Not every week can be as jam-packed as the first week of May, which offered streaming fans a number of new series. But even in a relatively quiet week like this one, there’s always something new to watch. Strangely enough, between Queen Cleopatra on Netflix and The Great on Hulu, this week’s offerings have a royal theme. For adults seeking a more modern show, there’s Apple TV+’s City on Fire, which is set in NYC in 2003 and involves a mysterious murder in Central Park. But if you’re looking for something that the entire family can enjoy, then perhaps The Muppet Mayhem is for you.
As you’ve probably heard, there is a writer’s strike in Hollywood, and potentially more strikes down the line if a deal can’t be made with the actors and directors. For now, that’s more of a network problem. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Disney+, Paramount+, and Peacock have a long way to go before they run out of new shows to drop. And if you want to keep on top of everything new, then keep checking our weekly roundup of the best streaming shows.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
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The Great2020 -
Queen Cleopatra2023
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The Muppets Mayhem2023
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Bupkis2023
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City on Fire2023
Hulu
Historical accuracy is thrown to the side in favor of comedy in the Hulu original series, The Great. Last season, Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) and her husband, Peter III (Nicholas Hoult), were at each other’s throats for control of Russia. Catherine even thought she murdered Peter, but it turned out to be his double, Yemelyan Pugac (Hoult, again).
For the newly released third season, Catherine and Peter take a stab at sorting out their marital issues as she is forced to come to terms with just how much hate the people in her country have for her. If Catherine can’t start winning over some hearts and minds, her time may be running out.
Who murdered Alison Thomas (West Duchovny)? It’s a question that haunts her younger sister, Emily (Alycia Debnam-Carey), two decades later in Saint X. The mystery unfolds in multiple time periods, including the time leading up to Alison’s death and the present day, where Emily comes face-to-face with Clive “Gogo” Richardson (Josh Bonzie) when she returns to the tropical island where Alison was killed.
Since Gogo was one of the two men who were suspected of murdering Alison, Emily seizes upon this chance to finally get answers. However, Emily won’t like what she finds as her entire life becomes dominated by her obsession to get to the truth.
The new miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things finds Clare Pierce (Kathryn Hahn) in the midst of a terrible midlife crisis. Her marriage to Danny (Quentin Plair) is falling apart, and their daughter, Rae Kincade (Tanzyn Crawford), has come to resent Clare. Even Clare’s writing career is coming apart at the seams, and her only lifeline is when she is asked to take over an advice column.
But once Clare takes on the persona of an advice columnist she calls Sugar, her life experiences allow her to help others in need and give her the first real taste of success. Clair also finds it within herself to finally face her own problems as she attempts to rebuild her life.
Netflix
How well do you know the story of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra? Her tale has been told in Hollywood many times, and not always with an eye towards accuracy. Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra tries to find a middle ground as producer Jada Pinkett Smith narrates Cleopatra’s story while also supplying an assortment of historical experts in the documentary side of the program.
Adele James stars as Cleopatra in the dramatic recreations, as she takes control of Egypt only to find that members of her own family are actively trying to steal the throne from her. That turns out to be their mistake, because Cleopatra backs down to no one.
There will be no new season of Bridgerton this year, but Netflix has the next best thing. The spinoff prequel series, Queen Charottle: A Bridgerton Story, reveals how this desegregated society came to be in the eighteenth century during the reign of King George III (Corey Mylchreest). Young Charlotte (India Amarteifio) is married off to George, and she quickly discovers that their married life will be challenging for both of them.
And in the 1817 era of Bridgerton, the older Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) faces an uncertain future about her successor after she suffers a terrible personal tragedy.
Disney+
Every few years, Disney trots out The Muppets and attempts to figure out how to recapture some of that Jim Henson magic. Fortunately, The Muppet Mayhem freshens things up by shifting the focus away from Kermit, Ms. Piggy, and the rest of the usual gang of Muppets. Instead, the story is all about the Muppet supergroup, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
Lilly Singh leads the human cast as Nora Singh, an assistant at Wax Town Records who discovers that Electric Mayhem owes the label a record. But if you’ve ever tried herding cats then you may have an idea about how difficult it is to get these Muppets to do anything that you want them to. Especially when one of the band members is Animal.
Star Wars cartoons were once simply kiddie fare like the Ewoks and Droids animated series. But in Star Wars Visions, the animation and short stories are closer to works of art than Saturday morning cartoons.
While the first volume of Star Wars Visions solely featured animated shorts from Japanese anime producers, the newly released second volume has all-new stories from studios all over the world. Each of the nine animated shorts in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2 are freed from the confines of continuity, and they offer wildly different takes on the Star Wars universe. Some of these shorts may even take your breath away thanks to the fantastic visuals. This is a special treat for fans young and old.
Peacock
In Bupkis, Pete Davidson has finally found the role that he’s most comfortable playing: himself. And Davidson also had the good sense to surround himself with a strong supporting cast, including Edie Falco as his mother, Amy Davidson, and Joe Pesci as his grandfather, Joe Larocca.
This show is more of a farce in the vein of Curb Your Enthusiasm, rather than a strictly autobiographical comedy. Yet it does take a lot from Davidson’s real life, including his struggle with drug addiction and other insecurities. The show can get pretty dark at times, but it’s always funny.
Imagine a world where an AI conquered humanity by giving people everything they could ever want. That’s exactly what the titular entity in Mrs. Davis has done. But not everyone buys into this AI miracle.
A nun named Simone (Betty Gilpin) will do anything to bring down Mrs. Davis. And much to Simone’s surprise, Mrs. Davis is not only sympathetic to Simone’s goal, but it actually wants to send her on a quest to find and destroy the Holy Grail. If Simone can pull that off, then she may get what she wants too.
Apple TV+
In this adaptation of Garth Risk Hallberg’s best-selling novel, a young NYU freshman (Wonders) is murdered in Central Park during the summer of 2023. An infatuated young man (Oleff) investigates her murder, which plunges him into every stratum of New York society, from downtown bohemians to the shady upper-class world populated by politicians and bankers.
This eight-episode mystery series is from Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who give the show a glossy sheen that mostly covers the gaping holes in the story. Not a lot of it makes sense, but it’s a fun, superficial showcase for New York City, which is almost like another character in the show.
It’s ironic that Hugh Howey’s Silo novels found their initial success on Amazon Kindle while the live-action adaptation has a home on Apple TV+. But the tone and mystery of Howey’s books remain intact. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the remnants of humanity live in a massive underground structure because the surface of the world has been ruined. Or at least that’s what everyone believes.
Allison (Rashida Jones) and her husband, Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo), begin questioning the truth about their life in the Silo. However, it falls to Juliette (Dune: Part Two‘s Rebecca Ferguson) to push the investigation even further, regardless of the personal danger that she faces as she searches for answers.
Do you want to know why Ted Lasso is Apple TV+’s breakout hit? It’s because this is one of the few comedy series that is truly uplifting and inspiring even when the characters face personal turmoil and drama. We believe in Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), the unfailingly nice American football coach who was hired to coach an English soccer team, AFC Richmond.
The third and final season picks up with Ted’s team facing a very grim prediction for the season, while Ted’s former friend and colleague, Nathan “Nate” Shelley (Nick Mohammed), mocks them from his new position as the coach of a rival team. But Ted is still Ted, and he has a unique way of winning people over. And if you give Ted Lasso a chance, this show will win you over too.
Paramount+
Hide your bunnies! The perennial sexual thriller of the ‘80s, Fatal Attraction, has been re-imagined for the modern era as a new original series on Paramount+. In this incarnation, Dan Gallagher (Joshua Jackson) is a district attorney in Los Angeles who starts a torrid relationship with a recent hire, Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan).
Dan is under the mistaken belief that he can keep this affair from his wife, Beth Gallagher (Amanda Peet), and their daughter, Ellen (Alyssa Jirrels). But as Alex said in the original film, she will not be ignored. And as far as Alex is concerned, this affair isn’t over until she says it is.
Here we are in 2023, and Grease is getting its own prequel series a mere 45 years after the first film came out. That’s the streaming age for you! In Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, four teenage girls, Jane (Marisa Davila), Olivia (Cheyenne Isabel Wells), Cynthia (Ari Notartomaso), and Nancy (Tricia Fukuhara), realize that they just can’t get anywhere in 1954’s Rydell High School. So they decide to carve out their own space as the Pink Ladies four years before the events of the film.
Like the original, this show is a musical, so expect lots of show-stopping numbers along the way. It’s got groove, it’s got feeling.
Amazon Prime Video
According to some reports, Citadel may be one of the most expensive TV series ever made. Now it’s time to see what the Russo brothers did with all of that cash. In this sci-fi action thriller, Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas star as Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, respectively. Years ago, Mason and Nadia were lovers and the top spies for an organization called Citadel. Now, they don’t remember their old lives or each other.
When Citadel is threatened by a rival agency, Mason and Nadia are thrust back into a world of intrigue and danger. And unless they regain their lost memories, it’s going to be a short comeback.
Rachel Weisz co-headlines Dead Ringers with herself as twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot. This is a remake of David Cronenberg’s 1988 movie of the same name, and it spotlights two truly twisted sisters.
While their shared goal of improving women’s health care is admirable, their methods are, shall we say, less than ethical. Beverly and Elliot are also unnerving as they share absolutely everything in their lives, even if it might destroy them.
HBO Max
One of the more underrated comedies currently streaming, The Other Two is a razor-sharp satire written by two Saturday Night Live head writers, Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, and starring former SNL cast member and character actress Molly Shannon. The series revolves around Cary (Drew Tarver), an out-of-work actor, and his sister, Brooke (Helene Yorke), a former professional dancer turned Hollywood manager. They navigate the vicious landscape of modern-day Hollywood with their kid brother Chase Dream, a former teen pop sensation who is struggling to make a name for himself after his initial 15 minutes of fame.
Wanda Sykes, Ken Marino, and Scream 6‘s Josh Segarra round out the supporting cast, but it’s Shannon, as the homemaker turned media mogul Pat Dubek, who shines the brightest. The Other Two pokes fun at pop culture, but hidden beneath its layers of sarcasm is a surprisingly sweet family comedy.
HBO’s hit series Barry returns this month for its fourth and final season. Saturday Night Live veteran Bill Hader stars as Barry, a depressed hitman who discovers that acting gives him more joy than his previous profession ever did. Under his acting mentor, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), Barry tries to leave his old life behind. Unfortunately, many of the key players from the criminal underworld won’t let Barry slip away into his new identity.
Season 4 finds Barry primed for his breakout role, but only because he has to escape from prison! Yet Barry’s true prison is the one he made for himself within his never-ending life of violence.
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