Sometimes, a weekend comes along that’s so stacked with new movies and TV shows to stream, we have a hard time narrowing down our list of recommendations to seven entries.
This weekend is one of those weekends, so rather than tease our chosen titles in today’s introduction, we thought we’d rattle off the four series that aren’t included in the below list, since they’re still worthy of your time: the third seasons of Clarkson’s Farm, Hacks and Welcome to Wrexham are all now streaming on Prime Video, Max and Disney Plus, respectively, while new period drama Shardlake comes to Hulu.
Below, we’ve rounded up seven more of the biggest new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend.
The Idea of You (Prime Video)
If the surprising box office success of Anyone But You taught us anything, it’s that audiences will turn out for a good old fashioned rom-com, and Amazon will be hoping that its latest star-studded melodrama, The Idea of You, proves similarly popular.
Adapted from Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of the same name by The Big Sick director Michael Showalter, this Prime Video-exclusive movie stars Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old divorcée who strikes up an unconventional romance with the lead singer of a popular boy band (Nicholas Galitzine).
Reid Scott and Annie Mumolo also star in The Idea of You, which critics have described as a “plane movie par excellence” and “a damn sight better than what we’ve been forced to get used to” in the rom-com genre. For the right viewer, then, this could be one of the best Prime Video movies of the year.
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
A Man in Full (Netflix)
Jeff Daniels has made a habit of leading well-made TV dramas in recent years, and the veteran actor returns to do just that in A Man in Full, which is now streaming on Netflix.
This six-episode adaptation of the 1998 novel by Tom Wolfe centers on the fictional Charlie Croker (Daniels), a charismatic Atlanta real estate mogul who is suddenly faced with the prospect of bankruptcy and the collapse of his empire. Diane Lane, William Jackson Harper, Lucy Liu and Bill Camp also star; the latter reuniting with Daniels after starring alongside him in 2019’s The Looming Tower series.
Suffice to say, A Man in Full has left critics divided, with some calling it a “skin-crawling Trump satire” and others a “substandard Succession.” We haven’t seen the series yet, so we’ll leave you to decide whether it’s one of the best Netflix shows, or another Netflix flop.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Unfrosted (Netflix)
Sticking with the best streaming service, Netflix also plays host to Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial feature debut, Unfrosted, this weekend.
This surprisingly star-studded biopic-of-sorts follows the real-life race between rival breakfast cereal companies to create a revolutionary toaster pastry product (read: a Pop Tart) in the early 1960s. Seinfeld himself leads the cast alongside – wait for it – Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, James Marsden, Amy Schumer, Christian Slater, Daniel Levy, Bill Burr and many more.
Depending on who you read, Unfrosted is either a “deliciously silly, spoofy tale” or “one of the decade’s worst movies,” so don’t expect to see this one make our list of the best Netflix movies any time soon.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
The Veil (Hulu)
Less than two years after leading The Handmaid’s Tale to its fifth and final season, Elizabeth Moss returns to Hulu to front FX’s new spy thriller The Veil.
This six-episode series – which comes from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight – follows a globe-trotting MI6 agent (Moss) whose mission to extract and interrogate a suspected ISIS leader (Yumna Marwan) catches the attention of French and American intelligence services.
Josh Charles and Dali Benssalah also star in The Veil, which critics have described as a “compelling spy yarn with a few loose threads.” UK viewers will likely have to wait for this one to debut on Disney Plus later in the year.
Now available to stream on Hulu in the US.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (Disney Plus)
Disney’s follow-up to 2022’s Tales of the Jedi series comes to Disney Plus in its entirety this Saturday (or Star Wars day to those who celebrate).
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire charts the rise of the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two very different warriors: The Mandalorian‘s Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and The Clone Wars‘ Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger).
Grand Admiral Thrawn, The Grand Inquisitor and General Grievous are all confirmed to appear across the series’ six episodes, so Tales of the Empire sounds like a must-watch for nostalgia-loving Star Wars fans
Now available to stream on Disney Plus.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Peacock)
If you’re in the mood for a heavy-hitting wartime drama, a small screen adaptation of Heather Morris’ best-selling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz is now streaming on Peacock.
This co-production between Peacock in the US and Sky in the UK chronicles the real-life romance between Auschwitz prisoners Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) and Gita Sokolov (Anna Próchniak), who strike up a lifelong romance in the most inhuman of circumstances.
Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey also star in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which critics have described as “well made, well acted, well intentioned” but ultimately “grotesque”, for reasons we’re sure you can guess.
Now available to stream on Peacock.
The Contestant (Hulu)
The third of three (three!) Hulu-based recommendations to feature on this week’s list is new documentary film The Contestant.
This feature-length production tells the hard-to-believe story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, a Japanese man who unwittingly became the star of a Truman Show-style Japanese reality show in which contestants are left alone in a room for months and forced to obtain food and clothing through sweepstakes.
Critics have described The Contestant as “mind-blowing” and “something [that’s] halfway between sensationalist exposé and intimate confessional,” so it sounds like a must-watch for fans of revelatory documentaries.
Now available to stream on Hulu in the US.
For more streaming coverage, check out our guides on the best Disney Plus movies, best Netflix films, new Prime Video movies and new Max films.
