Romance, rebellion and fabulous drag stars fill up this week’s streaming guide. May is in full bloom and it’s lovely outside, but if you get tired of the heat and need to Netflix and chill, I’ve got you covered.
Here’s everything new to stream this weekend, as well as some theatrical releases if you want to add a movie to your dinner date. Let’s dive right in!
Check out last weekend’s streaming guide right here.
What To Watch This Weekend
Bridgerton Season 3 — May 16th on Netflix
By far the biggest streaming release of the week is the highly-anticipated third season of Bridgerton, though it’s only the first part of the show. Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 will land on Netflix on June 13th, so there’s a bit of a wait. The historical romance series is quite popular though I tried to watch it once and discovered it just really isn’t my cup of tea. I’m a big Outlander fan, but this is not that. I also really enjoyed Hulu’s The Great, and while there are similarities, this is not that. Still, if you’re a Bridgerton fan you have some binging ahead of you. Hopefully it’s steamy.
The Big Cigar — May 17th on Apple TV+
André Holland stars in this historical drama about Black Panther leader-on-the-run Huey Newton who teams up with a Hollywood producer to evade capture by the FBI and attempt to escape to Cuba. It’s getting mixed reviews but it looks great. I’m a big fan of Civil Rights era period pieces like The Autobiography Of Malcolm X, BlacKkKlansman and Judas and the Black Messiah and this looks like it should fit right into that same motif. (Here’s a list of some of my favorite Civil Rights era movies for more viewing suggestions).
Dark Matter (Wednesdays on Apple TV+)
I missed including Dark Matter in my guide last weekend so I’m including it now. The trippy sci-fi thriller is off to a pretty intriguing start. I’m still making up my mind, but I probably need to start writing about it. Joel Edgerton stars across from Jennifer Connelly with Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi and Oakes Fegley. Based on the best-selling novel by Blake Crouch. Kind of a spoilery trailer fyi.
Outer Range — May 16th on Prime Video
I had totally forgotten about Outer Range, which got mixed reviews when it came out though I know it has some pretty passionate fans. Season 2 has better reviews than Season 1, especially with audiences. It definitely looks like my kind of show, so I’m adding this one back to the list! I do love Western-meets-sci-fi and Josh Brolin is always good.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 9 — May 17th on Paramount+
I’ve never actually watched RuPaul’s Drag Race which has been around in various forms forever, but I’ve been to a few drag shows and they’re a pretty fun time. For something a bit more colorful and fabulous, Season 9 of All Stars lands on Paramount+ this Friday.
I Saw The TV Glow (In Theaters)
I don’t even know how to describe this weird-looking A24 film, so just watch the trailer and make up your own mind. I think it looks captivating. It’s faring better with critics than audiences. For me, I think it’s probably one to stream later on rather than see in theaters.
IF (In Theaters)
This is faring opposite with critics and audiences. Audiences are enjoying it almost twice as much. John Krasinski writes and directs this fun-looking film about imaginary friends, blending CGI animation with live-action and a great cast. A lot of people are comparing it to the animated series Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. It looks cute. IF stars Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell. It’s cool to see The Walking Dead’s Judith in a movie role!
Challengers (Video On Demand)
Zendaya stars in this tennis character drama about a prodigy player-turned-coach. Another movie that really doesn’t look like my cup of tea, but it’s out on VOD now so if you’re a Zendaya fan or a tennis fan or a sports movie fan and you missed this in theaters, it’s a rental away.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (VOD)
Speaking of “not my cup of tea” I have absolutely zero interest in this film, though that big monkey fist that Kong is wearing in the trailer is a weapon in Call Of Duty now and I use it all the time. I think that’s probably more fun than suffering through yet another CGI-ridden Godzilla movie. But if you like monsters, it’s out now on video on demand.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
What I’m Watching
I’m not really reviewing any shows at the moment, though there are a number of series coming up that I’ll be reviewing. In fact, both House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power released new trailers which I wrote about here (HOTD) and here (ROP). There are also new trailers for the upcoming Dune: Prophecy TV series and brand new images for HBO’s The Last Of Us Season 2. And if you’re curious about Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt of Rivia on The Witcher, you can get a look at first images here.
Other news: Two new seasons of Shogun are in development, though the series has not yet been formally renewed. The spy show Archer is now on Netflix as is the abysmal, terrible, no-good superhero movie Madame Web which I’m writing a review of for the weekend. I finished the British murder mystery River last weekend and absolutely loved it. Stellan Skarsgård is brilliant as John River. Then I watched a few episodes of Andor with my brother—who still hasn’t watched it yet!—and got more Skarsgård, which is never a bad thing. What a wonderful show. By far the best Star Wars since the original trilogy.
I didn’t watch much more TV after that and instead watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes and went to the theater and watched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes this past week. Last week I wrote that I wasn’t a big fan of the new Apes movies, but then I realized it had been 10 years since I saw Dawn and I actually never saw War. I remember seeing Rise a couple times and liking it, but Dawn didn’t impress me much. I liked it more the second time around, but enjoyed War and the new Kingdom more. I’ll have a review up soon here on this blog. I’m also catching up on X-Men 97 which is great fun.
I think the next theatrical film I’m going to go to is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which I didn’t think looked very good in the first trailer, but is actually getting pretty great reviews. I’ll have to go see for myself.
Check out last week’s streaming guide right here. What are you watching these days?
