Roll up! Roll up! For all you fantasy fans out there, there’s yet another live-action adaptation of a beloved animated property to enjoy (or deride) this weekend in the form of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is now streaming on Netflix.
Elsewhere, AMC’s The Walking Dead franchise returns via The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on AMC Plus, while Disney Plus fans can enjoy the third and final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Below, we've rounded up the seven biggest new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
This week’s headline streaming arrival is Avatar: The Last Airbender, a live-action Netflix remake of the popular Nickelodeon animated series of the same name.
Despite original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino having dropped out of the project due to creative differences, this eight-part fantasy series sticks with the premise of its source material: “A young boy known as the Avatar (George Cormier) must master the four elemental powers to save a world at war – and fight a ruthless enemy bent on stopping him.”
If you’re not familiar with the Avatar universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a essentially martial-arts-fueled bonanza of magic and myth. But as we noted in our Avatar: The Last Airbender review, this new series – despite its promise – is unfortunately “undermined by superfluous alterations and an unmistakable identity crisis.” Don’t expect it to feature on our list of the best Netflix shows any time soon, then.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Constellation (Apple TV Plus)
Apple TV Plus has fast become a shorthand for slow-burning, expensive-looking sci-fi shows, and the streamer’s latest series, Constellation, will do little to harm that reputation.
This eight-part thriller stars Noomi Rapace as an astronaut who, upon returning to Earth after a fatal accident aboard the International Space Station, finds that key pieces of her life – including her young daughter – have gone missing.
Jonathan Banks, James D'Arcy and Julian Looman also star in Constellation, which critics have described as “a well-made thriller that may be revealing its cards too soon.” The series’ first three episodes are available to stream now, with the remaining five installments set to arrive weekly every Wednesday through March 27. Might this become one of the best Apple TV Plus shows? Only time will tell.
Now available to stream on Apple TV Plus.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 (Disney Plus)
The third and final season of Disney’s The Clone Wars-inspired Star Wars spin-off, The Bad Batch, begins streaming on Disney Plus this weekend.
New episodes of this fan-favorite animated series – which centers on an elite unit of genetically modified Clone Troopers in the early days of the Galactic Empire – will feature the return Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor, as well as Count Dooku's former apprentice Asajj Ventress, who was presumed dead after the events of 2015’s Dark Disciple novel .
The first three episodes of The Bad Batch season 3 are now available to stream on Disney Plus; the remaining 12 will arrive weekly every Wednesday through May 1. For a look at more upcoming projects from a galaxy far, far away, check out our new Star Wars movies and TV shows guide.
Now available to stream on Disney Plus.
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Prime Video)
Amazon’s latest adult animated series, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, is now available to stream in its entirety on Prime Video.
This eight-episode comedy show – which comes from the mind of Big Mouth creator Cirocco Dunlap – follows a pair of intergalactically renowned surgeons (voiced by Keke Palmer and Stephanie Hsu) who take on a “highly dangerous and potentially groundbreaking case that could put existence itself in jeopardy.”
Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, Kieran Culkin and Sam Smith (yes, the singer), also lend their voice talents to The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, which has already been renewed for a second season.
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (AMC Plus)
AMC’s mega-popular zombie series, The Walking Dead, returns in the form of yet another spin-off series this weekend (that’s six, for anyone counting).
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live centers on the love story between Rick and Michonne Grimes – or “Richonne” to franchise superfans – that endured despite the former’s disappearance in The Walking Dead season 9. Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira reprise their roles as Rick and Michonne, respectively.
Suffice to say, existing The Walking Dead fans will surely find plenty of nostalgia to enjoy here, but don’t expect The Ones Who Live to reinvent the post-apocalypse-zombie-outbreak genre. The first of the series’ six episodes will be available to stream on AMC Plus from Sunday, with the remaining five installments due weekly. A UK release date (and streaming platform) has yet to be announced.
Available to stream on AMC Plus from Sunday.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 6 (Netflix)
One of the best Netflix documentaries, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, returns for its sixth annual installment this weekend.
New episodes of this fan-favorite fly-on-the-wall series chart the events of the 2022/23 Formula 1 season, which saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claim his third world championship in largely unchallenged fashion.
Might Verstappen’s dominance make for another uninspired season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive? We’ll be tuning in to find out – but it’s safe to expect dirty politics, backstage bust-ups and burning rubber aplenty.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Rory Scovel: Religion, Sex and a Few Things in Between (Max)
The second of this week’s non-fiction picks is Rory Scovel: Religion, Sex and a Few Things in Between, which is now streaming on Max.
This new stand-up special – the trailer for which was recently dubbed “the best stand-up special trailer ever” – finds the titular comedian-turned-actor addressing subjects such as religion, sex, mushrooms, vaccines and parenting an eight-year-old.
Now available to stream on Max.
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.
