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: TIE. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WBD film streaming on Amazon Prime and VOD)
This sequel already had the misfortune of essentially being a placeholder before James Gunn’s DCU takes effect, and the final product turned out to be simply alright for that purpose. The box-office dollars aren’t there, but completists might still want to see what Billy Batson is up to these days. The film arrives on HBO Max on May 23 (when the service makes the official switch to the Max label), but in the meantime, the film has hit the VOD airwaves.
10: TIE. Transatlantic (Netflix series)
Period data fans, rejoice. This series is based upon the real-life, 1940s, Vichy France-focused story of the Emergency Rescue Committee as portrayed in Julie Orringer’s The Flight Portfolio novel. At the forefront: an American journalist finds himself torn while deciding who to rescue (the artists, as assigned, or ordinary people) from Nazi clutches. Don’t expect a followup because this project was designed as a 7-part limited series.
9. 65 (Sony Pictures film streaming on Amazon Prime and VOD)
A subpar Adam Driver movie is still an Adam Driver movie, and the clicks have arrived accordingly. This one won’t capture interest for too long, but if you are jonesing for some wonky-yet-big-budget sci-fi — Driver plays a pilot who must fight dinosaurs after somehow crash-landing 65 million years in Earth’s past — you can go to the right place. The plot has been criticized as predictable with repetitive action scenes, but Driver never does any role halfway, so expect him to be his usual brand of intense, even if you might eventually be longing for the comic levity of his Girls temper tantrum instead.
8. Yellowjackets (Showtime series streaming on Paramount+)
Revelations about Shauna are getting darker by the day (Melanie Lynskey is killing it, as she always does), and this week’s episode also introduced the adult Van while Lottie’s inner turmoil, both past and present (as portrayed by Courtney Eaton and Simone Kessell, respectively) threatens to truly consume her. Also, what is really going on with Elijah Wood’s Walter Tattersall? Christina Ricci’s Misty may have found her match, and that might not be a good thing.
7: A Good Person (MGM film streaming on Amazon Prime and VOD)
This Zach Braff film is based upon a depressing premise for Florence Pugh’s character, a PTSD-afflicted woman involved in a tragic accident and who is also ravaged by pain-pill addiction. Still, Florence Pugh’s name is always worth the price of admission, even in films as middling as Don’t Worry Darling. Braff wrote the role for her while working out some of his own pain, and that was good with Pugh, who only enjoys intense roles and has no intentions of moving into romcom land.
6. Rabbit Hole (Paramount+ series)
Kiefer Sutherland can’t help but be good at those adrenaline-fueled TV shows full of intrigue. Here, he plays a a corporate espionage maestro who ends up being framed for murder, and his presence lends a tongue-in-cheek vibe in a show that doesn’t take the serious road like most of its contemporaries. And that makes for a fine addition to the Paramount+ stable of growing shows, which might someday not be 90% Taylor Sheridan projects. That’s clearly working for them, though!
5. Dave (FX series on Hulu)
Good Sport Dave Burd’s brainchild returns for more enduring awkwardness and the ultimate second-hand embarrassment, this time when his real-life experiences as meta-rapper Lil Dicky inspire his TV character’s inaugural, cross-country tour. If you haven’t invested yourself in this series yet, you’re missing out. It’s sweet and funny and insightful while taking a rollicking ride across the through American culture in a way that few other projects would dare to do.
4. The Night Agent (Netflix series)
This show has already made the all-time Top 10 list of Netflix’s English-speaking original series, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s digestible with an appealing cast (Gabriel Basso portrays the title character), and streaming audiences simply cannot get enough espionage. Between this, Rabbit Hole, Jack Ryan, and Slow Horses, there’s plenty to keep everyone busy until Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie’s next Mission: Impossible movie draws this target audience into theaters.
3. Hunger (Netflix film)
This Thai series should prove irresistible for those craving more of The Menu‘s foodie-fueled debauchery that skewers the world of too-expensive dining. On that latter note, anyone who cannot wait for the intensity of The Bear to return should enjoy this one too because the aforementioned chef might remind you of a certain cameo from Joel McHale. Hunger has proven to be similarly satisfying as both of these predecessors while telling the story of a 20s-something woman who steps away from her family’s Bangkok eatery to head under the wing of an infamously antagonistic chef. Dig in.
2. Beef (Netflix series)
Ali Wong and Steven Yeun went through the paces while making this A24 series, but the results were worth it. Buckle in for one flipping of the bird that changes everything for two lead characters who are dissatisfied for very different reasons. After a near collision, they spend much of the series attempting to ruin each other’s lives, and it’s a real trip in several ways. Oh yeah, and this show gets very graphic on why one should never eat random berries, among other life lessons.
1. Succession (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
Last week’s episode pulled the Roy rug our from everyone’s feet — the audience, the characters, the fabric of the cosmos. Everyone kind-of knew that gut punch was coming, mind you, we simply didn’t expect it to happen that early in the show’s final season. From here on out, the chess pieces should really start to move, and man, Gerri is not going to forgive Roman anytime soon, is she? Well, he deserves it, and hopefully, we’ll also get to hear more about the Greglets soon.