What are you going to be watching this week? We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
The biggies
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+ from December 20)
Put all thoughtsof the films from a decade ago out of your mind, because Percy Jackson is back in a brand new series, co-created by the author Rick Riordan himself. If you’re completely unfamiliar with the series, it follows the titular Percy, a 12-year-old demigod in the modern day who is accused of stealing Zeus’ thunderbolt. Newcomer Walter Scobell plays Percy, and the cast is rounded out by heavy hitters Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas and Lin-Manuel Miranda. / Sam Brooks
The Beautiful Lie (TVNZ+ from December 18)
Have you been missing Sarah Snook on your TV screens? I know I have! Well, if you want to fill that hole in your life, TVNZ has dug into the archives, pulling out this 2015 Australian adaptation of Anna Karenina. In this series (which also stars Marlon Williams!), Anna and her husband Xander are reimagined as sports stars in modern-day Australia. / SB
Gwyneth vs. Terry: The Ski Crash Trial (ThreeNow from December 21)
Do we need a documentary series about perhaps the silliest trial of the year? Probably not. Do we want one? Absolutely. This two-part series will cover the trial that saw an optometrist allege several million dollars worth of damages against the Academy Award-winning actress, and see that same actress claim that she lost “half a day of skiing”. Shakespeare couldn’t (and probably wouldn’t) write it. / SB
The notables
Bookie (Neon from December 22)
This new Chuck Lorre series follows a veteran bookie (stand-up Sebastian Maniscalco) as he struggles to survive the legalisation of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients, and the fast-paced high life of Los Angeles. Although Lorre is best known for three-camera sitcoms such as Two and a Half Men and Mom, this seems like a pretty decent foray into single-camera comedy, with a nice supporting cast that includes Omar Dorsey, Andrea Anders and Vanessa Ferlito. / SB
Dr Death (TVNZ+ from December 22)
While the first season of Dr Death, based on the podcast of the same name, focused on Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon convicted of permanently mutilating (and even killing) his patients, this season follows Swiss-Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini (Edgar Ramirez), a surgeon accused of involuntary manslaughter who also happened to be a serial fabulist. Wild that you can get two seasons out of this concept. / SB
The Fall (all seasons, ThreeNow from December 22)
The Fall is one of those series that I’ve always meant to watch because a lot of people whose opinions I trust were obsessed with it. And well, now I can. The series follows Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson), a police officer from London who has been seconded to Northern Ireland to track the progress of a murder investigation. When it becomes apparent that a serial killer, Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) is on the loose, Gibson has to work with local detectives to solve it. It might sound boilerplate, but by all accounts, this is a killer procedural (no pun intended). / SB
If you’ve heard of this film, it’s probably because of the controversy around Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose. In this biopic, Cooper plays legendary American composer Leonard Bernstein, as he struggles against his own genius and, well, gayness throughout the 20th century. Cooper also directs which, depending on your view on A Star is Born, is either a good thing or a bad thing. / SB
Postcards from the Edge (Neon from December 18)
This is more of a personal recommendation. For my money, Postcards from the Edge features Meryl Streep’s best comedic performance, as Suzanne Vale, an actress trying to rebuild her career after overcoming a drug addiction. She’s essentially playing a loosely veiled version of Carrie Fisher, who wrote the novel this film is based on. It’s not exactly a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it is painfully funny and beautifully dark. If you’re mostly used to seeing Streep under prosthetics and accents, I strongly implore you to check this film out, it’s the legend at her lightest. / SB
Saltburn (Prime Video from December 20)
My short review of Saltburn: It is exactly the film that the actor who was correctly cast as Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crownwould make after watching Parasite. If you think that is a good thing, check it out. Otherwise, don’t. However, I will strongly recommend you do not watch this with your family. Trust me on that. / SB
