After last week’s refreshingly understated crop of streaming service arrivals, Netflix returns to the fore with two tentpole productions whose names are sure to feature on Twitter’s trending page in coming days.
In truth, it’s hard to decide which new series is the bigger: Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area or The Umbrella Academy season 3. Either way, there’s plenty for Netflix subscribers to get excited about this weekend – and those signed up to HBO Max in for a treat, too, thanks to the long-awaited release of Westworld season 4.
Below, then, we’ve rounded up seven of the biggest new movies and TV shows available to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV Plus and more this weekend.
Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area (Netflix)
Money Heist fans may have seen their beloved spanish-language Netflix show come to an emotional end last year, but the franchise returns this weekend in the form of Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, a Korean adaptation of Álex Pina’s record-breaking crime series.
This remake-cum-companion show follows a group of thieves – led by Squid Game star Park Hae-soo – who attempt to overtake the mint of a newly unified Korea in the titular Joint Economic Area. Pina himself is an executive producer on the series, which Netflix has said will “breathe new life into the familiar [Money Heist] storyline and bring the material afresh to global audiences.”
In a similar format to Stranger Things 4, the first six episodes of Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area are available to stream today, with the second half of the show’s debut season set to follow later this year. Brace yourself: this one is going to be big.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 (Netflix)
Everyone's favorite superpowered (and slightly dysfunctional) family makes its long-awaited return to Netflix this weekend.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 finds the Hargreeves clan going toe-to-toe with the equally fantastical Sparrow Academy, before the two families – to nobody’s surprise – are forced to confront yet another potentially apocalyptic event. Interestingly, the show no longer runs parallel to Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s graphic novel series (the next volume is yet to be published), so The Umbrella Academy season 3 also marks something of a creative departure from previous seasons.
Regrettably, as per TechRadar’s resident entertainment reporter, Tom Power, the series’ new episodes “are a frustrating mix of good and bad ideas” that make The Umbrella Academy season 3 “the weakest entry in the series so far.” That being said, superhero fans will still likely find plenty of butt-kicking action to enjoy here.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Westworld season 4 (HBO Max)
Westworld fans, your moment has come: season 4 of HBO’s mind-bending sci-fi series begins streaming on HBO Max in the US and Sky and Now TV in the UK from Sunday.
With the show having not appeared on screens for more than two years, you’d be forgiven for going into Westworld’s long-awaited fourth season with about as much familiarity as you had with its first – and to be honest, we’re still a little unsure of where its convoluted story left off ourselves. We do know, though, that the likes of Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris and even James Marsden will reprise their roles in new episodes, while West Side Story star Ariana DeBose joins the cast as a newcomer.
Westworld got off to a blistering start when its first season released way back in 2016, so we’re sincerely hoping that season 4 can get this super stylish HBO show back on track after a pair of so-so follow-up entries.
Available to stream on HBO Max in the US and Sky and Now TV in the UK from Sunday.
Chloe (Prime Video)
Having debuted in the UK to rave reviews earlier this year, Sex Education writer-director Alice Seabright’s acclaimed thriller series, Chloe, is now available to stream globally on Prime Video.
Starring The Crown’s Erin Doherty, this six-part show follows Becky, a quiet twenty-something obsessed with the Instagram account of a councillor’s seemingly flawless wife (Poppy Gilbert). But when the latter suddenly dies, Becky adopts a new persona and attempts to infiltrate the woman’s life in search of answers.
Critics described Chloe as “an absolute feast of a show” when it launched on the BBC back in February, so it’s definitely one to check out for fans of the comparable Netflix series Inventing Anna (as well as those who enjoyed Seabright’s contributions to Sex Education).
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
Loot (Apple TV Plus)
The starry series just keep coming for Apple TV Plus in 2022.
Loot, a new workplace comedy from writing duo Alan Yang (Master of None) and Matt Hubbard (30 Rock), follows Maya Rudolph’s Molly Novak, a woman who is left with an unexpected fortune after her husband (Adam Scott) betrays her. When Molly discovers the existence of a charity foundation established in her name, though, she soon realises that with great power comes… you know the rest.
Mj Rodriguez, Ron Funches and Joel Kim Booster star alongside Rudolph in Loot, whose first three episodes are available to stream today. The show’s remaining seven entries are set to arrive on a weekly basis through August 12.
Now available to stream on Apple TV Plus.
Man vs Bee (Netflix)
What more can we say about Man vs Bee that the above thumbnail doesn’t already reveal?
This 10-episode Netflix series follows a bumbling dad, Trevor (Rowan Atkinson), who finds himself on a collision course with a mischievous bumblebee while house-sitting for a wealthy businesswoman. Determined to rid himself of the irksome insect, Trevor takes matters into his own hands – with hilariously disastrous consequences.
If beloved British comic Atknison wasn’t involved in this seemingly ridiculous project, we’d probably have recommended giving it a miss – but such is the enduring appeal of the Mr. Bean actor that Man vs Bee looks like genuinely brilliant fun.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (Paramount Plus)
TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief, Gareth Beavis, has been the subject of cruel Beavis and Butt-Head jokes his entire life – so we’re not going to make any here. No jokes. None.
Gareth Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (dammit!) resurrects the iconic cartoon duo for a brand new feature-length adventure on Paramount Plus. Arriving as a precursor to the pair’s serialized revival later this year, the film picks up directly after the events of 1996’s Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and propels the titular teenage slackers into the present day, where they encounter the internet, romance and… iPhones?
Franchise creator Mike Judge reprises his role(s) as Beavis and Butt-Head, while many of the comedian’s Silicon Valley co-stars – including Martin Starr, Chris Diamantopoulos and Jimmy O. Yang – get in on the act, too.
Now available to stream on Paramount Plus.
