Need something to watch this weekend on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, or Hulu? Check out our list of the best new shows and movies this week on various streaming services, including the return of The Handmaid’s Tale, the return of Westworld, Aggretsuko, Loving Vincent, and The Rachel Divide.
Streaming entertainment is bigger than ever, and with so many streaming services adding new shows and movies every week, it can be nearly impossible to sort through the good and the bad. If you need something to watch and don’t want to wade through the digital muck that washes up on the internet’s shores, follow our picks below for the best new shows and movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, and other services.
On the list this week: Visions of dystopia, the monotony of work, and an artist’s tragic brilliance.
Critically acclaimed and thematically suited for modern times, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel of the same name, proved a smash hit in its first season. While the show doesn’t always live up to the hype — poorly used pop songs and rousing shots are at times at odds with the horrific society portrayed — it was one of the most provocative and heralded shows of 2017. The Handmaid’s Tale is set in America in the near future, where religious fundamentalists have staged a coup. In their new country, the Republic of Gilead, society is divided into a rigid caste system, with some women serving as “handmaids” who are forced to bear the children of high-ranking men. The show follows Offred (Elisabeth Moss), a handmaid, who tries to make it through this nightmarish existence one day at a time while dreaming of the husband and daughter she lost when America collapsed. Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger, and season 2 picks right back up where the show left us dangling.
Watch now on:
Hulu
There are two things that might immediately make people wary of The Rachel Divide: Its title, which is a pun on the term “racial divide,” and its subject, Rachel Dolezal. A former activist and president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, Dolezal portrayed herself as African-American for years, despite being Caucasian. When the truth about Dolezal came out in 2015, it was a strange and explosive news story, prompting outrage and a discussion on the nature of race and identity. Filmmaker Laura Brownson’s The Rachel Divide examines Dolezal, now a pariah, and while it is interested in the complicated story of Dolezal, it doesn’t attempt to pardon her. The film is an almost unsettlingly intimate look at Dolezal’s life, and the consequences her decisions have had on her family, particularly her teenage son.
Watch now on:
Netflix
Sometimes a movie comes along that you should see simply for its aesthetic. Loving Vincent is such a film. Although the movie tells a fine, well-acted story about the death of artist Vincent van Gogh, the real draw is the film’s look. It’s a fully painted animated feature (the world’s first) composed of oil paintings done in the service of van Gogh, and the style is transcendent. The story begins in 1891, not long after van Gogh’s death, and follows a man named Armand (Douglas Booth). Armand’s father is a postman and asks his son to deliver van Gogh’s final letter to his brother, Theo. On his journey, Armand delves into the life of van Gogh, talking to those who knew him.
Watch now on:
Hulu
Is your day job getting you down? Perhaps you’ll find some catharsis in Aggretsuko, a Japanese animated series about a red panda named Retsuko frustrated with her job, her co-workers, and her life, and who vents her anger through death metal. The show follows Retsuko as she navigates the mundane challenges of life as a corporate drone, dealing with office gossip, conniving colleagues, and a sexist boss. For her, the greatest challenge might be just finding the energy to go to work. Episodes are 15 minutes long, which keeps the show from overstaying its welcome, but it still manages to build a surprisingly vast cast of characters with unique personalities.
Watch now on:
Netflix
HBO’s sci-fi puzzle box Westworld is back, picking up where season 1 left off. Set in the future, the show follows a theme park called Westworld, where guests can enjoy a simulation of life in the Wild West, interacting with lifelike androids (hosts) whom they can treat in any way they like, even abusing or “killing” them if they wish. Although the human guests and park operators see the hosts as nothing more than machines, the androids — particularly a woman named Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) — start to display something akin to self-awareness. Season 1 ended with the hosts revolting against the park’s management, and that rebellion continues in season 2 amid management’s attempts to contain the situation. This being Westworld, the premiere also teases viewers with new mysteries to puzzle over.
Watch now on:
HBO Now
