We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
Small Town Scandal (Neon, February 9)
Adapted from Tom Sainsbury’s smash hit true crime parody podcast, Small Town Scandal stars the chameleonic comedian as Toby, a disgraced newshound turned podcast host who returns to his rural hometown to investigate the bizarre death of his uber-wealthy uncle. Also starring Morgana O’Reilly, Felicity Kendal and Rose Matafeo, this offbeat TV show has been described by Sainsbury as a “satirical take on small-town drama and true-crime obsession” that is “absurd, heartfelt, and full of mystery.” Count yourself in for a bloody good time.
Married At First Sight Australia (ThreeNow, February 9)
Last year I stood up in front of everyone on the internet and recited my final vows for Married at First Sight Australia. “Married at First Sight, you have emotionally manipulated me, breadcrumbed me, and lovebombed me,” I said. “I’m sorry Married at First Sight Australia, but this is where we go our separate ways. It’s not me: it’s you.” Guess what, dear reader, I lied! I am so back! Try and stop me looking away from another gaggle of grooms in tight jeans and loafers, and blushing brides weeping gently by craft services! / Alex Casey
Lord of the Flies (TVNZ+, February 8)
Created by Jack Thorne, the co-writer of the Golden Globe-winning Adolescence, this hotly-anticipated adaptation of the Lord of the Flies is the first time that the 1954 novel has been adapted for the small screen. Filmed on location in Malaysia, with an ensemble cast of mostly first-time child actors, the four-part drama follows a group of young boys who survive a deadly plane crash and become stranded on a remote tropical island. Delving into “human nature, the loss of innocence and boyhood masculinity”, Lord of the Flies is sure to be an eerie depiction of the male condition.
Cross (Prime Video, February 11)
Based on the characters from James Patterson’s best-selling Alex Cross book series, Aldis Hodge is back as the titular Cross in season two of the thrilling Washington-set crime drama. Evil never sleeps as the detective and forensic psychologist is on the beat once again, this time in pursuit of a ruthless vigilante who is hunting down corrupt and contemptible billionaire magnates. A “tight slow-burn that swings between police procedural and psychological thriller,” Cross is one to watch if you’re a fan of Criminal Minds and Luther.
Final Destination: Bloodlines (Neon, February 13)
Final Destination: Bloodlines, the sixth film in the iconically gruesome franchise, begins in the swinging 60s with Iris Campbell (Gabrielle Rose), a woman who foresees the collapse of a Sky Tower-like structure. She intervenes and thwarts the disaster but, in cheating death, Campbell and her family line are now cursed to meet a grisly demise. Flashing forward to the present day, it’s up to Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), Campbell’s granddaughter, to save her family from the grim reaper. A “tour-de-force of voluptuously bloody slapstick,” Bloodlines is bound to make you shriek in delight and dismay.
Pick of the Flicks: Materialists (Prime Video, February 9)
Directed by Celine Song, the Oscar-nominated director of the aching Past Lives, comes this “brutally honest and bracingly contemporary in its depiction of dating in 21st-century Manhattan.” This bittersweet romcom stars Dakota Johnson as Lucy Mason, an actress turned matchmaker at a high-end dating agency, who finds herself torn between her wealthy financier boyfriend Harry (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex John (Chris Evans). Its A-list stars and twinkling trailer may hoodwink you into thinking that Materialists is a romcom akin to The Wedding Planner or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but the film is a “seductive, smartly refreshed addition to an impossibly, perhaps irredeemably old-fashioned genre”.
The rest
Netflix
Matter of Time (February 9)
The Creature Cases S7 (February 9)
Motorvalley (February 10)
This is I (February 10)
Kohrra S2 (February 11)
Love Is Blind S10 (February 11)
Lead Children (February 11)
State of Fear (February 11)
Million-Follower Detective (February 12)
How To Get To Heaven From Belfast (February 12)
Museum of Innocence (February 13)
The Art of Sarah (February 13)
Tyler Perry’s Joe’s College Road Trip (February 13)
A Quiet Place: Day One (February 14)
TVNZ+
Lord of the Flies (February 8)
The Rookie S8 (February 9)
Selling Houses Australia S16 (February 10)
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out (February 12)
My Impossible House S2 (February 13)
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show S6 (February 13)
ThreeNow
Married At First Sight Australia S13 (February 9)
FBI S7 (February 9)
FBI: Most Wanted S6 (February 9)
9-1-1 S9 (February 10)
Patience S2 (February 15)
MĀORI+
Marley (February 9)
See Spot Run (February 13)
The Changeover (February 13)
Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (February 14)
The Piano (February 14)
The Mystery of Henri Pick (February 15)
Neon
Small Town Scandal (February 9)
Ready, Steady, Wiggles S7 (February 10)
Three Little Birds (February 12)
Final Destination: Bloodlines (February 13)
Neighbors (February 14)
Murder Before Evensong (February 15)
Naked and Afraid of Love (February 15)
Prime Video
Materialists (February 9)
Cross S2 (February 11)
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix S1 (February 12)
Love Me Love Me (February 13)
Chicago Fire S1-S4 (February 14)
Monk S1-S8 (February 14)
American Gangster (February 15)
Disney+
The Artful Dodger S2 (February 10)
Cartoonified! with Phineas and Ferb (February 13)
Stay (February 13)
Apple TV
Eternity (February 13)
AroVision
Sisu: Road to Revenge (February 11)
