Suffice to say, January was a strong month for new streaming content. The likes of Masters of the Air, Griselda and The Traitors proved – and continue to prove – the hottest topics of conversation, but if you’re keen to talk about something (anything!) other than Harry Clark’s cold-hearted betrayal of Mollie Pearce, February has got you covered.
Strangely, this month kicks off with a quartet of projects whose titles feature no less than two character names. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Orion and the Dark, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and Genius: MLK/X are now streaming on Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus, respectively (see what we mean?), with two new documentaries – Alexander: The Making of a God and The Greatest Night in Pop – rounding out this week’s crop of recommendations.
Below, we've rounded up the seven biggest new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
Amazon’s long-in-development series adaptation of the Brangelina-starring 2005 action comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith finally begins streaming on Prime Video this weekend.
Starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine (who stepped in for Phoebe Waller-Bridge following the latter’s withdrawal from the project), this eight-episode drama follows a pair of spies, posing as a married couple, whose genuine feelings for one another risk compromising their cover.
John Turturro, Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, Sarah Paulson, Alexander Skarsgård, and Ron Perlman also star in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which critics have described as “a glorious spy reboot”. Who’d have thought this one would make our list of the best Prime Video shows?
Now available to stream on Prime Video.
Orion and the Dark (Netflix)
Acclaimed screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich) turns his talents to animation this weekend in Netflix’s Orion and the Dark.
This streaming-exclusive DreamWorks production – which is based on Emma Yarlett best-selling children's book of the same name – centers on Orion, a nervous elementary school kid who befriends a physical manifestation of the dark (Paul Walter Hauser). Angela Bassett, Werner Herzog and Colin Hanks are among the film’s supporting voice cast.
Critics have likened the “sweet and clever” Orion and the Dark to Monsters Inc., which is enough to convince us that it’s worthy of a spot on our best Netflix movies list.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (Hulu)
The first installment in Ryan Murphy’s Feud anthology series, Feud: Bette and Joan, premiered way back in 2017, but a follow-up season has finally arrived on Hulu.
Adapted from Laurence Leamer's 2023 book Capote's Women, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans charts the fallout of writer Truman Capote’s unfinished novel Answered Prayers, which exposed the scandalous and hedonistic personal lives of several New York City socialites.
Tom Hollander stars as Capote, with Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald and Diane Lane among those playing the author’s scorned friends. The first two episodes of Feud: Bette and Joan are now available to stream on Hulu. There’s no UK release date for this one just yet, but Disney Plus seems the most likely destination.
Now available to stream on Hulu.
Genius: MLK/X (Hulu, Disney Plus)
The fourth season of Nat Geo’s biographical anthology series puts the spotlight on civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre play the respective title roles in Genius: MLK/X, which explores the contrasting ways in which its two subjects grappled with public attention, family issues and the ultimately all-too-real threats to their physical safety.
Critics have described the new series – whose first two episodes are now available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK – as “bold and ambitious,” suggesting it could be among the best Hulu shows (and best Disney Plus shows) of the year so far.
Now available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 (Max)
HBO’s longest-running comedy series (and no doubt one of the best Max shows of all time), Curb Your Enthusiasm, begins its bittersweet 12th and final season this Sunday.
New episodes will continue to chart the fictional-but-not-fictional Larry David’s misadventures throughout Los Angeles, with the likes of J.B. Smoove, Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin, Vince Vaughn, Cheryl Hines and Ted Danson also on hand to maintain the series’ tried-and-tested comedy formula.
Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, which critics have described as “still funnier than almost anything currently on TV”, will be available to stream on Max in the US and Sky in the UK from Sunday, February 4.
Available to stream on Max in the US and Sky in the UK from Sunday.
Alexander: The Making of a God (Netflix)
The first of this week’s two documentary picks, Alexander: The Making of a God, is actually a sort of docudrama hybrid.
By combining talking heads with bloody, full-costume dramatizations, this six-part Netflix series aims to breathe new life into the legend of Alexander the Great, charting the historical figure’s radical transformation from warrior prince to living god.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Sticking with the theme of new Netflix documentaries, The Greatest Night in Pop goes behind the scenes of the iconic "We Are the World" charity single, which was recorded by American supergroup USA for Africa in 1985.
This feature-length, Sundance-awarded production takes a look at how producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian brought together the likes of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Billy Joel and Diana Ross to make music history.
Critics have described The Greatest Night in Pop as a “huge blast of Gen-X nostalgia,” so it may well earn a spot on our list of the best Netflix documentaries.
Now available to stream on Netflix.
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.
