Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
15. Dan Da Dan (Netflix)
The acclaimed anime Dan Da Dan is about Momo, a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate / occult fanatic Okarun, who begin talking after she saves him from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them: Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts. It’s a real Mulder and Scully dynamic, if they were both Mulder (and there was a Turbo Granny). Dan Da Dan, which is getting a weekly release, comes from animation studio Science Saru, who also made last year’s shockingly good Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
14. My Old Ass (Prime Video)
The Aubrey Plaza-starring My Old Ass is the kind of movie that will make you say: wow. During a mushroom trip on her 18th birthday, Ellliott (played by Maisy Stella) comes face to face with her 36-year-old self (Plaza). But when her “old ass” starts giving her advice based on 20 years of experience, Elliott begins to rethink her life during a transformative summer. It’s Gen Z’s defining coming-of-age comedy.
13. Silo (Apple TV Plus)
You know who rocks? Rebecca Ferguson, that’s who. She rocks in Mission: Impossible. She rocks in Dune. And she rocks in Silo. The future-set Apple TV+ sci-fi series is about a community of people who live in an underground silo due to the toxic conditions of the outside world. Literally toxic, not “social media is bad for your mental health” toxic. Ferguson is joined by Tim Robbins, Common, Harriet Walter, and new addition Steve Zahn.
12. Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
The true star of Emilia Pérez isn’t Zoe Saldaña or Selena Gomez. It’s Karla Sofía Gascón. In Jacques Audiard’s musical crime-drama, the actress, who is trans, plays a feared cartel boss who undergoes sex reassignment surgery with the hope of beginning a new life free from the past. Emilia Pérez has been getting Oscars buzz since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with special attention paid to Sofía Gascón’s performance. Could she make history?
11. Interior Chinatown (Hulu)
Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang stars as Willis Wu, a background character who is trapped in a police procedural called Black & White. As he goes through the motions of his on-screen job, he witnesses an unlawful act and begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, along with his own family’s history. Interior Chinatown is based on Charles Yu’s novel of the same name, and also stars Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Archie Kao, and Diana Lin.
10. A Man On the Inside (Netflix)
SNL. The Comeback. The Office. Parks and Recreation. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The Good Place. Rutherford Falls. What do all these shows have in common? Michael Schur. Regis Philbin’s son-in-law (it’s true) has either written for and/or created all of them. He’s one of the most important names in comedy this century, and he has a new show on Netflix. A Man on the Inside follows retired widower Charles, played by Cheers and The Good Place legend Ted Danson, who goes undercover in a retirement community to solve a mystery.
9. Blitz (Apple TV Plus)
Is Saoirse Ronan capable of giving a bad performance? (No.) The actress gives one of her best in Blitz, the new film from director Steve McQueen. The story follows a young boy, played by Elliott Heffernan, who is sent to the English countryside for his safety by his mom (Ronan) during World War II, and the journey they go on to reunite. Another Oscar nomination, her fifth, is possible.
8. Robot Dreams (Hulu)
Robot Dreams is an absolute delight. It also might break your heart. The dialogue-free film from writer and director Pablo Berger is about the unlikely friendship between a robot and a dog. It’s gorgeously animated, and will delight adults and kids alike. Get ready to have Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “September” stuck in your head.
7. The Madness (Netflix)
In the long break between seasons of Euphoria, Colman Domingo was nominated for an Oscar. He also starred in a new Netflix conspiracy thriller series, The Madness, in which he plays a media pundit who finds himself framed for the murder of a notorious white supremacist after he stumbles upon a dead body in the Poconos woods.
6. Smile 2 (Paramount Plus)
Allow me to say something controversial yet brave: Skye Riley >>> Lady Raven.
5. Creature Commandos (Max)
If you enjoy the Harley Quinn show and/or James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, you’ll love Creature Commandos. The animated series tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters — including Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and G.I. Robot — who are recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. “When all else fails… they’re your last, worst option,” the Max description reads. Every episode was written by Gunn, while the cast includes Indira Varma, Sean Gunn, Alan Tudyk, Zoë Chao, David Harbour, Maria Bakalova, Frank Grillo, and Viola Davis. It’s a fun introduction to the new DCU.
4. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (Disney Plus)
The last few Star Wars shows have been… not great, to put it mildly, but Skeleton Crew looks like a fun Amblin-y throwback. It follows four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy where they cross paths with Jod Na Nawood, played by Jude Law. It’s like Stranger Things meet Star Wars, a winning formula.
3. A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter (Netflix)
It will be a very kitschy Christmas with A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter, a new Netflix special starring the “Please Please Please” singer. There will be holiday covers, special guests (including a duet with Chappell Roan), and, if her live show is any indication, double entendres galore. Pair it with an espresso martini.
2. Black Doves (Netflix)
In Black Doves, the always wonderful Keira Knightley plays Helen, an undercover professional spy who has been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for: the titular Black Doves. But when her secret lover Jason is assassinated, an old friend (Paddington’s Ben Whishaw!) is tasked with keeping her safe. Together, they set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason, which, as often happens with these kinds of shows, leads them into a vast conspiracy. Pepe Silvia will be watching.
1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Max)
One of the biggest movies of 2024 is a decades-later sequel about a horny dead guy. Obviously. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is better than it has any right to be, thanks to a fun cast (including returning stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara and newcomers Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, and Willem Dafoe) and energetic direction from Tim Burton. There’s no topping the “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” scene, but the wedding got close.
