What To Watch This Weekend: New Shows And Movies To Stream On Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV And More

What to watch this weekend.

Credit: Netflix / Focus Features

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, though this list of new TV shows and movies to stream this weekend includes very few Christmas movies. I’ll have a separate guide for the best holiday-themed fare up soon. It’s about that time of year, when the lights go up and holly, jolly Christmas tunes come on the radio.

It’s another big weekend for streaming content, though not as big as last weekend and the much-anticipated release of Stranger Things 5.

In entertainment news, we’ve just learned that Netflix is purchasing Warner Bros. and will devour HBO Max in the $82.7 billion deal. It’s the end of an era. My only prediction is grim: We will never get The Sopranos or Deadwood or The Wire or even The Pitt quality series from HBO ever again. They will all move toward Netflix’s dread algorithm, toward its lower-quality cinematography. It’s also a death knell for the movie theater business, not to mention the high caliber films Warner Bros. puts out — you can kiss those goodbye. Kiss your wallet goodbye, also, as this kind of acquisition leads to major price-hikes for subscribers. Competition is good. Massive media mergers? Not so much.

Don’t get me wrong. Netflix has made many perfectly fine TV shows and movies, but those are generally the exception to the rule. HBO has many of the greatest TV shows ever made. All good things come to an end. I just wish, perhaps selfishly, that I didn’t have to witness so many in my lifetime.

In any case, on a brighter note, we have shows and movies to discuss. As always, I’ve searched high and low for all the best new shows and movies for you to stream on the various streaming services we all subscribe to these days.

Let me know if I’ve missed anything and I’ll add it in an update. Send me any tips you have on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Be sure to also check out last weekend’s streaming guide right here.

New TV Shows To Watch This Weekend

The Abandons (Netflix)

When I heard that Lena Heady and Gillian Anderson were starring in a new Western drama, I was pretty excited. When I learned that Sons of Anarchy creator, Kurt Sutter, was creating it for Netflix I was nervous. I liked that show and other things Sutter has worked on, but overall I’d say he’s a mixed bag. Add in the Netflix algorithm effect, and it’s no surprise to see The Abandons with a 29% Rotten Tomatoes score. Audiences aren’t much happier, with a 41% Popcornmeter. The revisionist Western might still be worth checking out, if only for the caliber of its leads. If you’re not impressed, consider American Primeval, a violent Netflix Western starring Taylor Kitsch that I enjoyed a great deal.

Spartacus: House of Ashur — Season 1 (Starz)

While I loved shows like Rome on the TV cable network formerly known as HBO (RIP), I never got around to watching the Starz series, Spartacus. I should add that to my backlog. We now have a spinoff of that series set in an alternate timeline where one of its main characters didn’t actually die. Imagine a Game of Thrones spinoff all about the long, happy life of Ned Stark. I’d watch it.

New Movies To Watch This Weekend

Jay Kelly (Netflix)

George Clooney and Adam Sandler star in this new Noah Baumbach film about a famous movie star on a European journey through Europe. This is very much a character-driven drama about two men reflecting on their past and the choices they’ve made, their relationships and questions of legacy. It has a 77% RT score. Baumbach has made countless films and collaborated with filmmakers like his wife, Greta Gerwig on Barbie and director Wes Anderson on films like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (Disney+)

The latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie lands on Disney+ this weekend. I actually know very little about these stories, though my kids read the books when they were younger, and I’ve never seen the movie adaptations. This should make a for a fun, festive family film, however, though there are basically no reviews for it yet.

Forrest Gump (Netflix)

Forrest Gump

Credit: Paramount

I liked Forrest Gump a lot when I saw it as a teenager. I liked it a lot less when I watched it closer to 40. It’s still a good film, and Tom Hanks is terrific, and I do love all the bits of history Gump dips his toes into over the course of the Robert Zemeckis film. But I think it’s absolute madness that it won the Best Picture award, beating out the next film on this list.

Pulp Fiction (Netflix)

Pulp Fiction

Credit: Miramax

It’s probably the most ludicrous bit of Oscars history. How Forrest Gump beat Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is beyond me. Preposterous. Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece. It changed movies. It changed the crime drama and rocketed Tarantino to a level of fame few directors ever achieve (though he has certainly taken his sweet time making new films over the years). Every time I watch Pulp Fiction, I love it more.

The Phoenician Scheme (Prime Video)

Speaking of movie directors who have become household names, Wes Anderson’s newest film drops on Prime Video this weekend. I missed The Phoenician Scheme when it came to theaters, so I’m excited to give it a watch. As is always the case in a Wes Anderson movie, the cast is stacked to the point of absurdity, including: Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray and many, many more.

Oh. What. Fun. (Prime Video)

Another Christmas movie for the holidays, Oh. What. Fun. (as in “oh what fun it is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh, hey!) stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Grace Moretz, as well as Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Eva Longoria and Dominic Sessa. The Michael Showalter film is getting pretty bad reviews, unfortunately, but then so do most Christmas movies.

Zootopia 2 (In Theaters)

I loved the first Zootopia film, though I admit I’ve forgotten a lot about what happened. It came out in 2016, and lots has happened since then 😬. I might have to rewatch the first one before I see this one, but I’m definitely excited to follow the new exploits of Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).

Hamnet (In Theaters)

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mesca star in this historical drama about William and Agnes Shakespeare and the loss of their child, Hamnet, and how this personal tragedy leads to the writing of the Bard’s greatest play, Hamlet.

TV Shows Currently Streaming Weekly

The Mighty Nein — Season 1 (Prime Video)

The Mighty Nein, the latest Critical Role animated fantasy series, is every bit as delightful as The Legend of Vox Machina and I’m really enjoying the weekly release schedule that extends our enjoyment of what would certainly be a very bingeable show. The story follows a group of misfits who come together by chance and set off on a perilous mission to uncover secrets about an evil cabal. I think Jester is my favorite character at this point, but they’re all great.

Pluribus — Season 1 (Apple TV)

I’m kind of . . . disappointed that the big reveal from the previous week’s Pluribus cliffhanger was basically exactly what everyone thought it would be. At the same time, I appreciate the fact that this show is messing with our expectations a bit. It’s hard to explain how without spoiling things, so I’ll just have to write something separate about it. But if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul or The X-Files, this is another Vince Gilligan series and it’s quite good, though not as good as any of those. The mystery of the weird alien virus that turns almost the entire population of earth into a cheery, pacifistic hivemind is definitely unique, and I’m very curious to see where it all goes.

IT: Welcome to Derry — Season 1 (HBO Max)

IT: Welcome to Derry ended on a massive cliffhanger last week, but it’s the kind of cliffhanger where I’m absolutely dreading what comes next. I suppose that means I’m pretty invested in this Stephen King series (a prequel to IT) though a couple things, like the shoddy CGI and frankly very mixed-bag acting, keep it from being up to part with a lot of other HBO shows. (Indeed, this feels like what we’d get from Netflix HBO).

Blue Lights — Season 3 (BritBox)

I’m still working on my review of Blue Lights Season 3, but I’ll continue to urge everyone to watch this fantastic Irish cop drama which is streaming its third season weekly on BritBox here in the US (and aired previously on the BBC in the UK). Fantastic characters, super tense scenes, and a very human look at the city of Belfast and its residents, all combine to make this one of my favorite TV shows at the moment.

Landman — Season 2 (Paramount+)

Billy Bob Thornton is the main draw for Taylor Sheridan’s Texas oil business drama, but I’m still behind. I hear such mixed things, and my first impressions of the first couple episodes of Season 1 were also quite mixed. Some people praise this as the best Sheridan show ever. Others find the daughter/mother subplot too annoying and cringe. I’ll get around to it, I’m sure. It’s very popular!

Check out last weekend’s big streaming guide here.

And that’s all folks! Let me know what you’re watching and if I missed anything you think I should add to this guide. If there’s anything upcoming on your radar, let me know about that as well! You tell me: What are you watching these days? What else did I miss? What should I put on this list or add to my backlog? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.