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. Ted (Peacock series)
This adaptation is everything that you expect: silly, profane as hell, and has the voice of Seth MacFarlane coming from inside a teddy bear. Enough people still wanted to watch this show to qualify it for the highest premiere record of any Peacock original series. It’s a prequel to the films starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Amanda Seyfried; and Max Burkholder portrays a younger version of the John Bennett character picked up by Marky Mark in the future.
TIE: 10. Night Swim (Universal Pictures film on VOD & Netflix series)
This Blumhouse/Atomic Monster/Universal Pictures film is no M3GAN, but nonetheless, the tidal wave of WTF cannot be ignored. Wyatt Russell (Under the Banner of Heaven) and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) detoured into this would-have-been-better-as-camp story about a haunted swimming pool. Even when Blumhouse misses, though, he still managed to make a movie that’s as wet as Aquaman 2 but actually turned a profit.
9. Fool Me Once (Netflix series)
Harlan Coban already found streaming success over the past year with Amazon’s Shelter adaptation, but Coban’s readers do not mind the abundance of his material on TV. The binging is ongoing for a show where a nanny-cam changes everything and might be connected two murder cases. The first puzzler involves a woman who believes that her husband was killed, but somehow, he appears on her home’s camera, and there are many disturbing truths that will come to the forefront during this twisting tale.
8. The Boys in the Boat (Amazon MGM Studios film streaming on VOD and Amazon)
Director George Clooney stepped off the conga line to adapt the 2013 novel about the real-life U.S. rowing team that went to the 1936 Olympics in Germany ahead of World War II. Callum Turner also stars in the currently-launching Masters of the Air, so he is one busy dude when it comes to shows about this particular era in American history.
7. The Holdovers (Focus Features film streaming on Peacock)
Paul Giamatti could damn well become Oscar winner Paul Giamatti due to his performance in this film with a curmudgeonly type of holiday setup that somehow turns into a life-affirming journey. He was last nominated for his role in Ron Howard’s 2006 film, Cinderella Man, and since then, he’s been in Billions of TV shows and films. Yes, that’s a fun little exaggeration, but Giamatti deserves award recognition, for which he is now “flabbergasted” but also describes as “lovely.”
6. Society Of The Snow (Netflix film)
This film has been riding Netflix’s global lists for weeks (and could eventually land on the streamer’s all-time film list) and also popped up in this year’s Oscars nominations, where it will compete with Zone Of Interest for Best International Film. The plot is chilling in multiple ways, revolving around the frozen plight of 1972 Andes Mountains crash survivors, who resort to the most desperate of measures to stay alive despite the odds.
5. Reacher (Amazon Prime series)
Big Man devotees, I’ve got some good news for you. The third season source material has been revealed by Amazon, and filming has been well underway for months. So, we really shouldn’t have to wait that long for more details that matter, and hey, Neagley will be back for the Maine-set adventure, too. Still, if you want to get a fix, then our own Brian Grubb has penned an essential adventure that I will bet that you will have no trouble envisioning as an actual Reacher episode.
4. American Nightmare (Netflix docuseries)
Yikes. The real nightmare experienced by the couple in this series did not end following the crime. Instead, the case was painted by police as a Gone Girl knockoff, and this is an essential watch for true crime junkies, who will likely feel infuriated while watching, too. It’s no wonder that victims feel hesitant to report crimes, and if you still feel a hankering for that theme, then Unbelievable (starring Kaitlyn Dever) is similar Netflix show worth absorbing.
3. True Detective (HBO series streaming on Max)
Those who remember Rust Cohle’s ramblings will have spotted a connection to the first season and this fourth installment starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis. In other words, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson do not appear onscreen in this installment, but they are very much present in spirit and as executive producers. Additionally, this season might take place a whole continent away from its former Louisiana stomping grounds, but similar preteraturally-soaked elements will feel similarly unsettling here.
2. Masters Of The Air (Apple TV+ series)
Here’s a stellar Band Of Brothers followup from Steven Spielberg (Amblin Television) in conjunction with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Playtone). This new series is based upon Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name about the 100th Bomb Group, who risked everything they had to conduct bombing raids upon Nazi Germany. Austin Butler dropped his Elvis voice to portray a U.S. major alongside Callum Turner. There’s a “Buck” and a “Bucky” in the character list, and there’s also the ever-present Barry Keoghan joining in the camaraderie while the U.S. carries out perilous missions to take down Hitler’s Third Reich. It’s an adventure-filled yet harrowing viewing experience but fully worth the ride, and Nate Mann is a standout among the massive cast.
1. Griselda (Netflix series)
It’s ladies’ night in the cocaine trade. Original Narcos co-creator Doug Miro and Narcos: Mexico executive producer Eric Newman team up to tell the story of Colombian drug cartel leader Griselda Blanco, the prolific cocaine trafficker as portrayed by Sofia Vergara. Griselda reigned in Miami in the 1970-’80s, and her tour of terror included operating under 20 aliases, moving hundreds of kilos per month, and ordering dozens of murders. Do not sleep on the details about the investigator who pushed the hardest to not only apprehend Griselda but credit her (cursed) trailblazing, too.