The year is brand new, expectations are low (for now), and carving out time for new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, HBO Max and other streaming services feels like an easy win as January finds its footing. It’s the kind of weekend where you can still ease into fresh starts without fully committing to them, and there’s no better soundtrack for that than a strong streaming lineup.
This week’s highlights lean into that mix of comfort and curiosity.“The Pitt” ramps things up in season 2, “The Night Manager” finally returns with a long-awaited second season, and “The Traitors” is back for season 4,. On the movie side, “People We Meet on Vacation” makes a case for staying in and settling down for something a little more heartfelt. Here's our guide on what to watch this weekend. And be sure to check out our list of 3 Netflix shows to binge this weekend.
New TV shows
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ (HBO)
After a year without any "Game of Thrones" spinoff action, it's time to journey back to Westeros. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" dials things way down, swapping dragonfire and backstabbing politics for dirt roads, sore fists and a pair of endearingly mismatched wanderers. There’s Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a well-meaning hedge knight still figuring it out as he goes, and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), his pint-sized, sharp-tongued squire with more secrets than he lets on.
Set a century before "Game of Thrones," this six-episode prequel keeps things intimate and surprisingly warm. Call it a scrappier, soul-searching road trip through George R.R. Martin’s world.
Episode 1 premieres Sunday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max
‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ (Paramount+)
The newest Star Trek series blasts forward to the 32nd century, picking up after the galaxy-shaking fallout of "Star Trek: Discovery" and asking a deceptively simple question: What does Starfleet look like when it has to rebuild from scratch? The answer comes in the form of the first incoming class of cadets in more than a hundred years, training aboard the USS Athena while juggling rivalries crushes, and a threat that could derail the Federation’s comeback before it even begins.
This spinoff leans younger and messier, with big feelings to match the big ideas — essentially a coming-of-age drama in space. With Holly Hunter in charge of the Academy and Robert Picardo's Doctor dispensing his usual dry advice, Starfleet’s next generation is officially clocking in.
Episodes 1-2 are streaming now on Paramount+
‘Ponies’ (Peacock)
Cold War intrigue fuels this razor-edged spy thriller set in 1977, where paranoia spreads fast and survival is far from guaranteed. "Ponies" drops Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson into Moscow as Bea and Twila, two American Embassy secretaries written off as harmless background players, or “persons of no interest."
That label disappears when both women lose their husbands under suspicious circumstances, transforming private grief into an accelerated crash course in espionage. Bea is whip-smart, multilingual, and chronically underestimated; Twila is volatile, fearless, and impossible to sideline. Thrown together, they plunge into a conspiracy orchestrated by forces perfectly willing to erase them.
All 8 episodes are streaming now on Peacock
‘Hijack’ season 2 (Apple TV)
If Idris Elba boards your mode of transportation, it’s probably wise to hop off. Season 2 sees Sam Nelson once again in the worst possible place at the worst possible time, but now swapping an airplane for a Berlin subway car full of commuters that's being hijacked.
The tension ticks forward in real time, the scheme is meticulously choreographed, and the antagonist has been planning this for a year. Picture a slick, contemporary riff on "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three."
Episode 1 is streaming now on Apple TV
‘Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials’ (Netflix)
A country-house stunt gone sideways, seven shrieking alarm clocks, and a fiancé who doesn’t make it to morning — that's the mess at the heart of this brisk take on Agatha Christie's mystery. Set in 1925 England, the three-part tale centers on Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce), a bright, bored socialite who treats a suspicious death like a personal challenge.
Helena Bonham Carter looms wonderfully as Bundle’s formidable mother, while Martin Freeman plays the Scotland Yard inspector who’d really prefer she stop poking around. Between secret societies, ticking clocks and plenty of sharp banter, "Seven Dials" lands as a glossy, old-school whodunit with a modern bite.
All 3 episodes are streaming now on Netflix
‘Tell Me Lies’ season 3 (Hulu)
Spring semester has rolled back around at Baird College, and with it comes another round of bad decisions and lack of self-awareness. Season 3 reunites Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White), who once again insist they’ve changed ... right before falling into the same destructive patterns.
The fallout from last season’s wedding-day implosion is still rippling through campus, leaving secrets to rot and friendships to splinter. "Tell Me Lies" is messy, uncomfortable and totally addictive.
Episodes 1-2 premiere Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 12 a.m. ET on Hulu
‘Love Island All Stars’ season 3 (Peacock)
Winter is heating up. "Love Island All Stars" is back, once again proving that sunshine is optional when it comes to romantic chaos in the villa. This time around, a lineup of familiar U.K. faces — including a couple of past winners and at least one extremely fresh ex — heads to South Africa with plenty of history and very little restraint.
Old sparks turn to flames, grudges resurface, and alliances shift fast, all stretched across a six-week run that makes this the longest All Stars outing yet. It's going to be a total mess that will have fans feeling blessed.
Episode 1 is streaming now on Peacock
New movies
‘The Rip’ (Netflix)
“The Rip” leans hard into old-school cop-thriller muscle, powered by the easy, lived-in chemistry of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They play longtime Miami police partners who stumble onto a stash house stuffed with millions, a discovery that instantly turns trust into a liability.
What starts as a career-making bust turns corrosive fast once word leaks and outside players circle. Paranoia creeps in, cracking longtime alliances. Think “Heat” for a new era.
Streaming now on Netflix
‘Rental Family’ (PVOD)
There’s something quietly compelling about watching Brendan Fraser continue his comeback, and “Rental Family” offers him another thoughtful role. He plays a washed-up actor who finds unexpected work at a company that hires out stand-in relatives for weddings, funerals, and other major life events, slipping into roles that blur performance and reality.
The film follows him from job to job as those assignments start to bleed into his own life, with clients leaning on him in ways that feel less transactional than expected. It finds humor in the awkwardness of these situations, but keeps its focus on the quiet loneliness that so many people feel.
Streaming now with purchase on Apple TV or Prime Video
‘Song Sung Blue’ (PVOD)
If the words “musical biopic” make you instinctively sigh, “Song Sung Blue” is here to charm you. This isn’t about Neil Diamond in his prime; it’s about the people who love him enough to build a life around the songs.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson play Mike and Claire, two scrappy Midwestern performers who meet at an impersonator showcase and wind up fronting a Diamond tribute band called Lightning & Thunder. The movie has sequins and sing-alongs, sure, but it’s really about late starts, hard luck and finding your person when you least expect it.
Streaming now with purchase on Apple TV or Prime Video
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