From left to right: Love Island UK season 10 (on TVNZ+), Arnold (on Netflix), Avatar: The Way of Water (on Disney+), The Idol (on Neon).
From left to right: Love Island UK season 10 (on TVNZ+), Arnold (on Netflix), Avatar: The Way of Water (on Disney+), The Idol (on Neon).

Pop CultureJune 5, 2023

New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week

From left to right: Love Island UK season 10 (on TVNZ+), Arnold (on Netflix), Avatar: The Way of Water (on Disney+), The Idol (on Neon).
From left to right: Love Island UK season 10 (on TVNZ+), Arnold (on Netflix), Avatar: The Way of Water (on Disney+), The Idol (on Neon).

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

Keep going!