We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
If you love heartwarming TV: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Netflix, July 8)
This sweet and magical mockumentary arrives in perfect time for the school holidays, but don’t be fooled into believing Marcel the Shell is just for kids. This tells the story of a tiny talking shell called Marcel, who lives with his grandmother Connie and is searching for his shell family. “I love everything about it,” Alex Casey wrote of the film in 2022. “I loved Marcel’s small smile. I loved how Marcel walked up walls using honey. I loved whenever Marcel sang. I loved the Grandma shell. I loved how it made me think about what shells my own family would be. I loved every moment of his journey juggling gargantuan internet fame with the trappings of being a very small shell wearing shoes, something we can all relate to.”
If you love a dark thriller: Sunny (Apple TV, July 10)
Rashida Jones (Silo, Parks and Recreation) stars in this intriguing drama about an American woman living in Japan who loses her family in an mysterious accident. After discovering her husband lived a life full of secrets, the woman is given Sunny, a new type of domestic robot made by her husband’s electronic company. What could go wrong? Early reviews call this a “kooky and gripping” thriller that transcends genres, and a “daring and unpredictable” series.
If you love reality TV: The Boyfriend (Netflix, July 9)
Japan’s first same-sex romantic reality series takes place during a hot summer of hopes and dreams, as nine young men move into the same beachside house to find love. The men have to work together in a coffee truck, and as the weeks pass, begin to find the freedom to express themselves among their new friends. It’s similar in tone and style to Japanese reality hit Terrace House, and comes with a colourful panel of Japanese stars who provide a commentary to all the blossoming romances. Groundbreaking, wholesome and extremely heartwarming.
If you love a vampire drama: Firebite (TVNZ+, July 11)
“Firebite is like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” TVNZ promise, and they might just be right. Set in the remote outback mining town of Opal City, Firebite follows a King Vampire who arrives to take over the land and kidnap locals for their blood. It’s up to two Indigenous renegades to stop both the King and the war, in what is described as “a compelling, compulsive story of modern day colonisation”. It’s dark and dusty and full of surprises, a show The Guardian called “exhilaratingly different”.
If you love me tender: Priscilla (TVNZ+, July 13)
Sofia Coppola’s film about the relationship between teenager Priscilla Beaulieu and some guy called Elvis drops on TVNZ+ this week. Earlier this year, we called the movie “a gem”. “The vibe of Priscilla is absolutely impeccable. It is quiet, beautifully art directed, and so delicately rendered that it could almost float away,” Sam Brooks wrote in his review. “Graceland, where much of the film is set, feels like a perfectly appointed living room, its own kind of prison. Despite its oppressiveness, Coppola succeeds in making it a world that could seduce a relatively sheltered young person; all smudged glamour and shiny cars.”
The rest
Netflix
Marcel The Shell with Shoes On (July 8)
The Boyfriend (July 9)
Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn (July 9)
Receiver (July 10)
Eva Lasting S2 (July 10)
Sugar Rush The Baking Point S2 (July 10)
Vanished into the Night (July 10)
Wild Wild Punjab (July 10
Vikings: Valhalla S3 (July 11)
Another Self S2 (July 11)
Kuyang (July 11)
The Champion (July 12)
Exploding Kittens (July 12)
Blame the Game (July 12)
Men (July 12)
Lobola Man (July 12)
Kenny (July 12)
TVNZ+
Amanda and Alan’s Italian Job (July 8)
A Brief History of the Future (July 9)
Ambulance Australia (July 9)
Firebite (July 11)
Wimbledon 2024 (July 13)
Priscilla (July 13)
Extreme X – Hydro X Prix (July 13-15)
ThreeNow
Thirst with Shay Mitchell (July 10)
Extreme Sisters S2 (July 12)
Neon
The Truth About Jim (July 9)
Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (July 9)
Arthur 3: The War of Two Worlds (July 9)
Cat Person (July 10)
MILF Manor (July 11)
1000-lb Best Friends S1-2 (July 12)
Alpha (July 12)
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (July 13)
Extreme Cake Sports (July 14)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (July 14)
Prime Video
Divorce in the Black (July 11)
Sausage Party: Foodtopia (July 11)
Disney+
Macross Delta S1 (July 10)
Macross Frontier S1(July 10)
Family Guy S22 (July 10)
Wicked Tuna S13 (July 10)
Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (July 11)
Descendents: Rise of the Red (July 12)
Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country (July 12)
My Home Hero (July 12)
Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre (July 12)
Macross Delta: Zettai Live!!!!!! (July 12)
Macross Frontier: The False Songstress (July 12)
Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell (July 12)
Macross Frontier: Labyrinth of Time (July 12)
Descendants Sing-Along (1-3, July 12)
Wicked Woods: A Descendants Halloween Story (July 12)
Apple TV+
Sunny (July 10)
Fly Me To The Moon (July 11)
Me (July 12)
Hayu
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (July 11)
Acorn/AMC+/Shudder
Class of Nuke ‘Em High (AMC+ and Shudder, July 8)
House on Haunted Hill (AMC+ and Shudder, July 8)