Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
Tie: 10. Harley Quinn (HBO Max series)
This show started out as a sleeper and turned into an animated comic book series that even non-comic book lovers enjoy. It’s raucous and witty and as inappropriate as one would expect, and hopefully, the Warner Bros. Discovery rollout won’t mean that Harley, Ivy, King Shark, and the rest of the henchmen won’t be heading into the Gotham sunset. After all, we do need some DC energy that isn’t gritty and full of gloom, and this show delivers a Batman who’s neither of those things either.
Tie: 10. See (Apple TV+ series)
Jason Momoa got the hell beat out of him last season by Dave Bautista, but the good news is this: Baba Voss survived and is back to give us a third and final season of Warrior Momoa In Fur Coats. His Warrior Hunkiness somehow exists (for the audience, apparently) in a world where barely anyone can behold how he looks. However, nature is healing, and babies are now beginning to see again, so maybe someone will gasp in recognition, just for fun? Take it away, Masturbating Queen.
9. Prey (Hulu movie)
The central female Comanche warrior is doing the thing here. Not only is she defending her tribe against an enormously hostile and murderous alien creature, but she’s also hoping to stop the invading powers that be from colonizing her people. That subtle political bent does not take a darn thing away from the entertainment value of this film. Rather, we receive a down and dirty franchise installment that showcases a female protagonist who’s not only tough as hell physically but smart as heck.
8 Elvis (Warner Bros. film on Amazon and other PVOD outlets)
Get all shook up with this biopic direct by Baz Lurhmann and starring Austin Butler. Tom Hanks (Hanx!) is (for once) not the best part of this movie, which follows the short life of Elvis Presley and the legendary career vibes that followed. The film is chaotic and a Luhrmann production, through and through, and Butler should earn some awards for his transformative ways and really going there to show of all facets of the King.
7. She-Hulk (Disney+ series)
This series is already telling us so much about the rest of the MCU, and Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany Hulks out like a pro. Yes, there’s a lot of CGI, but it’s actually pretty good, and this show does a nice job of tying together some loose threads of the currently uneven MCU. There’s nothing uneven about that Steve Rogers reference, and may Jennifer Walters bring both mayhem and order to the court.
6. Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist (Netflix documentary)
Catfishing still somehow happens on a regular basis, but back in 2009, Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o caught a heck of a fish during his Notre Dame years. The woman in question turned into (obviously unbeknownst to him at the time) a fake girlfriend for the ages. For quite some time, details on this scandal remained shrouded in secrecy, but the moment has come for the airing of (justified) grievances. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of online romance that turns into anything but that. Some things never change!
5. selena + chef (HBO Max series)
Selena Gomez is crushing it, man. She’s not only starring in the Only Murders In The Building (and doing a fine job alongside two comedy legends, Steve Martin and Martin Short), but Selena has also (during the pandemic) pumped out several seasons where she virtually hangs with a real chef and learns more about how to cook delightful dishes to the benefit of her attending friends. The show now heads into Season 4 with no signs of slowing the heck down. The same goes for Selena’s career.
4. Day Shift (Netflix documentary)
These days, it feels like Netflix action flicks starring prominent names are a dime a dozen (although they cost Netflix a lot more than that). This one stands apart from the pack, though, as Jamie Foxx portrays a vampire hunter in an incredibly fun and ridiculously silly action comedy. Jamie’s character, Budd, ends up being disavowed from the vampire hunter’s union, which means that vamp killers are pretty much blue collar workers. If that doesn’t sound like a good time, then I don’t know how to help you.
3. Welcome To Wrexham (FX series on Hulu)
As legend has it, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney didn’t really know each other but still decided (mid-pandemic) to go ahead and buy a soccer team together. This turned into their co-ownership of the Wrexham A.F.C. football club. They have no idea what they’re doing, so they took the next logical step: decided to make this journey into a TV show (as one does, especially in the age of content). Ted Lasso would be proud!
2. The Sandman (Netflix series)
There’s no guarantee that we’ll see a second season of this dark fantasy masterpiece even though Neil Gaiman is here for that, and the show’s been sitting at the top of the global streaming charts for weeks. In other words, get to streaming in order to send a message to Netflix. There’s even a bonus episode (featuring the “Calliope” story), so what are you waiting for? Get swept up in the tales of the Endless as well as Dream’s quest to recover his tools and repair all the damage of his century-long imprisonment. Also, get ready for the most beautiful TV episode and a very different (but spectacular) spin on the Death character from Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
1. House of the Dragon (HBO series on HBO Max)
A Season 2 renewal is already in the can for this prequel that (so far) is a worthy successor to Game of Thrones. We’ve already pegged some Contenders vs. Defenders, and the series has already dug into the Targaryen lineage with callbacks and echoes of iconic moments from the flagship series. Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, and Millie Alcock are killing the family dynamic so far, and the characters of the latter are perhaps a little too close, but we are talking about the Targaryens here. Enjoy this event TV all over again by streaming it to your fire-breathing heart’s content.