What to watch this weekend.
Credit: Netflix / Prime Video / Universal
Dark fantasy, wicked witches and cozy mysteries that tug on the heartstrings. All sorts of new shows and movies are out this weekend to divert and entertain us as the days grow chillier and spending time on the couch with a good binge gets ever more appealing. We’ve had our first real snow-storm here in the mountains, and it’s making me not want to leave the house at all.
It’s been a really good year for TV shows and movies and we still have some pretty major releases in the near future, including the first part of Stranger Things Season 5 which drops later this week. It’s also been a great year for video games, and if you’re someone who likes both TV and video games, I can’t recommend Dispatch highly enough. It’s more of an interactive story than a video game, and it’s just a masterpiece of the superhero genre. Even if you don’t game much, I think you should play this one.
I’ve also written a bit about IT: Welcome To Derry recently, a show that I am certainly enjoying, but which has such awful CGI at times that it becomes downright goofy instead of frightening.
As always, I’ve searched high and low for all the best new TV shows and movies currently streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV and more and compiled them in this list. Let me know if I’ve missed anything and I’ll add it in an update. Send me any tips you have on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Be sure to also check out last weekend’s streaming guide right here and The Top 20 Movies Coming To Netflix In November. Now, without further adieu, the list!
New TV Shows To Watch This Weekend
The Mighty Nein (Prime Video)
I started watching The Mighty Nein last night but didn’t make it through all three episodes that released on Prime Video yesterday because I was too tired and wanted to be fully present for the show. It’s a new adult animated fantasy from Critical Role, and very much in the same vein as The Legend Of Vox Machina. I absolutely adore Vox Machina and I’m really excited to get to know this new batch of characters — but I don’t watch Critical Role’s wildly popular D&D podcast at all. Half hour animated episodes are much more my speed than 3-hour-long podcasts. If I have time for Dungeons & Dragons, it’s to play the game with friends, not watch other people play it.
In any case, I’m already hooked on The Mighty Nein and this tense, exciting new story and colorful cast of characters. So far I especially like the goblin rogue, Nott the Brave (Sam Riegel) and his new mage buddy, Caleb Widogast (Liam O’Brien). The rest of the cast includes Laura Bailey as tiefling cleric, Jester Lavore; Ashley Johnson as aasimar barbarian, Yasha Nydoorin; Matthew Mercer as drow wizard, Essek Thelyss; Marisha Ray as Beauregard “Beau” Lionett, a human monk; and Travis Willingham as half-orc warlock and sailor, Fjord Stone. There are many supporting cast members as well. Episodes will release in sets of three over the next few weeks on Thursdays.
A Man On The Inside — Season 2 (Netflix)
The first season of A Man on the Inside was such a delightful cozy mystery and genuinely one of my favorite Ted Danson shows, though of course he’s also wonderful in The Good Place — also created by Michael Schur — and Cheers. Danson plays Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired professor who finds himself working for a private eye and infiltrating a retirement home to track down a jewel thief.
This show made my recent best detective shows list (though it was only 10 entries long and it when it comes to great detective shows I could probably list 100). Hopefully Season 2 lives up to the first! I haven’t even watched the trailer as I want to go in totally blind and not have anything spoiled. I binged the first season in one sitting I loved it so much, though if you’re a cryer, bring a box of tissues.
New Movies To Watch This Weekend
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Denis Johnson’s novella of the same name is the inspiration for Train Dreams, the story of logger, Robert Grainier, and his family. Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones star in this quiet, meditative and gorgeously shot film.
One Shot with Ed Sheeran (Netflix)
Ed Sheeran fans will undoubtedly enjoy this splashy new live show set in the streets of the Big Apple. It’s not a concert, it’s just Sheeran going around the city talking with people and having “spontaneous musical moments” which actually sounds like something he’d be quite good at, and might be better than just another big concert.
The Family Plan 2 (Apple TV)
I didn’t see the first Family Plan movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan (who has been in everything lately, from The White Lotus to Bad Monkey) probably because the action-comedy didn’t look all that good and has a 29% RT score. But it apparently did well enough for Apple to greenlight a sequel. Sometimes you just need a good popcorn movie.
Deathstalker (VOD)
Sometimes you need a blast from the past and this movie looks wild. Deathstalker is a reboot of the old ‘80s fantasy B-movie classics and it’s getting rave reviews, with an 86% RT score. The film is from director Steven Kostanski and stars Daniel Bernhardt as Deathstalker himself.
Wicked: For Good (In Theaters)
I absolutely loved the first Wicked movie, which remains one of my favorite Broadway film adaptations. I saw the sequel yesterday and . . . I enjoyed it, but it’s just not on the same level at all. Partly this is just due to the source material. Most of the best story and music is in the first half of the play and the second half is just weaker all around, with “For Good” the only real banger. But the second film also suffers from some bad lighting, a more dour and less upbeat story and lost momentum from splitting it into two parts. Still worth seeing on the big screen, but not the movie event Wicked turned out to be. I’m working on my full review.
Traditionally in this guide I include weekly streaming shows that are already airing as well, but the guide has gotten too big for its own good and I’ve decided to split it into two separate guides and see how that works. Look for my weekly streaming guide on Sundays, my new movies guide on Mondays and this weekend guide every Friday afternoon. Briefly, however, I will say that right now my favorite ongoing shows include The Chair Company and IT: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max, Pluribus on Apple TV, and Blue Lights on BritBox.
And that’s all folks! Let me know what you’re watching and if I missed anything you think I should add to this guide. If there’s anything upcoming on your radar, let me know about that as well! You tell me: What are you watching these days? 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.
