Every single 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. Triangle Of Sadness (Neon film streaming on Hulu and elsewhere)
If you’re missing The Menu and The White Lotus already, this film is receiving a reignited burst of streaming popularity during the final crescendo of awards season. This film is arguably even more scathing and brutal than the HBO show, however, as the idle rich are put on blast when nature strikes a cruise ship and all hopes for avoiding — sit down — explosive diarrhea are off the table. Hey man, it happens, although I wouldn’t have minded if it also happened to Greg and Cameron on The White Lotus, too.
TIE: 10. Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon series)
Although Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, plays the lead singer of a Fleetwood Mac-like band in this series, she admittedly pulled a fast one by totally lying about her vocal abilities. Things still worked out for her and the show, given that she scored the role, and Sam Claflin also picks up a significant role to help take you away from your living room and behind the scenes on an honest-to-god rock ‘n’ roll adventure. This is nice counter programming to what’s currently dominating in the streaming realm, and the show drops weekly, so you can make it a periodic fix.
9. MH370 (Netflix documentary)
This controversial film (obviously about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370) is certainly reminding viewers that the “documentary” label doesn’t even come close to guaranteeing basis in fact. Social media has been more than slightly riled up about this project essentially being a collection of conspiracy theories about the still-unsolved mystery of why this plane disappeared without a trace. In other words, people are clicking, but thankfully, they’re not believing everything they see.
8. Bel-Air (Peacock series)
This dramatic take on the original 1990s sitcom is still going strong, proving (like Perry Mason, also on this list) that a so-called “gritty” reboot can work out, after all. This series is standing on its own these days and moving further away from treading its predecessor’s territory (for example, Will and Uncle Phil don’t trust each other), and star Jabari Banks appears to have quite a career in his future, no matter where this show eventually goes.
7. The Whale (A24 film streaming on VOD and Amazon)
Brendan Fraser is up for a Best Actor Oscar, although our own Josh Kurp believes that another contender will take home that gong. However, this Darren Aronofsky project finally (and belatedly) allows Fraser to get seriously dramatic as a morbidly obese father who’s attempting to make amends on multiple relationship fronts. As well, Fraser will soon be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, so it’s safe to say that Fraser will likely never disappear from Hollywood again, unless it’s his decision to do so.
6. Perry Mason (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
No one does terrifically-mopey-looking-TV-leading-man like Matthew Rhys does, so it’s a treat to have him back on our TV screens again. As with Bel-Air, this is one of those darkened reboots with Rhys picking up with Perry’s hard-living, early-career days. This show doesn’t aim to compare to the Raymond Burr-starring series of yesteryear, and in fact, it’s an altogether different beast. Reinvention doesn’t have to be all bad! In fact, it’s quite rewarding here. All hail Team Downey, which is quietly giving us buckets of TV joy with Netflix’s Sweet Tooth as well.
5. The Mandalorian (Disney+ series)
This week’s episode took a little breather in terms of dominating social media talk (although an important question surfaced), but rest assured that Pedro Pascal is still leading two major shows this month, and there shall be more of both after the current seasons. Also, no one could even dream of pushing this show forth without more Grogu, a.k.a., “Baby Yoda.” Speaking of which, the adorable scene stealer has got first-word territory in his sights, and our own Brian Grubb has a fine take on where that should go.
4. Poker Face (Peacock series)
You gotta hand it to Natasha Lyonne. She harnessed her Orange Is The New Black comeback role and rose to the apex of streaming prestige TV. Following two seasons of the stellar Russian Doll on Netflix, she and Glass Onion cameo expert Rian Johnson can’t be stopped while bringing a Murder-Of-The-Week show roaring onto Peacock. Natasha’s protagonist, Charlie, cannot help but know when people are full of sh*t, and that ability-curse dominates the entire first season of this show. Not only do we get to see Joseph Gordon Levitt, Adrian Brody, Dascha Polanco, Benjamin Bratt, Lil Rel Howery, and Chloe Sevigny pop into this first season, but the second round promises to be full of star power, too.
3. Selective Outrage (Netflix stand-up special)
No doubt, the majority of people who wanted to watch this special either did so live or caught up in the immediate aftermath, considering that Chris Rock finally took the gloves off and let the whole world know how he felt about the 2022 Oscars Slap from Will Smith. In the aftermath, Jada’s camp expressed displeasure, and Will’s camp expressed embarrassment, and there are many lessons to be learned here, including the following: if you’re gonna slap someone with a platform like Chris Rock’s standup capacity, you’re definitely gonna hear jokes at some point.
2: You (Netflix series)
Stalker Joe finally becomes a bit more interesting again (man, I was really worried for awhile with the fourth season finale surfacing, and that doesn’t make this season’s surrounding cast any more interesting, although it does provide some hope for the show’s future. If you haven’t caught up already, it’s still worth finding out where Professor Jonathan Moore finishes the season, and Penn Badgley cannot possibly enjoy taking Joe home at night.
1. The Last Of Us (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
There probably isn’t such a thing as a happy ending on this show, even if brighter moments, here and there, have thrilled fans of the video game that pulled off the unlikely feat of adapting a video game adaptation into a juggernaut that people definitely want to watch live. Years after those The Hangover movies, Craig Mazin really does have the touch when it comes to fine-turning HBO hits for the masses. The finale will contain a special nod for long-term fans of this apocalyptic-wasteland saga, and if you haven’t yet had the exquisite pleasure of watching Mazin’s Chernobyl, then perhaps you’ve now got one way to make the wait for TLOU Season 2 a bit more bearable.