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. Black Doves (Netflix)
In Black Doves, the always wonderful Keira Knightley plays Helen, an undercover professional spy who has been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for: the titular Black Doves. But when her secret lover Jason is assassinated, an old friend (Paddington’s Ben Whishaw!) is tasked with keeping her safe. Together, they set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason, which, as often happens with these kinds of shows, leads them into a vast conspiracy. Pepe Silvia will be watching.
14. Conclave (Peacock)
Discover what all the fuss over the vaping cardinal is about. Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Conclave is about the messy drama behind selecting a new pope. Per the official synopsis: “Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.” Such drama queens.
13. Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount Plus)
The Dark Passenger-verse expands with Dexter: Original Sin, a prequel to the original series and Dexter: New Blood. This one is set in 1991 and follows Dexter Morgan (played by Patrick Gibson) as he transitions from student to serial killer with guidance from his father Harry (Christian Slater). Michael C. Hall will reprise his role, sort of, as the voice of young Dexter’s inner monologue. Will there be a treadmill? Find out!
12. Laid (Peacock)
Stephanie Hsu, who really should have won the Oscar over her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star, is joined by Zosia Mamet in the new series Laid. The “f*cked up rom-com” is about a woman who finds out that her former lovers are dying in unusual ways, and must go back through her “sex timeline” to figure out what the heck is going on.
11. Squid Game (Netflix)
Netflix’s most-watched show ever is back. Squid Game season 2 sees the return of Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a.k.a. Player 456, who has only one goal: to end the horrifying competition for good. This time, Gi-hun finds himself “locked in a tense battle” with the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), as well as trying to survive against the other competitors. Squid Game is the rare water-cooler show in the “death of the monoculture” era. Keep up if you want to know what your co-workers are talking about.
10. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
War is, generally speaking, bad… but I would not oppose a second Revolutionary War on the U.K. for getting Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl before the U.S. did. Just saying. Feathers McGraw returns in the new claymation masterpiece from Aardman. This time, the evil penguin aims to enact revenge on our cheese-loving heroes for getting him locked up in prison by reprogramming Wallace’s robotic garden gnome.
9. Asura (Netflix)
Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), Asura is a family drama set in 1979 about about four sisters — Tsunako (Rie Miyazawa), Makiko (Machiko Ono), Takiko (Yu Aoi), and Sakiko (Suzu Hirose) — who discover that their dad is having an affair. It’s being called 2025’s “first great new TV show.”
8. Black Box Diaries (Paramount Plus)
Black Box Diaries is one of 15 films to make the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Oscars. It follows Japanese journalist Shiori Itō, who accused a prominent media executive of rape in 2017. She published a memoir about the case, Black Box, which is “credited with sparking the #MeToo movement in Japan,” according to a synopsis. The documentary is told through video diaries (shot on Itō’s iPhone), audio recordings, and courtroom footage. Black Box Diaries is a tough but essential watch.
7. The Pitt (Max)
Noah Wyle? As a doctor? It’s crazy enough to work. This time, the ER star works in a hospital in Pittsburgh, and the show is “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes.” The entire 15-episode first season takes place over the course of one 15-hour emergency room shift, not unlike 24.
6. American Primeval (Netflix)
For a while there, Taylor Kitsch was everywhere. He went from playing hunk with a heart of gold Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights to starring in two big-budget films, John Carter and Battleship, as well as a prominent role in Oliver Stone’s Savages, all released in 2012. But when all three films underperformed and/or were met with scorn from critics (justice for John Carter!), Kitsch stopped being The Next Best Thing. But now he’s back with his biggest part in years: American Primeval, a gritty, gloomy limited series set in the American frontier during the 1800s. The cast also includes the great Betty Gilpin, Kim Coates, and character actor favorite Shea Whigham.
5. Harley Quinn (Max)
Now in its fifth season, Harley Quinn shakes things up by moving the action from Gotham to Metropolis, which means the introductions of characters like Lena Luthor, Brainiac, and Red X. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the excellent voice cast, including Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn, Lake Bell as Poison Ivy, Alan Tudyk as Joker and Clayface, Ron Funches as King Shark, J.B. Smoove as Frank, and James Adomian as scene stealer Bane.
4. A Different Man (Max)
Sebastian Stan received career-best reviews for his performance in A Different Man, in which he plays Edward, an inspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance. But his dream turns into a nightmare when he loses out on the role he was born to play to the uber-confident Oswald (Adam Pearson), who has the same genetic condition he once had. A Different Man is a surreal, thought provoking, and inventive film.
3. A Real Pain (Hulu)
A Real Pain — which appeared on numerous Best Movies of 2024 lists — finds cousins David (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Golden Globes winner Kieran Culkin) reuniting for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. But the journey takes a turn when old tensions resurface.
2. Back In Action (Netflix)
No, it’s not a live-action remake of Looney Tunes: Back in Action, although it is also about spies. (We all remember the spy plot in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, right?) Netflix’s Back in Action is Cameron Diaz’s first starring role in a film since 2014’s Annie. She plays Emily, a former CIA spy who, along with her husband Matt (Jamie Foxx), find themselves dragged back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown.
1. Severance (Apple TV Plus)
After a long, long break, one of the best shows on TV is back. Severance picks up where season 1 left off, with Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Helly Riggs), Dylan (Dylan), and Irving (Irving Bailiff) trifling with the severance barrier, “leading them further down a path of woe,” according to the cryptic Apple TV Plus synopsis. There are so many mysteries left to answer: what’s the deal with Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman)? What’s the deal with Seth Milchick (series MVP Tramell Tillman)? And seriously, what’s the deal with the goats?