For the second week in a row, I’m posting my weekend streaming guide on Wednesday evening instead of Friday. This is because I’ve noticed that a lot of new shows release on Wednesday and Thursday so it makes some sense to post the guide a bit early and then update it over the weekend if I realize I’ve missed anything.
This week I’m also including a couple VOD (Video On Demand) releases so we have quite a long list of shows and movies to get through, including a couple theatrical releases. From pirates on the high seas to epic space operas to vampire ballerinas, here’s what to watch this weekend. Enjoy!
Be sure to let me know if there’s something I missed on Twitter or Facebook. Check out last week’s streaming guide here:
What’s New
Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver (April 19th on Netflix)
I had mixed feelings about Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon Part 1: Child Of Fire, but mostly because I went in with very low expectations and then it ended up being not as bad as I’d expected—though still not great! We’ll see if Part 2 “The Scargiver” can give fans a satisfying conclusion. If you like campy space opera and don’t care much about a super derivative story, this might be a fun weekend watch.
Under The Bridge (April 17th on Hulu)
I’ve been on a huge mystery kick lately and Under The Bridge looks like it will scratch that itch nicely. Based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who went missing in British Columbia after attending a party with friends, we follow Godfrey (Riley Keough) and local police officer (Lily Gladstone) as they dig into the lives of the teen girls accused of Virk’s murder.
Freud’s Last Session (April 20th on Netflix)
A fictional account of Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) and Christian apologist and author C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) having a conversation about God, the universe and everything. I’ve been wanting to watch this for a long time and now it’s finally coming to Netflix.
Migration (April 19th on Peacock)
Here’s one for the whole family from the makers of Despicable Me and Minions all about ducks and other birds migrating, which I suppose is fitting for a streaming service called Peacock. This one came to theaters last December and scored decently well with critics (72% on Rotten Tomatoes) and better with audiences (88%).
Black Sails Seasons 1 – 4 (Netflix, April 17th)
I’ve written about why you should stream the Starz historical pirate drama Black Sails now that it’s on Netflix already, but figured I’d include it in this guide as well. It’s a great show (that gets better as you go) especially if you enjoy swashbuckling adventure and plenty of gritty scheming and skullduggery.
Late Night With The Devil (April 19th on Shudder)
I’ve been wanting to see this one ever since I first saw its super creepy trailer, but I haven’t made it to the movies much lately. Fortunately, Late Night With The Devil lands on Shudder this Friday and I think I’m going to sign up for a free 7-day trial to watch it. And then try try try to remember to cancel before they start charging me for it! This movie looks so freaky!
In The Land Of Saints And Sinners (April 16th VOD)
Liam Neeson in a gritty Irish crime thriller set in the 1970s. Looks better than anything Neeson has done in a long, long time. You can still catch this in theaters but now it’s on Video On Demand as well.
Buy on Amazon
Dune Part 2 (April 16th VOD)
I had mixed feelings about Dune 2, which I found visually and sonically amazing but a bit thin in terms of plot and character. Still, if you missed this in theaters (which is where you really should see it) now you can stream on VOD with a later HBO/Max release.
Buy on Amazon
What’s Ongoing
I would love to include Amazon’s Fallout series in the “Ongoing” section of my guide, but since they decided to release all the episodes at once, it’s going the way of pretty much every Netflix show that only ever pops up in one guide and then disappears forever. You can see that show and some Netflix one-and-doners in last week’s guide, however. Also, as this guide is already fairly long, I’m going to move through the ongoing section a bit quicker and not include trailers.
Sugar (Apple TV)
Colin Farrell as a private detective in a stylish noir mystery drama set in Tokyo and LA involving the mysterious disappearance of a Hollywood producer’s granddaughter. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far. Episodes air each Friday on Apple TV+.
Shogun (Hulu)
Easily one of my favorite shows of the year, Shogun brings us into feudal Japan in a time of upheaval, as protestants and catholics vie for control of trade routes and the political factions in Japan prepare for war. New episodes air every Tuesday on Hulu.
Read my recap/review of Shogun episode 9 right here.
The Sympathizer (HBO / Max)
A spy thriller set during the Vietnam war in which a North Vietnamese spy infiltrates the South Vietnamese army before fleeing to the United States where he continues to gather intelligence for the Viet Cong. Check out Robert Downey Jr.’s new look! New episodes air Sundays on HBO / Max.
Other shows currently airing include:
- Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth season is airing every Thursday on Paramount+. This actually reminds me that I never watched Season 4. I have mixed feelings about the show. It had some great moments in its first three seasons but plenty of stuff irked me. I’m behind on all things Star Trek, truth be told.
- Parish on AMC with Giancarlo Esposito. I tried the first episode of this out and got a little bored and decided to watch something else. I have not yet returned to this show, and I’m not sure I will. But Esposito is terrific in The Gentlemen on Netflix which I’m absolutely loving. What a fun show!
- A Gentleman in Moscow on Paramount+ starring Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, about a Russian aristocrat under house arrest following the Soviet Revolution. This one is good. I need to write something up about it. New episodes come out on Sundays.
- X-Men 97 on Disney+ brings back the classic, vintage feel of the old X-Men series. It continues airing on Wednesdays and really is a lot of fun.
- Mary and George on Starz. A sex-fueled historical drama of political intrigue, deception and black humor set during the reign of King James I—loosely based on true events. Julianne Moore is the main draw here. New episodes air each Friday.
In Theaters
This may be a streaming guide but I always try to post one or two theatrical releases as well because going to the movies is awesome.
Abigail (April 19th)
A kidnapping of a young ballerina goes horribly wrong when it turns out, well, she’s a vampire and the daughter of another, even more famous, vampire. Soon the hunters become the hunted. It looks like good campy horror fun and so far the reviews are mostly positive.
Blood For Dust (In Theaters and VOD April 19th)
This bare-bones indie crime thriller was pretty good—you can read my review here—and Scoot McNairy in particular did a great job as a down-on-his-luck salesman drawn into a criminal underworld where things go horribly wrong. It’s also fun to see Game Of Thrones alum Kit Harington play a bad guy with a handlebar mustache.
And that’s all for now, folks. Be sure to let me know if you have any recommendations for me as well!
Further reading from your humble guide:
And don’t forget to check last weekend’s guide for whatever you may have missed!
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