When it comes to streaming, viewers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that’s before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television within each one!
Don’t be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services trying to determine what to watch! We’ve got your back whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more.
But if you’re seeking something brand spanking new (or new to streaming), we’ve got you covered there, too.
The best Netflix TV shows of 2024
Mashable’s Entertainment Team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Craving something history-based that reimagines true events? In need of a funhouse horror or deep sea documentary? Even if you’re seeking one of the most meta shows of the year or an unfathomable reality competition newcomer, we’ve got what you’re looking for.
Here’s what’s new on streaming, from worst to best.
12. Human vs Hamster
Yes, you read that title right. There is a new reality competition show on Max that pits human against hamster in a variety of challenges, from hot dog eating contests to a hamster wheel race. (Duh.) And based on its trailer, Human vs. Hamster looks as ridiculous as it sounds.
Hosts Sarah Sherman (Saturday Night Live) and Kyle Brandt, along with “hamster expert” Brian Balthazar, are here to guide us through the madness, as pairs of humans — ranging from nurses to firefighters to magicians — battle it out against these pint-sized pets. Thanks to its premise alone, I can safely say that Human vs. Hamster takes the title for 2024’s most coveted prize: Show That Sounds The Most Like A 30 Rock Joke. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Human vs Hamster is now streaming on Max.
11. Spellbound
Netflix’s star-studded animated fantasy adventure Spellbound is flying onto the platform, with West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler voicing and singing the leading princess Ellian. She’s a regular 15-year-old in a lot of ways, but in others — namely she rides a giant, fluffy winged cat, has royal duties in the kingdom of Lumbria, and has two literal monsters for parents — she’s a little different. That last detail forms the core of Spellbound, a tale in which Ellian goes on a quest to free her mother (Nicole Kidman) and father (Javier Bardem) from their beastly curse. — S.C.
Starring: Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Titus Burgess
How to watch: Spellbound is now streaming on Netflix.
10. Smile 2
If you thought smiling was safe again, there’s a sequel to Smile, Parker Finn’s buzzy 2022 horror film in which people suddenly engage in brutal violence wearing broad grins. “It’s not often that a sequel exceeds its original, but Smile 2 delivers the thrills and chills of its predecessor with an even more pronounced funhouse feel,” writes Monica Castillo in her review for Mashable. In Smile 2, popstar Skye Riley (Charlie’s Angels star Naomi Scott) is at the centre of such smile-adorned traumatic events linked to a sinister curse. If you didn’t get enough nightmare fuel last time, dive in. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
Starring: Skye Riley, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson.
How to watch: Smile 2 is now available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
9. Our Oceans
If the latest headlines have you wanting to get in the sea, Netflix’s beautiful new docuseries Our Oceans will give you both a visual respite and a reminder that the drama doesn’t cease at the surface. Narrated by Barack Obama and produced by the Obamas’ Higher Ground company, the series will remind you of the vast, highly populated expanse that is our deep, dark oceans — one long under threat thanks to human-induced climate change. But there’s wonder among the harsh reality; enjoy playful baby humpback whales, a spring cuttlefish ball, and the general sense that most regular humans have no real clue about what’s beneath the surface. If you love David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, you should check this out. — S.C.
How to watch: Our Oceans is now streaming on Netflix.
8. James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome
James Acaster’s first HBO special embraces chaos. The comedian invites his audience to heckle him throughout, with results ranging from a devastating Kermit the Frog dig to the most polite heckle ever. As Acaster feeds off the energy from the crowd, he also dissects his own relationship to stand-up comedy, weaving in stories from his childhood (including his lackluster Prince Charles impression) and his first gigs. Gloriously meta and bursting with contagious energy, James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome is a perfect streaming choice for this weekend if you’re craving a laugh. — B.E.
How to watch: James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome is streaming on Max from Nov. 23.
7. Joy
Set in the late ’60s, early ’70s, Ben Taylor’s Joy follows the British scientists who pioneered in vitro fertilisation, and enabled the birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first baby born through IVF, on July 25, 1978. The film not only tracks the team — nurse/embryologist Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie), scientist Robert Edwards (James Norton), surgeon Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy), and operating theatre supervisor Muriel Harris (Tanya Moodie) — but shows the battle they faced against church, state, and media at the time. A poignant, moving, and deeply timely film about the right to choose, Joy is a gem on Netflix’s film slate this year. — S.C.
Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Bill Nighy, James Norton, Tanya Moodie, Joanna Scanlan, Charlie Murphy, Ella Bruccoleri, Rish Shah
How to watch: Joy is now streaming on Netflix.
6. Blitz
British film writer-director Steve McQueen delivers a powerful World War II drama with the London-set Blitz, which centers on a family torn apart by the threat of unpredictable German bombs. Hoping to save her young son George (mesmerizing newcomer Elliot Heffernan) from the violence of war, single mum/factory worker Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him off by train to be safe in country. But the headstrong boy runs away from this route, charting his own course back home to his mother and grandfather. Along the way, he’ll meet warm-hearted heroes, and sticky-fingered villains. Meanwhile, she’ll struggle with how to use her voice as the world around her falls apart.
While McQueen’s film has received mixed reviews overall, Blitz comes alive through Dickensian characters, poignant musical moments, and the astonishing lead performances from Ronan and Heffernan. As Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards wrote in her review out of the New York Film Festival, “Ronan imbues Rita with both magnificent warmth and deep worry for her son, and Heffernan shines in his breakout role, bringing a still thoughtfulness to even the most harrowing scenes.”
If you’re seeking a drama that both confronts the horrors mankind is capable of and the hope, resilience, and love of humanity as well, you’ll treasure Blitz. But have tissues at the ready. — Kristy Puchko, Film Editor
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Elliot Heffernan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, and Stephen Graham
How to watch: Blitz is now available on Apple TV+.
5. A Man on the Inside
The Good Place creator Mike Schur and star Ted Danson reunite for A Man on the Inside, a charming new Netflix sitcom. Danson plays Charles, a retired professor and widower who’s grown distant from everyone around him. So when his daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) challenges him to find a new project that excites him, he does the unexpected: He teams up with private investigator Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) to go undercover at a retirement home and recover some stolen jewelry.
What follows is a delightful spy caper that, in true Schur fashion, quickly becomes a tale of Charles letting his guard down and finding a new community. You’ll laugh plenty, but you’ll also find yourself sobbing too, as A Man on the Inside delves into the issues many of its elderly characters face, like absentee family members or the beginnings of dementia. As I wrote in my review for Mashable, “[the show’s] ensemble boasts incredible chemistry right off the bat, with Danson proving a rock-solid ringleader. These are things you’d expect from a Schur show, and they build A Man on the Inside‘s wonderful foundation. But it’s the show’s thoughtful portrayal of aging that really makes it stand out, and turns A Man on the Inside into something remarkable.” — B.E.
Starring: Ted Danson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephanie Beatriz, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sally Struthers, Eugene Cordero, Margaret Avery, John Getz
How to watch: A Man on the Inside is now streaming on Netflix.
4. Missing
Fast-paced and unpredictable, Missing is an exhilarating new mystery for the modern age, where amateur detectives can be teens as long as they’re techno-savvy. Storm Reid plays June Allen, an 18-year-old waiting to pick up her mother, Grace (Nia Long), and her mother’s boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung), at LAX after the pair’s trip to Colombia. Unfortunately, they never arrive. And when the FBI fails to make any headway investigating their whereabouts, June decides to use her Gen Z digital native powers to track them down with her friend Veena (Megan Suri).* — Kristina Grosspietsch, Writer
Directors Nick Johnson and Will Merrick talk ‘Missing’ and the real meaning behind its whirlwind ending
Starring: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney
How to watch: Missing is now streaming on Hulu.
3. Alien: Romulus
The Alien franchise returns to its roots with Alien: Romulus, a stone-cold horror fest that pits a group of young space colonists against the scariest creatures in the galaxy: good ol’ Xenomorphs. Chests will burst. Faces will be hugged. And director Fede Álvarez will deliver what might be the most gonzo, gross-out third act of an Alien film to date. The only thing holding Alien: Romulus back from true perfection? Too much fan service, including a cameo that’s sickening — and not in a good way.
Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko said as much in her review. While she praised everything from the sound design (“you don’t just watch Alien: Romulus; you are absorbed into it”) to the film’s gore (“this movie had me dry-heaving”) to David Jonsson’s performance as android Andy (“David Jonsson steals this movie”), she also noted that its deference to what came before felt stifling.
“Alien: Romulus won’t be sunk by its flimsy final act,” she wrote, “but some of the thrill is lost amid the clutter of callbacks.” — B.E
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu
How to watch: Alien: Romulus is now streaming on Hulu.
2. The Piano Lesson
August Wilson’s Pulitzer-winning 1987 play The Piano Lesson has been adapted by the Washington family — it’s the directorial debut for Malcolm Washington (who co-wrote it with Virgil Williams), his brother John David Washington stars, and their father Denzel Washington is producing. Set in the ’30s in post-Depression Pittsburgh, The Piano Lesson centres on the looming sale of a piano, passed down through the Charles family, an instrument carved with intricate detail by their enslaved ancestor, and emblematic of generations of Black trauma, loss, and resilience.
As Siddhant Adlakha writes in his review for Mashable, “Rather than simply filming a stage show in three dimensions, as was the case with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Fences, Washington uses his camera to interrogate the confines of the text, and builds on Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play in impeccable ways.” — S.C.
Starring: John David Washington, Samuel L Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins
How to watch: The Piano Lesson is now streaming on Netflix.
1. Interior Chinatown
Adapted from Charles Yu’s National Book Award-winning novel of the same name, Interior Chinatown centers on Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a waiter in Chinatown who feels like a background character in someone else’s story. (The “someone else” being the lead detectives in the cop show Willis and everyone in Chinatown are unknowingly trapped in, titled Black & White). But when Willis witnesses a crime, he’ll team up with Detective Lana Lee (Chloe Bennett) to uncover the sinister truth at the heart of Chinatown.
What follows is one of the most stylish, ambitious, and super meta shows of the year, which also doubles as an examination of Asian representation in media. As I wrote in my Mashable review, “between its [police procedural] parodies and its musings on identity, Interior Chinatown already proves that it’s a sharply constructed show with a lot to say. But with the help of its dizzying genre switch-ups and some dynamic direction from episode directors like Taika Waititi, Alice Wu (The Half of It), and more, the show jumps into the realm of fearlessly unique, making a place all for itself.” — B.E.
Starring: Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Sullivan Jones, Lisa Gilroy, Archie Kao, Diana Lin
How to watch: Interior Chinatown is now streaming on Hulu.
