Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that’s before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each one!
Don’t be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We’ve got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more.
But if you’re seeking something brand spanking new (or new to streaming), we’ve got you covered there, too.
Mashable’s entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you’re looking for animated adventures, health scammer drama, or a truly ambitious biopic, we’ve got something just for you.
Here’s what’s new on streaming, from worst to best.
7. Kinda Pregnant
Trainwreck‘s Amy Schumer is back, and using her brash and bawdy brand of humor to tackle the sacred cow of pregnancy. In this rom-com, she stars as Lainy Newton, a middle-aged grade school teacher who’s struggling to settle down because she hasn’t met the right guy. Meanwhile, her bestie since childhood (Jillian Bell) is married and expecting, as is the Gen Z TikTok influencer (Lizzie Broadway) who drives Lainy bonkers on the daily. So, what’s a girl to do except pretend to be pregnant around strangers to score some compliments and kindness when she’s desperately in need of both?
However, this cringe-worthy coping mechanism becomes a real problem when Lainy meets a charming Zamboni driver (Will Forte, who should be in more rom-coms immediately) and his cool sister (Brianne Howey) — while wearing a foam belly. A screwball comedy about love, sex, jealousy, and yoga farts, Kinda Pregnant is true to Schumer’s form, but only fitfully funny. Too many bits feel tired or tawdry. However, the romance subplot was enough to keep pulling us back in. Maybe not suited for a Netflix and Chill night, but a chill girls night, or a movie to throw on while folding laundry? — K.P.
Starring: Amy Schumer, Jillian Bell, Lizzie Broadway, Brianne Howey, Urzila Carlson, and Will Forte
How to watch: Kinda Pregnant debuts on Netflix on Feb. 6.
6. The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl
Last May, Disney celebrated 30 years of The Lion King with a special concert at the Hollywood Bowl, which honored not only the Oscar-winning 1994 animated movie, but also the Broadway musical adaptation, the 2019 live-action remake, and its prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King. This meant that gathered together were members of the original cast, like Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Jason Weaver, and Ernie Sabella, as well as members of the remake’s ensemble, like Billie Eichner, as well as Broadway luminaries Heather Headley and Bradley Gibson, composer Lebo M, and EGOT-achiever Jennifer Hudson. Now, Disney+ is bringing all of this and more into your home in a one-hour-and-seven-minute presentation.
Behind-the-scenes clips of the makings of these movies and this event are interspersed with the recorded live performances of all of those above, intercut with the elated reactions of the fans and celebrities present. (Keep an eye out for Craig Robinson, Mark Ruffalo, and the Kardashian clan, as they stand up and cheer in different sections of the show.) As teased in the trailer, the incredible costumes from the Broadway show are combined with projections and sheer star power to bring fresh life to long-beloved songs. Props to Lane and Sabella, who are as silly and seemingly spontaneous as Timon and Pumbaa were at their best. Personally, my favorite moment is Irons, dressed in boho business attire, singing “Be Prepared” as dancers dressed as hyenas swarm the stage and trek out into the audience. But I’ve always loved a biting villain song. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
Starring: Lebo M, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Jason Weaver, Ernie Sabella, Billy Eichner, Heather Headley, Bradley Gibson, North West, and Jennifer Hudson
How to watch: The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl debuts on Disney Plus on Feb. 7.
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5. Apple Cider Vinegar
Netflix brings the true story of Australian influencer and scammer Belle Gibson (Booksmart‘s Kaitlyn Dever) to life in Apple Cider Vinegar. Belle built a wellness empire — complete with an app and cookbook — after she claimed she was treating her brain cancer with a healthy diet. But in reality, she never had cancer. The limited series intertwines her monstrous lie with the story of rival influencer Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey, It’s What’s Inside), who actually has cancer and is opting for a bogus all-natural treatment plan.
But while the highly stylized Apple Cider Vinegar tries to make points about how wellness grifters thrive off of the rise of social media, it ultimately lacks the depth to tackle this topic fully. As I wrote in my review, “Apple Cider Vinegar co-opts the aesthetics of aspirational social media posts in order to highlight just how big a role these platforms played in Belle’s rise. But in making use of this visual language, is it really commenting on how shallow and artificial influencers’ posts can be? Or is it falling prey to that very same artificiality?” — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Mark Coles Smith, Ashley Zukerman, Susie Porter, Matt Nable, Phoenix Raei, Chai Hansen, Richard Davies, Essie Davis, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Catherine McClements
How to watch: Apple Cider Vinegar debuts on Netflix on Feb 6.
4. We Live in Time
The heart-wrenching romance drama starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield hits Max this week, and if you didn’t weep in cinemas through We Live in Time, now’s your chance in the privacy of your own home. Pugh and Garfield play Almut and Tobias, two people who meet, fall head over heels, and start their life together — the film bounces between past and present, through tender snapshots of their relationship. But life throws deeply unfair turns at us, as they figure out how to manage the cruelest of mistresses, time.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield on how food is used as a form of intimacy in ‘We Live in Time’
Despite the amount we cried over the film (who couldn’t?), we didn’t fall as hard for it as we’d hoped. Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko wrote in her review, “On paper, We Live in Time seems thoughtfully formulated to be the perfect tearjerker for today. John Crowley, the celebrated helmer of the stunning Saoirse Ronan romance Brooklyn, teams with heralded actors/internet darlings Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in a weepy romance of wooing and tragic loss. And yet, while peppered with sex scenes and adoring close-ups, this is not a hot or even sweaty embrace of lust and love, but a soggy handshake of a film that underwhelms despite its star power.” — S.C.
Starring: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, Lee Braithwaite, Grace Delaney, Aoife Hinds, Adam James, Douglas Hodge, Niamh Cusack, Amy Morgan, Lucy Briers
How to watch: We Live in Time is streaming on Max Feb. 7.
3. Piece By Piece
One of the most ambitious ways to do a biopic, Pharrell Williams’ Piece By Piece is coming to Peacock. The music icon’s life and career is traced using Lego mini figures, recreating both his childhood, emergence into music, his work with N.E.R.D., production as The Neptunes, and meteoric rise to superstardom. There’s plenty of appearances from the epic collaborators among Williams’ career, with cameos from Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, Daft Punk, Gwen Stefani, and more.
As Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko wrote in her review, “Piece By Piece is a winsome reinvention of the music biopic. Animation is enthusiastically employed to bring the audience into the experience of being Pharrell Williams. The colorful blocks not only allow the construction of musical beats to become a physical act rather than an abstract idea, but also give a Ratatouille-like understanding of how this art form affects its hero.”
Starring: Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Morgan Neville, Timbaland, Tyler, the Creator, Pusha T, Daft Punk, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake
How to watch: Piece by Piece is streaming on Peacock Feb. 7.
2. Invincible Season 3
Truly embodying its title, Invincible is back! Season 3 of the animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comics sees the return of Mark Grayson aka Invincible (voiced by Beef‘s Steven Yeun) and all the carnage that usually accompanies him. We meet Mark being put through his paces by the Global Defense Agency’s Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) in an attempt to power up in preparation for another Viltrumite face-off. And things just get more chaotic from there (as is the Invincible way). — S.C.
Starring: Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Walton Goggins, Simu Liu, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Xolo Maridueña, John DiMaggio, Tzi Ma, Christian Convery, Andrew Rannells, Sterling K. Brown, Zazie Beetz, Chris Diamantopoulos, Zachary Quinto, Melise, Grey Griffin, Ross Marquand, Seth Rogen
How to watch: Invincible is now streaming the first three episodes of Season 3 on Prime Video, with new episodes weekly.
1. Clean Slate
What happens when legendary TV producer Norman Lear (All in the Family) teams up with four-time Emmy-nominated Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox? You get Clean Slate, a terrifically funny and heart-warming sitcom about a Black family in Alabama reconnecting across cultural collisions.
Cox stars as Desiree Slate, who after crashing and burning as a New York City gallerist comes home to her widowed father, a caring but recklessly big-mouthed carwash owner named Harry (George Wallace). Her arrival is a surprise on two fronts: 1) they’ve been estranged for 23 years and 2) she’s since come out as a trans woman. In this endearing series, the two learn to communicate across the generation gap, tackling everything from the confounding nature of chia seed pudding to how to deal with a transphobic pastor. Bouncy and smart, Clean Slate is a sitcom true to Lear’s vision of America, as a melting pot of ideas, identities, and families who are family — even when they frustrate the hell out of each other. — K.P.
Starring: Laverne Cox, George Wallace, Telma Hopkins, D.K. Uzoukwu, Jay Wilkison, and Norah Murphy
How to watch: Clean Slate debuts on Prime Video on Feb. 6.
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