Just a few days after Netflix proved its staying power in the face of recent subscriber woes, the streaming service leads this week’s roundup of new movies and TV shows with three distinct picks.
New fantasy adventure The School for Good and Evil is joined by the Joel Edgerton-starring The Stranger and Zoe Saldaña-led series From Scratch, with all three productions available to stream on Netflix right now.
Don’t have Netflix? Fear not. A host of new projects have been added to the likes of Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, and Paramount Plus, too. Below, we’ve collated seven of the biggest new movies and TV shows to watch on streaming services this weekend, so hop to it.
The School for Good and Evil (Netflix)
Netflix continues its monthly commitment to releasing star-studded new Netflix movies with The School for Good and Evil, which came out on Wednesday.
Based on the best-selling book series by Soman Chainani, this Paul Feig-directed fantasy adventure stars Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie as two best friends who, after being swept away into a Hogwarts-esque school for young heroes and villains, find themselves embroiled in a battle between good and evil. A-list actors including Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, and Laurence Fishburne also star.
We say “Hogwarts-esque”, but reviewers have panned The School for Good and Evil for being an unashamed rip-off of the Harry Potter franchise – something we picked up in our review, too. Still, the movie looks to be an easy watch for those after some fantasy drama that isn’t set in Westeros or Middle-earth.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
The Peripheral (Prime Video)
Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan return to the small screen with another high-concept sci-fi Prime Video series this weekend.
Based on William Gibson’s acclaimed novel of the same name, The Peripheral stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Flynne Fisher, a woman who volunteers to test a visionary new VR headset that takes the wearer to a compelling new reality. Unsurprisingly, though, the simulation isn’t the no-strings-attached thrill ride it first seems, and Flynne is quickly swept up in a dangerous conspiracy with potentially world-altering consequences.
In our review of The Peripheral, we praised its stylish worldbuilding and charismatic performances, but criticized its complex storytelling (this is a Joy-Nolan production, after all) and plot pacing. The show’s first two episodes are available to stream on Prime Video now, with the remaining six instalments arriving on a weekly basis every Friday.
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
Raymond & Ray (Apple TV Plus)
The leading lights of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Moon Knight swap Disney Plus for this Apple TV Plus movie with Raymond & Ray.
In this Rodrigo Garcia-directed feature, Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke star as estranged half-brothers who reunite after the death of their father to reckon with who they’ve become as men.
If that synopsis sounds a little dry, that’s because – according to the critics, at least – Raymond & Ray is a little dry. McGregor and Hawke are “wasted in [this] meagre comedy-drama”, says The Guardian, which suggests the movie could be a rare miss from Apple among its recent string of critical successes.
Now available to stream on Apple TV Plus.
The Stranger (Netflix)
Wait, hasn’t Netflix already released a psychological thriller called The Stranger? Yes, it has (in January 2020, to be specific) – but that hasn’t stopped the streamer from dropping another one in 2022.
Unrelated to its namesake, this year’s The Stranger is a Netflix film, rather than a series, and stars Joel Edgerton as Mark, an undercover cop who forms an intense and problematic relationship with a criminal (Sean Harris) he’s charged with eliciting a confession from.
This Australian-made, Donnie Brasco-adjacent movie earned rave reviews after debuting at the Melbourne film festival back in August, so we’d recommend giving it a go if you’re a fan of understated, twist-filled crime thrillers.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Inside Amy Schumer season 5 (Paramount Plus)
Inside Amy Schumer season 5 comes to Paramount Plus this weekend, some six-and-a-half years after the series last aired on Comedy Central.
The sketch-based comedy Paramount Plus show features five standalone specials, each streaming weekly, and new guests include Bridget Everett, Chris Parnell, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Ian Black, Jon Glaser, Tim Meadows, Olivia Munn, Ellie Kemper and Cara Delevinge.
Should you be keen to dive back into Schumer’s unique brand of situation comedy after the series’ long hiatus, the first two episodes of Inside Amy Schumer season 5 are available to stream on Paramount Plus right now.
Now available to stream on Paramount Plus.
From Scratch (Netflix)
The third of this week’s Netflix-exclusive streaming recommendations is From Scratch.
This eight-episode series stars Guardians of the Galaxy alumnus Zoe Saldana as Amahle "Amy" Wheeler, an American student who becomes romantically involved with a dreamy Sicilian chef (Eugenio Mastrandrea) while studying abroad.
Sure, that all sounds suitably cheesy, but From Scratch is actually based on the memoir of the same name by Tembi Locke – suggesting it may have more substance than its romcom trappings suggest. Romantics, this one’s for you.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
The Fastest Woman on Earth (HBO Max)
This week’s documentary pick is all about pushing your limits. Filmed over more than seven years, the Fastest Woman on Earth chronicles the extraordinary life of sports legend and beloved TV personality Jessi Combs, who died in 2019 while attempting to break the land-speed record in a jet-powered car.
A fascinating insight into the private and professional life of “the fastest woman on four wheels", as Combs was affectionately known, this HBO-produced documentary is not one to be missed for those in the mood for a little inspiration.
Now available to stream on HBO Max.
