What to watch this weekend.
Credit: Disney / Prime Video / MGM
Cyborg ninja assassins in neon-drenched cityscapes. Violent Irish gangs throwing down against the Italian mafia. Muscled gods in terrible, terrible wigs. There’s something for everyone in this weekend’s edition of your friendly neighborhood streaming guide. Classic book adaptations, music festival docu-series, even anime.
I’ve been watching The Capture on Peacock recently, since the third season just came out and several readers have been telling me to please, please, pretty please just watch it already. I binged the first season and it was very enjoyable, partly because it’s a bit like older movies like The Fugitive or Enemy of the State (but British) and partly because I love Holliday Grainger and will watch her in anything.
I’m going to keep watching but I’m also juggling playing catch-up on Sugar, Silo and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed and have plenty of other shows keeping me busy, like House of the Dragon and others I’ve lost track of and need to get back to. There is simply never enough time in the day!
I also penned a piece about the biggest problems with MGM’s hit horror series FROM in its fourth season. There were lots of good bits in the season, but I wanted to go over what didn’t work in the hopes that the show’s writers and producers will take the criticism seriously for its fifth and final season.
Oh and before I forget, be sure to check out the new trailer for Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, the new sequel animated movie to the hit Nickelodeon series. It’s coming out later this month! Yip yip!
As always, I’ve searched the internet high and low for the best TV shows and movies streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ for you to watch this weekend. If you have any recommendations, tips or other thoughts feel free to shoot me a note. Let me know what you’re watching these days, or if you’ve enjoyed any of my recommendations, on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Be sure to also check out last weekend’s streaming guide below:
Onto the list!
New TV Shows To Watch This Weekend
The Westies (MGM+)
Set in the 1980s, this new MGM+ drama centers on the New York City Irish gang of the same name and the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the gang’s home turf in Hell’s Kitchen. The Westies have to contend not only with the NYPD and the FBI but also the Italian mafia, which has them outnumbered, outgunned but not necessarily outwitted. The cast is, as the kids say, “stacked” including Titus Welliver, J.K. Simmons, Tom Brittney, Sarah Bolger, Jessica Frances Dukes, Alan Leech and many more. It looks terrific, but then I’m a sucker for period crime dramas and this is definitely reminding me of films like The Departed and Boondock Saints. New episodes drop Sundays with the finale airing August 23.
Little House on the Prairie (Netflix)
Netflix is going for a more historically grounded adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books than the 1970s series. The first season adapts the events of the first book and sets up the potential for a second season based on the sequel, On The Banks of Plum Creek. Critics give this a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences are a bit more skeptical at 62%. Might be fun to watch with the fam.
The Man Will Burn (HBO Max)
Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi’s four-part docu-series goes into the history and culture of the Burning Man festival, which thousands of people attend every year and which, to me, looks genuinely awful. I love music. I’m not against the hedonism of it all. I just don’t like being out in the hot desert. Looks like an interesting docu-series, though, maybe especially for those of us who will never go in person.
The Five Star Weekend (Peacock)
Jennifer Garner’s new series, The Five Star Weekend, based on the novel by Elin Hilderbrand, is about a woman who invites friends from her past to visit her luxury Nantucket estate for a weekend of girl stuff. D’Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Chloe Sevigny and Regina Hall also star. The 8-episode series is currently available in full on Peacock.
Ghost in the Shell (Prime Video)
Ghost in the Shell has been around forever, but it’s always fun to see a new take on an old classic. The new series, which debuted on Prime Video this past Tuesday, was created by Science Saru (aka Science Monkey), the studio behind the hit Devilman Crybaby and Danadan. The new series is based on the 1989-91 manage of the same name and takes place in the distant future (well, 2029) in a futuristic Japan replete with elite cyborgs, tactical anti-terrorism forces and mysterious hackers. You can also watch the old 1995 movie on Prime Video. A total of 10 episodes will comprise the first season, with the finale airing on September 8.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Complete Season 3 (Hulu)
The third season of the popular supernatural action anime lands in both dubbed and subbed versions on Hulu this week. The series follows high school student Yuji Itadori as he trains alongside fellow students at the elite Tokyo Jujutsu High and taking on the monstrous Curses. All 12 episodes are currently available to stream.
New Movies To Watch This Weekend
The Long Walk (HBO Max)
This gripping adaptation of the Stephen King novel is about a dystopian America set in the 1970s after a second Civil War leaves the country in ruin. Every year, a group of 50 boys must complete the titular Long Walk, traveling at 3mph or faster until only one remains. Anyone who falls behind or leaves the road is executed. It’s a battle royale of sorts, and the first time I saw the trailer I didn’t think it looked particularly good. I was wrong. This movie is excellent, with phenomenal performances. The characters have real depth and you’ll find yourself caring about them a lot, which only heightens the awful sense of dread. One of the best King adaptations I’ve seen, up there with Misery and Stand By Me.
New Movies In Theaters This Weekend
Moana
I thought the trailers for this looked pretty bad. I’m sorry, but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just looks bizarre with the long hair. He may have done the voice for the animated film but putting a wig on does not make him look like Maui. We’ll see if this does better with audiences, but right now it’s boasting a dismal 37% Rotten Tomatoes score. Ouch.
TV Shows Currently Streaming Weekly
House of the Dragon – Season 3 (HBO Max)
House of the Dragon
Credit: HBO
HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, follows the Westerosi civil war known as the Dance of Dragons and the struggle for the Iron Throne between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Team Black) and her half-brother, Aegon (Team Green). The third episode drops Sunday. While I enjoyed aspects of the Season 3 premiere, I found a lot of it to be incredibly frustrating, with baffling changes to the source material and a lackluster Battle of the Gullet. I enjoyed the second episode more, though I continue to struggle with feelings of apathy, or perhaps antipathy, to most of the characters, making it hard to root for any of them.
The third episode was the best of the bunch, thankfully. The fourth (of 8) episodes airs this Sunday. New episodes drop Sundays with the season finale airing on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, August 9.
Sugar – Season 2 (Apple TV)
I can think of very few shows with a more shocking twist than Apple TV’s Sugar. It’s such a shocking twist that I won’t spoil it here. The story follows private detective John Sugar (Colin Farrell) as he investigates the disappearance of the granddaughter of a wealthy movie producer in Hollywood. Things get weird. I’m very excited to start Season 2. A total of eight episodes comprise Season 2, with new episodes landing Thursday evenings and the season finale dropping on August 6.
Silo – Season 3 (Apple TV)
Set in a dystopian future, 10,000 people live in a massive, self-sustaining underground “Silo” comprising 144 levels. Residents are strictly governed by regulations and believe the outside world is toxic, but the protagonist, an engineer named Juliette Nichols, begins to uncover secrets about the Silo’s history and the truth behind their world. I thought the first season was a bit slow but ended up being a really compelling mystery. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get into Season 2 and still need to catch up. Season 3 airs weekly on Thursday evenings for a total of 10 episodes, with the finale dropping on September 4.
Star City – Season 1 Finale (Apple TV)
Star City
Credit: Apple TV
Apple TV’s hit sci-fi series, For All Mankind, airs its finale this week. The show explores a “what if” scenario: What if the Soviet Union had landed the first man on the moon, propelling a real space race that hadn’t fizzled out decades ago? Star City takes us to the other side of the Iron Curtain, exploring this hypothetical scenario from the Soviet side. The series currently holds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. New episodes drop weekly on Thursday evenings for a total of eight episodes, with the finale airing on July 9.
X-Men ’97 – Season 2 (Disney+)
This animated series follows the X-Men as they continue to face new challenges and threats in a world that fears and hates them. Season 2 released earlier this week and consists of nine episodes and picks up following the events of the first season. The first three episodes are out now, though Episode 3 is only the first part of a two-episode double feature. I actually started Season 1 and then got sidetracked, so I’ll have to pick this back up. It got solid reviews, though there was some controversy surrounding its lead writer, Beau DeMayo, who left the series. New episodes drop Wednesdays, with the season finale airing on August 12.
Cape Fear (Apple TV)
Cape Fear
Credit: Apple TV
Javier Bardem and Amy Adams star in this television series based on the novel The Executioners and its two film adaptations (1962 and 1991) both of which were also called Cape Fear. The story follows vicious ex-con, Max Cady (Bardem) and his revenge plot against married couple Tom (Patrick Wilson) and Anna Bowden (Adams). The series holds a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. New episodes drop Thursday evenings for a total of 10 episodes, with the finale landing on July 30.
The Vampire Lestat (AMC+)
The Vampire Lestat
Credit: AMC
The Vampire Lestat follows the vampire, Lestat (Sam Reid), as he becomes a rockstar (Anne Rice based his persona on Jim Morrison of The Doors) and tries to set the record straight via his own autobiography rather than leave history to his old friend and rival, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and his infamous interview from Interview With A Vampire. New episodes drop on Sundays on AMC+ for a total of seven episodes, with the finale airing on July 19.
A Woman of Substance (BritBox)
This British drama series follows a woman named Emma over the course of more than six decades of her life, from the 1900s through the 1970s, working her way from impoverished maid to the world’s richest woman. Emma is played by different actresses over the course of the series (Jessica Reynolds, Brenda Blethyn) alongside a cast of talented co-stars. Mystery, drama, revenge…it looks fantastic and boasts a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The first three episodes are out now on BritBox, with a total of eight comprising the season.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple TV)
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
Credit: Apple TV
Tatiana Maslany stars in Apple TV’s new dark comedy series, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, as a divorced fact-checker who forms an online relationship with a male sex worker and finds herself the target of a blackmail scheme. Things get darker from there. It has excellent reviews from both fans and critics. New episodes drop on Tuesday evenings, with the finale landing on July 14.
Check out the week before last’s streaming guide below:
What are you watching these days? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.