Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
TIE: 10. High Desert (Apple TV+ series)
Patricia Arquette’s streaming TV career high continues in the wake of Severance and The Act. This time, she portrays an ex-drug dealer who somehow decides to be a private investigator. It’s not exactly Jessica Jones but rather an extremely odd show that showcases a series of odd performances, including those by Matt Dillon, Bernadette Peters, and Brad Garrett. Oh, and Rupert Friend plays a guru, just to make things stranger. The series does explore grief, given that Arquette’s character struggles through it, but don’t worry about this being too depressing at all.
TIE: 10. F9 (Universal Pictures film streaming on HBO Max)
Fast X recently careened into theaters, and even though it feels like Fast 9 only arrived yesterday, it’s still worth catching up again before moving onto the installment where Jason Momoa’s villain is the highlight within a 2+ hour extravaganza that keeps its foot on the pedal the whole time. Arguably, this new installment might be too much, but at least Momoa is having the most fun, and there will probably be too more films on the way. Let’s face it — this franchise will possibly never end, and audiences will keep showing up.
9. Silo (Apple TV+ series)
Rebecca Ferguson is riveting as the hard-as-nails engineer in this first season based upon Hugh Howey’s initial book of the Wool omnibus. As Juliette, she rises from the lower stories of the massive underground structure — which houses the last ten-thousand-or-so members of humanity after a vague apocalyptic event — to the position of sheriff. There, she begins to dig into a murder mystery while uncovering perhaps too much information about the silo’s true origins as Common’s leather jacket acts as the most sinister figure in the entire show. Justified showrunner Graham Yost has helming duties again here, and I dare say that Juliette has more than a few things in common with Raylan Givens. Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Tim Robbins, and Harriet Walter co-star.
8. Evil Dead Rise (New Line Cinema film streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)
Although this installment cannot possibly compare to the groovy gore of yesteryear (or even the Jane Levy film), the streaming audience seemingly cannot get enough of watching this movie at home. And that’s wild because horror was once thought to be optimally watched in a crowded theater while gripping the seat handles and streaming along with one’s surroundings. Hey, it works at home, too, so draw those curtains and pour all the butter on your popcorn before making sure that you cannot sleep tonight.
7. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+ series)
Our own Brian Grubb has been power ranking this season like mad, and Jason Sudeikis’ eternally chipper coach is not exactly scoring many points in that department, but the AFC Richmond chief is preparing to say his goodbye to the TV world, and Roy has been attempting to convince everyone that he doesn’t have a hairy ass. In a streaming realm full of overly complicated plot lines, the world is gonna miss these priorities.
6. To Catch A Killer (Vertical film available PPV on Apple TV+)
Shades of Silence Of The Lambs surface in this series starring Shailene Woodley as a troubled cop, Eleanor Falco, who’s attempting to track down a serial sniper. Falco is also wrestling with her own demons while joining Ben Mendelsohn’s FBI investigator in the ultimate cat-and-mouse game with a killer whose tactics are anything but predictable. Still, Falco is a bit of a secret weapon due to her own past, and this will never be considered a prestige picture, yet it’s intriguing and digestible all the same.
5. Air (Amazon Prime Video movie)
Ben Affleck lands back in the director’s seat while also wearing a wig to play Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Jason Bateman is being lauded as the film’s secret weapon, and Matt Damon is also along for the shoe-deal ride. Those two portray Rob Strasser and Sonny Vaccaro, respectively. Viola Davis is on hand as Michael Jordan’s mother, and the man never appears on camera, but there still plenty of fuss while the Nike guys persist in signing him to a deal. The film also stars Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Gustaf Skarsgård, and Matthew Maher, and although the project didn’t do gangbusters in theaters, it’s been a hit on the streaming charts.
4. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix series)
This spinoff actually turned out to be better than the main Bridgerton series, so Season 3 will have a heck of a tough act to follow. Quite impressively, both India Amarteifio and Golda Rosheuvel portray different eras of the title character, whose origin story is more valuable than we could have ever guessed after the frivolous nature of how the monarch was initially portrayed. She’s been through some stuff, alright, and although Charlotte and King George’s story did turn tragic, it’s ultimately fulfilling to see how their bond developed despite despite the arranged nature of their marriage. Corey Mylchreest threads a careful needle in his portrayal of a deceptively difficult character to embody within the larger picture of Shondaland.
3. Barry (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
Last week’s haunting Bill Hader performance also cements him as a master of atmosphere, so it will be a good time to see where he goes in the horror realm, which is apparently what he wants to do next. This is one of many shows heading into the sunset this year, but I suspect this will also be one of the most missed of the bunch. Hader has a true talent with giving us a bleak-as-hell story and also making it funny, and the world be waiting to see his humorous darkness emerge again in the future.
2. Mother (Netflix film)
The Mother’s Day weekend release plan hit just right for this Jennifer Lopez movie in which she finally gets to make her own version of John Wick, and even if the results aren’t technically stellar, this is exactly the type of movie that people cannot help but stream in the wake of a themed holiday. JLo stars as a military-trained assassin, who must save her daughter from horrible criminals who didn’t choose their target out of the blue. Joseph Fiennes and Gael García Bernal co-star, but this is JLo’s movie, for better or worse. It’s forgettable, but it’s still a fun ride. Get it, Mama.
1. Succession (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)
Shiv Shiv-y Shiv Shiv is perhaps failing the hardest out of all the Roy siblings, and boy, did she have to work hard to achieve that dubious goal. This week, Logan Roy is finally receiving a funeral (so he can turn in his grave accordingly), and from the looks of the previews, Roman plans to get theatrical. Last week’s episode stressed out the audience, and god only knows if cathartic vibes are on the way, but this show only has two more episodes left before we see whether that corrupt empire finally tumbles into oblivion.
