Here’s what’s new and ready to stream now on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, video-on-demand, and other streaming services …
Happy New Year!
There are no new major movies or TV shows debuting this week (let’s face it, the services brought out their big releases in the weeks leading up to Christmas) but plenty of highly-anticipated shows are rolling out new seasons and series finales.
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 4” (TV-14), the fourth and final series in the cheeky adaptation of the comic book series, opens with the teenage witch (Kiernan Shipka) living two lives (literally) as both a high school girl and the ruler of Hell, thanks to a little time travel magic. When Blackwood plots to unleash the darkness upon Earth, the two Sabrinas work together. (Netflix)
“Vikings: Season 6, Part 2” (TV-MA) brings the historical action thriller following the clan of Viking warrior Ragnar Lothbrok in 8th century Europe to its conclusion. While originally produced for the History Channel, the final ten episodes debut directly on Amazon Prime.
“Cobra Kai: Season 3” (TV-14) continues the sequel to the original “The Karate Kid,” with William Zabka and Ralph Macchio reprising their roles. Netflix now produces the series, which was originally created for YouTube Red. (Netflix)
“Letterkenny” (TV-MA), the clever, quick-witted Canadian comedy that spoofs rural life and small town stereotypes, has become a cult hit stateside since it began streaming on Hulu. The complete ninth season is now streaming. (Hulu)
Binge alert: “The Office: Complete Series” (2005-2013, TV-14), which has served as comfort food viewing to millions over the past eight months, is now streaming exclusively on Peacock TV.
Sick of the last 12 months? Here are a pair of comic epitaphs to 2020. “Death to 2020” (TV-MA) from “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Booker taps into a vein of dark humor to satirize the year with help from Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Leslie Jones, and others. (Netflix)
“Yearly Departed” (2020, TV-MA), hosted by Phoebe Robinson, features comedians Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, Natasha Rothwell, Ziwe, Natasha Leggero, Patti Harrison, and Rachel Brosnahan giving the year a cathartic sendoff. (Amazon Prime)
If revisiting the last year feels too stressful, perhaps you can find a little calm in “Headspace Guide to Meditation: Season 1” (not rated), which offers eight animated 20-minute episodes exploring different mindfulness techniques. (Netflix)
Classic pick: Stanley Kubrick’s screwball satire “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964) is the funniest film ever made about mutually assured destruction. (Amazon Prime)
Pay-Per-View / Video-On-Demand
The World War II thriller “Shadow in the Cloud” (2021, R) stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the sole woman on the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber on a top-secret mission. Also new:
Richard Jenkins and Shane Paul McGhie are fast food workers in “The Last Shift” (2020, R), a comic drama about two men with little in common who bond over a long night. Also new:
- action thriller “Honest Thief” (2020, R) with Liam Neeson as a reformed criminal double-crossed by corrupt cops.
- “Two Ways Home” (2020, not rated), a drama about a woman (Tanna Frederick) newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder trying to reconnect with her family.
Netflix
Maïwenn directs and stars in “DNA” (France, 2020, not rated, with subtitles), a drama of cultural identity and family dysfunction costarring Fanny Ardant and Louis Garrel.
The animated western spoof “Rango” (2011, PG) features the voice of Johnny Depp as a pet chameleon who gets lost in the desert and makes himself sheriff in a corrupt town of reptiles.
The animated short film “Cops and Robbers” (2020, PG-13) is a multimedia spoken-word response to the May 5, 2020, murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
International Passport: a young woman (Danica Curcic) investigates the disappearance of 21 students in “Equinox: Season 1” (Denmark, not rated, with subtitles), crime drama with supernatural elements. Also new is the feature film comedy “What Happened to Mr. Cha?” (South Korea, 2021, not rated, with subtitles) about has-been star clinging to past glory.
True stories: “The Minimalists: Less Is Now” (2020, not rated) makes the case that our lives can be better with less.
Foodie fun: The cooking competition series “Best Leftovers Ever!: Season 1” (not rated) finds ways to give old leftovers new life.
Kid stuff: “The Magic School Bus Rides Again In the Zone” (TV-Y) in this animated New Year’s special.
Stand-up: “Best of Stand-Up” 2020 (not rated) features highlights from the past year of Netflix comedy specials.
Amazon Prime Video
Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany star in “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003, PG-13), Peter Weir’s sweeping nautical adventure based on Patrick O’Brien’s novel.
Binge alert: Michael C. Hall is a serial killer who keeps his impulses satisfied by targeting other killers in “Dexter: Complete Series” (2006-2013, TV-MA), the Showtime thriller with a streak of dark comedy.
Amazon Prime / Hulu
The comedy “Like A Boss” (2020, R) stars Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne as best friends and partners in a cosmetics company who turn against each other when a beauty mogul (Salma Hayek) tries to take it over. (Amazon Prime and Hulu)
The drama “Hope Gap” (2020, PG-13) stars Annette Bening and Bill Nighy as married academics in an unraveling marriage (Amazon Prime and Hulu). Also new:
- “Star Trek Beyond” (2016, PG-13), the third film in the big screen reboot starring Chris Pine as young Captain Kirk (Amazon Prime and Hulu);
- “Bloody Sunday” (2002, R), a drama of the 1972 Irish Civil Rights protest and subsequent massacre directed by Paul Greengrass (Amazon Prime and Hulu).
Hulu
In the science fiction comedy “Save Yourselves” (2020, R) a Brooklyn couple (Sunita Mani and John Reynolds) unplug from the world and reemerge to find it under attack from aliens.
Paul Rudd is sweetly oblivious in “Our Idiot Brother” (2011, R), a comedy costarring Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer.
HBO Max
“Snowpiercer: Season 1” (TV-MA), produced for commercial cable network TNT, reworks the premise of Bong Joon-ho’s cult science fiction thriller set on a train speeding through a devastated world into a series starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs.
From Cinemax comes “Warrior: Seasons 1-2” (TV-MA), an historical action thriller set in the Tong Wars of 1870s San Francisco and based on a premise developed by Bruce Lee. (All HBO platforms)
Binge alert: “Gossip Girl: Complete Series” (2007-2012, TV-14), the young adult soap opera of the rich young elite of New York’s Upper East Side, arrives for a younger demographic.
Sundance Now
A desperate office cleaner (Sheridan Smith) uses information she gleans from stockbrokers to get into the shady side of high finance in the British crime thriller “Cleaning Up: Season 1” (not rated). New episodes each Thursday.
Also new is the feature adaptation of “Madame Bovary” (2014) starring Mia Wasikowska and Rhys Ifans.
Acorn TV
Two street cops in Montreal (Adrian Holmes and Jared Keeso) navigate a wary partnership in the gritty Canadian drama “19-2: Complete Series” (2014-2017, not rated).
The Criterion Channel
“Cary Grant Comedies” gathers twelve films starring he charming Hollywood star, from early classics “The Awful Truth” (1937) with Irene Dunne and “Holiday” (1938) with Katherine Hepburn to late-career romantic comedies “Indiscreet” (1958) with Ingrid Bergman and “That Touch of Mink” (1962) with Doris Day.
The weekly column is featured in The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, and other newspapers.
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