Coming off a relatively quiet week on streaming, a high number of new and returning shows are slated to premiere this week. Both HBO Max and Amazon’s Prime Video are set to kick off the final seasons of two very different, equally beloved shows, while HBO is additionally on deck to host the premiere of the long-awaited third season of one immensely popular coming-of-age drama. Elsewhere, Hulu has its first “Handmaid’s Tale” spin-off arriving this week and Netflix has the new crime comedy from “Schitt’s Creek” creator Dan Levy and “I Love L.A.” creator Rachel Sennott coming as well.
Here are the best new movies and shows you can stream this weekend.
“Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord” Season 1 (Disney+)
Lucasfilm President and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni‘s new animated “Star Wars” series, “Maul — Shadow Lord,” made its debut this week on Disney+. Set after the events of the “Clone Wars” show, “Shadow Lord” follows its eponymous anti-hero (voiced, once again, by Sam Witwer) as he regains some level of power during the early years of the Galactic Empire. The show, in other words, not only brings back a fan-favorite “Star Wars” character, but also promises to explore the most mysterious chapter of his journey.
Its opening two episodes premiered Monday on Disney+, and the remaining eight chapters of its first season are set to arrive two at a time every week until May 4. If you are a “Star Wars” fan — and particularly fond of Filoni’s animated entries — “Shadow Lord” is a must-see addition to your watchlist this week.
“The Boys” Season 5 (Prime Video)
Prime Video’s popular superhero satire “The Boys” kicked off its highly-anticipated fifth and final season this week. The season’s first two episodes premiered Wednesday on Prime Video, and its remaining six installments are set to follow one week at a time through May 20.
The new season drops viewers back into the world of “The Boys” and follows both Annie January (Erin Moriarty) and Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) as they attempt to take down Homelander (Antony Starr) once and for all with the help of their scattered allies. At this point, you know whether or not the hyper-violent, blackly comic spirit of “The Boys” is your thing. If it is, then tuning in to watch the beginning of the series’ end is likely a no-brainer this weekend.
“The Testaments” Season 1 (Hulu)
A year after “The Handmaid’s Tale” wrapped up its six-season run, Hulu has unveiled the first three episodes of “The Testaments,” its new “Handmaid’s Tale” spin-off. Based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, “The Testaments” picks up years after the events of its parent series. It follows two teen girls, the pious Agnes (“One Battle After Another” breakout star Chase Infiniti) and the new-to-Gilead Daisy (Lucy Halliday), as they make their way through the preparatory school for future wives run by Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia and find their shared strength pushing them to rebel against the strict boundaries that have been set for them.
The remaining seven episodes of “The Testaments” Season 1 are set to follow the three released this week one at a time weekly through May 27, and whether you were a fan of “The Handmaid’s Tale” or not, you may want to make some time for the new spin-off.
“Big Mistakes” Season 1 (Netflix)
“Schitt’s Creek” co-creator Dan Levy’s serialized TV follow-up to that acclaimed, award-winning comedy is a collaboration between him and “I Love L.A.” creator Rachel Sennott. The two co-created the new Netflix crime comedy “Big Mistakes,” which follows a pair of directionless siblings (Levy and Taylor Ortega) who end up blackmailed into the world of organized crime.
In addition to Levy and Ortega, the show’s ensemble cast includes Laurie Metcalf, Abby Quinn, Jack Innanen, Boran Kuzum, Elizabeth Perkins and others. The level of talent involved in “Big Mistakes” is reason enough to make it a promising arrival this week, and the all-at-once Thursday release of its first season only makes diving into the show an even more alluring prospect.
“Hacks” Season 5 (HBO Max)
“The Boys” is not the only popular streaming series kicking off its final chapter this week. Perennial awards darling “Hacks” also released the first episode of its fifth and final season Thursday night on HBO Max. The new season picks up where “Hacks” Season 4 left off — namely, with Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) resolving to get both of their careers on track in the face of the former’s restrictive non-compete TV contract.
Following its premiere Thursday night, “Hacks” Season 5 is set to roll out its remaining six installments through May 7, and they are episodes that fans of the HBO Max comedy will no doubt want to cherish starting this week.
“Thrash” (Netflix)
A cross between “Crawl” and “Under Paris,” Netflix’s “Thrash” is a survival thriller about a group of people who end up trapped in a coastal town when a Category 5 hurricane strikes — bringing with it devastation, chaos and some hungry, bloodthirsty sharks.
Directed by “Violent Night” filmmaker Tommy Wirkola and starring Phoebe Dynevor, Djimon Hounsou, Whitney Peak and Alyla Browne, “Thrash” has all the makings of being a ridiculous but nonetheless tense and entertaining thriller. That makes it a potentially very fun way for you to spend a few hours of this coming weekend (depending on how you feel about shark movies).
“The Audacity” Season 1 (AMC+)
A rich tech CEO and self-appointed “inventor of the future” (Billy Magnussen) finds himself and his performance psychologist (“Barry” star Sarah Goldberg) caught up in a data mining scandal in “The Audacity.” The new AMC series comes from creator Jonathan Glatzer, whose previous TV credits include episodes of “Succession,” “Better Call Saul” and “Bloodline.”
A black-hearted exploration of the oversized narcissism and recklessness of Silicon Valley CEOs, the series’ all-star cast includes, in addition to Magnussen and Goldberg, Zach Galifianakis, Randall Park, Rob Corddry, Simon Helberg, Paul Adelstein, Meaghan Rath and Lucy Punch. The show’s first episode debuts Sunday night on AMC and AMC+, and if you find its cast and premise intriguing, you may want to give “The Audacity” a shot this weekend.
“Euphoria” Season 3 (HBO Max)
It has been over four years since the second season of “Euphoria” began and ended on HBO. Against seemingly all odds, though, the series is back this week. The Sam Levinson-directed drama is set to kick off its long-awaited third season Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max with an impressive number of its original stars back, including Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Alexa Demie and Colman Domingo.
If the season’s early trailers are to be believed, “Euphoria” Season 3 could very well end up being the show’s most unpredictable and chaos-filled yet, and that alone makes its premiere episode an exciting addition to one’s watchlist this week. The season’s remaining seven episodes are scheduled to follow its premiere one at a time every Sunday through May 31.
