Welcome to the WatchList, the ultimate what to watch guide. Each week our TV and movie experts curate a list of the best things to watch on the small - and sometimes big - screen.
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. We'll throw in any notable physical releases and special editions, too, and point to where you can buy them.
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!
The Girlfriend
Get your hands on the steering wheel because the road ahead is twisty on this one. The Girlfriend is a six-part psychological thriller based on a best-selling novel. When Laura’s (Robin Wright) son brings home a new girlfriend, Cherry (Olivia Cooke), she ends up butting heads with this apparently scheming young woman. What’s her real goal?
Diary of a Ditched Girl
This Scandi show is not a moody crime drama for once. It’s about Amanda, a 31-year-old woman from Sweden whose life isn’t quite heading along the right tracks. But she decides to give dating another go, and her… adventures are captured across seven snappy 26-35 minute episodes. It’s not an English language production but is worth a watch if you want a funny show about actual adult women.
Aka Charlie Sheen
Remember Charlie Sheen’s whole tiger blood thing? This two-parter from Netflix digs into the once red-hot actor’s career, his fall into drugs and mania, and his recovery in more recent years. Some critics have slammed Aka Charlie Sheen for its lack of real deeper insight, but it’s still well worth a watch if you have any remaining curiosity about Sheen.
The Breslau Murders
Prepare for subtitles. While there is an English dub of The Breslau Murders, we recommend watching in the original Polish with subs here. It’s an eight-part series set before World War 2. In the days running up to the Olympics, which were held in Third Reich Berlin in 1936, the murder of a Jewish member of the Polish team is under the spotlight. Franz Podolsky investigates, in what is a bit of a bolder premise than the average procedural.
Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping
15 years on since the last Mitchell and Webb comedy series, the Peep Show duo are back with another dose, Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. And it’s a classic sketch comedy series, just like the old days. Is it at the cutting edge of comedy? Absolutely not. It has divided critics. Some say it’s excruciating, others that it’s a triumphant return of a near-dead format. We sit somewhere in the middle, so give it a try.
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 then 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...
The Guest
The BBC has served up another cracking mystery, set against the sleepy backdrop of South Wales, starring Gabrielle Creevy as Ria and Eve Myles as Fran. This four-part drama is a twisting thriller that centres on the intense, toxic relationship between cleaner, Ria, and her mysterious employer, Fran. As the two women’s lives become intertwined by shared secrets, an obsessive co-dependence emerges that ultimately threatens to become dangerous and manipulative - a psychological game of cat-and-mouse.
Lilo & Stitch
The multi-million dollar blockbuster from the summer has finally landed on Disney plus, meaning you can indulge in all that childhood nostalgia once again. Transport yourself to the sunny lands of Hawaii - or possibly your childhood living room and watch the live-action Stitch get up to all sorts of antics alongside Lilo and Nani. The film broke numerous records for Memorial Day weekend during its initial release, and has grossed $1.035 billion worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the highest-grossing live-action/animated hybrid in history.
Highest 2 Lowest
Denzel Washington is back - and he’s teamed up with Spike Lee for the first time since Inside Man in 2006. The film itself It is an English-language remake and reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese film High and Low, itself based on the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain.
It stars Washington as David King, a New York City music mogul, and the founder of Stackin' Hits Record. King intends to buy back majority ownership to avert a buyout by a rival label. The day the deal is to go through, King receives an anonymous call from a kidnapper, demanding $17.5 million in Swiss 1,000-franc notes for the safe return of his son Trey…
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (4K UHD Blu-ray)
Having perfected the swords and sandals formula with Gladiator, Russell Crowe took to the high-seas for his next big blockbuster turn in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Somewhat underrated upon its 2003 release, the Peter Weir-directed epic is now rightly considered a modern classic. Depicting the brutal realities of naval warfare in the Napoleonic era, and based on Patrick O’Brian’s popular series of novels, Crowe’s Captain ‘Lucky Jack’ Aubrey is pushed to his limits in a cat-and-mouse chase across the oceans, after an ambush leaves his ship badly damaged and his crew wounded.
This new 4K re-release is a treat, offering up remastered visuals and a new Dolby Vision HDR / Dolby Atmos sound presentation, alongside deleted scenes, historical trivia and a pop-up map. The steelbook version is a lovely package, too with beautiful gold-trim artwork. It lands on September 8th.
Pusher Trilogy (4K UHD Limited Edition Blu-ray)
We may never get actual Grand Theft Auto movies — but that’s fine, because the cult-classic Pusher trilogy is better than any crime flick Hollywood could ever churn out.
Before Mads Mikkelsen was a worldwide mega-star, before Nicolas Winding Refn was the go-to auteur director for neon-soaked crime dramas, the pair teamed up for this trio of grimey, taut and utterly believable series of gangster films in their native Denmark.
Gritty, gory and honest, each of the three films (1996’s Pusher, 2004’s Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands, and 2005’s Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death) look at the criminal underworld of Copenhagen from the perspective of a single character. Their lives overlap and interact, and their desperate, underhand actions towards each other are never-less than nailbiting. The fact that the films are not better known in the English speaking world is a crime in itself — and speaks more to our patience with subtitles than anything else.
This new boxset brings all three films together, restored in 4K for the first time, with new artwork by Thomas Walker plus a 120-page book with essays on the films themes and making-of. There’s a good selection of special features in here, too. Pick it up from September 15th.
Thunderbolts
It may feel like we've had aeons of waiting, but less than four months after its cinema debut, Thunderbolts has arrived on Disney+. This Marvel movie is the best-reviewed of the MCU in a while, and although it didn’t blow the cinema doors off like Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s a more consistent watch. A rag-tag bunch of has-beens and anti-heroes loosely join together to form a new superhero troupe in the wake of the dissolution of the Avengers. A fun watch starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Wyatt Russell.
The Thursday Murder Club
Making murder cosy again, The Thursday Murder Club is an adaptation of Richard Osman riotously successful 2020 crime thriller novel. But these thrills are distinctly easy-going. The detectives are a bunch of pensioners, played in this movie version by Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie. It’s a stellar cast. Just like the book, don’t come expecting anything truly groundbreaking, but we imagine this one will absolutely pop off on streaming. Don’t miss out.
Invasion season 3
Apple doesn’t make a lot of TV shows compared to Netflix, but it sure does have quite a lot of sci-fi. Its somewhat underrated Invasion has returned for season 3, despite 2023’s second season seemingly marking an end to Earth’s little alien problem. We’re well into Invasion’s redemption arc too. After a patchy first season, this third one’s focus on relationships between the characters makes for a compelling watch.
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water
Spike Lee’s Katrina: Come Hell and High Water is a three-part documentary that examines the fallout of hurricane Katrina, which left New Orleans underwater in 2005. It features testimonies from those affected by the disaster, as well as a look into the mistakes that were made that led to such terrible outcomes for the city. More than 1300 people died following the hurricane, while even 20 years later New Orleans still has not fully recovered from those events. Well worth a watch.
Atomic
Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif star in Atomic, a series in which they play an unlikely criminal duo of smugglers. But they soon find themselves way over their heads when their latest job sees them transporting a whole bunch of uranium, while being chased by not just the CIA but MI6 and a drug cartel too. Lots of action, and a chaotic start to the show, but hopefully Atomic will get back on its narrative track by its final fifth episode.
Hostage
A top British lead actress? Tick. A politically-laced crime thriller? Yep. And enough plot twists to keep you guessing? Hostage is a series fans of quality modern TV should not miss, and this time it’s on Netflix rather than the BBC. Suranne Jones is the British prime minister. She tussles with the French president, played by Julie Delphy, after her husband and colleagues are kidnapped in French Guiana.
The Monkey
This quirky horror movie is based on a Stephen King short story, in which a menacing toy monkey causes a series (and then an awful lot) of horrifying deaths. This one comes from director Oz Perkins, who made Long Legs. And it stars Theo James in two roles, playing twin brothers Bill and Hal, who end up cursed with the possession of the monkey from childhood.
Long Story Short
The beloved BoJack Horseman was cancelled by Netflix after its sixth season but its creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is back with another slice of animated brilliance in Long Story Short. It’s about the Schwoopers, a Jewish family whose history is told across eight 25-minute episodes. And they are all set at different time periods, from today back to the 1950s. This isn’t your average animated sit-com, where the end of each episode effectively hits the “reset” button. And it’s great.
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon
Surgeon Henry Marsh looks back on 40 years of brain surgery in this BBC documentary. He’s now retired, aged 74, but spent years as possibly Britain’s most celebrated surgeon. He looks back into the past, including a revisit of the patients he was not able to save. Meanwhile, Marsh has become the patient himself, having been diagnosed with prostate cancer. An engaging portrait of a man.
The Truth About Jussie Smollett
Remember the case of Jussie Smollett? He was a rising star in the late 2010s, seen in projects like Alien: Covenant and Empire. But in 2019 he claimed he was assaulted by a pair of thugs, and subjected to homophobic and racial abuse. However, it turned out the two assailant were Smollett’s friends and the whole thing was a hoax. This led to Smollett being arrested and charged. But he has another story, and claims his innocence. Netlix’s 90-minute documentary looks into what really happened.
Alien: Earth
The Alien franchise has returned and with a new iteration that re-kickstarts it with bang, breathing new life into the classic series. It’s already got some pretty starry reviews, with most people agreeing it's a smash. In holeeping with the 1979 film - the series' story follows the space vessel Maginot which crash-lands on Earth. Wendy (played by Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's biggest threat. Expect some seriously cool monsters.
Love is Blind UK: Season 2
A healthy dose of reality TV is sometimes just what the Friday night ordered - especially now Love Island is wrapped up. Love is Blind UK has landed on Netflix with TV’s favourite Matt & Emma Willis at the helm as 30 new singletons attempt to find their happily ever after, through a slightly unconventional method. This season is back with more highs, lows, heartbreaks, and drama which is definitely going to send your group chat into tailspin.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood
Outlander may have wrapped up earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean the sassenach action has stopped, and Prime is back with a spin off. More specifically, a prequel which explores the lives of Jamie and Claire’s parents - with an appearance of that stone circle. It’s a visit back to the Highlands with all the classic kilt action you want from the series. The first two episodes have been released, with a new episode dropping every Saturday, perfect to fill that Outlander gap you may have.
Night Always Comes
Anyone who is a Marvel fan will have seen Vanesa Kirby steal the show in the Fantastic Four: The First Steps film. If you’re ready for more excellent acting but fewer futuristic jumpsuits, then you’ll want to catch this film based on a book by Willy Vlautin. Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.
King of the Hill
After the better part of 20 years off our screens, King of the Hill is back. The characters have a few more wrinkles around the eyes, Bobby is a young man rather than a teenager. And the show has moved with the times, Hank having to sigh at the world of today rather than the 90s. The real miraculous part is, despite all that time away, the show is as good as ever. But it makes sense when much of the original cast and creatives are back, guided by show runner TV veteran Saladin Patterson.
Wednesday Season 2 part 1
Netflix’s most successful English language TV show of all time is back. And it’s just as good, if not better, than the first season. Netflix has, as is common these days, split the show into two parts. The second will be out on September 3rd. So head in with the right mindset — you’ll only have four episodes to watch for almost a month. This new run features new cast members including Steve Buscemi and Billie Piper.
Maria
This Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie arrived on US Netflix ages ago. And it has finally come to the UK as well. It joins the legendary singer past her peak of fame, as she is considering a return the stage while dogged by illness. We’re leaning heavy on the tragedy side here. It’s awards bait that only earned the film a single Academy Awards nomination for its cinematography (it didn’t win). But Jolie is fab in the role.
Platonic S2
A couple of years on from the first season, Platonic is back at Apple TV+. Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen play pair of unlikely friends who are close but not together-together. It’s a good old platonic male-female friendship. In season 2, Sylvia considers going back to work after years spent in mom mode. It’s proof a show can be as engaging through sheer funniness and character chemistry as the high stakes and plot twists of thriller shows.
The Pickup
OK, fair warning. The Guardian called this new Eddie Murphy “worse than Norbit,” a film with eight Razzies nominations and three wins. But for some it’s going to fall squarely into the so-bad-it’s-good category. Murphy and Pete Davison play two armoured truck drivers who are ambushed while transporting a big load of cash, making for a very bad day at work for the pair. Not a good movie, but may prove a brain-balm to the weary.
Chief of War
Jason Momoa is back in warrior mode in this retelling of the unification of the Hawaiian islands. An often overlooked part of history, it’s set in the late 1700s. Tribal leader Ka'iana (Momoa) tries to bring the islands together — in an era before Hawaii became part of the US in the (very) late 1880s. A nine-part season that contains lots of history, lots of fighting, lots of spears.
To Thy Rest
A low-budget horror at risk of flying under the radar, To Thy Rest is one worth checking out if you’ve a hankering for something spooky. It’s set in Finland and follows British supernatural medium Arthur Sharp at the end of a tour, in a remote and snowy hotel. He performs a seance, and begins to unravel. It’s an atmospheric slow-burner, despite being just 77 minutes long.
Leanne
Sitcoms are back, it seems. A flashback to simpler times, Leanne is a gentle but charming watch centred around a woman — the Leanne of the title — whose husband has just left her. She’s played by comedian Leanne Morgan, in a show that succeeds despite its questionable writing and gags. As with any of these old-style shows, it all rests on how enjoyable it is to spend time with the characters. And that’s where Leanne’s southern-inflected charm seeps out.
Confessions of a Killer: Son of Sam Tapes
David Berkowitz terrorised New York City in the 1970s, killing seven people before finally being arrested. This three-part series from Netflix digs into the motivations of a man who still remains behind bars all these years on, through previous interviews with journalists. Berkowitz remains in prison to this day, in upstate New York.
1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story
If you know of Bonnie Blue, it’s likely for a stunt in which she had sex with more than a thousand men over the span of just 12 hours. This Channel 4 documentary interviews the former OnlyFans star herself, and even has contributions from her parents, as unlikely as that may sound. It’s not a documentary that truly gets to the heart of the matter, if such a thing exists, but it’s one way to get clued up on this phenomenon without going through the potentially risky process of searching for it online.
Happy Gilmore 2
Almost 30 years after the original was released, Adam Sandler has made a sequel to his beloved golf comedy Happy Gilmore. We’re yet to see the full spread of reviews from critics, but the sentiment so far is devotees of the original are likely to enjoy it. The Hollywood Reporter came up with the catchiest tagline for this one, saying the “sequel is terrible — and fans will love it.” The film sees Happy return to the game in order to shamelessly earn some money.
The Assassin
The high concept one-liner on The Assassin is it’s how James Bond might turn out if he were a menopausal woman instead of a leery man. Keely Hawes plays this agent assassin, Julie, who ends up on the run with her estranged son (Freddie Highmore) after an attempt is made on her life. This is a funny, snappy show that leans into its own ridiculousness across six episodes.
Washington Black
This eight-part series is an adaptation of a 2018 novel that sounds pretty bold in concept. It’s a fantasy-laced steampunk globe-trotting adventure that is at least partially about slavery. Washington Black (Ernest Kingsley Junior) is born in a plantation, and eventually escapes aboard an airship with the help of his friend Titch (Tom Ellis). This adaptation shaves off most of the edges of the original novel, but we’re left with a fun romp.
Critical: Between life and Death
Netflix trades true crime for the real-life goings-on of “trauma centres” in London — or hospital A&Es in other words. The series begins with the aftermath of a fairground ride malfunction in south London’s Brockwell Park, as a host of injured people rush into the hospital. These kinds of fly on the wall documentaries are common to terrestrial TV, but here we get an extra layer of production gloss thanks to Netflix budgets.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Are we in the superhero movie redemption arc? That might be over-doing it, but The Fantastic Four: First Steps has received largely positive reviews and is set to draw in big enough crowds to justify its chunky $200 million budget. It’s doubly good news, as previous attempts to bring this superhero family to the big screen have been flat-out bad. Worth seeing on the big screen, First Steps also gives us a suitably epic representation of the world-eating Galactus.
- Out now in cinemas...
Untamed
Eric Bana stars in Untamed, a drama that at the very least will make you want to go on holiday to the mountains. He is Kyle Turner, a Yosemite special agent — a park ranger plus — who investigates crimes in the great outdoors. And the action heats up as someone is found dead at El Capitan, a beautiful rock formation made extra-famous by Apple MacBook laptops. Untamed doesn’t earn top points for originality but does pack thrills and some bloomin’ gorgeous scenery.
The Institute
We’ve been waiting all month for this Stephen King adaptation, which has shades of Stranger Things to it (of course, we also said Stranger Things had Stephen King vibes a decade ago). A bunch of kids wake up in the institute of the title. They have been kidnapped and taken there, to be investigated after it’s discovered they have supernatural powers. And they make a plan to escape. Mixed reviews, but when has a Stephen King TV adaptation not had mixed reviews?
Better Man
"This is surprisingly good."
That was many people’s reaction to Better Man, the Robbie-Williams-as-a-monkey biopic released in 2024. It was made for an absolute fortune in biopic terms, $110 million, and predictably made peanuts in cinemas. Who outside the UK really cares that much about Robbie Williams after all? You don’t have to be able to recite all the lyrics to Angels to be able to appreciate this one, though. It’s an engaging tale of the rise and fall of a pop star. With a CGI monkey.
The Amateur
Not long out of cinemas, The Amateur is an effective thriller about a CIA decoder (Remi Malek) who takes a leaf out of the Jason Bourne bible after his wife is killed in a terror attack, and his agency refuses to investigate. He takes matters into his own hands, training to become an assassin to take down the people who took away his previous life. Not an all-timer classic but a solid weekend watch.
Amy Bradley is Missing
It seems not a month can go by without another slice of true crime being added to Netflix. This latest is about a still-unsolved case, that of Amy Bradley, who went missing from a cruise ship back in 1998. She was just 23 at the time, on holiday with her parents. But did she fall overboard or was she trafficked off the cruise ship? This 3-part series may not have the answers, but it digs into some real eye-opening theories.
Live Aid at 40
40 years ago Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organised an epic concert to raise funds for Ethiopian famine. It made more than £100 million, and saw what still is one of the most epic line-ups in the history of live music take to two stages, in London and Philadelphia. This three-part series looks into how it happened, and features plenty of footage from the show itself, which is well worth a revisit.
A Hard Day's Night - Criterion Collection
Keeping that musical theme going is this meticulous re-release of the Fab Four's most iconic cinematic outing. A model for all pop groups to come (would the mixed-media stardom of the likes of BTS have been possible if The Beatles hadn't made the jump to the silver screen?), A Hard Day's Night, goofy as it is, perfectly captures the spirit of the swinging sixties and The Beatle's ineffable charm.
This Criterion Collection re-release includes a new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Richard Lester, with three audio options — a period-appropriate monaural soundtrack, as well as stereo and 5.1 surround mixes supervised by sound producer Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios, alongside a Dolby Vision presentation. It's also packed to the rafters with special features, including making of documentaries and a rarely-seen, Oscar-nominated short, The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film.
Ballard
Bosch was one of Prime Video’s classic early shows. And more than a decade on, it continues in spin-off form. First we got Bosch: Legacy, now Ballard takes the spotlight off Harry Bosch and puts it on Maggie Q’s Renee Ballard instead. They really have a knack for imaginative titles here. The feel is a little different as a result of the shift, but it’s a largely successful tangential continuation of one of the best police procedurals. There’s plenty justification for its existence too. After all, Bosch author Michael Connelly did write books led by Ballard too.
Foundation season 3
Apple TV+’s take on Asimov’s classic Foundation sci-fi book series returns for a third season. David Goyer may have dropped out as show runner, but they haven’t dropped the ball in this new run. There’s a time jump of more than a century, as Jared Harris’s Hari Seldon tries to stop civilisation from falling into a dark age. This one deserves more viewers. But do yourself a favour and watch the initial two seasons first.
The Gringo Hunters
This Netflix show follows a Mexican police unit charged with hunting down US fugitives. It’s based on a real 2022 story about such a unit, from the Washington Post. But the appeal here is very much that of a classic procedural, and the events are fictional. And it’s also a nice script-flipping of what Trump and co like to say about Mexican immigrants. Harold Torres and Mayra Hermosillo star in a 10-episode recommended for fans of the genre.
Too Much
The critics haven’t universally lavished praise on this one, but Too Much is worth a mention regardless. This is comedian Lena Dunham’s sitcom. She’s best known for Girls, which became a cultural phenomenon back in the 2010s. Too Much is about Jessica (Megan Salter), a New Yorker who moves to London to start again after the end of a relationship. UK reviewers haven’t been too keen on this one, suggesting it’s full of cliches and lacks the punch of Girls. Plenty of US reviewers liked it, though, rogerebert.com landing on an impressive 3.5/4 score for example.
Heads of State
This week saw the release of big-name Netflix sequel The Old Guard 2. But if you have a Prime sub, check out Heads of State instead. It’s a comedy thriller starring John Cena and Idris Elba, as the President of the US and Prime Minister of the UK. And while that may sound like a recipe for some real throwaway trash, solid performances from the two A-lister leads made it seriously watchable. And some of the action is great too. The comedy? Opinions vary on that one.
Attack on London - Hunting the 7/7 Bombers
In 2005, London was the victim of a series of terrorist bombings, with explosives set off on a bus and in the London Underground. This 4-episode Netflix series digs into those events, and the manhunt it kicked off across the UK. It features substantive interviews with figures from the time, including then-Prime-Minister Tony Blair.
Jurassic World Rebirth
One of the top action movie directors working at the moment, Gareth Evans, lends his knack for spectacle to the tired Jurassic Park series. And the results are good. While Jurassic World Rebirth doesn’t necessarily give the entire franchise a new lease of life, an actual rebirth, the action is fantastic and it’s a suitably theme park-like ride of a movie. Early indications suggest it’s bringing in the big audiences it requires too.
- Out now in cinemas….
The Sandman season 2 (volume 1)
The irrevocable cancellation of Neil Gaiman hasn’t put a stop to the continuation of this adaptation of one of his most famous works. Some say it’s boring and pretentious, others that it’s pretty great despite its creator joining the ever-growing pantheon of wrong ‘uns. It sees The Sandman return to the Dreaming and reunite with his family. Netflix has dropped the first chunk of episodes, with the rest arriving later in July.
The Old Guard 2
The original Old Guard was a surprisingly good Netflix action movie from 2020, a superhero-themed story in which Charlize Theron played an immortal warrior called Andy. The Old Guard 2? In that classic tradition of sequels, it’s not as good. But we did at least think this one deserved a shout-out as to its existence. You’ve been warned, though. Enter with low expectations as it’s a bit of a mess, while Empire called it “barely a movie.” Yikes.
Squid Game season 3
It’s finally here, the last chapter of the Squid Game story. Season 3 is a six-episode package. And, well, there are mixed opinions on whether the ending is a fitting one or a total “WTF” moment, as The Guardian’s review suggests. Either way, if you’re the one person who has been waiting all these time to dig into Squid Game at all, your feast awaits.
The Bear season 4
One of the most talked-up TV shows of the last decade get its fourth season and, well, it’s the least well-reviewed of the bunch so far. However, it has been such a critically lauded series, that’s saying less than you might think. Season 4 shows us a softer, more tender side of things, rather than trying to cheese-grater our nerves into its televisual gumbo as usual. A controversial shift, but it doesn’t mean The Bear season 4 is bad.
Ironheart
This six-part series follows Riri Williams, the young inventor who makes her own Iron Man-style suit. But in this initial run of episodes at least, she ends up working with hoodlums instead of the Avengers. Not the obvious Disney/Marvel route. It has received mixed reviews, but is worth a watch if you like the character, who was introduced to us in Wakanda Forever.
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise
Now here’s a nightmare scenario: you’re stuck on a cruise ship and the toilet system malfunctions. This is what happened to a 14-storey Carnival Triumph ship in 2013. 4000 people were aboard when a fire left the ship without power or, yikes, flushing toilets. It’s a little less serious than some of the other episodes in the Netflix Trainwreck series but remains a gross story worth witnessing.
Smoke
Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett star in Smoke, which was inspired by real-world events. They are arson investigators on the tail of serial fire-starters in a 9-episode series. It’s a little inconsistent but really goes places, so stick with this one as it does pay off. Smoke is set in a fictional American town, Umberland, so don’t come expecting a particularly grounded tale.
The Mortician
A kind of corruption that will linger in your nightmares, The Mortician is the tale of a funeral home owner who takes more and more disturbing measures to try to undercut his rivals. And things end up very grim indeed, but it’s best to hear the the bizarre tale from the 3-part documentary itself. It even includes testimony from the man himself, David Sconce.
Warfare
Alex Garland’s Warfare has been called one of the most realistic depictions of war ever made. It’s intense, disturbing, engaging and depicts the chaos and confusion of a real US Navy Seal action of the Iraq war perfectly. It’s not an easy watch, but it is a powerful 95 minutes of film-making. Highly recommended.
Sally
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space, having made the trip up into the inky black in 1983. This documentary is about not just that experience, but the various indignities she had to put up with as a female astronaut. It also looks into her personal life, and her experiences as a gay woman at a time when it often paid to be less than open.
Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem
A political controversy from another era, Trainwreck looks into the story of the former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, who was filmed smoking crack and yet refused to resign. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on this one. Trainwreck is a snappy 49-minute documentary that reads like a primer for the fractious world in which we find ourselves today.
28 Years Later
The better part of 20 years after 28 Weeks Later, Danny Boyle has returned to his venerated zombie series to direct 28 Years Later. Script writer Alex Garland returns too, in a film that is as much a family drama as a gory zombie movie. But is it any good? Have a look at our 28 Years Later review round-up for the full skinny.
Out now in cinemas…
FUBAR season 2
Did you know FUBAR was Arnie’s proper TV lead debut? After all these years? Well it’s back for a second season. The premise: Luke Brummer and his daughter both live double lives. And they are both secret CIA operatives, each ignorant of the other’s role until, well, they aren’t. This second season continues the blend of action, comedy and spy adventure. And while it’s not going to dominate any “best of the year” lists, it’s a fun diversion, particularly for the Schwarzenegger fans out there.
Our Times
A married couple, who also happen to be world-class physicists who discover how to travel through time, get into relationship difficulties. Why? They travel from 1966 to 2025, but while one of them takes to the “future” perfectly, the other does not. That’s right, Our Times is a high-concept time-traveling rom-com. And while it doesn’t have the tightest time travel logic going, it doesn’t waste your time at a tight and tidy 90 minutes. Well worth a watch. A Spanish language movie.
Deep Cover
Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed star in Deep Cover, a surprisingly solid action-comedy about improv performers who have to try their luck playing criminals in an actual London crime gang. It sounds like it should be dreadful, but really is not — and at the time of writing sits with an impressive 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating. It was also co-written by Hollywood big-shot Colin Trevorrow.
Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster
In 2023, a submersible imploded while heading for the wreck of the Titanic, more than three thousand metres down. This Netflix documentary looks into the events of the tragedy, in which the five people aboard the Oceangate vessel died, and why it happened. A whistleblower had already suggested this fate was inevitable, further deepening the controversy.
Twin Peaks
Wondering what all the cultural fuss about Twin Peaks is? You can find out for yourself over at MUBI, which has snagged the complete TV show run of the classic David Lynch series. The original run was just two seasons, but the second is an old-school season with a whopping 22 episodes. We usually focus on the new stuff in this What to Watch round-up, but this one’s a bit special. The 1992 follow-up film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me isn’t part of this MUBI deal, but the streamer does have the 2017 return to Twin Peaks.
The Accountant 2
It’s barely out of cinemas but The Accountant 2 has already arrived on Prime Video. This is classic Friday night fodder. Sure, it’s no Oscar-bait, no all-timer classic, but is an effective and punchy buddy-based action movie. Ben Affleck and John Bernthal are those buddies, estranged brothers who come back together to take down the killer of one of their friends.
Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut (4K UHD Blu-ray)
The last truly good Ridley Scott film? Your jaw may drop at that statement if you've only seen the shoddy theatrical release, but Kingdom of Heaven's Director's Cut is almost an entirely different film, offering far more depth and grandeur to go along with the sword-swinging action. An epic historical drama released in 2005, it follows Orlando Bloom's Balian of Ibelin, an apprentice blacksmith who finds himself at the heart of the crusades in 12th century Jerusalem. This new 4K UHD steelbook Blu-ray release includes an astonishing 8 extra hours of bonus content — including an insightful director's commentary from Scott himself as he describes the trials of bringing this version of his movie to audiences.
Stick
Owen Wilson returns to our screens in Apple’s Stick. He plays Pryce Cahill, a former golf pro whose career is in the past, and his marriage is heading that way too. But he still sees a hope for glory in coaching Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager), a young player with heaps of promise. Wilson is as charming as you’d hope in this comedy-drama. It’s a 10-episode series.
Sara - Woman in the Shadows
Italian crime drama Sara - Woman in the Shadows stars Teresa Sapomangelo as Sara, a retired agent who returns to her old work in order to investigate the death of her own son. It was made to look like an accident, but was it really one? It’s a six-episode story with solid plotting and twists in all the right places.
What it Feels Like for a Girl
This BBC series dramatises the life of Paris Lees, the author and trans advocate. The eight roughly 50-minute episodes dig into her life growing up as Ellis, a chaotic and witty teen, in Nottingham. It’s been compared to 2021’s It’s a Sin for its unvarnished and relatively unfiltered view on living as a queer person. Based on Lees's own autobiography.
Piece by Piece
An unlikely combo, Piece by Piece is a biopic of singer and producer Pharrell Williams, told through the medium of LEGO. This film did have a cinema run in 2024, but will no doubt find a wider audience on streaming. Reviews praise its creativity, matching that of Williams’s own genre-merging music. But it’s not the ultra-revealing and deep biopic some fans of the musical titan may be after. Available from June 7.
Dept. Q
Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a good detective but not necessarily a good man who gets in trouble after his actions get a fellow officer killed. He’s demoted, cast out to Dept. Q, where he has to try to solve cold cases, with — supposedly — little chance for glory. Feel like you’ve heard this one before? That might be because the concept is similar to Apple’s venerated Slow Horses. But thankfully it’s no low-effort rip-off, with sharp writing and a great cast.
The Better Sister
Like a bit of “eat the rich” sentiment in your shows? The Better Sister puts that on the plate, as well as a lot more. It’s a drama between two feuding sisters. It’s a murder mystery. It’s a police show. The Better Sister stars Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks as the titular sisters. We don’t think this is going to feature on many “show of the year” lists but it’s solid twisty entertainment for fans of the genre(s).
Death Valley
It’s murder mystery time, comedy edition. Tim Spall turns detective as amateur crime-solver John Chapel. He’s a retired actor who, in his pomp, played a police detective in one of those never-ending procedurals that litter the airwaves. “Cosy” and “witty” are words you’ll find in almost all the reviews, as well as the conclusion it’s a pretty darn good take on this well-trodden formula.
Speak No Evil
James McAvoy has always been able to do clean-cut wholesomeness. But in Speak No Evil he flips that, putting in perhaps the most unnerving performance of his career. Yep, even more unsettling than Split. Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis’s Ben and Louise believe they’ve met a charming couple on holiday. But they’re revealed to be anything but.
Fountain of Youth
Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth is not set to be remembered as a highlight of the director’s career. But we imagine it will be stuck on the TV in plenty of homes across the country this weekend, ones that have Apple TV+ anyway. John Krasinski stars as Luke Purdue, who teams up with his sister and a gang of treasure hunters in search of, yup, the fountain of youth. It’s dumb and not only sub-Indiana Jones but sub-National Treasure. But enter with the right lowered expectations and you should have fun.
Sirens
Dark comedy Sirens is set during a long holiday weekend at a resort. Devon finds her sister Simon has formed a strange attachment with her new boss Michaela, played by Julianne Moore. Michaela seems to be trying to brainwash her into her socialite ways, but Devon isn’t going to just let that happen. Loads of fun, with some brilliantly unhinged moments through its five episodes.
The Wild Robot
This animation is cited by some as Dreamworks’s most persuasive Pixar-a-like movie in years. It features a robot called Roz. She is stranded on an island, and finding no-one there to satisfy her mission she ends up making friends with the local wildlife. Heart-warming stuff. But Pixar-grade? You'll have to watch to find out.
Tucci in Italy
Whenever Stanley Tucci is on screen, we’re watching. Tucci in Italy sees the maestro return to his homeland, following 2021’s Searching for Italy. We get more gorgeous vistas, more dishes that will make you hungry even if you just had dinner. And a satisfying combo of culture, history, eye candy and travel. The Amalfi Coast, Rome, Sicily and more await.
Untold: The Fall of Favre
Those outside the US may not be entirely familiar with this story. Star quarterback Brett Favre was a football legend whose star was tarnished following accusations of sexual harassment, and more. This hour-long documentary charts his rise and fall. And while it doesn’t feature “talking head” involvement from the man itself, it does make for a pretty compelling watch even if you aren’t an American football fan.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
Is it the last hurrah for Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt? There’s been no announcement of that, but this movie sure seems to be bearing that idea in mind. It’s a near-3-hour ode to all things Mission: Impossible, going hard on incredible stunts while referencing plot points and characters from movies past. Don’t miss it on the big screen.
Out now in cinemas…
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Making a follow-up to a beloved film is always tricky. Doing it the better part of 40 years later? Dangerous stuff, but it works in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Michael Keaton returns as the titular demon, and he absolutely still has the juice. It’s absolutely worthy of the legacy of the original, and arguably has a more coherent story too.
Murderbot
Alexander Skarsgard is a synthetic being that gains sentience in Murderbot, which is also the name the lead gives himself. But despite that name, Murderbot is more of a comedy than a show about killing. Even if the character Murderbot does initially quite fancy killing humans... in theory.
A Working Man
Ready for another slice of ‘stath? Jason Statham returns in another over-the-top action move in A Working Man, which is also another collaboration between the star and director David Ayer, following last year’s The Beekeeper, which was a blast. Statham plays Levon Cade, a black ops solider turned construction worker who brings out his old skills to save a kidnapped young girl. It’s not a patch on The Beekeeper, but we don’t pass on a chance to see Statham do this thing.
Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story
Long before true crime was an international obsession, serial killers Fred and Rose West became almost the stuff of UK folklore. However, if you’re younger or not from a country in which this story was constantly retold, this Netflix doc is an effective precis of the real-world events. This three-part series takes content from more than 100 police interview tapes
Love, Death + Robots season 4
Three years after the last season, Love, Death + Robots has returned. And thankfully, the winning formula has not changed. We get 10 slices of animated genius, featuring a wide range of directors, concepts and styles, including David Fincher. Series creator Tim Miller is back too, and directs two from this clutch of episodes.
American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden
Everyone knows the vague story of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. But do you know what really happened? This three-part series looks into the military operation that eventually uncovered the man behind 9/11. It’s not a balanced look at the events, but there’s a good chance you’ll learn plenty from this engaging show. American Manhunt also brought us documentary series on O.J. Simpson and the Boston Marathon Bomber, also available on Netflix.
Long Way Home
Ewan McGregor takes to the road again in Long Way Home on Apple TV+. For those who weren’t there the first time around, McGregor teamed up with Charley Boorman for a 2005 TV series in which the pair roamed about on a pair of motorbikes, travelling from London to New York. They returned in 2020 with a trip from Argentina to Los Angeles. And in this latest show, they go from Scotland to England… but via Europe and even the arctic circle. It's a 10-episode series.
Poker Face season 2
Natasha Lyonne returns for a second season of what was one of the big critical TV hits of 2023. She plays Charlie Cale, who is basically a human lie detector. And that ability takes her from casino worker to unlikely Columbo-a-like, solving cases in gravel-voiced style. Show creator Rian Johnson didn’t return for this series, apparently, but the overall feel and style of the first season do.
Octopus!
Phoebe Waller-Bridge takes on the Attenborough narrator role in Octopus!, a two-part documentary series about the famously intelligent sea creatures. It combines the usual beautiful nature footage we’ve come to expect from these more lavish documentaries with a script infused with some of the quippery Waller-Bridge has infused into shows like Fleabag.
Last Bullet
This film completes a trilogy of stories that began with Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2. Alban Lenoir’s Lino is a genius car driver and mechanic who faces off against corrupt cops. But the real meat in the sandwich here is absolutely loads of fast-paced car-based action. If you’re wondering why you’ve missed this pulpy action series of films, which telegraphs its style clearly in poster image and name alone, it may be because this is a French series. Well worth a watch if you're hankering after some action.
Nonnas
Vince Vaughn is Joe Scatavella, a man who opens up an Italian restaurant following the death of his mother. But the difference here is the chefs are actual Italian grandmas, nonnas. It’s based on a real-life story, of a restaurant based in Staten Island. The film does of course hit some familiar heart-warming beats, but the concept alone should give you a good idea whether this one is for you or not.
Another Simple Favor
Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor was one of 2018’s film delights, a twisty comedy-slash-thriller starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. The pair return in Another Simple Favor, which sees the tangy sass of the original transported to Italy. Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie travels there to be maid of honour for a wedding. But as you’d guess if you’ve seen the first film, nothing is quite as simple as it seems.
The Four Seasons
Tina Fey! Will Forte! Colman Domingo! Steve Carell! This show has an absolutely killer cast. And it has the comedy chops to match. The Four Seasons is about a group of old friends, now middle-aged, who go on holiday together. It’s a TV series remake of a 1981 movie directed by (and starring) Alan Alda. He acts as exec producer for this series, which has picked up some great reviews.
Carême
The top line description of Apple TV+’s Carême sounds like a fever dream. Antonin Carême is a pastry chef, arguably the first celebrity chef, working in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, who also happens to be a spy. Benjamin Voisin stars in a show packed full of lurid affairs, elegantly OTT gastronomy and twists. As you might guess from all this, if not the name alone, this is a French show. It plays out in the French language too, but don’t let that put you off.
Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes
20 years ago London’s metropolitan police killed Jean Charles de Menezes, believing him to be a terrorist extremist. But he was actually just an innocent electrician. This 4-part series looks into the confluences of mistakes that led to the tragic killing. It’s a dramatisation rather than a documentary, starring Emily Mortimer and Daniel Mays, while Edison Alcaide plays de Menezes.
Cleaner
Late last year we saw Taron Egerton take on a Die Hard style role in Carry-On. Now it’s Daisy Ridley’s turn with Cleaner. She’s a former soldier turned window cleaner — no, we’re not joking — who has to intervene when the attendees of a gala in a high ride building are taken hostage. It’s silly, and definitely not as good as Die Hard. But for easy Friday night viewing it might be this week’s top pick.
Andor season 2
The most anticipated second Star Wars season of them them all, at least among adults. And Andor season 2 does not disappoint. We still get the more grown-up side of Star Wars storytelling. It’s still a proper thrill ride. And this time around there’s a bit more humour added to the mix. We’re staying spoiler-free, but Andor season 2 comes highly recommended.
A Complete Unknown
Biopic A Complete Unknown sees Hollywood hot stuff Timothy Chalamet take on the role of gravel-voiced crooner Bob Dylan, during his younger years when his vocal chords weren’t so serrated. It might just be Chalamet’s best performance too. A Complete Unknown is an engaging trip back to the 1960s that makes two hours and change breeze by. Pick up the physical edition to also get The Making of A Complete Unknown, a behind the scenes doc that shows Chalamet training for all that crooning, and a great look at who that super-cool 60s fashion aesthetic was brought to the silver screen.
Havoc
Tom Hardy is exceptionally violent in Havoc, a thriller from The Raid director Gareth Evans. Hardy is Walker, a homicide cop drawn into the criminal underworld after the son of a crime boss is murdered. He’s left dodging bullets from both the gangs and the establishment when a politician’s son is fingered for the crime. Come for the action. Stay for the action.
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