When it comes to streaming options, the list goes on and on: Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that’s before you even look at their vast libraries of movies and television within each one!
It can be overwhelming. So Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more. But maybe you don’t know what you want beyond something new and entertaining. No worries.
The best Netflix TV shows of 2024 (so far)
Mashable’s Entertainment Team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least to most watchable. Whether you want horror documentaries, awaited animation, or directorial debuts, we’ve got you.
8. A Man Called Otto
Seeking something feel-good? This American adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s darkly comic Swedish novel A Man Called Ove aims to provide. But be warned, it misses the balance of grief and good humor that the book (and its Swedish movie version) manage. A Man Called Otto shaves off a lot of the saddest bits of the plotline, including casting America’s Dad, Tom Hanks, in the lead role of a recently widowed curmudgeon, who reluctantly becomes a part of his neighbors lives.
For Mashable’s review, I jeered, “Sadly, this feel-good movie falls flat because it never allows us to feel that bad. Gestures at grief and regret are not enough to make the emotions hit us at our core…. Hanks in the lead role, though committed, cannot escape his generations-long persona to be a believable son of a bitch. Without such saltiness, which made A Man Called Ove exhilarating, A Man Called Otto feels infuriatingly inert and frankly idiotic.”
— Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Mike Birbiglia, and Rachel Keller
How to watch: A Man Called Otto is now streaming on Hulu.
7. Poolman
Chris Pine swings big with his directorial debut. For one thing, he pulls triple duty, co-writing the screenplay, helming the production, and headlining as the titular poolman, Los Angeles native Darren Barrenman. Bolder yet, he’s crafted a neo-noir comedy that references everything from Chinatown to Golden Girls to Erin Brakocovich with equal enthusiasm. And yeah, that makes for a movie that’s humor can be confounding to those not tapped into L.A. culture. The result is a movie that is an absolute mess of ideas.
In Mashable’s review out of the film’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere, I wrote, “That the plot barely makes sense might’ve been forgivable if Pine could elicit from his performers the kind of exhilarating energy and distinctive wackiness we’ve seen in the works of the Coens and Anderson. Instead, his cast, while charismatic, dances between a blurry line of broad comedy and nuanced parody that can’t find its footing. Theirs is a world vaguely interesting but never sharply realized. And as such, we, the audience are always treated as outsiders. In the end, Poolman plays an inside joke that never let its audience inside.”— K.P.
Starring: Chris Pine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, John Oritz, and DeWanda Wise
How to watch: Poolman is now streaming on Hulu.
6. Meet Me Next Christmas
Netflix’s 2024 slate of cheesy Christmas rom-coms kicks off with Meet Me Next Christmas. Christina Milian plays Layla, who hits it off with James (Kofi Siriboe) when they meet at an airport on Christmas. They decide to reunite next Christmas at a Pentatonix concert (very specific, I know), but Layla isn’t able to score tickets to the sold-out show in time. Now, it’s a race against the clock for Layla to secure her fairytale ending. But when sparks fly with the concierge (Devale Ellis) she hires to help her out, she may just have to re-evaluate what she truly wants.* — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: Christina Milian, Devale Ellis, Kofi Siriboe, Tymika Tafari, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Matt Sallee, Kalen Allen, Nikki Duval, and Wesley French
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How to watch: Meet Me Next Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
5. The Lost City
Does it ever feel like nothing will fix your problems but a Sanda Bullock romantic comedy? Enter 2022’s The Lost City, which is streaming on Netflix from Saturday. Is it a perfect movie? No. Is it a ridiculously fun adventure chock-full of charismatic actors and one iconic sequin jumpsuit? Heck yes, it is!
Bullock is Loretta Sage, a reclusive romance novelist who has given up on love in her own life after the death of her husband. Channing Tatum is simply perfect as the himbo cover model for her books who is secretly in love with her. When an unhinged billionaire kidnaps Loretta because her latest book recalls similar details to a lost treasure he’s hunting, Tatum takes it upon himself, and his zero useful skills, to rescue her.* — Kristina Grosspietsch, Writer
How to watch: The Lost City is streaming on Netflix from Nov. 9.
4. The J Horror Virus
If you watched Ring back in the day and were both forever afraid of technology and straight onto The Grudge, watch The J Horror Virus on Shudder. Directed by Sarah Appleton and Jasper Sharp, the film tracks the evolution of Japanese supernatural horror that specifically embeds sinister forces within modern tech — think Ju-On, Cure, Marebito, Pulse, Shutter, Psychic Vision: Jaganrei and more. Yes, you’ll need to watch it on a screen. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
Starring: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Rie Inoo, Shinya Tsukamoto
How to watch: The J Horror Virus is now streaming on Shudder.
3. Black Cab
Nick Frost as a creepy cab driver? We’re in. Directed by Bruce Goodison and written by Virginia Gilbert, Black Cab sees a couple’s cab home from a night out turn into a terrifying ordeal. Anne (Synnøve Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) are the imperilled passenger protagonists, whose driver (Frost) takes a turn into a creepy stretch of possibly haunted road. — S.C.
Starring: Nick Frost, Synnøve Karlsen, Luke Norris
How to watch: Black Cab is streaming on Shudder Nov. 8.
2. My Old Ass
Getting a visit from your future self sounds intimidating and fascinating. They’re also two words I’d personally use to describe Aubrey Plaza, who plays a young woman’s future self in My Old Ass, directed by Megan Park and produced by Margot Robbie. The film sees Plaza as a woman who emerges when pre-college attendee Elliott (Maisy Stella) enjoys a psychedelic trip. There’s a lot to learn here, from both past and present.
As Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko writes in her review, “Though among this year’s Sundance darlings, the coming-of-age comedy — from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment — doesn’t fall into maudlin navel-gazing or complicated artsy twists. Instead, it’s a briskly funny time-travel movie that bucks genre convention and allows its characters to be as charming as they are messy.” — S.C.
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Maisy Stella, Kerrice Brooks, Maddie Ziegler, Percy Hynes White
How to watch: My Old Ass is now streaming on Prime Video.
1. Arcane Season 2
It’s been three years since League of Legends-based series Arcane first rocked our world with gorgeous animation, kick-ass fight scenes, and a truly devastating story of lost sisters. Now, with its heavily anticipated second — and final — season in November, we’ll finally be able to see what happened after Jinx blasted the Council of Piltover with her shark rocket.
Any chance of Mel, Jace, and Viktor surviving is slim, and an action-packed Season 2 teaser promises that things will only get darker from there. With Piltover and Zaun in an all-out war, is there any hope for Vi and Jinx to reconcile? Or is their sisterly bond gone for good? Either way, you can bet we’re in for the return of one of the best fantasy series on TV.* — B.E.
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Katie Leung, Reed Shannon, Amirah Vann, Mick Wingert, Ellen Thomas, and Brett Tucker
How to watch: The first three episodes of Arcane Season 2 premiere Nov. 9 on Netflix, with three new episodes dropping on Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.
(*) denotes a blurb has been lifted or modified from a prior TV preview.
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