What to watch - amazing new movies and TV shows to stream
Great shows and movies you should be streaming on Netflix and beyond.
Welcome to the WatchList, the ultimate place to find out the best things to stream this week - what you should be watching at the weekend and beyond.
Each week we will look at some fantastic new things that have landed on the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, NOW, Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus.
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
Still here? Then what you are after are a handful of recommendations to stop you endlessly scrolling into next week.
Night Sky
There are myriad layers to Night Sky. For a start, there's the sci-fi premise: a portal to another planet just happens to be in the shed of an ageing couple, something they use to observe other worlds. That is about as high concept as it gets, but the real meat of Night Sky is the couple themselves. They are in their twilight years and played superbly by Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons. This one is a slow burn but it's a slow story about two people who haven't got much time left but are sitting on a secret that would change the world.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
We never thought we would write this but if you watch one thing on The Watchlist this week, then it should be Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. This superb movie of the classic cartoon is one big love letter to old-school animation, while also satirising the idea of reboots, and CGI, in the process. It's also hilarious thanks to Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer taking the helm and John Mulaney and Andy Samberg voicing the rescue rangers. There's cameos galore and a lot of IP to poke fun at. In short: this one is far more fun than it should be.
Love, Death + Robots: S3
Netflix's fantastic anthology series is back and it's better than ever. Love, Death + Robots: S3 has some great callbacks to the first season, while also offering the reteaming we all wanted to see. That's right: Bad Traveling features Se7en's Andrew Kevin Walker on script duties and David Fincher directing a stunning-looking episode.
The Valet
We'll watch Samara Weaving in pretty much anything but this time around The Valet is actually a decent, original rom com that will have you reaching for the tissues. Weaving is Olivia Allen, a movie superstar who is caught by the paps with a married billionaire. To get out of the situation, she pretends to be in love with the valet is also in the picture. As fish-out-of-water stories go, this is a really fun watch.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Okay, we haven't seen any preview of this one, but Obi-Wan Kenobi is an absolute must watch. It follows Kenobi after the events of Return Of The Sith and sees Ewan McGregor once more as Old Ben and Hayden Christensen back as Darth Vader. This one streams weekly from 27 May.
Previously on The WatchList
Our Father
One of the most disturbing Netflix documentaries you are likely to see, Our Father is the true tale of Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who has been using his own sperm to impregnate patients of his. His actions went on for some 30 years and it was only the advent of home-testing DNA kits that meant his ruse was finally up. Over the course of 90 minutes, this doc recounts the devastation he caused to the many lives he affected.
Kids In The Hall
Kids In The Hall, the classic Canadian sketch show is back, thanks to this Prime Video revival, and sees the comedians revitalised after some 27 years off the screen. These new 8 episodes are great fun and there’s a real dose of comedic nihilism throughout. All eight 25-minute episodes are available to watch now.
The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith
The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith proves that it’s not just Netflix who can do a decent true crime drama. Here we get the tale of Beverly Lynn Smith, a cold case in Canada in the 70s that saw a 22 year old murdered. Years later her neighbour is implicated in the murder and becomes part of an elaborate police sting to bring him in. This doc charts the twists and turns of the case, over four episodes, and makes for a riveting watch.
Oussekine
With Disney Plus the new home for Fox-related content, the streaming service - in the UK at least - is now showcasing Oussekine, a fantastic French drama about a true-life tale of police brutality that saw the murder of a young student and highlighted the political disparities in France at the time. Over four episodes, this is a fantastic dramatic account of those tragic events.
The Essex Serpent
This faithful adaptation of Sarah Parry’s fantastic novel features an all-star cast, with Tom Hiddlestone and Claire Danes starring as a vicar and widower respectively. Over six episodes, this adaptation takes its time to tell this knotty tale of mythical creatures, religion, science and love.
The Derry Girls Season Finale
The Derry Girls is some of the best TV the UK and Ireland has ever produced and it will be hard to say goodbye to the show. But at least it is going out in style, with the finale happening May 17 and a one-hour special based around the Good Friday Peace Agreement talks the day after. This one is UK-only for now, but given how much the US also loves the show - hopefully it will be shown there soon.
On the big screen...
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The UK has had to wait an age for this multiverse masterpiece, but finally Everything Everywhere All At Once is on at the big screen in the UK and it’s an absolute must watch. An inventive film that has shades of Gilliam, Gondry and Jeunet, it’s a fantastical look at Michelle Yeoh’s Evelyn Wang, a downtrodden laundromat owner who is tasked to save the world. What ensues is mind-melting mayhem that’s hilarious to boot.
Watch on the big screen now
Previously on The WatchList
The Staircase
This fictionalised account of the hit true-crime documentary is an absolute must watch. It's twistier than a helter skelter as it unfurls the tale of an author whose wife is found dead at the bottom of their staircase. Did she trip? Her bludgeoned head says 'no' but there is much more to it than that.
As you would expect, both Colin Firth and Toni Collette are fantastic in this suitably meta TV show - when the documentary crew turn up to star filming the documentary of which this show is based, you'll be scratching your head while marvelling at the whole thing.
Meltdown: Three Mile Island
The Three Mile Island accident in 1979 is the worst nuclear accident on American soil to date - but it could have been prevented. This captivating documentary looks at the issues behind the plant that lead to the disaster, interviewing key players and, near its end, offering a balanced look at whether nuclear power is worth the fallout that can happen.
The Pentaverate
Mike Myers is back! We wish it was in a better series than The Pentaverate but there is enough of his childish humor to keep your watching. The plot is centred on a secret society that has been the reason for many of the world's big events. After a member dies, they enlist the help of outsiders to keep their controlling plans in control. Packed with cameos, this one works best when the focus is on Myers who - naturally - hams it up as myriad characters throughout.
Disney Gallery: The Book Of Boba Fett
One thing we love about Disney Plus is that the site loves to offer up behind-the-scenes documentaries of its hit shows, much like those great Blu-ray extras of old. The latest focuses on The Book Of Boba Fett and is a great hour of TV that lets you peak behind the Star Wars magic curtain.
Bosch: Legacy - Season 1
The spin-off Bosch is one of the big tentpole dramas that is available on Amazon's Freevee, formerly called IMDb TV. Titus Welliver is back as Harry Bosch, no longer an LAPD detective but now a PI. Anyone who is a fan of the original Bosch series (and if you haven't watched it, then we really do recommend) will like what's happening in Legacy - a spin-off that feels familiar, and that's no bad thing.
On The Big Screen
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
We liked Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness but there's no denying that it is one of the messier entries of the MCU. It's clear that director Sam Raimi has been allowed to add his own flourishes to the movie and this really shows in some of the scarier moments. While the convoluted plot will annoy some, Marvel has pulled off a blinder with the metaverse conceit as it's the ultimate get-out clause for anything that was deemed cannon before it. This means that you just don't quite know where In The Multiverse Of Madness is going to go, which makes the film all the more watchable.
