We made a point of the surprising number of movies hitting streaming services in last week’s roundup, but the supposed anomaly appears to be becoming a trend if this weekend’s selection is anything to go by.
Alongside several returning TV shows including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, there’s a stellar crop of feature-length adventures hitting the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and HBO Max over the next few days – new horror movies and recently released blockbusters among them.
Below, we’ve highlighted the most exciting of the lot, as we pick the seven biggest arrivals available to watch on streamers this weekend.
- Check out the best Netflix shows to watch today
- Or read up on our top picks for the best Netflix movies, instead
- These are the best Amazon Prime shows to check out, too
The King’s Man (Disney Plus / HBO Max / Hulu)
Having hit theaters at the end of last year, Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man is now available to stream on Disney Plus, HBO Max and Hulu (depending on your region).
A prequel to the two previous Kingsman movies (also directed by Vaughn), this third instalment charts the explosive origins of the titular secret service agency. It follows Ralph Fiennes’ Duke of Oxford as he embarks on a mission to sabotage the plans of history's worst tyrants, Rhys Ifans' dance-crazed Rasputin among them.
Those already familiar with the Kingsman franchise will likely enjoy the customarily stylish action on offer here, but a tonally confused (and historically outrageous) plot makes The King’s Man a slightly weaker entry in the popular series.
Now available to stream via Star on Disney Plus in the UK, and HBO Max and Hulu in the US
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 (Prime Video)
The delayed fourth season of Amazon's Emmy-winning comedy-drama finally arrives on Prime Video this weekend, though its format has switched to a weekly rollout of episodes.
Picking up where the show’s third season left off, a new gig grants Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) total creative freedom and a brand new audience to boot – but the new age performer isn’t to everybody’s taste, not least her family and friends. Kayli Carter joins the cast in a recurring role, while guest stars include Kelly Bishop and Jason Alexander.
Incidentally, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel has already been renewed for a fifth and final season, which suggests the series’ latest outing has plenty of finale-setting drama up its sleeve.
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Netflix)
To nobody’s surprise, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise returns to screens this weekend with a sequel movie to the 1974 original.
Produced exclusively for Netflix, it marks the ninth instalment in the long-running horror series and finds an ageing Leatherface wreaking his customary havoc on a group of unsuspecting millennials in a Texas ghost town. This entry comes from director David Blue Garcia, and is based on an original story co-written by Fede Álvarez and Rodolfo Sayagues (both known for their work on Evil Dead and Don't Breathe).
Given the pedigree of the above filmmakers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre had the potential to mix up the tried-and-tested genre – but early criticism suggests audiences can expect another standard slasher story from this one.
Now available to stream on Netflix
Young Wallander season 2 (Netflix)
Most people really didn’t like the first season of Netflix’s take on Scandinavian detective Kurt Wallander. Criticism was levelled at the show's timeline, setting and confused target audience, with not enough attention paid to its excellent source material.
But none of that has stopped the steamer rolling out a second set of episodes, which comes as great news for TechRadar’s own Senior Entertainment Editor, Tom Goodwyn, who proudly considers it to be Netflix’s best detective drama. Called Young Wallander: Killer's Shadow, the new series finds the titular character lured back to work by a mysterious hit-and-run incident.
Expect all the twists and turns from Wallander’s latest outing, then, which Goodwyn promises will keep you gripped until the show’s final moments.
Now available to stream on Netflix
Severance (Apple TV Plus)
Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott, John Turturro and Christopher Walken all star in Apple’s latest thriller series, Severance, which also boasts actor Ben Stiller as its showrunner.
Set at a tech company called Lumon Industries, an aptly-titled severance program is used to keep the work memories of employees separate from their non-work memories. In principle, the idea sounds like a smart way to boost productivity – but as you’d expect, things soon take a dangerous turn.
The first two episodes of the show, which is already being described by critics as "the complete package," are available now, with the remaining seven arriving weekly.
Now available to stream on Apple TV Plus
The Cuphead Show! (Netflix)
A 10-episode TV adaptation of the acclaimed 2017 videogame, The Cuphead Show! follows the mishaps of the titular character as he and his easily-swayed brother Mugman scour the Inkwell Isles in search of adventure.
The series comes from Chad and Jared Moldenhauer (the duo who wrote the original game) and stars the voices of Tru Valentino, Frank Todaro and Invincible's Grey Griffin.
The Cuphead Show! isn’t likely to break any new ground for television, but perhaps that’s the point – instead, it harks back to the golden age of animation with charming visuals and simple storytelling. It seems worth a look for nostalgia value, at least.
Now available to stream on Netflix
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix)
In the same week that another feature-length Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, retained its place at the top of the streamer’s popularity charts, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing arrives to add yet more factual thrills to your weekend watchlist.
Adapted from the New Yorker article of the same name, Rory Kennedy’s exposé film takes a microscope to two Boeing 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people within the space of five months in March 2019. Experts and investigators reveal how the airline’s alleged priority of profit over safety could have contributed to the incidents, which went relatively under the radar at the time.
This one is an easy recommendation for those who like their corporate crime documentaries – it’s essentially a high-budget version of Air Crash Investigation.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
