With summer winding down and the days getting shorter, it can mean only one thing, it’s streaming season!
With plenty of new and returning TV shows headed to the fall schedule, as well as many summer movies about to hit streaming platforms, it can be overwhelming to decide what to watch.
We’ve got you covered with some of the best shows and movies streaming right now.
Only Murders in the Building
Our intrepid trio of amateur sleuths, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) have returned for a fifth season of Hulu’s hit series, Only Murders in the Building. Because, somehow, people seem to keep meeting their untimely death in the Arconia. This time, the three friends are investigating the passing of their beloved doorman, Lester, who met his demise under suspicious circumstances at the end of season 4.
It’s something of a miracle a series with such a niche premise has managed to stay fresh for so long. But after season 5 premiered this week on Sept. 9, so far it has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. Currently the first three episodes are streaming with weekly installments to follow.
Only Murders in the Building is streaming on Hulu.
Alien: Earth
Fargo series creator Noah Hawley had a tall order in front of him in creating the very first television series in the Alien franchise. But so far, the gamble has definitely paid off. Alien: Earth, which is set two years before the events of the original 1979 film, quickly became a smash hit and critical success.
Alien: Earth is streaming on Hulu the following day after each new episode airs on FX.
The Paper
The fictional documentary crew that gave us The Office is back with the highly-anticipated spinoff series, The Paper. This time, the crew are following the staff of a struggling newspaper in Toledo, OH owned by the same parent company as the now-defunct Dunder Mifflin. All 10 episodes of the first season dropped on Peacock on Sept. 4, and the series was renewed for a second season before the first even premiered.
Like The Office when it premiered, the series features a cast of mostly under-the-radar actors, led by Domhnall Gleeson, who plays Ned Sampson, the new editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth-Teller. And you might just see some familiar faces.
The Paper is streaming on Peacock.
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KPop Demon Hunters
Since it first debuted over the summer, the animated musical KPop Demon Hunters has been nothing short of a juggernaut for Netflix as the most-watched original title in the streamer’s history with over 250 million views. The theatrical release was likewise the widest for a Netflix film and it became the first to top the box office in the United States, surpassing even Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
The film follows a K-pop girl group who secretly lead lives as demon hunters, as they face off against a rival boy band whose members just so happen to secretly be demons. It originated from director Maggie Kang’s ambition to create a story inspired by her Korean heritage, pulling in elements such as mythology, demonology, and K-pop.
KPop Demon Hunters is streaming on Netflix.
Poker Face
Natasha Lyonne’s human lie detector Charlie Cale is back for a second season of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery comedy for Peacock. Whereas the first season saw Charlie on the run from a crime syndicate, season 2 has her mostly drifting through the country in her vintage 1969 Plymouth Barracuda. And solving no shortage of murders—we can’t forget about those. The second season boasts a murderer’s row of fun guest stars, including Cynthia Erivo, John Mulaney, Kumail Nanjiani, Melanie Lynskey, Justin Theroux, and, in an extended episode arc, the always-hilarious Patti Harrison.
Poker Face is streaming on Peacock.
The Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman’s 2020 novel about a group of elderly amateur sleuths attempting to solve a murder was adapted into a film by Netflix that premiered on Aug. 28. With a stacked cast featuring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and David Tennant, to name a few, it quickly made its way to the streamer’s top 10. For anyone who is already a fan of Only Murders in the Building—or whodunits in general, for that matter—it should make for a fun movie night.
The Thursday Murder Club is streaming on Netflix.
Platonic
The sophomore season of the Apple TV+ comedy premiered last month, following old friends Sylvia (Rose Byrne), a married mother of three, and recently divorced Will (Seth Rogen) who, together, can’t seem to avoid getting into trouble. In the very funny second outing, Will is preparing to marry again, this time to Jenna, his new fiancée and boss. But between Will’s penchant for self destruction and Sylvia’s compulsion to interfere, naturally it doesn’t take long for hijinks to ensue.
Platonic is streaming on Apple TV+.
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Sinners
Michael B. Jordan stars in dual roles as criminal twin brothers who return to their hometown in this critically-acclaimed horror thriller set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta. However, when they arrive, the brothers are met with a supernatural evil. On Rotten Tomatoes, where the film boasts a 97 percent fresh score, it’s described as, a “rip-roaring fusion of masterful visual storytelling and toe-tapping music, writer-director Ryan Coogler’s first original blockbuster reveals the full scope of his singular imagination.”
Sinners is currently streaming on HBO Max.
King of the Hill
Reboots and revivals can be a gamble. But we’re happy to say that season 14 of King of the Hill, which picks up eight years after the conclusion of the original 13 seasons, hasn’t lost its stride. The continuation features a now middle-aged Hank and Peggy Hill, who return to Arlen after spending several years in Saudi Arabia, where Hank was involved in the propane business. Now 21, Bobby has found meaning in his life working as a chef at a Japanese Robata in Dallas. There are also plenty of other familiar faces to catch up with, in addition to some new ones.
It was unclear what King of the Hill might look like in 2025 since the world—not to mention, Hank Hill’s conservative politics—looks starkly different than when the show went off the air in 2009. But even all these years later, the series still hasn’t lost it’s humor and heart.
King of the Hill is streaming on Hulu.
Wednesday
The long-awaited second season of Wednesday recently premiered on Netflix, nearly three years after the first season. The series stars Jenna Ortega as a modernized version of the classic Charles Addams character who is sent to the private Nevermore Academy that serves as a home for outcasts and monsters. It doesn’t take long before Wednesday gets roped into a murder mystery, which she helps solve with the aid of psychic abilities from her mother. The second season sees yet another mysterious death that the teen inevitably gets roped into.
Wednesday is streaming on Netflix.
Task
HBO’s bleak crime drama set in Philadelphia stars Mark Ruffalo as an FBI agent put in charge of a task force to bring to justice a string of violent robberies undertaken by unassuming family man and garbage collector Robbie Prendergast, played by Tom Pelphrey. The seven-episode miniseries only recently premiered on Sept. 7. But given that it comes from the mind of Mare of Easttown writer and producer Brad Ingelsby, there is certainly no shortage of buzz surrounding it.
Task is streaming on HBO Max.
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Friendship
Tim Robinson, Kate Mara, and Paul Rudd star in this surreal and uncomfortable comedy about socially awkward marketing executive Craig Waterman (Robinson) who becomes obsessed with his neighbor-turned-friend, local news meteorologist Austin Carmichael (Rudd). However, after things go awry one evening when Craig is invited to join Austin and his friends in his garage for some beers, he becomes crestfallen and proceeds to spiral out of control in an effort to rekindle the friendship. Fans of Robinson’s Netflix series I Think You Should Leave will be already acquainted with his brand of cringe humor, but the film is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Friendship is currently streaming on HBO Max.
Death of a Unicorn
Death of a Unicorn, which premiered at the South by Southwest Festival earlier this year, stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as lawyer Elliot Kintner and his teenage daughter Ridley, who accidentally encounter a mythical unicorn on their way to spend a weekend as Elliot’s wealthy boss’s estate. When it’s discovered that the unicorn’s horn contains magical properties, the elites quickly aim to exploit the creature for profit. However, as it turns out, the unicorn has two very angry parents looking for it, and the ensuing fun, bloody carnage makes for a perfect popcorn movie night.
Death of a Unicorn is currently streaming on HBO Max and Hulu.
The English Teacher
The second season of FX’s incredibly funny The English Teacher premieres later this month, making it the perfect time to catch up on season 1. Series creator Brian Jordan Alvarez stars as Evan Marquez, a gay high school teacher in Austin who desperately attempts to connect with his Gen Z students, often failing miserably. Rounding out the cast are Evan’s best friend and fellow teacher Gwen, (Stephanie Koenig), principal Grant (Enrico Colantoni), and right-wing gym teacher Markie (Sean Patton). After the first season premiered in 2024, Alvarez personally helped the show to pick up traction with his viral dance moves on TikTok and Instagram, where he boasts a combined over 1.5 million followers.
The English Teacher is streaming on Hulu.
Thunderbolts
The 36th film in the MCU follows a ragtag group of antiheroes led by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova who are forced to work together after nearly being killed in a deadly trap orchestrated by corrupt CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Unlike most of the splashy Marvel titles, Thunderbolts features deeper, more emotionally resonant themes dealing with loss and mental health, and was generally well received by critics. While the film underperformed at the box office amid Marvel’s recent problem of getting moviegoers into seats, it’s one worth catching on streaming.
Thunderbolts is streaming on Disney Plus.
