Netflix keeps pushing us further toward summer with some breezy and fresh content this weekend, along with some heavier subjects, if you are into that sort of thing. This week, the platform is giving us the newest in a long line of Ryan Murphy projects to please his fans, and Amy Adams stars in a psychological thriller that’s been a long time coming to any screen, big or small. There’s also the sophomore season of David Fincher and Tim Miller’s extremely R-rated animated series, a new sitcom starring Kim Fields and Wanda Sykes, and a limited documentary series that might teach us all a little something about our wallets. As always, there’s no freaking way that you will have time to watch every new Netflix offering, so we’re narrowing it down to the most bingeworthy selections
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.
Halston (Netflix limited series streaming on 5/14)
The newest Ryan Murphy production stars Ewan McGregor as legendary fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick, a.k.a., “Halston,” who volleyed his solo operation into a global fashion empire. In doing so, Halston embodied and defined 1970s and ’80s Manhattan with all of its glitz, sex, and fame accoutrements, along with the trappings and the Andy Warhol-drenched atmosphere. A hostile takeover eventually threatens his control for the Halston name, and expect McGregor to be even flashier and scenery-chewing here than in Birds of Prey. Krysta Rodriguez stars as Liza Minnelli, and she’s a dead ringer, so sit back and enjoy how Halson caused a seismic shift in the fashion industry before his iconic brand lost all of its luster, although his fingerprints remain.
The Woman in the Window (Netflix film streaming on 5/14)
After HBO’s Sharp Objects, no one needs convincing to believe that Amy Adams is quite adept at playing a woman on the verge. Here’s she’s portraying a woman (who is, yes, in the window) who either saw something terrible happen across the street or at least believes as much. She’s agoraphobic, and her neighbor does indeed disappear, so there’s that. Yet since this is a psychological thriller from director Joe Wright, so one can guess that the resolution (which is based upon the best selling novel of the same name) will be anything but straightforward.
Love, Death & Robots: Volume 2 (Netflix series streaming on 5/14)
Two years ago, Netflix previewed adult-animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots, from co-executive producers David Fincher and Tim Miller, with the “messed up audiences only” label. Comfortingly, it sure looks like not a whole lot has changed for the show’s vibe. As with the Emmy-winning first season of this show, this trailer tells us to expect more existential “robots-gone-wild” but fewer of them (along with “naked giants” and “Christmas demons”), as the series included eighteen short films in the initial round but will crank out eight more for this second batch. All will keep the seemingly infinite number of animation styles going, including a very simple-looking installment that, uh, involves a poop-scooping robot. Otherwise, expect several genres (including sci-fi, horror, fantasy and comedy) to gain more of the spotlight with mind-bending stories, some frivolous and some thought provoking but all entertaining.
Oxygen (Netflix film streaming on 5/12)
Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D, Horns) brings this survival thriller to Netflix. Mélanie Laurent (6 Underground, Inglourious Basterds) stars as a woman who has no idea why she’s waking up in a cryogenic pod. She’s running out of oxygen fast, all while attempting to find her way out of this awful situation.
The Upshaws (Netflix series streaming on 5/12)
Mike Epps and Kim Fields star in this sitcom about a Black working class family, but of course, family life is wayyy messier than it initially seems. Wanda Sykes not only co-created this show but stars as a sardonic sister-in-law, and hopefully, they’ll get through this together.
Money, Explained (Netflix limited series streaming on 5/11)
Dig into this series about our collective weakness with the almighty dollar and how credit card and student loan companies are exploiting all of our tendencies. It’s often a taboo subject, but this series doesn’t shy away with the tough-love talk.
Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:
Avail. 5/8
Mine
Sleepless
Avail. 5/11
Money, Explained
Avail. 5/12
Dance of the Forty One
Oxygen
The Upshaws
Avail. 5/13
Castlevania: Season 4
Layer Cake
Avail. 5/14
Ferry
Haunted: Season 3
I Am All Girls
Jungle Beat: The Movie
Love, Death & Robots: Volume 2
Move to Heaven
The Strange House
The Woman in the Window
Avail. 5/16
Sleight
And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:
Leaving 5/14
Sherlock: Series 1-4
Leaving 5/18
Trumbo
Leaving 5/29
American Crime: Seasons 1-3
My Week with Marilyn
The One I Love
