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. Luckiest Girl Alive (Netflix movie)
Mila Kunis stars in this adaptation of Jessica Knoll’s novel of the same name, and when Mila Kunis stars in a movie, people click. Unfortunately, the movie would have been better received with a trigger warning. Yet if you go in with eyes open (and know that there’s plenty of trauma for the protagonist due to a mass shooting and sexual assault), then you might appreciate how the story portrays the strength of Mila’s character in working to overcome what she’s been through, rather than allow her wealthy fiancé to encourage burying it deep within her consciousness. Also, Scoot McNairy plays her high-school teacher who’s helping everyone sort through the mess.
TIE: 10. Shantaram (Apple TV+ series)
Charlie Hunnam picks up in his first starring TV role since Jax Teller drove into a Mack truck in the final moments of Sons of Anarchy. As Hunnam relayed to us, the project was as chaotic as it looks to shoot, but he’s thrilled to have finally adapted Gregory David Roberts’ sprawling book for the screen. Hunnam’s character, Lin, finds a kindred spirit in Shubham Sarif’s fast-talking Prabhu character, and they’re truly dealing with some nefarious forces. Will Lin ever get out of Bombay, and does he really want to do so? He’s an escaped convict trying to keep his head low after escaping from an Australian prison, so it’s not like he’s got too many choices to stay out of trouble.
9. Winchesters (CW series streaming in various places)
If you’re a Jensen Ackles fan and loved seeing him as Soldier Boy on The Boys but are disappointed in seeing the character put on ice, never fear. He surfaces in this new CW series that’s already receiving good viewership, and it’s no wonder, given that this is a Supernatural prequel. Jensen’s Dean Winchester is the narrator of this series that details how Dean’s parents, John (who fought in Vietnam) and Mary (a demon hunter, naturally), saved the world. There are plenty of shadowy forces and secrets at work, and both John and Marry are dealing with warring family legacies, which they must reconcile before moving on with a family of their own.
8. Rosaline (Hulu movie)
Kaitlyn Dever (Loretta!) stars in this reimagining of this Romeo and Juliet side story, in which we found out what happened to the pre-Juliet love interest that Romeo seems to totally forget existed. Rude. However, Rosaline is on her game, so she plots to keep them apart, and we won’t give away whether or not she succeeds or they end up killing themselves anyway. Dever never turns in a subpar performance, and it’s glorious to see her in a project where she’s having a wicked good time.
7. Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Amazon Prime series)
The first season recently concluded for this Jeff Bezos fantasy-epic lovechild, and one can expect that he’ll keep arranging to fund this series until it runs out of story. Although this didn’t receive as much week-to-week fuss as House of the Dragon, rest assured that most viewers seem to love it because they kept watching. Finally, Tolkien’s fable Second Age rose with a young Galadriel refusing to pay attention to the trolls who complained that this is too “woke” of a take on Middle-earth
6. Andor (Disney+ series)
Diego Luna stars in this unusually grounded piece of the Star Wars universe far, far away. The show might not be bringing the weekly gushing via some Baby Yoda cuteness, but it’s a slow burn that fans seem to appreciate. As well, Cassian Andor is now receiving a character study that we rarely get to see from these Star Wars shows, and although this will apparently be the last time that Andor plays this rebellion hero, it will still be the longest-running season of related shows in the streaming service’s history (thus far).
5. Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix series) and Conversations With A Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes (Netflix docuseries)
Ryan Murphy cannot be stopped, nor can people stop watching shows about serial killers, so Murphy’s dramatized take on the prolific cannibal is still earning major clicks for Netflix. After you’re done listening to people ask what that “smell” is, there’s also Joe Berlinger’s documentary approach to putting Dahmer behind bars. Berlinger previously helmed the dramatized Ted Bundy movie starring Zac Efron, and he’s a big Metallica guy, if you’re into that sort of thing. Alright, I’m clearly attempting to stop thinking about serial killers.
4. Interview With The Vampire (AMC series streaming on AMC+)
Louie and Lestat are finally decloseting their romance, which is a good thing, but also, they’re seriously messy lovers. This show ends up being overall better than the 1990s movie that starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm from Game of Thrones) gives us a much more layered (and socially responsible) Louis than we’ve seen before. Anne Rice lovers can also look forward to The Mayfair Witches, which will star Alexandra Daddario as the heir to a long legacy of magical beings.
3. The Watcher (Netflix series)
More Ryan Murphy. In this project, he gives his audience a supporting cast of Margo Martindale, Richard Kind, Mia Farrow, and Jennifer Coolidge. One or some of them may or may not be terrorizing the Brannock family (including Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannivale) with threatening letters. This show is slightly campy and not full of triggers, and although the real-life story never saw a resolution to the identity of The Watcher, this show takes viewers on a long line of imagined scenarios. This one is definitely worth a watch, as long as your expectations include no definitive ending.
2. Halloween Ends (Universal movie streaming on Peacock)
Jamie Lee Curtis says goodbye to Laurie Strode after literally decades of her dealing with the sh*ttiest brother in the world. Seriously! But for one final round, Mike Myers is back, and the end product is satisfying although not stunning, and do not fear because David Gordon Green is not done with horror yet. He’ll soon begin production on reworking the Blumhouse take on The Exorcist franchise, which is probably something that no one expected from the director of Your Highness and Pineapple Express.
1. House of the Dragon (HBO series on HBO Max)
It seems like only yesterday that plenty of us doubted that the Game of Thrones franchise could overcome the underwhelming final season of the George R.R. Martin flagship series. A pleasant surprise: this is a highly entertaining, action-packed, and well-executed prequel that takes us into all the soap-operatics that eventually brought a dynasty down. Finally, event TV is truly back again, so grab yourself a Negroni Spagliato (with Prosecco in it) and kick your feet up (while avoiding Larys Strong) because the Dance of the Dragons has officially begun.