If you’re looking for a new show to watch this week, streaming has you covered. Some of them are even worth your time! There’s the “oh, my word!” scandal and romance of Bridgerton’s third season, a brand new Doctor in a brand new season of Doctor Who, and the fascinating historical-thriller series The Big Cigar. Time to warm up the old couch and tell your eyes to get ready for a TV party.
Bridgerton, Season 3 — Part 1
Bridgerton, the romance series set among high-society ladies and gentlemen of Regency London, is going into its third season, and Netflix is dropping four episodes that tell the story of Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) friends-to-lovers romance. Series regulars Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), and Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury) are returning, and there will be new faces too, including Daniel Francis as dashing gentleman Marcus Anderson and James Phoon as the rakish Harry Dankwort.
Where to stream: Netflix
Doctor Who, Season 14
The first four episodes of season 14 of British science fiction institution Doctor Who are available to stream on Disney+. The series has been around since 1963(!), but this is the first season to appear on Disney+, so it’s a good place to jump in. The first couple episodes see the 15th Doctor—played by Ncuti Gatwa, who digs into the role with lighthearted panache—and his new companion Ruby Road (Millie Gibson) battling goblins, then whipping through time and space, from the dinosaur era to Regency London, before landing on a space station run by babies 20,000 years in the future. Regular Doctor Who stuff, is what I’m saying.
Where to stream: Disney+
The Big Cigar
The early 1970s was a wild time in America, and The Big Cigar aims to bring it to life. Apple TV+’s new series tells the of-the-chain true story of Black Panthers founder Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba in the early 1970s. Wanted by the FBI, Newton (André Holland) teams up with Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola), the producer of The Monkees and Easy Rider, and together they hatch an audacious plan to fake a movie as a smokescreen to smuggle Newton out of the country.
Where to stream: AppleTV+
Outer Range, Season 2
The set-up of Outer Range will seem familiar for fans of TV neo-Westerns: Josh Brolin plays Royal Abbot, a Wyoming rancher fighting to protect his land. But the series takes a wildly unexpected turn toward the supernatural when Abbot discovers a mysterious, perfectly round hole on the edge of his property, and otherworldly events begin occurring around the ranch. The first season of Outer Range left a lot of unanswered questions. Let’s hope season two’s answers live up to the promise of the premise.
Where to stream: Prime
The Killing Kind
The Killing Kind began its life at Paramount+, where audience responded favorably, but the series was pulled from the service. Paramount’s loss is Hulu’s gain: This rollercoaster ride of a series tells the story of defense attorney Ingrid Lewis (Emma Appleton) who successfully defends John Webster (Colin Morgan) from stalking charges. When Webster shows up in her life a year later, he’s either trying to keep her safe or hiding a murderous secret.
Where to stream: Hulu
Royal Rules of Ohio
Hulu’s Freeform platform is home to this reality show documenting the adventures of a family of African royals in Ohio. Sisters Brenda, Thelma, and Nana Agyekum are the daughters of royal descendants of two of the most wealthy and powerful Ghanaian kingdoms, so life in Columbus, Ohio is going to take some getting used to, especially if they’re going to stay true to the rules of royalty.
Where to stream: Hulu
Last week’s picks
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School
The first season of the Pretty Little Liars reboot is a rare thing: A horror TV show that’s actually good—so good, it was dubbed “one of the best horror TV shows of the past two decades” by the horror-freaks over at Bloody Disgusting. Season two, subtitled “Summer School,” finds high schoolers Tabby, Noa, Imogen, Faran, and Mouse in class for the summer. The season of romance and fun they imagined is interrupted by a terrifying new villain: Bloody Rose, a mysterious knife-wielding murderer who gets off on testing their limits. Choose this if you like genre-bending horror.
Where to stream: Max
Black Twitter: A People’s History
Based on a Wired article by Jason Parham, Black Twitter: A People’s History is a three-part documentary series that details the people and memes that made Black Twitter such an influential and powerful force. Through interviews with W. Kamau Bell, Kid Fury, Jemele Hill, Roxane Gay, Raquel Willis, and many more, Black Twitter: A People’s History examines how Black people on social media shaped our politics and culture throughout Barack Obama’s election, the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and beyond.
Where to stream: Hulu
Hollywood Con Queen
This three-part documentary series from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Chris Smith (Tiger King, Fyre) details an extremely strange criminal operation that snared many LA movie industry hopefuls over the course of decades. The con: A criminal impersonated Hollywood executives and hired low-level entertainment industry professionals to work on movies. Victims then traveled to Indonesia only to find there was no job and no movie. Unlike most criminals, the mastermind here wasn’t just trying to make money; they had other, more mysterious motivations.
Where to stream: AppleTV
The GOAT
Remember back around 2004, when reality television was everywhere and shows like The Surreal Life had washed-up celebrities live together to see what would happen? The GOAT feels like a throwback to those halcyon days. Hosted by Daniel (Tosh.0) Tosh, The GOAT features 14 “reality superstars” like CJ Franco from F Boy Island and The Bachelorette’s Joseph Amabile living together in GOAT Manor and competing for $200,000 and the honor of being named the greatest reality star of all time.
Where to stream: Prime
Stupid Pet Tricks, Season 1
Sometimes, you just need to look at some cute animals. Sarah Silverman hosts this comedy-variety program featuring performing cats, dogs, camels, hamsters, foxes, and all manner of other smart animals doing stupid things. David Letterman originated the gag as a segment on his show back in the 1980s and lends a hand here as the executive producer of this piece of pleasantly brainless feel-good television.
Where to stream: Max
