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. Renfield (Universal Pictures film streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)
Nicolas Cage adds to his gathering of off-his-rocker characters to finally play Dracula. He apparently never stopped being Dracula on set, and most method acting can be insufferable, but can you blame Cage for deciding to go there with such a role? The other Nicholas (Hoult, that is) portrays poor Renfield, the assistant to Dracula because delegation must happen. They’re codependent, too. This movie hasn’t received the most flattering reviews, but if you are a Cage completist, you won’t be able to resist him in this nightmare role.
TIE: 10. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures film on VOD and Amazon Prime)
The good graces that be decided to make this tabletop role-playing game adaptation into a comedy, which was a wise move, considering that this obsession shouldn’t be taken too seriously, even by fans. Hugh Grant gets to be a baddie again while Michelle Rodriguez kicks ass as usual, and Chris Pine swashbuckles around with Regé-Jean Page smoldering in plain sight for good measure. This box-office hit can now liven up your living room, so stream to your nerd-heart’s content.
9. Mrs. Davis (Peacock series)
Slowly, this show is parceling out the details of Simone’s quest as Betty Gilpin keeps wearing that nun’s habit. Jesus! Literally. Watchmen oddball Damon Lindelof keeps things weird throughout this series, and I’m still convinced that Lube Man haunts the joint. Jake McDorman’s Wiley turns out to be far more than a pretty cowboy-face, and I wish we could discuss more, but this show is best left in a pure state for you to enjoy without being spoiled.
8. Dead Ringers (Amazon Prime Video series)
Somehow, this series adaptation of David Cronenberg’s 1988 film (starring Jeremy Irons) churns out a more unsettling iteration of twin gynecologists. Rachel Weisz picks up both roles while essentially also playing God at a fancy-pants fertility clinic. Along the way, a feminist interpretation shines through while the body-horrific series examines the complexity of reproductive health, but mainly, it will make you perhaps never go to the doctor again.
7. The Diplomat (Netflix series)
It’s about damn time that Keri Russell starred in a TV show again, and she’s back in the realm of political intrigue. Here, she portrays a less hardcore character (than in FX’s The Americans) in terms of danger and genuine, nail-biting risk, but she’s also balancing a challenging marriage with a demanding career. People cannot get enough of this meat-and-potatoes-style streaming TV in manner of The Night Agent, but the great news is that we’re going to receive second seasons of both series.
6. White House Plumbers (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
Even if you didn’t know that you could enjoy a Watergate portrayal in this day and age, the Veep guys are here to bring you an absurd look behind the scenes of this honest-to-god fiasco. Justin Theroux bestows the world with a knockout performance as G. Gordon Liddy’s mustache with Woody Harrelson giving us a believable portrayal of the cocky-as-hell E. Howard Hunt. In the end, we receive a satiric look at the experiences of Egil Krogh during and after his Special Investigations Unit leadership. The “plumbers” comes from the cutesy nickname associated with plugging information leaks, and this David Mandel-directed limited series grows a bit stressful at times, but it always remembers to be fun.
5. Sweet Tooth (Netflix series)
Another Netflix show scored a swift renewal. Christian Convery will return as Gus for one more season, and this season doesn’t feature enough of him bouncing off against Nonso Anozie’s gruff Jeppard, but they’re both still in action. This season, Team Downey enlightens the audience more on the post-Great Crumble madness, and we get to see plenty more adorable Hybrids in a twisted fairytale that managed to involve a virus during pandemic times but still rise above that potential pitfall.
4. Barry (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
Only a handful of episodes remain for the world to keep enjoying Anthony Carrigan’s irresistible performance as as the perpetually-disguised Noho Hank. Henry Winkler will also have to find a way to hop right back onto our TV screens, and Bill Hader’s brainchild will also collectively bid the world goodbye. It’s not easy to maintain the life of an assassin-turned-actor, after all, and even though this show is ending, we can still be grateful to have had such wildness at our disposal.
3. Silo (Apple TV+ series)
Justified creator Graham Yost ain’t in Harlan County here. Instead, he world-built an underground silo (as introduced in Hugh Howey’s first book, Wool) meant to house the 10,000 or so souls left on Earth following an apocalyptic event. Rebecca Ferguson portrays hard-as-nails engineer Juliette, who keeps the whole joint together. She uncovers too many secrets for her own good, naturally, and this show turns into a gripping meditation of how both truth and lies can be equally deadly. Ferguson’s co-stars include Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter, and Common’s leather jacket.
2. Succession (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
After last week’s Logan Roy jumpscare, the world awaits word of how long it will take for Kendall and Roman to completely screw the pooch and prove to their dad’s ghost that they are “not serious people.” Let’s hope that we will see more of Lukas Matsson’s abs, along with more followup on that bitey stuff, but most of all, I’m hoping that Gerri goes nuclear after Roman’s gross power trip. Only a few more episodes remain of the Roys, y’all.
1. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix series)
Unlike with The Witcher, this spinoff enhances and is arguably even better than the original series. We get a different focus upon Shondaland’s corset-filled, 19th century soap opera of a world when the series ravels back in time to take in Charlotte’s origin story as portrayed by India Amarteifio, along with regular visits with Golda Rosheuvel as her present-day incarnation. It’s heartbreaking to know how this couple turns out in later life (Corey Mylchreest steps in as the younger version of King George), but at least we’ll always have that Snorting Habit to bring some relief.