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.
10. The Studio – Apple TV+ series
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s satiric success with Prime Video/Amazon’s The Boys surely informed this uproariously funny view of their their own world. They put Hollywood on blast in an affectionate way while Rogen portrays a studio chief who happens to love movies and doesn’t want to destroy them. The Pineapple Express visionary now stands as one of Apple TV+’s leading comedic forces (also with Platonic), and he’s brought several of his funny friends (Chase Sui Wonders, Kathryn Hahn, Brian Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Rebecca Hall, Ike Barinholtz, and Olivia Wilde) along for the ride.
9. The Electric State – Netflix movie
Netflix isn’t cranking out many big-budgeted feature films with A-listers these days, but when they do, this streaming service still goes all out. Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Enola Holmes) and Chris Pratt (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Jurassic World) star in this Rosso Brothers production that adapts Simon Stålenhag’s same-named, acclaimed graphic novel that tells the retro-futuristic 1990s story about a traveler, a smuggler, and of course a pair of robots. Guess who portrays who, or stream it to find out.
8. The White Lotus – HBO series streaming on Max
Prepare to actually feel sorry for a character who you never expected to elicit that emotion. From there, it’s difficult to guess who could possibly kick the bucket at the end of this season, other than to conclude that several characters might actually want for that to happen? This season hasn’t been nearly as riveting as the Sicily-based resort visit, but the drama has been heating up, especially among the frenemy trio portrayed by Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, and Michelle Monaghan. Also, Walton Goggins’ little conversation with Sam Rockwell added much needed texture to what Mike White is attempting to accomplish, and doesn’t everybody want to hug Aimee Lou Wood?
7. The Wheel Of Time – Prime Video/Amazon series
The fantasy spotlight continues at this streaming service (in addition to Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) with this Rosamund Pike-starring series adapting Robert Jordan’s novels. This season will follows Pike’s Moiraine and Josha Stradowski’s Rand al’Thor on their quest to find the Dragon Reborn’s true fate. This involves traveling to Aiel Waste amid the corrupted power of Rand. In the process, they must evade the on-the-loose Forsaken amid intensifying danger against the Light and the threat of the Dragon turning Dark.
6. The Righteous Gemstones – HBO series streaming on Max
Danny McBride recently weighed in with UPROXX’s Sound Check on his favorite Kenny Powers songs, and the Eastbound & Down co-creator is now back with the evangelical Gemstones misfits for one last round of grifting. Expect to see plenty of Walton Goggins’ Baby Billy and, ideally, an equal amount of Edi Patterson‘s Judy with the rest of the extended family back and this ensemble cast being everything. Whether there are monster trucks or clogging sessions involved, this trainwreck is too much fun for all involved.
5. Daredevil: Born Again – Disney+ series
Finally, Jon Bernthal returned as Frank Castle, and the actor himself is working on penning a standalone special (reminiscent of Werewolf by Night) for The Punisher to go even further back into the MCU. Despite Castle’s continued combative ways, this series takes a psychologically complex look at Frank’s inner turmoil while posing measured questions on where the character goes from here. As Bernthal admitted to Entertainment Weekly, he originally said no to Frank’s return, and now, “I feel like it’s opened the door to getting closer to the Frank Castle that I really, really want to portray.”
4. Anora – A24 movie streaming on Hulu
Indie distributor NEON raked in the Oscars this year, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison’s raw and exuberant portrayal of an exotic dancer who briefly marries a Russian oligarch’s son before the family thugs step in to ruin everything. This is much more than “a f*ckboi fairytale” and won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. And to think, it was this batsh*t crazy scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood where the inspiration for casting Mikey Madison was born.
3. Adolescence – Netflix series
Widely lauded as one of this year’s best dramas, this is not an easy watch but nonetheless a rewarding one, and over 20 million Netflix viewers (and counting) agree. Stephen Graham stars as the father of a 13-year-old boy (portrayed by Owen Cooper) who has been accused of murdering a schoolmate, and frequent Graham co-star Erin Doherty steps up as a clinical psychologist who is attempting to unravel the nightmare that could hit the family next door. Stripped back to its disturbing bones, the show is a conversation starter, albeit one with no easy answers on the way.
2. Reacher – Prime Video/Amazon series
The Big Guy and The Bigger Guy are both still standing and barreling toward their own season finale, and you know that Reacher specializes in over-the-top climaxes with lots of bone crunching action. After that dopamine hit wears off, remember that Neagley is already in production to bridge the gap between action-packed adventures. Then we can rest assured that Reacher will be on the way to his next destination while eating the most horrific junk food imaginable while effortlessly maintaining those guns. Speaking of which, Alan Ritchson has been narrating a feast on Instagram, and boy, it is a doozy.
1. Severance – Apple TV+ series
The lengthy season finale will almost certainly lead to a third edition of Lumon-based mysteries from Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller, who have openly discussed how they have mapped out multiple future seasons to come. The world of Innies and Outies continues to addict subscribers of Apple TV+, and don’t worry, more will come! In the meantime, enjoy this streaming service’s vast library of content dramatic, comedic, sci-fi, and thriller content.