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. Mickey17 – A24 film streaming on HBO Max
Robert Pattinson won’t ever stop being a little freak, thank goodness. Here, Parasite helmer Bong Joon-ho dialed into those vibes by rebirthing RPattz again and again in a sci-fi movie that might eventually be declared a classic even if the box office wasn’t so kind. Satire can be a hard sell, especially when the concept of being “expendable” is at the forefront, but you can’t go wrong by firing this up at home, especially when Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, and Steven Yeun are on tap.
9. The Rehearsal – Max series
The season has drawn to a close, but the headlines haven’t evaporated yet. Nathan Fielder is actually beefing with officials at the FAA, which has taken issue with Fielder’s “rehearsal” of Capt. Sully Sullenberger’s Hudson landing in the “Pilot’s Code” episode. Do you know who loves that episode, though? Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee, who told Vulture of the imagined iPod sequence, “It’s just blowing my mind. It’s really beautiful.” So there.
8. Your Friends & Neighbors – Apple TV+ series
Season finale time has arrived for Jon Hamm as a hedge funder-turned thief (Coop) who happens to rob his wealthy neighbors in the wake of his crumbled life. James Marsden will join for the second season, which was announced before this show even premiered, but before then, viewers will want to see how Coop wiggles out from that unexpected murder development. Can you believe that this is the first Hamm leading role since Don Draper meditated to end Mad Men? And since Apple TV+ has already shown a pattern of letting shows breathe and mature, we’ll see if Coop can outlive Draper on TV.
7. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Paramount movie streaming on Paramount Plus
Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt (with director Christopher McQuarrie still going for it, too) has arrived in theaters, so that people can find out if this character survived an endless stream of life-threatening stunts only to, like, fall into a trash compactor or something? That would be the funniest way to end the franchise, especially after they crushed hearts by bidding farewell to Rebecca Ferguson. In all seriousness, Cruise is an overriding reason why movies survived the pandemic, so if you are so inclined, you definitely know what to do after catching up on Dead Reckoning Part One on streaming.
6. Murderbot – Apple TV+ series
Finally, Alexander Skarsgård nabbed a lead role where his character’s appeal does not revolve around getting naked. Yet. You never know with him, but this show (which adapts Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries) does aim to stay faithful to the source material’s spirit as much as possible. That target audience has been bestowing positive reactions, but you don’t have to look too far to witness some disappointment in the show’s human characters. What hasn’t been controversial, however, is how this show is keeping episode length short and sweet, in tune with the speed at which the SecUnit devours his own televised addictions.
5. The Handmaid’s Tale – Hulu series
Gilead’s Most Wanted pushed oppressors to the brink all the way to the end, and although the resistance hasn’t yet made a total victory (there has to be something left for The Testaments to handle), the series finale did deliver satisfaction. For one thing, June (who might appear in the followup series) has started writing her book. For another, she and Serena Joy came to as much of a full-on “meeting of the minds” as possible. And Aunt Lydia’s evolution will be central to what comes next, which will be handled by flagship series creator Bruce Miller, so blessed be the (next) fight to come on Hulu.
4. The Eternaut – Netflix series
This Argentina series has lit up multiple local economies after taking off on Netflix and earning a swift second season renewal. That’s a rarity these days on this streaming service, but this adaptation of the same-named 1957 comic by Hector G. Oesterheld is now on the road to a full conclusion. If you haven’t tuned into this haunting series full of apocalyptic snow, an alien invasion, and mind control, then you have some time to catch up, but there’s no time like the onset of summer weather to tune into this arctic blast.
3. The Last Of Us – HBO series streaming on Max
Currently, the subject of finale viewership numbers is being interpreted and reinterpreted, but it’s fair to say that this season was expected to be divisive and did not disappoint in that manner. Craig Mazin has been upfront about pushing for four seasons, although it’s tough to see how that could happen after Pedro Pascal has effectively left the series, and flashbacks cannot last forever. Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever are both troopers in enduring internet controversy, though, and if anybody can turn around audience sentiment, then Mazin is the guy to do it.
2. MobLand – Paramount Plus series
Sometimes, viewers just want a meat-and-potatoes type series that delivers as promised, and that’s what they received with Tom Hardy returning to gangster mode in a series produced by Guy Ritchie. Last week saw Hardy’s fixer enduring a group dinner, and the season finale heads toward all-out war for the Harrigans and rivals. Hardy has been out there teasing how a potential followup season could go international, although Paramount has remained close-lipped on whether they will pounce upon the chance and total willingness from all involved to keep going.
1. Sirens – Netflix series
No second season has been greenlit for this “limited series,” but we’ll see how that goes, given how frequently that label falls aside when viewership runs high. Such is the case for this series starring Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Meghann Fahy, and Milly Alcock. The story takes cues from Greek mythology with a genuinely surprising ending on whose life changes the most after a holiday weekend spent at a lavish estate. Will the victor be happy about their spoils in the long term? Well, the ambiguity regarding that question is why some people want the story to continue.