What to watch: new movies and TV shows to stream this week
The best shows and movies to stream on Netflix and beyond.
This is the place to find what you should be streaming at the weekend and beyond.
Each week our esteemed group of TV and movie reviewers impart their expert knowledge of all things streaming and boil it down to a handful of things you really need to be watching, going through hours of episodes to hep you make the most important decision of the week: what to watch in your down time.
As you will read, we look at all the new shows that have landed on Netflix, Prime Video, NOW, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus and Paramount Plus and more, then give our verdict.
After our recommendations of the week, we have links to all of our essential streaming guides - the rankings of which are voted by our readers, so if you haven't done so already then give them a click and have your say.
And if you are still stuck with what to watch, then we have kept all of our previous recommendations so you can have a read.
Happy viewing!
Daredevil: Born Again
Charlie Cox returns to our screens as Daredevil, and it has been — cue a look of horror at the passing of time — seven years since the end of the original 2015-2018 series. Born Again is, as Daredevil fans would hope, a lot more brutal than the average Marvel show. The violence cracks and crunches in this one. Fans are split as to whether it feels like a direct continuation of the original or nothing of the sort, so give it a watch and see which side you fall on.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain, in 1955. She killed her partner, a racing driver but one who was violent and abusive. Lucy Boynton stars as Ruth Ellis, while Toby Jones is on his usual magnetic form as her barrister. This is a 4-part series that resonates strongly in today's climate. And those in the UK don’t even need a paid subscription to check this one out.
Fear
Line of Duty star Martin Compson is in some cracking thriller TV shows. And he’s in some not-so-great ones. Fear is one of those middling shows, but it does let you see a completely different side of the actor. He plays Martyn, who moves with his wife Rebecca to a giant home in Scotland with their two kids. But it all goes awry when Rebecca gets some unwanted attention from a neighbour.
Plankton: The Movie
Spongebob Squarepants has proved fertile ground for movie adaptations in the past, with film-makers leaning into the weirdness that made the show so popular among folks of just about all ages. Plankton: The Movie doesn’t reach those heights, but is at least not as bad as The Sandy Cheeks Movie from late 2024. This one focuses on, you guessed it, Plankton, as his robot wife goes on the rampage.
Mickey 17
Master of cinema Bong Joon-ho is back with Mickey 17, a science fiction satire in which Robert Pattinson plays an expandable. These are people who are given exceedingly dangerous tasks or missions. And it doesn’t matter if they die because a new version of them, a clone, can simply be popped out of the figurative oven. It’s Bong Joon-ho’s biggest budget movie by far and is a recommended watch. Just don’t go in expecting the “next Parasite” — the director’s last movie. This one is much more a direct black comedy.
Out now in cinemas…
We have spent A LONG time watching things on all these streaming services. So, if you want more of an in-depth look at the shows and movies you can stream the please head to the following guides.
- The best Apple TV Plus shows, revealed
- The best Netflix shows and best movies on Netflix
- The best Amazon Prime Series and best movies on Amazon Prime Video
- The best Disney Plus shows and best Disney Plus movies
- The best NOW TV shows and best movies on NOW TV
- The best Paramount Plus shows
Previously on the watchlist...
Toxic Town
This 4-part series comes from Jack Thorne, whose drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office stirred a right old load of (positive) consternation in the UK last year. This mini series concerns another scandal, that of the dumping of toxic waste in England’s East Midlands, a case brought to the high court in 2009. Jodie Whittaker is the highlight of an important, if occasionally overwrought, story.
Flight or Fight
After a fun turn in Shyamalan’s pulpy Trap last year, Josh Hartnett is making a name for himself one again as a solid puzzle piece in thriller movies. Flight or Fight sees him play a former agent roped into one more dangerous job. But when he realises the flight to that job is full of rival mercenaries, the action hots up rather rapidly. It’s an effective, and pretty violent, movie that doesn’t outstay its welcome at 101 minutes.
Small Town, Big Story
The IT Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd writes and directs this comedy series. But he doesn’t star in it. Christina Hendricks does. She is a Hollywood bigshot who returns to her home town in Ireland to shoot a project. The locals are not all too pleased with it, while the town’s GP (Paddy Considine) is the other half of the lead duo, who finds out his wife has been cheating on him. Oh, and while you might imagine this is just a romcom in waiting, there’s also a sci-fi twist to the tale.
Borderlands
This may be one of the most notorious video game adaptation duds in the last decade, but it’s worth a look out of sheer curiosity. Cate Blanchett stars as Lilith, a wastelander bounty hunter who ends up teaming up with Kevin Hart’s Roland and Jack Black’s Claptrap in an adventure across Pandora. Nominated for six Razzie awards but — honestly — it’s not entirely without its fun moments.
No Taste Like Home
This gentle food show sees Queer Eye host Antoni Porowski matched up with a celeb in each episode. They head back to where that celeb grew up to look into their roots through food. Florence Pugh, Justin Theroux and Awkwafina episodes are available to stream at the show’s launch, while we’ll get episodes with James Marsden, Issa Rae and Henry Golding in March.
Cassandra
AIs gone bad are the order of the day in movies and TV at the moment. But while the real danger of AI is more about upturning the economy and filling brains with misinformation, Cassandra takes the classic route of AI embodied in a creepy robot. She’s a home helper, but all may not be quite as it appears. It’s a six-episode run, and a German show so prepare for subtitles.
Broken Rage
Takeshi Tikano’s latest film (or is it a TV show?) may not be the best thing out this week, but it’s one of the most intriguing. This hour and change movie is split into two halves. The first half is the story of an ageing hitman, told with a straight face. The second parodies those same events, rolling out as a broad comedy. Very odd.
Cobra Kai season 6 (part 3)
After seven years and six seasons, Cobra Kai has come to an end. Would have thought a Karate Kid spin-off could have such legs? The show signs off in satisfying style, giving fans a good old punch in the feels. We come back to the show following the dramatic death during the Sekai Taikai tournament, with five episodes to wrap up what has been one of the more consistent runs in TV in recent years.
The Witcher Sirens of the Deep
For a while it looked like we were in a golden age of animation. And then films like The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim arrived to burst the bubble. The Witcher Sirens of the Deep has had a better reception than that, but has still split the critics. Consider it a 90-minute side quest and arrived with lowered expectations and you should come out satisfied. It certainly has plenty of gore and monster-slaying. And for the fans of the games, over the live action series, OG voice actor Doug Cockle returns to voice Geralt in this film.
Surviving Black Hawk Down
Many of you will know Black Hawk Down as a Ridley Scott movie from 2002. Netflix’s Surviving Black Hawk Down is a documentary series that looks at the real events behind that film, the soldiers and civilians involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, which took place in 1993. It’s a three-parter that brings real context to the actions, while also reproducing the sense of chaos of the actual events.
You’re Cordially Invited
American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson
Is there really anything new to say about the O.J. Simpson case? The story of the NFL star accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend has played out on TV and film many times before. But, well, it’s been a while and Netflix’s latest attempt does make a solid account of how police failures led to (spoiler alert) Simpson being acquitted. And does Gen Z really know who O.J. Simpson is? Here’s a chance for them to catch up.
Paradise season 1
When the president is murdered, it's up to a secret service agent to find the culprit and secure the future of the country. That agent is Sterling K. Brown, who rides the twists and turns of this silly but engaging thriller with a commendably straight face. Roll with its more unlikely moments and you should find yourself lodged at the edge of your seat. It's an 8-part season, with episodes dropping regularly into March.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man
This animated series paints Spider-Man in retro-inspired style, but there's one big twist in the premise. In the strain of Spider-Man most of us know best, his mentor is Tony Stark, Iron Man. But in Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, Norman Osborn, also known as super-villain Green Goblin, takes on that role. It’s an intriguing premise that plays out in a fun, 10-episode ride that’s worth taking.
Brian and Maggie
For now this one’s only for UK viewers, but we still thought it was worth a shout after we talked to the show’s leads and creator. This is a dramatisation of the (to some) famous TV interview between UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Brian Walden, a journalist and former MP himself. Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter star.
Night Agent season 2
The first season of the Night Agent was Netflix’s most popular TV show of 2023. And it is currently the streamer’s 7th most popular English language show of all time. 98.2 million watches aren’t to be sniffed at. The show itself isn’t, and never was, a slice of solid HBO-shaped gold. But it is enjoyable binge-ready piece of thriller action that should satisfy those who loved the first season. And there are plenty of those.
Prime Target
Miss the prevalence of those pulpy Dan Brown-style stories and shows? You might appreciate Prime Target, the latest thriller from Apple TV+. Leo Woodall stars as Ed, a genius maths student who thinks he might be on the verge of discovering something big. But is a shadowy force trying to put an end to his research before it’s finished? Don’t enter expecting grounded drama, but you will get plenty of twists and cliffhangers.
Blink Twice
Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut is a peach. This thriller film follows a woman who finds herself courted by a rich and famous man, and whisked off to a remote luxury island. But behind the haze of booze and good times, is there something much darker going on? Channing Tatum stars as the ultra-famous Slater King while Naomie Ackie leads.
The Sand Castle
A family of four ends up stranded on a seemingly deserted island. They have to scavenge to survive, and hide to find a way to reach someone, anyone, out there in civilisation to bring their rescue. This film is an allegory for the refugee crisis, and was shown in 2024 as part of the Red Sea Film Festival.
Presence
Every synopsis of Presence will make you believe this is a horror film. But it isn’t one. Steven Soderbergh’s Presence is a thriller-meets-family-drama in which we view the day-to-day struggles of a modern family through the eyes of a ghost. It’s not just an excuse for Soderbergh spookily wandering around the set with a camera in-hand, but apparently that is what happened during the shoot. A film that mounts up in tension effectively through its economic 85-minute runtime.
- Out now in cinemas...
Alien: Romulus
For our money, Romulus is a contender for the third best Alien film, following the first two. And now you can check it out for "free", you lucky things. Set between Alien and Aliens, Romulus is set in a space station. A group of colonists enter the seemingly abandoned station for supplies, and get more than they bargained for. One repeated complaint from its cinema run was how dodgy the recreation of the now-deceased Ian Holm was, but that has apparently been “fixed” for the home release.
Severance season 2
Already the second megaton season release of the last few weeks, following Squid Game 2, Severance season 2 is a smash. It doubles down on the strangeness of this ambitious show, expanding the scope and diving deeper into mystery. Missed the first season? In the world of Severance, people have their work life and outside life split into, effectively, two separate people.
Civil War
Alex Garland’s 2024 opus Civil War lands on Prime Video just days before Trump takes office for a second time. Coincidence? This powerful film depicts a US split in two, while Kirsten Dunst plays a journalist who makes her way to Washington D.C. in order to cover the Western Forces’ storming of the capitol.
The Crow Girl
This six-part show is based on a Scandi crime novel released in 2016. A DCI and psychotherapist team up to get to the bottom of a series of murders of young men. Eve Myles and Dougray Scott star as that investigating pair. The TV series transposes the action of the book from Sweden’s Stockholm to Bristol, but we lose none of the bleakness you might associate with classic Scandi crime dramas of the past. There’s also a strain of humour throughout to balance that out, though. Highly recommended if this genre is your bag.
Public Disorder
A six-part Italian drama series that follows a group of riot police. It’s based on a 2012 film called A.C.A.B., which in itself was based on a book by journalist Carlo Bonini. The story takes a while to get going but it’s a particularly prescient topic — perhaps more these days than it was in 2012 or 2009 when its inspirations were originally published/released. If you decide to watch, stick with the subs rather than the English dub.
On Call
There’s a new police procedural in town. On Call is about a cop duo in California, sorting out crimes in Long Beach. Unlike most current entries in the genre, episodes are only 30 minutes long, giving this show a snappier feel than most. Is it going to change the game? Nope. But it does come from the OG crime master Dick Wolf, the producer behind the original Lay & Order from the early 90s.
American Primeval
Nope, this has nothing to do with the dino series Primeval. It’s a gritty and bloody western from the writer of The Revenant. American Primeval a six-episode run set in the earliest days of the formation of the modern US, where the familiar furniture of western movies has not yet been put in place. It’s bleak, grim and violent, and pretty powerful at points to boot.
The Breakthrough
Remember when Swedish shows and movies were considered the peak of crime drama? We’re back in the zone with The Breakthrough, a four-part series about one of Sweden’s most infamous murders. It took 16 years to solve, and this show picks up the story with the killing already left dormant as a cold case. Subs required, but The Breakthrough is worth a watch.
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action
Pop culture may be worse than it was in some ways back in the 90s, but you could surely never get away with the Jerry Springer show today. This doc looks behind the scenes of the ultimate low-brow US talk show of its era. And some of the stories really are quite wild and eyebrow-raising.
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