Keeley Brooks
Oct 14, 2022
New & Noteworthy Titles on AppleTV, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime
Tuesdays and Fridays are my favorite days of the week for one reason: new movies/streaming releases. As a heavy consumer of a wide variety of content across multiple platforms, I figured I’d hip you guys to what’s out there in case you’re looking for something to get into this weekend.
First up is AppleTV.
While there are a ton of great series on this platform to get into, here are a select few currently airing and that just finished airing. The rest of the titles you can peruse through yourself!
Shantaram – Starring our favorite son of anarchy Charlie Hunnam, whom I had the pleasure of sitting down with in 2009 at a quiet table on Third St. in Baton Rouge, this series is about a heroin addict (Hunnam) incarcerated for a robbery who escapes and reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay. While there, his ties to the criminal underworld lead him to Afghanistan, where he partners with a mob boss locked in a battle with Russian criminals. The first three episodes dropped today, Oct. 14.
See: The Final Chapter – If you missed my article about it, this is in its final season and stars Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, and Christian Camargo. Set in a very distant, brutal, primitive future after the fall of humankind, everyone is now blind. Except for a very select few. Tie in a ruthless queen hellbent on wiping out the sighted and anyone who harbors or supports them, some badass violent blind fighting, and a good dose of family drama, and you’ve got quite the entertaining winner.
Black Bird – Having aired this past summer, this limited series stars Taron Egerton (Kingsman movies) and, quite a talent to keep an eye on, Paul Walter Hauser (The Kingdom Netflix series, Richard Jewell). Based on the 2010 autobiographical book In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin, Black Bird is a crime drama miniseries that recounts convict Jimmy Keene’s (Egerton) real life experiences of going undercover in a prison for the criminally insane to illicit a confession from serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser). It’s full of tension, creepiness, and is an incredible true story.
Physical – A brilliant, half-hour dark comedy starring Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rory Scovel (Those Who Can’t), the show follows Sheila Rubin (Byrne), a submissive, quietly tortured housewife supporting her man’s controversial bid for state assembly in 1980s San Diego. However, behind closed doors, we are introduced to the real Sheila, her darkly funny take on life, and her world of complex personal demons relating to her self-image. Until she finds aerobics. Two seasons are currently available with season three arriving 2023.
Also check out The Morning Show, Loot, Ted Lasso, Mythic Quest, Servant, For All Mankind, Foundation, and Invasion, to name a few.
Next, we have Netflix!
Below I’ll give ya some new releases, then I’ll give ya some titles worth checking out if you’re looking to go down the rabbit hole. Don’t forget to peruse the documentaries and movie titles.
The Watcher – A limited series, this title is one of the most anticipated of the week because it’s based on a true story. Starring Bobby Cannavale, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Coolidge, Terry Kinney, and Michael Mouri, the series follows a couple moving into their dream home. They soon discover not all is as it seems when they find a haunting figure watching them. Releases Friday, October 14.
The Sinner – Having originally aired on USA Network, this fantastic crime series stars Bill Pullman, Jessica Biel, Adam LeFevre, and many others. It’s a police procedural anthology series following Detective Harry Ambrose (Pullman) as he investigates a chilling new homicide each season. Season Four dropped October 13, 2022.
Peaky Blinders – One of my personal favorites, this gritty British crime drama series is by far one of Netflix’s best. Set in Birmingham, England, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang, which actually existed, in the direct aftermath of the First World War. Stars Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), the late Helen McCrory, Finn Cole (Animal Kingdom), Paddy Constantine (House of Dragons), Anya Taylor-Joy (Split), Adrian Brody, and Tom Hardy. Absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend getting sucked into this. It’s final season just aired this past summer, so you have plenty of seasons to keep you busy.
The Last Kingdom – Also from my list o’ recommendations is this beaut of a Viking drama, WHICH I LOVE. A historical fiction series, Kingdom is based on Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories series of novels. Set in 1866, it follows a kid born Saxon but raised by Vikings as he seeks to claim his ancestral birthright at the same time that Alfred the Great is defending his kingdom from Norse invaders. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll love, you’ll cheer. You can’t go wrong.
Other titles to check out: Riverdale, The Witcher, Stranger Things, Cobra Kai, Kingdom, Orange is the New Black, Atypical, Glow, Ozark, Mindhunter, You
Now let’s hop on over to Paramount+.
They are winning in the sci-fi series category in my book. At my house, my husband and I have what we call Sci-Fi Thursdays during active seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Discovery, and Picard. These shows are just spectacular, and the special effects are breath-taking. The platform is also home to hits like 1883, EVIL, The Good Fight, Beavis and Butthead, and Mayor of Kingstown, to name a few.
Recent releases include Monster High: The Movie and Significant Other, a psychological thriller full of chills.
Peacock! Whoo! Buckle up, buttercups.
This platform has surprised me the most by coming out with some heavy contenders. Here’s a titles I highly recommend watching.
The Resort – An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when a couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Yucatan’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries in this multi-generational love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. Stars Nick Offerman, Skylar Gisondo (Righteous Gemstones), William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), and Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother).
Rutherford Falls – Starring Ed Helms and Jana Schmieding (Reservation Dogs), this comedy is about two lifelong besties who find themselves at a crossroads when their sleepy little town gets an unexpected wakeup call. It’s funny, it’s endearing, and it features a cast of some really funny actors. Even some faces you might recognize if you’ve been watching Reservation Dogs on Hulu.
Vampire Academy – Who doesn’t love vampires? This series follows six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. Lead character Rose Hathaway is half human-half vampire and is guardian of a race of peaceful mortal vampires living discreetly within our world. The story follows her into a special boarding school—a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Season One is out now.
Dr Death – Whoah. This one is shocking! The podcast by the same name is even more cringeworthy. This series is based on the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a rising star in the Dallas neurosurgical medical community, who also liked to maim and kill his patients in surgery. It also focuses on the failures of the Texas system designed to protect the most defenseless among us. A definite must-see feature.
*A Friend of the Family – Holy. Shit. I’m not kidding. Very few titles in the past 20 years have rendered me speechless, and when I did speak during this one, the only thing my husband and I could say to each other was, “Holy shit!” This one is without a doubt THE most shocking true-crime story I’ve ever heard. It’s not just terrifying and involving a sick perv—no. This story is horrifying because it’s diabolical to the depths of an entirely new level.
Based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, this nine-episode true crime series focuses on daughter Jan, who was kidnapped by an obsessed family friend multiple times over a number of years. That’s not what’s so diabolical though; the story the kidnapper/family friend tells young Jan—and genuinely has her believing, playing off of her trust in him—is just astounding. His acting along in all of this to manipulate her is what is so horrific, not to mention the careless mistakes made by both Mexican and American authorities, who pretty much propelled his desire and allowed his crimes to continue. There’s so much more but I’ll just leave that right there. Starring Colin Hanks, Anna Paquin, and Jake Lacy, you can check out the first five episodes streaming now on Peacock. New episodes drop on Thursdays.
And finally, we move on over to Amazon Prime …
While there aren’t many current new release series titles right now, there’s still plenty of awesome series to dive into.
The Rings of Power – I feel like this one needs no explanation, but on the off-chance you are unfamiliar, here’s the rundown: Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books and appendices, this one is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, bringing to life the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-Earth’s history. The acting is superb, the effects are magical, and the story is all consuming. A definite must-watch for any sci-fi/fantasy fiction fan. Season One is currently airing now with new episodes dropping on Fridays.
Outer Range – Again with the sci-fi! Except this is also a neo-Western starring Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Tom Pelphrey (Ozark, Banshee), Noah Reid (Schitt’s Creek), and Lili Taylor. The Abbott family are coping with the disappearance of their daughter-in-law when their neighbors make a play for their ranch. Tensions rise and then explode when a mysterious black void arrives on the edge of one of the Abbott’s pastures and changes everything. Season One just ended and it should return next year with a hard-hitting season two.
The Boys – This one’s tough, guys. If you’re easily offended by everything, maybe skip this one. But if you’re like me and open to consume, buckle up because this one’s gonna push your limits. Based on the comic book of the same name, this series follows a group of superheroes who go rogue and start abusing their powers. Pitting the powerless against the powerful, the Boys head out on a heroic quest to expose the truth about the conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their secrets. Starring Anthony Starr (Banshee), Karl Urban (Pathfinder, LOTR), Jack Quaid, Jensen Acles (Supernatural) and more.
Other titles to stream: The Night Sky, Undone, Wheel of Time, Reacher, The Wilds, Sneaky Pete, The Terminal List, The Outlaws, Flack
These titles are enough to keep you busy, at least until next week when I bring you more releases! Enjoy, my friends.
Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com.