New Shows And Movies To Stream On Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV And More
What to watch this weekend.
Credit: Netflix / Hulu / Disney
Time-traveling romances, space-traveling alien monsters, and celebrities in seriously great shape who want to pass along their wisdom to us normal folk — all this and more await us in this weekend’s friendly neighborhood streaming guide.
On top of all these new streaming shows and movies, we have a few theatrical releases that are worth taking a look at, even if you don’t plan to head to the movie theater this weekend. At least you’ll get a preview of what’s coming to streaming in the not-so-distant future.
It’s a beautiful summer weekend in August, so be sure to spend some time outside soaking up the sun and fresh air. And when you’re done with all that, hopefully this guide will give you some fun options on what to watch when it’s time to Netflix and chill.
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. Let’s dive right in!
New Shows & Movies This Weekend
Alien: Earth (Hulu)
The first two episodes of Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth dropped on Hulu this week and I watched them both and I have a lot of thoughts, but having only finished these last night I haven’t had time to write them down just yet. I’m working on it. The TL;DR version: This is a gorgeous-looking show that does a great job tapping into the feel of the original Alien movies. The performances are all great also. Hooray for Timothy Olyphant as a cyborg! Same with costumes, special effects, music, etc. On the other hand, I’m having trouble caring much about the story. I think that’s probably just a problem with the franchise in general.
Alien: Earth “expands the lore” and honestly I just don’t care about expanding the lore of Alien. I love the original movies for their horror and suspense and the stark, analog/industrial-punk vibes and cool Gigerian Xenomorphs. The sparseness of the setting is part of its draw. The more we “expand the lore” the less interested I become. I’m also baffled by the use of both Peter Pan and, worse, Ice Age in this series. I don’t want any reminders that this is part of our timeline. Nothing rips me out of the ‘cassette futurism’ of this franchise more than clips from a movie that released in 2002. This creates a real technological dissonance that I can’t shake. More to come in my actual review, but while I think a lot of this series is well-crafted, I also question some of its core choices.
Outlander: Blood Of My Blood (Starz)
Well, I watched the first two episodes of Outlander: Blood Of My Blood and started the third and I’ve written my review of the two-part series premiere which you can read here.
The long and short of it is, I find this to be a pretty entertaining and well-produced prequel to Outlander, but I find a few things about it very silly. Claire and Jamie’s parents are just too much like Claire and Jamie, for one thing. The situations they find themselves in feel like retreads of the kind of trials and tribulations Claire and Jamie faced, including Claire’s parents time-traveling through the exact same stones that Claire traveled through, which I find preposterous for a lot of reasons. The romances between the two couples also feel very rushed, which is odd. It’s still fun, well-acted and remarkably well-cast, but I worry that it actually hurts the story of our main protagonists rather than enriches it. We shall see. At least we get to spend more time in Scotland!
Night Always Comes (Netflix)
Hot off her role in Fantastic Four: First Steps, Vanessa Kirby stars in this Netflix thriller about a woman trying to keep the family home. The only problem is, she has to get the money together in one night. We have a ticking clock, old debts and a thriller that many critics are saying is a little heavy-handed in its messaging. Still, it’s “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, if only just barely.
Limitless: Live Better Now (Disney+ / Hulu)
In some ways, Hulu’s two big shows this week are about extending longevity. In Alien: Earth, you do this by transferring a human mind into a synthetic body. In Chris Hemsworth’s documentary series, he turns to science and self-care. I’d like to choose Option A, please. Can I just swap my brain over into a synthetic cyborg super-body that feels no pain and has super-strength and other powers? That sounds way better than a healthy diet and excercise!
Butterfly — Season 1 (Prime Video)
Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) takes on a lead role in this new South Korean spy thriller based on the graphic novel series. All six episodes are out now on Prime Video. The story follows David Jung (Kim), a former US intelligence officer living in South Korea who finds himself pursued by a deadly sociopath whose background is something of a shocker. Spies, assassins, all the good stuff.
Sausage Party: Foodtopia — Season 2 (Prime Video)
The second season to the sequel series for 2016’s Seth Rogen adult animated film Sausage Party is out now on Prime. I didn’t catch the first season, but I remember thinking the original movie was pretty funny in a potty-mouthed, extremely stupid and vulgar sort of way. If you need lowbrow entertainment in your life, look no further.
Highest 2 Lowest (In Theaters)
This strikes me as a recipe for success: Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, A24, Apple TV+ in a film based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Japanese film High and Low. I’m going to post that trailer also:
The film, which follows a powerful music mogul in a high-stakes ransom plot, is in theaters this weekend and comes to Apple TV+ on September 5th. You can watch High and Low right now on HBO Max.
Nobody 2 (In Theaters)
I enjoyed, but didn’t love, the first Nobody. I’m a big fan of Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul is one of the greatest TV shows of all time) and it’s fun to see him stretch his wings and go full action movie-star as the punch-happy, Hutch. The fight scenes look even more over-the-top and ridiculous this time around. It’s a bit John Wick and a bit History of Violence and a lot funnier than either of those films.
Weapons (In Theaters)
Yes, this was in last weekend’s list but I enjoyed this movie so much I went to it twice last weekend. So did my kids! It’s scary, funny and totally unique. There’s nothing else quite like it and I just want more people to go enjoy this wonderful, surprising, unexpected masterpiece. You can read my spoiler-free review here.
Americana (In Theaters)
Sydney Sweeney is suddenly a controversial figure these days (for stupid reasons) but her latest movie looks great. She’s joined by the always-entertaining Paul Walter Hauser and musician/actress Halsey. Zahn McClarnon, who is great in just about everything, also stars. Part modern Western, part comic crime drama . . . it honestly looks great, a bit like Tarantino or Guy Ritchie. 81% on Rotten Tomatoes suggests it’s at least worth a watch — and it’s under two hours long!
A bunch of Fast and Furious movies are also out on Netflix this weekend, and you can catch up on the John Wick franchise on Hulu.
What’s Streaming Weekly
Resident Alien is over and the series has been cancelled, sadly. The Gilded Age also ended its third season. Apple’s historical romance The Buccaneers wrapped up its second season last week. BMF is also coming to a close, as is Smoke. Many shows have ended, in other words, and several more air their finales this week. But we’re still spoiled for choice.
Chief Of War (Apple TV+)
I’m a little behind on Apple’s excellent historical drama, Chief Of War, but only because I traveled this past week and then all these other shows came out. This is a genuinely excellent new series. Jason Momoa stars as Ka’iana, a war chief who abandons his duty. Temuera Morrison plays a terrific villain as the murderous King Kahekili. Night Agent star Luciane Buchanan also stars. This is very much Shogun but in Hawaii instead of Japan.
Dexter: Resurrection (Paramount+)
There’s something almost comforting about more Dexter, and so far I’m really liking Dexter: Resurrection. Is it weird to call a serial killer show comforting? It’s basically comfort food. Michael C. Hall returns as Dexter Morgan, the Bay Harbor Butcher, now wandering the streets of NYC. He’s joined by his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) and his old colleague, Angel Batista (David Zayas). The expanded cast includes Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris and Krysten Ritter.
The Institute (MGM+)
I’m one episode behind on The Institute, and I may just binge it alongside the new episode this Sunday. So far it’s . . . okay at best. There’s some good mystery but the production and acting and writing are all pretty mediocre. This had so much potential, but it all just feels very lackluster. Certainly not a reason to keep your MGM+ subscription running while you wait the next season of FROM.
Other Currently Airing Shows
- Twisted Metal Season 2 (Peacock) — I haven’t started Season 2 yet, but this is a really solid, fun adaptation of the video game. Give it a shot if you remember you have a Peacock subscription, which I often forget!
- South Park Season 27 (Paramount+) — Trey Parker and Matt Stone take on Donald Trump this season and so far it’s every bit as ridiculous, potty-mouthed and hilarious as you’d hope.
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 (Paramount+) — Everything I’ve heard about Season 3 of Strange New Worlds is pretty negative. It appears the once solid Star Trek series has gone a bit off the rails. I’m too far behind to know.
- Foundation Season 3 (Apple TV+) — More and more people keep telling me to watch Foundation so guess what? I’m going to. I’m going to find time to start yet another epic science-fantasy series. You have convinced me! I relent!
- Countdown (Prime Video) — Jensen Ackles from The Boys stars in this race-against-the-clock thriller. I believe we have just one episode to go after this weekend. It didn’t get great reviews but a lot of my readers have said they enjoy it, so it remains on my backlog.
- Smoke (Apple TV+) — Taron Egerton and Dennis Lehane’s arson-mystery-drama wrapped up this week. For whatever reason, this just hasn’t sparked my interest, though a lot of readers say it’s good.
- The Buccaneers Season 2 (Apple TV+) — The Buccaneers is another period drama, with all the lovely costumes, set around the same time as The Gilded Age, but across the pond in England. The finale aired this week.
- BMF Season 4 (Starz) — The series follows the Black Mafia Family in Detroit and is based on a true story. Indeed, one of the leads is actually the son of one of the main characters. The Season 4 finale airs this weekend.
What else did I miss? What should I put on this list or add to my backlog? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Previous Streaming Guides From Yours Truly:
August 8th Streaming Guide:
August 1st Streaming Guide:
July 25th Streaming Guide:
July 18th Streaming Guide:
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