It's time for the latest edition of our weekly guide to the best new shows and movies! On this page you'll find eight great films and TV shows, all of which are available to stream this week.
With so many options to choose from, it's always tough choosing what to watch. That's why we've put together this handy list, which covers many of the best streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max.
It's an especially busy week with no less than three huge season finales, two brand new shows, an MCU movie making its Disney Plus debut, and the new movie from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. So sit back, relax, and let's get your week's viewing planned.
Mountainhead
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: HBO Max (US), Now TV (UK)
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong makes his directorial debut with a razor-sharp satire that feels not a million miles away from his great HBO show. A group of four billionaires meet up at the isolated home of Jason Schwartzman's Hugo – a mere multi-millionaire! While there, the news breaks that the deepfake AI app launched by Cory Michael Smith's Venis has led to widespread violence and looming war. Rather than take responsibility, however, Venis and the boys decide to use their extreme wealth to further their own ends.
Armstrong's script is as bitterly funny as his work on Succession, with Mountainhead's characters every bit as venal and awful as the Roys. Hilarious and full of righteous fury, it's available to stream on HBO Max in the US on May 31, and on Now TV in the UK the following day.
Captain America: Brave New World
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Disney Plus
The fourth Captain America film marks a fresh start for the series. Steve Rogers is gone, and it's fallen on Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson to wield the shield as the new Captain America. Unfortunately, it's not long before Sam is pulled into a sinister conspiracy when one of his fellow super-soldiers attempts to assassinate the newly elected President Ross (Harrison Ford).
While it's a bit scrappy in places, and unlikely to be many people's absolute favorite MCU movie, Brave New World is still a solid action film that lays important groundwork for next year's Avengers: Doomsday, and Mackie makes a fine new Captain America.
Check out our full Captain America: Brave New World review.
Dept. Q
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Netflix
This British crime thriller has more than a touch of Slow Horses about it but, hey, that's no bad thing. Inspired by Jussi Adler-Olsen's Carl Morck novels, which started in 2011 with Mercy, it follows a brilliant but traumatized cop (Matthew Goode as Carl Morck) who is given a new assignment to keep him busy: open up Department Q, an obscure unit dedicated to investigating cold cases in Edinburgh, with help from a gang of similarly misfit officers.
Created by Scott Frank, the writer and director of Godless and The Queen's Gambit, this has a fine cast including Kelly Macdonald and Chloe Pirrie, and looks like a very promising new crime series.
Check out our guide to the best Netflix shows to watch right now.
The Handmaid's Tale season 6
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Hulu
A lot of great shows are reaching their season finales this week. In the case of The Handmaid's Tale, which just dropped the last episode of season six, it's also a series finale, with the story of Offred/June and her fight back against the repressive regime of Gilead reaching a suitably emotional conclusion. A round of applause, please, for Elisabeth Moss who has been never less than terrific in the lead role.
The Handmaid's Tale has been a long and frequently pretty brutal journey, but this final run has brought some hope into the lives of its characters, and the last episode is a satisfying and emotionally nuanced end point. If you want to find out what happens next, you won't have long to wait: a spinoff series, The Testaments, is currently in production.
Find more to watch in our guide to the best Hulu shows.
The Better Sister
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Prime Video
Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks star in this eight-episode adaptation of Alafair Burke's 2019 novel. Chloe (Biel) is a media executive who seems to have it all: a nice life, a handsome lawyer husband in Adam (Corey Stoll), and a son. When Adam is brutally murdered, however, things start to fall apart. She reconnects with her sister Nicky (Banks), who is broke and fighting addiction. The two work together to solve the mystery of Adam's killing, but in the process uncover some long-buried family secrets.
This is twisty stuff from Olivia and Elizabeth Milch, daughters of Deadwood and NYPD Blue co-creator David Milch. All eight episodes of the show drop on Prime on May 29, so clear some space for this addictive new thriller.
The Last of Us season 2
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: HBO Max (US), Now TV (UK)
The second season of HBO's visceral zombie drama just dropped its final episode, and, well, it's certainly got everybody talking! If you haven't seen it yet, now's your cue to get caught up.
Taking cues from the controversial second instalment of the video game franchise, this has been a far darker and morally murkier season. A brutal death early on fundamentally changed the nature of the show, while Ellie (Bella Ramsey) embarked on a ruthless mission of revenge. While it arguable hasn't quite reached the heights of that brilliant, surprising first year, The Last of Us is still fantastic TV, and the season finale gifts us with a terrific cliffhanger. It's going to be a long wait for The Last of Us season 3...
Doctor Who season 2
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Disney Plus (US), BBC iPlayer (UK)
Our third finale of the week! Doctor Who's excellent second season on Disney Plus is about to conclude with an epic titled 'The Reality War,' and there's everything to play for. The previous episode ended on a mega-cliffhanger with Earth seemingly destroyed by the two Ranis, while ancient Time Lord villain Omega is rising from the dead. Luckily, the Doctor, Belinda, Ruby, and UNIT are here to save the day.
Fans are already speculating that this could be Gatwa's final episode in the role of the Doctor, though the BBC are remaining tight-lipped for now. Whatever the case, it sounds like this will be the last episode for a while as the BBC and Disney decide the future of the long-running franchise. Still, fans shouldn't worry too much: there's an entire spinoff series, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to look forward to in the coming months.
Keep up with all the hidden details this season with our guide to Doctor Who season 2 easter eggs.
Barbarian
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Netflix
One of the buzziest horror movies of the last few years makes its debut on Netflix at the end of the week. Georgina Campbell plays Tess, who has traveled to Detroit for a job interview. She checks into her Airbnb the night before, only to find a guest – Bill Skarsgård's Keith – already in the house. But things are about to get a lot weirder and darker...
Skarsgård is a brilliant choice for the role of Keith. Having brought Pennywise the Clown so menacingly to life in It, the viewer is primed for him to be the villain. But is he? Barbarian keeps you guessing on that and then, just as you think you've got it all figured out, throws in some wild twists. Do yourself a favor: go into this one cold and enjoy a genuinely surprising shocker.
Ready for even more scares? Check out our list of the best Netflix horror movies.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our list of the best Netflix movies or the best movies on Disney Plus.
