Fancy a weekend on the sofa, lost in an excellent show? Here, we go through some of the best new series to have recently landed on streaming services — from thrilling dramas to action-packed narratives to fascinating documentaries to heart-warming comedies. Without further ado, your weekend watching guide awaits.
House Of The Dragon
This hotly-anticipated new series delivers a prequel to the global phenomenon that was Game of Thrones, set 200 years before the original show and focusing more specifically on the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen. Based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire and Blood, the story centres on the Targaryen civil war, an ongoing battle between siblings vying for power following the death of their father. Resulting in the deaths of the Targaryen’s most powerful dragons. With all the promise of its predecessor, House of The Dragon is a must-watch.
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Bad Sisters
Part dark comedy, part thriller, this excellent new series follows the story of five sisters who, having pledged to always protect one another following the premature death of their parents, find themselves caught up in a revenge fantasy plot to save one of their own from a monstrous husband. Witty, suspenseful and expertly played by an excellent cast.
Five Days at Memorial
This harrowing new drama, based on real-life events, follows the story of emergency caregivers at a New Orleans hospital in the aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Based on the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Sheri Fink, this heart-wrenching miniseries will keep you deeply invested from start to finish.
A League of Their Own
Set in 1943, this new comedy-drama miniseries focuses on the story of the Rockford Peaches — a pioneering female baseball team in the early days of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. An adaptation of the 1992 film of the same name (starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis) this compelling show is full of laughs and is carried by a cast of great characters (and exceptional performances).
The Last Movie Stars
In this intriguing docuseries, director Ethan Hawke pays tribute to Hollywood idols (and iconic couple) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, drawing heavily on archival documents — transcriptions of taped interviews that Newman and Woodward did with screenwriter Stewart Stern for a never-finished personal project. With most of the tapes destroyed by Newman himself and only a handful able to be salvaged as transcripts, here, Hawke called on actors like George Clooney and Laura Linney to give voice to the subjects’ words, creating an experience that is part documentary, part dramatic retelling, part interpretive character work.
The Old Man
Based on Thomas Perry’s 2017 novel of the same name, this much-acclaimed, thrilling series stars Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase, a former CIA operative who, despite having lived off the grid in upstate New York for 30 years, is forced into going on the run after his past catches up with him and he kills an intruder who brakes into his home.
Surface
After surviving what she is initially told was a suicide attempt that resulted in serious head trauma, Sophie (played brilliantly by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) has lost all of her recent memories. In the wake of the incident, she embarks on a quest to piece together her previous life, in order to understand what actually happened and why. Uncovering thrilling twists and turns, a shocking love triangle and a number of people who aren’t who they say they are, this series will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Mo
Based on the story of Mo Najjar, an undocumented refugee from Palestine living in Houston (played by Mohammed Amer in his first scripted series) this new, semi-autobiographical Netflix show follows the hilarious antics of Mo as he embarks on various hustles to keep himself afloat while trying to navigate the notoriously convoluted US immigration system.
Echoes
In this thrilling new series, Michelle Monahan plays twin sisters Leni and Gina, who have secretly switched places with each other their whole lives. But when Leni goes missing, it sets off a series of events that start to unravel both of their interwoven existences.
Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist
The sixth instalment of Netflix’s ‘Untold’ series, this new two-part documentary follows the fascinating story of Manti Te’o, who made global headlines as the promising college football star whose girlfriend, Lennay, tragically passed away from leukaemia just as his senior season was getting underway. But Lennay didn’t actually exist. This fascinating documentary revisits the sad unfolding of events that uncovered Te’o’s girlfriend to be nothing more than an elaborate catfish and speaks to the numerous flow-on effects of one person’s selfish pretence.
Paper Girls
Like an all-female Stranger Things (although with a very different twist), Paper Girls is a fun, action-packed sci-fi series that follows four girls living in the 80s who, on their paper route, get sucked into a reality-warping battle that unwittingly embroils them in a time war — and a fight for the future of humanity.
Black Bird
If you haven’t already watched this, you’ve probably had it recommended to you by more than one friend — and for good reason. Inspired by actual events, this miniseries was 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 follows the protagonist (played by Taron Egerton) who, at the start of his 10-year prison sentence, is offered freedom if he can illicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall.
