Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
15. English Teacher (Hulu)
You might know Brian Jordan Alvarez from his videos on TikTok and Instagram as TJ Mack, the singer of earworm “Sitting.” He’s also the star and creator of English Teacher, about a teacher who “often finds himself at the intersection of the personal, professional, and political aspects of working at a high school. Evan wants to be a principled person but often runs into trouble because of it.” His first lesson to his students: sitting is the opposite of standing.
14. The Penguin (Max)
Colin Farrell’s scene-stealing performance in The Batman resulted in him being turned into a meme and, probably more impressively, getting a spin-off on Max. The Penguin explores Oswald Cobblepot’s (or as he’s called in the show, Oz Cobb’s) rise in the seedy Gotham underworld. The series, which also stars Cristin Milioti, Clancy Brown, and Theo Rossi, is getting comparisons to another crime drama in the HBO / Max family: The Sopranos. Not too shabby.
13. Will & Harper (Netflix)
After former SNL head writer Harper Steele came out as a trans woman, she and Will Ferrell went on a two-week road trip across America. Will & Harper tracks their journey. “What if we went on a road trip together, giving her a chance to go into a cowboy bar or whatever places she misses, and I can be by her side and lend support as a friend?” Ferrell said about the origin of the documentary. “At the same time, it would give us a chance to reconnect and figure out what this transition means to our relationship.” If only all SNL cast members from the ‘90s were so open minded…
12. Dan Da Dan (Netflix)
The acclaimed anime Dan Da Dan is about Momo, a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate / occult fanatic Okarun, who begin talking after she saves him from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them: Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts. It’s a real Mulder and Scully dynamic, if they were both Mulder (and there was a Turbo Granny). Dan Da Dan, which is getting a weekly release, comes from animation studio Science Saru, who also made last year’s shockingly good Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
11. Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
One of the most talked-about shows at the moment is Nobody Wants This. It turns out, everybody wants to see Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in a romantic comedy, which is something I could have told Netflix without having to be paid an executive’s exorbitant salary. Nobody Wants This follows the unlikely relationship between a sex podcaster (Bell) and a hot rabbit (Brody). It’s very cute, and hopefully a sign that we’ll get more good rom-coms soon.
10. The Platform 2 (Netflix)
Quarantine hit The Platform is an allegorical horror film about class struggle, where inmates in a “Vertical Self-Management Center” are fed using a platform that’s initially filled with food but as it descends, there’s fewer and fewer options for the lower levels. Those at the bottom are lucky to get anything at all. Following a prisoner rebellion (and some delicious panna cotta) in the original, The Platform 2 has a new leader imposing their rule in the Platform, while “a new resident becomes embroiled in the battle against this controversial method to fight the brutal feeding system,” according to the logline from Netflix. “But when eating from the wrong plate becomes a death sentence, how far would you be willing to go to save your life?”
9. Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Netflix)
The first Tomb Raider game came out on the Sega Saturn nearly 30 years, but the love for Lara Croft remains strong. There’s been three movies, so many games (including a remaster of the first three mainline titles released earlier this year), and now, an anime. Hayley Atwell voices the titular explorer in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft from animation studio Powerhouse Animation Studios, which also made the impressive Castlevania: Nocturne series. They have a stranglehold on Netflix anime.
8. Teacup (Peacock)
The official synopsis for Teacup reads, “Teacup follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive.” But that leaves out the intriguing involvement of producer James Wan, or that the subject matter is so “horrifying,” it made star Yvonne Strahovski “feel sick.” Just in time for Halloween!
7. La Máquina (Hulu)
La Máquina reunites Y tu mamá también stars Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal in a boxing drama-thriller. After a brutal loss, boxer Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna (played by Garcia Bernal) faces a low point in his career. But his manager and best friend, Andy Lujan (Luna), believes he still has promise to mount a comeback for one last fight… possibly for selfish reasons. Esteban is also facing issues in his personal life, including his journalist ex-wife Irasema (Eiza González), who is investigating corruption in the boxing world.
6. Disclaimer (Apple TV Plus)
Alfonso Cuarón, the Oscar-winning director of Children Men, Y tu mamá también (big week for the YTMT freaks out there!), and the best Harry Potter movie, is back with his first new project in six years. Disclaimer stars Cate Blanchett as a journalist who receives a mysterious book in the mail that threatens to reveal her darkest secrets. The ensemble cast of the psychological thriller, which is told over seven chapters, also includes Kevin Kline, Kodi Smit-McPhee, HoYeon Jung, Louis Partridge, Lesley Manville, and Leila George. It’s just nice to have a new anything from Cuarón.
5. Hysteria! (Peacock)
I’m sorry, but the only thing we should be talking about is how there’s a new show starring Bruce Campbell (yes) set during the Satanic Panic 1980s (yes yes) about a struggling metal band that pretends to be devil worshippers to become more popular (yes yes YES). Also, the group’s name is Dethkrunch (g*d yes). Hysteria was created by Matthew Scott Kane and is executive produced by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo behind last year’s excellent Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
4. It’s Florida, Man (Max)
What if Drunk History was exclusively about Florida? That’s essentially It’s Florida, Man, which takes funny folks like Anna Faris, Jake Johnson, Randall Park, Juliette Lewis, Sam Richardson, and Ego Nwodim, and has them recreate actual incidents from the Sunshine State. Don’t worry, it’s not exploitative: their real-life counterparts appear in the show, too. It’s all right there in the opening voiceover, courtesy of Stephen Root: “What you’re about to see may be dangerous, petty, misguided, but most definitely stupid. But it’s also all true. Sort of.”
3. Brothers (Prime Video)
In Brothers, Josh Brolin (seen above in a “I Just Dropped My Load” shirt) and Peter Dinklage play, well, brothers. One’s a reformed criminal (Brolin), the other’s still in the game (Dinklage), and together, they go on a road trip “for the score of a lifetime,” according to the official plot synopsis. “Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other.” This is the kind of movie that would have $150 million at the box office in the 1980s.
2. Shrinking (Apple TV Plus)
Bill Lawrence might be rebooting Scrubs, and working on more Ted Lasso, and he has big plans for Bad Monkey season 2, but for now, he — and fellow creators Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein — is focused on Shrinking. The mental health comedy returns for another season with Segel as grieving therapist Jimmy and Harrison Ford as his cranky co-worker Paul. But the show’s real MVP is Jessica Williams.
1. Woman of the Hour (Netflix)
What’s Anna Kendrick been up to lately? Besides raking in “Cups” residuals, I assume, she also directed her first movie. Woman of the Hour looks back on the time that a real-life serial killer, Rodney Alcaca, appeared as a contestant on 1970s-era The Dating Game. Kendrick also stars as aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw, who was unlucky enough to pick Alcaca as her date. Woman of the Hour “explores the way women navigate a world of violent men,” and it’s terrifying because it’s so real.