Welcome to Streaming Rewind, a weekly breakdown of the new and noteworthy as we work to help readers wade through the absolute deluge of television series and movies in the streaming space.
Is this weekend Halloween? Is it pre-Christmas? Begun, the holiday wars have… but both sides can agree that they’re superior to Thanksgiving, so at least we know that there are still things that can bring us together in these trying times.
Unfortunately, the holiday limbo comes with a bit of a streaming and digital release limbo too. It’s a pretty slow week for new releases. Like, Joker: Folie a Deux is available on digital this week, but we all know to wait until that bad boy is free at this point.
Agatha All Along Takes Its Final Bow
Disney+’s Agatha All Along delivered its two-part finale this week, taking us into Halloween knowing that we wouldn’t have an MCU-flavored witchy adventure waiting for us on the other side. While the finale had some pacing issues in the second episode, showrunner Jac Schaeffer and team still delivered an incredible series that left us wanting more. Here’s to catching up with Billy and Tommy soon.
Cliffhanger in a Teacup
Speaking of two-part finales — producer James Wan’s Teacup Season 1 had one too! It was jarringly less successful than Agatha All Along’s, ending in a hell of a (ultimately unearned) cliffhanger. This one probably didn’t get enough views to return for Season 2 to satisfy that cliffhanger, but I’m rooting for it all the same. Despite finale frustrations, the first season – about, as the logline says, “a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive” – is short and engaging enough to be worth the time. If the series doesn’t continue over on Peacock, you’ll at least have the original novel Stinger to turn to for answers.
Horror Shows and Movies to Check Out This Weekend
Listen, I warned you that it was dire out there this week. Still, whether you’re holding on to the Halloween spirit for one more weekend or have moved on to your Christmas list, there’s never a wrong time for horror.
It’s a Mike Flanagan series-less year, which is never not a bummer. Thankfully, we have plenty of absolute bangers to turn to while we wait to see how he’s going to ruin our lives next. Last year’s offering, The Fall of the House of Usher, is practically perfect in every way. If you watched that one too recently, The Haunting of Hill House matches House of Usher in impeccable quality. (And yeah, Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Bly Manor both rule, too!) Those are all available on Netflix. If you’re looking for a movie instead, Hush — his home invasion film starring Kate Siegel — is finally available on Shudder (and digital and demand) after sitting in purgatory for a few years.
The Substance — which is being widely regarded as the best horror movie of the year — is on digital as of today, too. And Interview with the Vampire’s first two seasons aren’t going to watch themselves! (It’s on Netflix.)
If you’ve got a Shudder subscription, we’ve got a whole list of curated recommendations to keep you occupied all weekend. (My personal favorites are Monstrum, House on Haunted Hill (1959), Relic, Deadstream and One Cut of the Dead)
New and Notable on Digital and Streaming This Week
- The Diplomat Season 2: October 31 (Netflix)
- The Substance: November 1 (On Digital)
- The Apprentice: November 1 (On Digital)
- Music by John Williams — Documentary: November 1 (Disney+)
