What will you watch this weekend?
Credit: Netflix / Focus Features
It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas, but the list of new TV shows and movies streaming this weekend doesn’t include many Christmas movies. We’ll be publishing another guide to the best holiday-themed fare soon. It’s that time of year when the lights are on and cheerful Christmas songs are playing on the radio.
It’s another big weekend for streaming content, although it’s not quite as big as last weekend or the long-awaited release of Stranger Things 5.
In entertainment news, we’ve learned that Netflix plans to acquire Warner Bros. and gobble up HBO Max in an $82.7 billion deal. It’s the end of an era. My only prediction is grim. HBO will never again air a series of the quality of The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire, or even The Pit. They’re all going to go to Netflix’s horrible algorithms, low-quality cinematography. This spells the end for the movie theater business, not to mention the big movies released by Warner Bros. It would be nice to kiss you goodbye. Also, this type of acquisition leads to significant price hikes for subscribers, so say goodbye to your wallet. Competition is good. Massive media mergers? Not so much.
Don’t get me wrong. Netflix has produced a ton of perfectly good TV shows and movies, but they’re generally the exception. HBO has many great TV shows that have been produced over the years. All good things come to an end. Perhaps it’s selfish, but I wish I never had to witness so many people in my lifetime.
Either way, you should discuss shows and movies on a lighter note. As usual, I scoured the streets for the best new shows and movies available to stream on the various streaming services we all subscribe to these days.
Please let me know if I’ve missed anything. It will be added in an update. If you have any tips, send them to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
You can also check out our streaming guide for last weekend here.
New TV shows to watch this weekend
The Abundance (Netflix)
When I heard Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson were starring in a new Western, I was so excited. When I found out Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was making this for Netflix, I was nervous. I liked that show and other works Sutter worked on, but overall I think he’s a mixed bag. Add in Netflix’s algorithmic effects, and it’s no surprise that The Abandons has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 29%. At 41% on the Popcornmeter, audience satisfaction is not very high. The historical revisionist western might still be worth checking out, if only for the quality of the leads. If you’re not impressed, consider American Primeval, a violent Netflix Western starring Taylor Kitsch. I really enjoyed it.
Spartacus: House of Ashur — Season 1 (Starz)
I loved shows like “Rome” on the cable television network formerly known as HBO (RIP), but it wasn’t until the Starz series “Spartacus” that I got around to watching it. I need to add it to the backlog. Now, a spin-off of that series is coming out, set in an alternate timeline where one of the main characters never actually died. Imagine a Game of Thrones spin-off about Ned Stark’s long and happy life. I see it.
New movies to watch this weekend
Jay Kelly (Netflix)
George Clooney and Adam Sandler star in this new Noah Baumbach film that follows the famous movie star as he travels through Europe. This is a very character-driven drama where two men reflect on their pasts and the choices they’ve made, their relationships and legacy issues. RT score is 77%. Baumbach has produced countless films and collaborated with filmmakers such as Greta Gerwig, Barbie’s wife, and director Wes Anderson on films such as Life Aquatic, starring Steve Zissou.
Diary of a Yowamushi Kid: The Last Straw (Disney+)
The newest movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is coming to Disney+ this weekend. In fact, I know very little about these stories, but my children read the books when they were young and have never seen the film adaptations. This is supposed to be a fun, festive, family movie, but there are basically no reviews yet.
Forrest Gump (Netflix)
forest gump
Credit: Paramount
I loved “Forest Gump” when I saw it when I was a teenager. When I watched it when I was almost 40 years old, I didn’t really like it. It’s still a good movie, Tom Hanks is great, and I love all of the history Gump steps into in Robert Zemeckis’ film. But I think it’s pure insanity that it won Best Picture over the next movie on this list.
Pulp Fiction (Netflix)
pulp fiction
Credit: Miramax
This is probably the stupidest thing in Oscar history. I don’t understand how Forrest Gump beat Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. That’s ridiculous. Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece. It changed movies. This work changed crime dramas and catapulted Tarantino to a level of fame that few directors had achieved before (though he has certainly had enough time over the years to make new films). Every time I watch Pulp Fiction, I like it more and more.
Phoenician Plan (Prime Video)
Speaking of filmmakers who have become household names, Wes Anderson’s latest film is coming to Prime Video this weekend. I missed “The Phoenician Scheme” in theaters, so I’d like to see it. As always with Wes Anderson films, the cast is absurdly overlapping, including Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Bill Murray.
oh. what. fun. (Prime Video)
The holiday season brings us another Christmas movie. what. fun. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Eva Longoria, and Dominic Sessa. Michael Showalter’s movies unfortunately get pretty bad reviews, but so do most Christmas movies.
TV shows currently streaming weekly
The Mighty Nine — Season 1 (Prime Video)
The latest Critical Role animated fantasy series, The Mighty Nein, is just as fun as Legend of Vox Machina, and I’m really enjoying its weekly release schedule. This is definitely a very drinkable and extended enjoyment of the show. The story follows a group of misfits who come together by chance and embark on a dangerous mission to uncover the secrets of an evil cabal. I think the clown is my favorite character at the moment, but they’re all great.
Pluribus — Season 1 (Apple TV)
What am I? . . It’s a shame because the big reveal in last week’s Pluribus cliffhanger was basically what everyone expected. At the same time, I appreciate the fact that the show subverts our expectations a little. It’s difficult to explain without spoiling it, so I’ll write about it separately. But if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, or The X-Files, this is another Vince Gilligan series, and while it’s not as good as those series, it’s pretty good. The mystery of a strange alien virus that transforms almost the entire population of Earth into a cheerful, peaceful hive mind is definitely unique, and I’m very interested to see where it all goes.
IT: Welcome to Derry — Season 1 (HBO Max)
IT: Welcome to Derry ended on a massive cliffhanger last week, and this is the kind of cliffhanger that makes you totally scared of what’s going to happen next. I guess that means I’m pretty into this Stephen King series (prequel to IT), but it hasn’t been able to keep up with many other HBO shows due to a number of factors, including poor CGI and frankly very shoddy acting. (Admittedly, this feels like something you’d get from Netflix HBO).
Blue Lights — Season 3 (BritBox)
I’m still working on my review of Blue Lights Season 3, but I’d still like to encourage everyone to watch this great Irish crime drama. This great Irish crime drama is streamed weekly on BritBox here in the US (and previously aired on the BBC in the UK). Great characters, very tense scenes, and a very human perspective on the city of Belfast and its inhabitants all combine to make this one of my favorite TV shows at the moment.
Landman — Season 2 (Paramount+)
Billy Bob Thornton stars in Taylor Sheridan’s Texas oil business drama, but I’m still behind. I’ve heard mixed reviews like this, but my first impressions of the first few episodes of season 1 were also quite mixed. Some hail it as Sheridan’s best show ever. For some people, the daughter/mother subplot is too annoying. I will definitely do it. Very popular!
Check out last weekend’s big streaming guide here.
That’s it! Let us know what you see. If I missed something, I think it should be added to this guide. If you have any upcoming plans on your radar, please let me know about that as well. You say to me: What have you been watching lately? What else did I miss? What should we put on this list or add to our backlog? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.
