What are you going to watch this weekend?
Credit: Apple/Shudder/Netflix
We’re already in the last weekend of January, but we still have until next Friday before the month officially ends, and February starts with brand new shows and movies for us to watch. . Will 2025 be even faster than 2024?
Either way, as always, we’ve searched high and low for all the best new TV shows and movies that have recently hit the myriad streaming services we all subscribe to these days. Some of these I have seen or written about and you can follow the links to my reviews. Others just popped up and I haven’t had time to look at them yet. There’s always more to see than there is time in the day! That’s a good problem.
If you missed them, take a look at my worst and best TV shows of 2024 at a glance to get more ideas about what to watch and what to avoid.
If you have a tip or if we missed something, please shoot us a message on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Check out our streaming guide for last weekend.
What’s new and noteworthy this weekend?
It’s an action-packed weekend of new TV shows and movies, and I’m starting with my personal picks for the week. . . .
Night Agent – Season 2 (Netflix)
I really enjoyed Season 1 of Night Agent, and even though it’s been a few years since I watched it, I jumped into the second season and really enjoyed it. I’ve seen many readers complain that it’s not that good, and I don’t know if it’s my foggy memory or what, but I I really liked the 2nd season and felt it had a lot of pros and cons the first time around, but now I want to rewatch it first to see if I’m missing something. Either way, if you like fun spy thrillers with few frills and plenty of tension, this is a very awe-inspiring option. Read my season 2 review here.
Prime Target (AppleTV)
I haven’t started this yet, but it looks interesting. Leo Woodall plays Edward Brooks, a handsome young mathematician. Edward Brooks’ obsession with key figures leads him down a rabbit hole of danger and deception. Unfortunately, it’s gotten pretty mixed reviews at just 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience is more upbeat with a “Popcorn Meter” score of 65%. Looks interesting and I’ll check it out this weekend. The first two episodes are available on Apple TV, with the third and subsequent episodes landing on Wednesdays.
Wild robot (peacock)
Wild Robots is one of my favorite movies of 2024, and definitely one of the top animated movies of the year (Insider Out 2 was good, but just barely). The story follows a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) stranded on a remote island who is tasked with raising a young Gosling and surviving both the harsh elements and other dangers. It’s truly heartwarming with a beautiful core and gorgeous animation. If you enjoy top-notch family movies, you should really give this one a try.
Blink Twice (Prime Video)
Zoë Kravitz makes her directorial debut with Blink Tware. Blink is a movie about a group of people invited to the private island of a tech billionaire, Slater King (Channing Tatum). The story follows Frida (Naomi Ackie) as her vacation to paradise turns into a trip from hell. Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Kyle MacLachlan make up some of the film’s star-studded cast. I haven’t seen this, but the trailer makes it look pretty intense (though the trailer also says it’s pretty spoilery, so don’t watch it if you’re thinking of seeing the movie).
Star Trek: Section 31 – Paramount+
Star Trek has been such a mess over the past decade or so, and Section 31 doesn’t sound like things are getting any better. The Michelle Yeoh-led streaming film was intended to be a Star Trek spinoff series. It was shelved and the project became an independent film. Apparently it didn’t translate well. On Rotten Tomatoes, the picture has a 17% critics score and just 25% audience. it hurts. Trekkies seem to have it just as bad, just as bad, than Star Wars fans these days.
Grafting (shiver)
I recently saw and reviewed the substance, so this caught my eye. This Substance is a movie about a miracle drug that gives you eternal youth but actually doesn’t. It’s a confusing movie that I really hated (and left me confused about every topic). Graft takes a similar premise, with a miraculous medical technology that can change your face, but in this dystopian thriller, the reality of the transformation is far scarier than its promise. Honestly, this looks better than the substance to me, but I’m not sure if I have the stomach for body horror right away.
Harem – Season 3 (Prime Video)
I’ll be honest: I don’t know anything about Harem, even though it’s in its third (and final) season. Sounds like the black version of Sex and the City. “Four ambitious best friends, Camille, Ty, Quinn, and Angie, navigate relationships and careers in New York City.” I’m not a sex or city guy, so I’m coming from a place of ignorance and speculation here. It’s really active. forgive me! The show has great reviews from audiences and critics, but if this is up your alley, watch it!
Gladiator II (Paramount+)
I thought Gladiator was a solid epic historical drama, but not necessarily a great movie. While Ridley Scott’s film was entertaining enough, it lacked the emotional resonance of something like Braveheart. Much of the film’s success rested on Russell Crowe’s great performance. Crowe is lacking in Gladiator II, as is any sense of realism or originality. I really laughed my way through this awful sequel, then went home and wrote a scathing review. Now you too can witness how bad this movie really is. And no amount of Denzel Washington can save it.
brutal (theater)
Not everything is streamed. There’s this magical place called the “movie theater” where people gather together to eat popcorn and extra-large pretzels and drink giant cups of soda, and you all sit together and watch a movie as a community. amazing! Try it sometime. I’m debating whether or not to go to Brutal this weekend. Because, amazingly, it’s also three and a half hours long. But unlike most really long movies, this one is split into two parts and has an intermission! So you get a built-in bathroom break to stretch your legs, maybe come back to the concessions, etc. I want to go to the movies just for this break experience. Broadway shows and other live theater. Adrien Brody has already won awards for historical dramas. Looks phenomenal.
There are many new movies on Rent and Buy Video on Demand this weekend. Some highlights: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Robert Eggers’ wonderful vampire era Nosferatu (my review). It’s funny, the first Sonic movie was the last movie I saw in theaters before Covid shut everything down. I really liked it, but never saw the sequel.
what is streaming weekly
As always, many TV shows will continue to air weekly. Not everyone has adopted the Netflix Binge model! – I’m listing some of them here.
Retirement – Season 2 dropped its second episode this weekend. The second season of Apple TV’s stunning dystopian sci-fi office drama is off to a great start. Read the full season spoiler-free review here or check out my episode 2 recap here. This is the one show I’m literally begging everyone to watch. It’s one of the best out there. New episodes drop Thursday nights. (apple).
Pit is one of my favorite new series. I published a review earlier today. It stars (and produced and partially wrote) Elle veteran Noah Wyle. A 24-style format is required, with each episode being a new hour of one long shift at a Pittsburgh hospital. The show expertly weaves together the stories of a fairly large cast of doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, as well as all the patients and families who pass through the jump-packed emergency room. It’s great, compelling television, and I’m not even a fan of big medical dramas, but I finally started watching ER after I ran out of episodes of Pitt. New episodes drop on Thursdays. (Max)
Traitor – Season 3 continues to air weekly and is currently the biggest unscripted show to date. It’s like a challenging reality show meets a murder mystery dinner. I’ll admit, I haven’t seen it because I don’t really like it, but it sounds interesting! (peacock)
Dexter: Original Sin continues to be a solid offering week after week, and I’m happy to pop out when new episodes drop every Friday. I had low expectations for the Dexter prequel, but everyone does a really great job and the combination of weekly mysteries and in-season mysteries works very well. It’s all very nostalgic, that’s for sure. This is my review. (Paramount)
SAS Rogue Heroes -Season 2- is something I haven’t started yet and completely forgot to include in this list. All the episodes are already out and we’ve heard a lot of good things from our readers. I would love to see that. The series follows a group of military commanders during World War II who employ non-traditional means in their fight against the Axis powers. (MGM+)
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What have you been watching lately? What should I put on this list or add to my backlog? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, or Facebook.
