Multiple times per 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 and ratings) 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. (TIE) DMZ (HBO Max series)
DC Comics fans, you’re going to want to check out this series with Rosario Dawson saving us all from the apocalypse, which sounds a lot more comforting and realistic than what humanity’s been through over the past few years (and counting). Also, this story sprang from the Vertigo imprint, so you gotta know that it’s more hardcore than the slightly more mainstream comic book fare out there.
10. (TIE) The Thing About Pam (NBC series streaming on Peacock)
The only network selection here is a bid from Renee Zellweger look more unrecognizable than we’ve ever seen her look before now. She’s doing the true-crime thing while portraying Pam Hupp, who’s known well to Dateline NBC viewers and podcast listeners alike. Hupp grew involved within a diabolical scheme, one that left Betsy Faria dead and her husband somehow holding the ball, but there’s much more here than initially meets the eyes.
9. Minx (HBO Max series)
Jake Johnson’s done with his New Girl persona, finally. Here, he portrays a publisher who assembles a motley crew of staffers, all of whom (comedically) come together in the 1970s to publish the first erotic magazine for women. In order to do so, he teams up with an earnest, ambitious feminist, portrayed by Ophelia Lovibond, and what transpires is raunchy but gutsy enough to work.
8. Power Of The Dog (Netflix film)
Heading into Oscar weekend, this one should be on your list of catch-up movies, in case you somehow missed it. Benedict Cumberbatch is a sinister rancher with a past, one that motivates him to lash out in fits of toxic masculinity. Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee all make fantastic and nuanced turns here, and Jane Campion could walk away with some gold as well. Sam Elliott will be so mad if that happens.
7. Severance (Apple TV+ series)
Ben Stiller’s got a brainchild for you, and the set-up will appeal to all of those who struggle with work-life balance. Adam Scott cannot be ignored as a leading man, and he’s got some excellent backup beats from Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken, Stop working and go watch this show already, would you? The show’s finale will air in two weeks, so there’s time to catch up.
6. Halo (Paramount+ series)
Pablo Schreiber’s resumé can’t get enough variety, but he drops the villainous tendencies to be the key to saving humanity despite every thinkable odd in this gaming adaptation. The show pushes forward to the 26th century with a human-alien war, and Natasha McElhone portrays a pivotal leader while mankind goes up against “the Covenant.” Sure, there’s plenty of sci-fi tropes here and tons of action, but the characters are drawn in a surprisingly complex way, and Pablo’s the deadliest weapon available to save us all. The gamers are sure to dissect this show before we now how truly successful it shall be.
5. Fresh (Searchlight Pictures film on Hulu)
Sebastian Stan must never take a day off. He dove straight from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier into several movie and TV projects, all of which are very non-MCU in nature. That includes this satiric take on the dating world that happens to bring the obsession in a slightly gory way. It’s a romcom, sort of, and a horror movie, even more, and it’s even scarier than what you’re seeing in your dating app swipe stream with Daisy Edgar-Jones going through hell.
4. Servant Of The People (Kvartal 95 series on Netflix)
By popular demand, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s comedy series is now available to watch in the U.S. while he’s defending his own war-torn country after refusing a ride out of dodge. Sure, it might feel a little weird to enjoy some laughs while Vladimir Putin’s waging a real-life horror movie. Zelenskyy is, of course, a former comedian/satirist/actor and comparable to Jon Stewart, so it’s hard to pass this one up while he heroically rises to the challenge across the globe.
3. Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty (HBO series on HBO Max)
John C. Reilly leads this theatrical portrayal of showmanship and technical prowess that will be bingeable by sports-and-non-sports fans alike. Reilly portrays 1980s-era L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who led the team to the top of his visionary heights, alongside all of the not-so-pretty aftereffects. Quincey Isaiah plays Magic Johnson, which means that you’ll see partying and unsavory happenings along with, you know, the ball playing.
2. Taboo (BBC One/FX series on Hulu)
The first Season of this Tom Hardy drama arrived in 2017, and those eight episodes are now having a moment after really hitting the streaming services full force. Season 2 is apparently on the way, so the time is now to catch up on this show, which begins in 1814 and follows Hardy as The Devil Delaney, who’s been all over Earth and Hell and is back in the land of the living. He’s actually been rumored to be dead, but he returns to London to take over his dad’s shipping empire. This endeavor is a lot more fraught and enemy-filled than he ever expected, and he’s battling for his life while attempting to shut down conspiracies and betrayals at every turn. Hardy rarely takes a wrong turn, and he’s at his best in this selection.
1. Bad Vegan (Netflix series)
Yes, there are too many scammer-inspired series these days, but this one might be the most unbelievable of the recent crop. This is the purportedly real-life story of celebrity restaurateur Sarma MeIngailis, who led two wildly popular restaurants (Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck) to the top of the New York City charts and then, somehow, ended up as a fugitive on the run. Before all was said and done, Sarma served time at Rikers Island after stealing almost two million from investors and her employees, and this show’s a really good watch if one wants to watch the terrible life choices made by others.
