Happy New Year Screenagers! It’s another year of fresh movies and TV to stream, and I’ve included some I’ve been watching lately below. I always try to include a good mix of genres, but if you’ve got specific wants let me know and I can do some digging for next month.
Netflix: The Hunting Wives (2025 – present)
I went into this one blind, and I’m honestly glad I did. From the surface, this looks like a pretty typical Netflix hate-watch with a lame premise and one-note characters. Underneath though is a decent mystery that actually sticks the landing, and that’s so rare for a show like this that I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. This soapy mystery thriller follows Sophie, a teacher turned housewife relocating to Texas from Massachusetts. Is it a little on the nose with the entire dynamic of this? Yeah, but it also knows what it’s doing. The show’s goofy set up works only because the whole thing feels pretty self-aware, and personally I wrote off the show’s wilder moments as intentional camp. If you’re looking for something relaxing with an interesting twist, check this one out.
FOR FANS OF: Big Little Lies; Little Fires Everywhere
Netflix: The Thursday Murder Club (2025)
I wrote a full review for this one when it was released, but I was surprised by just how fun it was. Based on the novel of the same name, it’s a light-hearted mystery following a group of retirees solving crimes. The cast is great, the story is good and it’s all wrapped up in a neat little bow within two hours. While I’m sure this one will be sequel-ed to death (as many Netflix movie series are) the first entry is both fun and solid. Definitely worth checking out if you need something to scratch that mystery itch before the next Knives Out movie.
FOR FANS OF: Knives Out; Murder on the Orient Express
Hulu: Cuckoo (2024)
You know I had to put at least one out-of-the-box pick on this list. Cuckoo follows Gretchen as she lives with her father at a resort in the Alps. From there, things get weird. Really weird. This is definitely a horror movie that won’t work for everyone, but for those willing to go in with an open mind and take the story as it is, it’s a wild watch. The whole film feels very cerebral, and by the time the conclusion is reached you’re both locked in and emotionally exhausting. Definitely one of my favorite performances from Dan Stevens and worth checking out for something very different in your streaming schedule.
FOR FANS OF: Oddity; Saint Maud
HBO Max: A Different Man (2024)
This flew right under my radar when it was released, but A Different Man has stayed with me since the day I watched it. It follows an actor (played by Sebastian Stan) who undergoes an intensive medical procedure to correct a rare facial difference. This changes his life, but not in the way that he expects. Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson are electric together in this movie, but it’s Pearson’s performance that will stay with you. It’s a moving story about humanity, regret and working to rebuild what we’ve lost. It’s a heavy watch, but it’s challenging in a good way.
FOR FANS OF: A Real Pain; Juror #2
Hulu: Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
Based on the riveting Jon Krakauer book of the same name, Under the Banner of Heaven loosely follows the real life murder and investigation of Brenda Lafferty and its subsequent cover-up with the fundamentalist LDS sect she was a part of. The history of the Latter Day Saints is peppered throughout the show’s runtime alongside the murder investigation, and we follow Andrew Garfield’s Jeb Pyre as he begins to look at his faith as something new and darker than he ever believed. I read the book first, but I think it’s still accessible to viewers unfamiliar with the text. Featuring some great performances and an engaging true crime story, it’s definitely worth a watch.
FOR FANS OF: Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey; Mare of Easttown