so I didn’t have time to watch this before it came out, but I’m hoping to get some in over the weekend.
The Last Of Us — Season 2 (HBO / Max)
One of HBO’s best new shows and one of the best adaptations of a video game ever made, The Last Of Us returns for its second season this weekend, with the Season 2 premiere dropping Sunday evening. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey return to this dark, post-apocalyptic future. They’re joined by Katlyn Dever as Abby, Young Mazino as Jesse, Isabela Merced as Dina and Catherine O’Hara (who is also killing it in The Studio) as Gail, plus many more. I’m enormously curious how this season plays out and how close it sticks to the game. A lot of critics were given access to the whole season to review, but I’m only getting one episode at a time (I’m really not sure why, but I’m guessing it’s because I can be a little harsh compared to some TV critics). I’ll be reviewing weekly here on this blog, so be sure to follow along so we can talk about each episode as they come out!
G20 (Prime Video Film)
I wrote an impressions piece about the trailer for G20, a new Prime Video political thriller starring Viola Davis as a kind of ridiculously over-the-top badass US president. Some people were very angry at me for saying it looked bad, but reviews are in and . . . it looks bad, folks. Paste Magazine’s Rory Doherty compared the film to others in the genre, such as Air Force One, writing “G20, on the other hand, is a generic, ugly, and poorly composed piece of Grade A streaming slop”. I’m debating whether I can give up 108 minutes of my life to watch this and pen a review. But hey, it’s a mindless popcorn movie so who knows? Antony Starr plays the bad guy and I do love his portrayal of Homelander on The Boys.
Moonrise (Netflix Anime)
I’m not really a big anime guy, but I’m including this for those of you who are. Moonrise is about a “cosmic conflict between Earth and the Moon”. Its protagonist, Jack, enlists as a scout in the Earth army to fight against the Moon’s rebel forces. Things don’t go as planned. Also, the villain is named Bob Skylum. Perhaps the greatest villain name ever invented.
Doctor Who — Season 2 (Disney+)
It’s not really Season 2 of Doctor Who, given this series has been around for decades, but it’s Season 2 of the newest (and most controversial) version of the long-running British sci-fi series. I have another confession: I’ve never watched Doctor Who, am incredibly intimidated by how many seasons and different Doctors there are, and have tucked it away somewhere on my Bucket List. I think this looks pretty good, but I know the last season, while scoring big with critics, didn’t seem to land with fans. The Rotten Tomatoes split? 94% critics, 29% Popcornmeter. What I’ve seen in terms of reaction to this trailer online, however, is mostly upbeat and positive, so maybe this will get fans back onboard.
Godfather Of Harlem — Season 4 (MGM+)
Forest Whitaker returns as 1960s New York City gangster, Bumpy Johnson, for the fourth season of the MGM+ hit drama. This is one of those shows that looks really good and has sat on my backlog for years. What do you say, dearest readers? Is it worth the watch?
Your Friends And Neighbors (Apple TV+)
Jon Hamm is always great, ever since Mad Men, and he stars in this new Apple TV+ series about a man (Andrew “Coop” Cooper) a hedge fund manager who loses everything: His job, his marriage, and turns to a life of crime to pay the bills and add a little spark to his life. Naturally, things go wrong when he learns too much about his friends and neighbors, and everything quickly spirals out of control. This is on my to-watch list this weekend for sure. The premiere is out now.
What I’m Watching Weekly
One of my weekly shows ended last weekend. The White Lotus ended with a somewhat deflating Season 3 finale (here’s my review) and if I had to distill my thoughts on the season down to just one sentence, it would be: I liked the pieces of this season more than the whole. In any case, now we can speculate on where the next season will take place. Egypt maybe?
The Wheel Of Time (Prime Video)
The Wheel Of Time’s third season continues to be better than it has any right being, with some tremendous movie-length episodes, awesome magic sequences and full-fledged battles including a really massive one in this week’s penultimate episode. It’s definitely the best live-action fantasy out right now, leaps and bounds better than the best moments of Amazon’s other big fantasy series, The Rings Of Power. You can read my Season 3 review here.
The Pitt (HBO / Max)
The Pitt was great from start to finish. I was a little sad when the finale ended, but it was pretty much perfect. I think the only thing I’d say is that the real-time medical drama didn’t actually need the huge events that spanned the last three episodes in order to make it a great watch. Not that there was anything bad about having it ramp up that way—I was on the edge of my seat—but I think all the smaller moments, all the individual cases and the strength of the characters and storytelling is what made this season so great. A second season could work without a mass shooting. Maybe they’ll change it over to the night shift next time. The show was a massive hit for HBO, nabbing over 10 million viewers per episode. Read my review here.
The Studio (Apple TV)
Four episodes in to Apple TV+’s new movie-business comedy The Studio and I’m absolutely loving it, though the fourth episode was the weakest of the bunch so far. Everything about this show is terrific, from the chaos of the comedy itself to the phenomenal cinematography and clever writing. This might be the best thing Seth Rogen has ever done.
Ludwig (Britbox)
We’re nearing the end of the first season of Ludwig on Britbox and I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you enjoy clever, cozy British mysteries, look no further. This is one of my favorite shows of the year. You can read my review right here.
Yellowjackets Season 3 (Paramount+)
The big finale this week was Season 3 of Yellowjackets, which I found overall just incredibly lackluster despite some cool stuff happening. The finale ties right back to the very first episode and it really should have been a jaw-dropping moment filled with huge revelations, but they’ve fumbled the ball so badly since Season 2 that I’m not sure it’s actually salvageable at this point. Honestly, while they’ve clearly set up a fourth season, the Season 3 finale could work as a series finale, though lots of questions remain unanswered. Perhaps that’s for the best, since it seems far from certain that the writers even have good answers to any of these questions. Here’s my Season 3 finale review.
Other shows that I’m not following or caught up on but keep meaning to watch:
- Happy Face on Paramount+
- MobLand on Prime Video
- The Righteous Gemstones on HBO
- Dope Thief on Apple TV
- Dark Winds on AMC
- Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+
What else did I miss? What are you watching these days? What should I put on this list or add to my backlog? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
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