What are you going to be watching this week? We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+.
The biggies
The Idol (weekly on Neon from June 5)
If you’ve heard about The Idol, the new series from Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd), Sam Levinson (Euphoria) and Reza Fahim (non-film-and-TV things), it’s probably due to the controversy. The series follows an aspiring pop idol (Lily-Rose Depp) in the midst of a nervous breakdown while trying to reclaim her title as the “sexiest popstar in America”, who somehow ends up in a relationship with Tedros (Tesfaye), a self-help guru. The reviews out of the Cannes Film Festival have been… unkind… highlighting the graphic sexual content, empty provocations and general misanthropy. If that sounds like your kind of thing, get stuck in!
Love Island UK (new season on TVNZ+ from June 7)
You know the drill by now: a group of young men and women inhabit a giant villa on a sunbaked island*, completing inane challenges and swapping partners until they meet the love of their life or get voted off, while Scottish comedian Iain Stirling wryly commentates. If you’re a fan, you’ll probably already have June 7 marked down in your calendar; if you’re curious what all the fuss is about, it’s now free to watch on TVNZ+. (*Not an actual island.)
The Crowded Room (limited series weekly on Apple TV+ from June 9)
There are two types of Apple TV+ drama: event shows with massive stars that everybody tunes into (The Morning Show), and event shows with massive stars that pretty much no one is aware of (basically everything else, sorry). The Crowded Room, a psychological thriller about a man arrested for a shocking crime that he may or may not have actually committed, and the investigator tasked with solving the mystery, is aiming to be the former. With a cast consisting of Tom Holland, Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum, there’s enough wattage here to give it at least an episode.
The notables
Arnold (docuseries on Netflix from June 7)
Netflix is really going all in on Schwarzenegger, aren’t they? This three-part docu series follows the comedy series FUBAR released in May, and follows the man’s multifaceted life and career from bodybuilding champ to Hollywood icon to governor of California, and beyond. I hope the series clears up how tall he actually is (his height has been reported anywhere between 5’10” and 6’5″, somehow).
American Auto (season two on Neon from June 11)
You probably haven’t heard of American Auto, the workplace sitcom that follows a motor company after they appoint a new CEO who knows nothing about cars. I’m here to heartily recommend it as perhaps the best sitcom on the air right now – if you’re missing the heart of Superstore, the biting satirical wit of 30 Rock or the killer ensemble of Parks and Recreation, then you need to get into this show ASAP, and you’ve got just enough time to catch up on the first season!
Never Have I Ever (season four on Netflix from June 8)
Congratulations to Never Have I Ever for breaking the Netflix curse and getting a fourth and final season to wrap everything up! If you’re unfamiliar with the show, it’s a coming-of-age show loosely based on the childhood of creator Mindy Kaling, following the travails of Devi Vishwakuma as she navigates high school, identity, romance and a whole lot of other messy things! It’s a super charming, super chill, time.
The films
Avatar: The Way of Water (on Disney+ from June 7)
If for some reason you’ve been waiting to watch Avatar: The Way of Water on the smallest screen possible, it’s your lucky week – James Cameron’s mega-budget, mega-CGI mega-blockbuster is on Disney+ from June 7!
Creed III (on Prime Video from June 9)
Against all odds, the Creed series has been a complete and resounding success! The third film in this series sees the titular Adonis Creed (Michael B Jordan in his directorial debut) coming face-to-face with his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors). This one got rave reviews, so definitely one to keep on the list.
Mack and Rita (on Neon and Prime Video from June 11)
The premise of this one sells itself: 30-year-old Mack (Elizabeth Lail) reluctantly joins her best friend’s bachelorette trip but backs out at the last minute to do a past life regression, and winds up waking up as her 70-year-old self, inexplicably named “Rita”(Diane Keaton, natch). She becomes a social media sensation and sparks a romance with her old dog-sitter. Bonkers! I’m into it.
The rest
Netflix
June 5
Barracuda Queens
June 6
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark: Chapter 4
June 7
Love is Blind: Brazil: Season 3
Arnold
June 8
Never Have I Ever: Season 4
Tour de France: Unchained
June 9
Bloodhounds
Human Resources: Season 2
Tex Mex Motors
The World Can’t Tear Me Down
The Wonder Weeks
You Do You
A Playing Card Killer
Neon
June 5
The Idol
Framed
June 6
The Ghost of Richard Harris
Voices of Ireland
Awkwafina is Nora from Queens: Season 6
June 7
The Man and the Beauty
DC League of Super-Pets
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
June 8
The Pope’s Photographer
Britain’s Novel Landscapes
Blade of the 47 Ronin
Violent Night
June 11
American Auto: Season 2
Mack & Rita
TVNZ+
June 5
Getting Warmer with Kal Penn
The Future with Hannah Fry
June 7
Love Island UK: Season 10
June 8
Based on a True Story
Once Were Warriors
The World’s Fastest Indian
La La Land
Boyz in the Hood
Bad Moms
Disney+
June 7
Avatar: The Way of Water
Saint X: Season 1
Critter Fixers: Country Vets: Season 4
Blood Curse: Season 1
June 9
Flamin’ Hot
Pride from Above
Prime Video
June 7
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
June 8
Culpa Mia
Violent Night
June 9
The Lake: Season 2
Creed III
June 11
Mack & Rita
Acorn
June 5
The Light in the Hall
June 9
Brooklyn 45
Shudder
June 5
The Beast Must Die
Orca, The Killer Whale