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Welcome to Stream On, the weekly newsletter from Consequence that attempts to help you answer that eternally confounding question: What films and TV shows should you be watching?
We're looking at all the new and recent releases scattered across Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, Max and more for recommendation ideas — not to mention a Blast From the Past and customized recommendations for one lucky Stream On reader!
- Liz Shannon Miller, Senior Entertainment Editor
If you’d like to continue receiving Stream On each week, click here!
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Created by: Paul Tomalin
Cast: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Shira Haas, Amaka Okafor, Kyle Soller, Greta Scacchi, Tom Mothersdale, Michael Jibson, Stephen Graham
Streaming on: Netflix
I love a twist on the standard crime story, and so Bodies, which is set in four different time periods but tracks what may be the same murder, is aggressively my thing. Some unexpected twists run throughout this dark but deeply compelling drama; while there's a comparison to be made here to FX's Class of '09, the new Netflix limited series tracks a far greater spread of years, with the investigations occurring as far back as the 1800s, and glorying in all the details that differentiate old-timey crime-solving from today.
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Directed by: Jessica Yu
Cast: Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, Jessica Elbaum, Holland Taylor, Tony Hale, Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park, Will Ferrell
Streaming on: Hulu
The only thing better than teaming up Sandra Oh and Awkwafina as sisters is casting Awkwafina as the responsible sister and Oh as the screw-up. That's reason enough to check out this Hulu original film, but it's also a funny, sweet, and engaging comedy about the aforementioned sisters hoping that the younger's incredible talent at trivia will get them enough money to help their gambling addict mother. The cast is great, with Oh and Awkwafina finding an easy rapport together, and Will Ferrell maybe destroying the boundaries between reality and fiction by playing a very Alex Trebek-esque game show host.
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Written by: Michael Winterbottom, Kieron Quirke
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Ophelia Lovibond, Andrew Buchan, Simon Paisley Day, Charles Dance
Streaming on: BritBox
For a lot of people, a docu-series about Britain's response to COVID-19 might feel like the definition of "too soon!" (It honestly might feel that way forever, at this point.) Yet Michael Winterbottom is always a director worth paying attention to, the documentary approach actually contains some information that might be considered new to audiences who weren't aware a pandemic was on the horizon until March 2020, and if nothing else this six-episode limited series answers the question "How could anyone have found Boris Johnson charming?" (The answer does go deeper than just "hire Kenneth Branagh to play him in some remarkably good prosthetics.")
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Directed by: Josh Greenbaum
Cast: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Brett Gelman, Will Forte
Streaming on: Peacock
This Universal comedy about dogs with no owners didn't burn up the box office in August, but sometimes that just means it hadn't found its audience yet. And while these puppers do some bad things in Josh Greenbaum's comedy, they are all very good boys and girls. Expected and unexpected laughs abound, as Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) gets some help from fellow stray Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx) in tracking down the asshole who abandoned him (Will Forte).
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The home screens of streaming services are always packed with the latest new releases, but we don't spend enough time appreciating how much good library content is streaming across all of these platforms.
Each week, Stream On will spotlight one less-than-new favorite (must pre-date the founding of Consequence, so 15 years or older) that deserves attention from modern-day eyes.
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Directed by: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Dermot Mulroney
Streaming on: Paramount+
Okay, spooky season is officially over, but I finally saw David Fincher's Zodiac for the first time (I know!) and you know what's a good movie? David Fincher's Zodiac! (I know!) If nothing else, that two hour and 40-minute runtime feels like a cakewalk here in the year 2023, where it's also a lot easier to appreciate just how much of a dream team stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo were, now and then. It's also a feast for true crime fans — incredible to see how direct a line you can draw between this, Se7en, and Fincher's Mindhunter. (TBD on how it connects to The Killer, coming to Netflix next week!)
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I Never Skip Intro Embroidered Cap
Bundle n Save! – 3 Colors Available
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I Never Skip Intro Holographic Sticker
Bundle n Save! – 3 Sizes Available
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Ask Liz What to Watch!
Every person has different tastes and more importantly — different streaming services. So each week, Stream On will be offering tailored recommendations for individual subscribers! To request your own personalized film and TV picks, just fill out this Google form.
This Week: Kate!
Streaming Services: Netflix, Max, Disney+, Prime Video, Showtime
Recent Favorites: Succession, Mad Men, The Wire, Shameless, The Bear, Reservation Dogs, Severance, Fargo, Fight Club, Mindhunter, Requiem for a Dream
Kate! Goodness, so your recent favorites just so happen to include some of the best television of all time (with some Fincher/Aronofsky for spice) — I shall do my best to rise to this challenge!
First off, definitely be sure to check out the above-mentioned Bodies (Netflix) — also, I have yet to check it out in full, but Who Is Erin Carter? (Netflix) seems relevant to your interests, as well as The Diplomat (Netflix). In addition, HBO's recent riff on Perry Mason (Max) is a much stronger show in Season 2 than it is in Season 1, and both seasons have their charms.
In your form, you requested picks that were "the newer the better," but I'm going to go back a few years to recommend Broadchurch (Free via The Roku Channel, with ads) — though if you do check it out, stop with Season 1, it's diminishing returns after that point. (And don't worry, you'll know whodunnit by then.) On Max, some recent series to explore include Full Circle, Warrior, The Deuce, and I Hate Suzie (big Shameless/ The Bear vibes there).
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Meanwhile, it's funny — all of your recent favs are titles that would easily be rated R by the MPAA (if they weren't already), the only exception maybe being Mad Men. Which is to say, not exactly Disney+-esque. I took that as a challenge and went through that library to see what might align with your taste, and I returned with... Okay, not a lot. But Andor is pretty genre-transcending, Hidden Figures has a great cast and the execution is solid, and alongside the Air Bud films we've got Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs.
Actually, the legitimately great hard-R Logan is also on Disney+ at the moment. Superheroes don't seem to be your jam, but if you like the idea of Hugh Jackman stabbing dudes in the head with his hand knives while Patrick Stewart gives an Oscar-worthy performance, well, there you go. Oh also, you can't watch this yet but next week, David Fincher's The Killer drops on Netflix — based on Clint Worthington's review here at Consequence, the time to get hyped is now.
We'll be back next week with more picks — in the meantime, stay safe out there, or better yet stay inside, where it’s definitely safe, and there’s so much film and TV to watch.
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