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.
10. Cobra Kai – Netflix series
The emotional roller coaster of this karate soap opera came to a crescendo with not only these character deaths but also the greatest possible ending (and finally, an answer to that lingering question) for Johnny Lawrence. Next up? A relative gamble with a new movie, Karate Kid: Legends, which will pair two senseis portrayed by Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, who train the next rising star in this franchise. Stay tuned for further word on a potential spin off.
9. The Gorge – Apple TV+ movie
The coolest Valentine’s Day movie headed straight onto streaming with scoring from the unbeatable score duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And because Apple TV+ cannot and will not quit with the sci-fi vibes, this story is also a creature feature about a mysterious and classified gorge guarded by a pair of impossibly attractive snipers who begin to fall in (forbidden) love from afar. The presence of Alien legend Sigourney Weaver further strengthens appeal for genre fans, and this movie really is the ideal way to spend an evening, either watching solo or (if you’re into that sort of thing) with a partner.
8. To Catch A Killer – Vertical film streaming on Netflix
Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, and Jovan Adepo star as law enforcement agents who race against time to catch a sniper. As is almost customary, expect a character with a darkened past among the cops, but this crime-drama story does deserve its current new streaming life after a brief theatrical release. The absence of literary source material (the story hails from a screenplay by director Damián Szifron and Jonathan Wakeman) keeps spoilers to a minimum with an atypical ending to a “troubled” cop story.
7. Apple Cider Vinegar – Netflix series
More stories about grifters will always be available, but the early days of Instagram sure saw a doozy in Aussie “wellness” influencer Belle Gibson. Kaitlyn Dever picks up a less intense role than usual here but delivers the discomfort on multiple levels as the walls close in around Belle amid her fake cancer saga. Alycia Debnam-Carey portrays her main rival, Milla Blake, and this trainwreck of a story has unfortunately not resulted in much IRL punishment for Gibson. She still hasn’t paid her fine, but at least she has been shamed and removed from the snake-oil market. Also, that worm story? Yikes and pretty damn embarrassing stuff.
6. 1923 – Paramount+ series
As has often been the case, the Dutton ranch is under siege, just like new-times. However, Jacob and Cara Dutton’s story has more to resolve in this second and final season. An especially harrowing winter will also hammer down on Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren’s characters while Brandan Sklenar’s Spencer makes his way back to his fam to shine more light upon murkier areas of the Dutton family tree. Landman star Michelle Randolph is back as Elizabeth Strafford, and somehow, this is the only currently running Taylor Sheridan series, although we can expect more of Mayor of Kingstown and the debut of The Madison (starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Fox, and Patrick J. Adams) later this year to continue the Yellowstone mythology.
5. The White Lotus – HBO series streaming on Max
If Patrick Schwarzenegger’s insufferable Saxon doesn’t go home in a body bag, then why did Mike White really bother with this season? In all seriousness, the return of Greg under his new alias, doing “this and that,” adds welcome dimension and serves as another connecting thread to earlier resort visits in this anthology series. So far, very few of this season’s privileged vacationers (Aimee Lou Wood’s character is perhaps the most tolerable) would be missed from humanity if they bit the dust. Yet at least this show does not fail to be amusing while skewering characters portrayed by Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, and Parker Posey, who is doing the most to be loathsome. Also, it sure looks like Jason Isaacs’ Southern Charm-inspired a-hole could end up in cuffs if he ever returns to the United States.
4. A Thousand Blows – Hulu series
The Peaky Blinders movie cannot come soon enough, but while we wait, Steven Knight has a new gangster show. This pre-Tommy Shelby series dives into the underground boxing in 1880s Victorian London, but equally important will be a showcase for another historically reigning gang, the Forty Elephants. This entirely female crime syndicate shoplifted, blackmailed, and seduced to gather loot, which they sold while amassing riches, but plenty of testosterone will also be on display, including a slight Peaky crossover with Hayden Stagg actor Stephen Graham on hand as formidable fighter Sugar Goodson. Did Graham bulk up for the role? You’d better believe it, and one of the more promising aspects of Knight writing a historically-based series is that he will not sacrifice story for the sake of nitpicky accuracy.
3. Zero Day – Netflix series
Jesse Plemons has a knack for surfacing in political-adjacent thrillers about dire crises and scaring the hell out of everyone. Here, he picks up a different role than expected by taking a more understated and decidedly stylish turn. This film hits both close to home in our current times and acts as escapism with Robert De Niro as an ex-president who helps trace a deadly cyberattack after it kills thousands of U.S. citizens. This limited series also stars Lizzy Caplan, Angela Bassett, and Matthew Modine and hails from Narcos creator Eric Newman. In all likelihood, a second season will not materialize, so enjoy this show for what it is.
2. Severance – Apple TV+ series
This series has now moved on to further exploring the ins-and-outs of Innie vs. Outie sex, but the teasing glimpses of Mark’s reintegration procedure are killing the sexiness. Then again, this satire has managed to gloss over any sex appeal with an unsettling sanitized vibe since the beginning, even while nursing foot fetishes via a recent key shot. This show managed a three-year gap between seasons and is still slowly parceling out a mystery that has viewers hooked, but ideally, it won’t be another six years before the full four seasons surface. Still, this show has generated enough discussion already to at least have achieved True Detective first-season water-cooler status.
1. Reacher – Prime Video/Amazon series
Hear me out. The second season of Alan Ritchson’s wanderer did grow a bit too ridiculous, especially with action-based characters running around in formal wear with an unbelievable helicopter-bound climax. Whereas this season returns to true adventure (while also adding extra brawn from Oliver Ritchers’ Paulie) to adapt Lee Child’s Persuader novel. Additionally, Maria Sten’s Neagley is incredibly showcased later this season to remove any doubt that she can carry a spin off. Let’s just say that her cereal obsession takes a fitting turn, and even though Reacher does have a new love interest, DEA Agent Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), his platonic relationship with Neagley remains the soul of the series.
