Clockwise: Fellow Travellers, For All Mankind, The Buccaneers, Robbie Williams.
Clockwise: Fellow Travellers, For All Mankind, The Buccaneers, Robbie Williams.

Pop CultureNovember 6, 2023

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

Clockwise: Fellow Travellers, For All Mankind, The Buccaneers, Robbie Williams.
Clockwise: Fellow Travellers, For All Mankind, The Buccaneers, Robbie Williams.

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+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.

The biggies

Fellow Travellers (on Neon from November 6)

Based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon, this miniseries stars Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as two queer men in a love story that Forrest Gumps its way through the Vietnam War protests in the 60s, the disco era of the 70s and the Aids crisis of the 80s. Early reviews have been positive, with almost all of them noting how good the sex scenes are, if that’s something you’re into! / Sam Brooks

The Buccaneers (on AppleTV+ from November 8)

A new limited-series adaptation of an unfinished Edith Wharton novel? Could we ever be so lucky? Apparently so, because that’s what AppleTV+ is bringing us with The Buccaneers. It’s the story of a group of American women in the 1870s who arrive in London and set off a predictable culture clash. The cast is mostly made up of newcomers but includes Kate Winslet’s daughter Mia Threapleton and Christina Hendricks of Mad Men and Good Girls./ SB

For All Mankind (season four on AppleTV+ from November 10)

For All Mankind isn’t just your dad’s favourite drama, it’s also one of the best shows on TV. It started as a fairly boilerplate alternate history depicting what might have happened if the Soviet Union landed on the Moon first and the global space race never ended, but has grown into a richly-layered, moving series that also critiques America’s role on the world stage. It’s not too late to catch up, and in fact, I’d highly recommend you do so./ SB

The notables

Robbie Williams (docuseries on Netflix from November 8)

We’ve had a harrowing run of documentaries reckoning with our treatment of female pop culture icons in the 90s, and now it is time for some of the lads to step up and stare into the middle distance in extremely shallow focus. David Beckham did it last month, now Robbie Williams is having a crack in an extremely similar-looking four part Netflix series which I am absolutely dying for. Promising over 30 years of never-before-seen archival footage, there better be a whole episode devoted to the ‘Rock DJ’ video or I will rip off and eat my own gluteal muscle. / Alex Casey

House of Maxwell (docuseries on TVNZ+ from November 11)

If you thought Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes were wild, you’d be absolutely correct, but they’re only half the story of her notorious family, led by infamous newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. This three-part BBC documentary spans more than half a century, following fortunes built and lost, mysterious deaths, and a descent into scandal and criminality that preceded the Epstein fiasco./ SB

Guilt (on ThreeNow from November 10)

OK this isn’t brand new (it came out in 2016) but it sounds like a fun watch for next weekend. It’s an American thriller in which Grace (Daisy Head, daughter of Anthony Head of Buffy fame) becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her roommate Molly, and is thrust into the media spotlight. Hoping to clear her sister’s name, Natalie (Emily Tremaine) leaves her life behind to go defend Grace, where she is assisted by ethically questionable lawyer Stan (Billy Zane!). As they search for Molly’s real killer, the investigation tumbles through London society, leading to yes, scandal and yes, intrigue. / SB

The films

Magic Mike’s Last Dance (on Neon from November 10)

Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike series rivals Oceans as the most fun popcorn franchise he’s smashed out in his incredible, hyper-prolific career. But regretfully Last Dance is comfortably the worst of the trilogy. There’s too much talking, too much plot, too little horny stripping – it commits to neither the dusty thriller of the original nor the maximalist stage show feel of the follow up, and while Selma Hayek is campily great as unsatisfied rich lady Maxandra Mendoza (incredible name), this suffers heavily by comparison to the immaculate Hustlers, which established a new state of the art for stripper movie. Rent that on Neon instead./ Duncan Greive

The Killer (on Netflix from November 10)

David Fincher’s latest debuted to mixed-but-positive reviews at Venice, and stars Michael Fassbender as a hitman who gets embroiled in an international manhunt after a murder goes wrong. Tilda Swinton, Sophie Charlotte and Arliss Howard also star in what has been described, slightly bewilderingly, as a “samurai procedural”. (This is also available to watch in cinemas, and by all accounts it fares much better in that space.)/ SB

BTS: Yet to Come (on Prime Video from November 9)

Before the band embarks on a two-year hiatus for required army services (and yes, that is a thing in South Korea), the biggest boyband in the world did their fanbase the kindness of filming a concert from their 2022 show in Busan, presented in a special cinematic cut. The concert features hits from across their career, including the first concert performance of ‘Run BTS’! Congratulations if that means anything to you, scroll on if it doesn’t./ SB

Netflix

November 7

The Improv: 60 and Still Standing

November 8

The Claus Family 3

Robbie Williams

Escaping Twin Flames

The Billionaire, the Butler and the Boyfriend

Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld

Nganu

November 9

Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre

Akuma Kun

Untameable

November 10

At the Moment

The Killer

Neon

November 6

Fellow Travelers

Blinky Bill: The Movie

November 7

Donyale Luna: Supermodel

Couples Retreat

November 8

Smokin’ Aces

November 9

Saviour Complex

BS High

November 10

Rap Shit: Season 2

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

Pacific Rim: Uprising

Dora and the Lost City of Gold

November 11

The Fifth Wave

Minions

November 12

The Golden Boy: Oscar de la Hoya

Oldboy

TVNZ+

November 7

Eddie Hall: Battle of the Strongmen

More than a Game

November 10

NCIS: Sydney

November 11

Being Human: All Seasons

House of Maxwell

ThreeNow

November 7

Payback

November 10

Guilt

Disney+

November 6

JFK: One Day in America

November 8

The Santa Clauses: Season 2

Daddies on Request: Season 2

Love in Fairhope

Final Trip

Vigilante

Farm Dreams

Prime Video

November 9

BTS: Yet to Come

Comedy Island: Indonesia

007: Road to a Million

Apple TV+

November 8

The Buccaneers

November 10

For All Mankind

AMC+

November 6

Baptiste

Acorn

November 6

The Vanishing Triangle

Shudder

November 6

Mastemah

Final Cut

November 10

The Tank

Hayu

November 6

The Real Housewives of Potomac: Season 8

Married to Medicine: Season 10

November 7

BravoCon Live with Andy Cohen

Keep going!