We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
For fans of Adam Sandler being serious: Spaceman (Netflix, March 1)
Not only is Adam Sandler being serious, but he’s being serious in space. And not only is Adam Sandler being serious in space, but he’s joined by a giant emotional support spider? Based on a trippy Czech novel and directed by Johan Renck (Chernobyl), Spaceman puts an absurdist twist on a proud cinematic tradition of blokes floating about alone in space (Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney RIP). Also starring Carey Mulligan and Isabella Rossellini, this frankly looks like an even weirder and riskier outing for Sandler than anything he did in Jack and Jill – and that’s saying something.
For fans of serious historical epics: Shōgun (Disney+, February 27)
If giant bajillion dollar historical epics and sword-wielding samurai are your jam, look no further than Shōgun. Based on the James Clavell novel of the same name, Shōgun navigates power, class and political struggles 17th century Japan. After an English ship is marooned, sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) collides with Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and mysterious female samurai Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai). It scored a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it “the most engaging, impressive shows of the year”, “an engaging tale of duty, political power, and legacy” and a “genuine masterpiece”. Also, Napoleon is also coming to Apple TV this week, you lucky old-timey ducks.
For fans of unserious historical epics: The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Apple TV, March 1)
Britophiles rejoice: Noel Fielding! Greg Davies! Tamsin Greig! Hugh Bonneville! Very loosely based on the myths and murmurs around a 1700s Essex criminal affectionately known as “The Dandy Highwayman”, this looks like a must watch for fans of The Great, Our Flag Means Death, and any other show that injects the olden days with some good old-fashioned laughs. “I’m a classic dick,” said Fielding in a recent interview about the series. “He’s a classic dick,” concurred Bonneville, “and it’s certainly one of the most interesting dicks I’ve ever seen.” Crack up!
For the fan of biting satire: American Fiction (Prime Video, February 27)
There’s a lot of awards buzz and near-universal acclaim for American Fiction, a withering satire about what happens when a Black author gives into the industry’s endless appetite for narratives of trauma and poverty from his community. It’s been heralded as “a cagey, cerebral dramedy” by The New York Times and a “satisfyingly prickly satire on race and hypocrisy” by The Guardian, received five Oscar nominations earlier in the month and won a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay just last week. And if that’s not enough to get you interested, Barack Obama even put it on his hallowed Best of the Year list in 2023.
For fans of fixing the climate crisis: Dynamic Planet (Neon, out now)
Once you are done with Alice Snedden’s Bad News Saves The World (first episode out Tuesday 27, second episode Thursday 29), Dynamic Planet is the perfect chaser for those looking to still find some hope re: the state of our collective future on Earth. Filmed over three years and on all seven continents, this four part documentary series meets the extraordinary folks living and working on the front line of climate change. It will delve into “how science, nature and traditional knowledge can prepare us for a fast changing future”, and sounds like exactly the kind of thing that climate anxious types (everyone?) needs to watch right now.
Everything else
Netflix
Donnell Rawlings A New Day (February 27)
Jurassic World: Dominion (February 28)
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders (February 28)
The Mire 97 (February 28)
Code 8: Part 2 (February 28)
Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (February 28)
A Round of Applause (February 29)
The Parades (February 29)
Somebody Feed Phil (March 1)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (March 1)
Detachment (March 1)
True Colours (March 1)
A Journal for Jordan (March 1)
The Mexican (March 1)
The Ruins (March 1)
The Furies (March 1)
Blood and Water S4 (March 1)
Meet Me After School (March 1)
American Outlaws (March 1)
My Name is Loh Kiwan (March 1)
Finke There and Back (March 1)
Maamla Legal Hai (March 1)
Shake Rattle and Roll Extreme (March 1)
The Pig The Snake and The Pigeon (March 1)
Watcher (March 2)
The Lost Fernando (March 2)
Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City (March 2)
Neon
The Crime of the Century (26 February)
Out for Justice (February 26)
The Dirty Dozen (February 27)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (February 27)
Starsky and Hutch (February 28)
Five Days (March 1)
Enlightened S1, S2 (March 1)
Deer Squad (March 2)
TVNZ+
The Walking Dead: The ones who live (February 26)
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (February 28)
Reel Life: Me and Breast Implants (February 29)
Hot Summer Nights (February 29)
Arrival (February 29)
Love Island Australia (March 1)
The Dark Tower (March 1)
(In)Famous: The True Story of Andrew Tate
Three Now+
Paper Dolls (March 3)
Prime Video
The Kids are Growing Up (29 February)
Apple TV+
Earthsounds (Out now)
Napoleon (March 1)
Shudder
Godless: The Eastfield Excorcism (March 1)
Acorn TV
HIP: High Intellectual Potential (February 26)
Dublin Murders (February 26)