Technically, the entire Disney+ catalog should be on this list as the Mouse House’s streaming service landed in SA two days ago (with a very wobbly splat, I may add). If you’re one of the many people having technical issues and you’re looking for something else to watch though, we got some picks for you, headlined by the return of Love, Death + Robots!
SERIES
Love, Death + Robots: Volume 3
Netflix – 20 May 2022
The incredible sci-fi anthology series is back to blow our minds with amazing and varied visuals, emotional storytelling, and cute bots (got to have those!). Out of the first two critically acclaimed volumes of Love, Death + Robots, everybody has their favourite episodes and I can’t wait to discover new ones!
Night Sky S1
Amazon Prime Video – 20 May 2022
Hollywood is obsessed with youth. If you’re over 30, you’re over the hill. So it’s always refreshing when a new high profile gig comes along featuring some seasoned veterans in the lead. And veterans don’t get more seasoned than Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons who headline this new sci-fi mystery show about an elderly couple who have taken travelling in your retirement years to some crazy extremes. That sounds a lot more pleasant than what the compelling Night Sky actually looks.
Totems S1
Amazon Prime Video – 20 May 2022
Staying with Prime Video and space, this Cold War-set French thriller series keeps things more grounded though as it follows an aerospace engineer who gets recruited during a French secret service/CIA joint operation to bring in a Russian scientist forced to work for the KGB. That she’s an attractive pianist with whom sparks fly will complicate matters.
PS: As usual for me when it comes to foreign language stuff, please just watch with subtitles. The English dubbing on these things are almost always terrible.
Now & Then S1
Apple TV+ – 20 May 2022
And if Totems isn’t enough foreign-language drama and intrigue for you, the first three episodes of English/Spanish thriller series Now & Then also debuts on AppleTV+ today. With an ensemble cast that includes several Oscar nominees and Goya winners, this one follows five friends who are blackmailed about about a fateful weekend 20 years prior that started with party celebrations and ended with a dead body.
Somebody Feed Phil S5
Netflix – 25 May 2022
Foodies rejoice! Arguably the most wholesome food show out there is coming back next Wednesday as fan-favourite Somebody Feed Phil returns for a fifth season. The first four seasons, as we follow Everybody Loves Raymond creator Philip Rosenthal travelling the world and enjoying all the local cuisines, was an absolute delight (Phil’s reactions to good food are the best!) and I cannot wait for more! Especially since Netflix hasn’t even teased us with a season 5 trailer, forcing me to use one for Season 1!
MOVIES
Jackass 4.5
Netflix – 20 May 2022
If you’ve seen Jackass Forever, you’ll know that Johnny Knoxville and the gang didn’t miss a step in getting back to their painful and disgusting ways for the big-screen revival of the classic MTV stunt/gag show. But did you know that there was even more insanity than what we got on-screen? Welcome to Jackass 4.5 (for which there’s unfortunately no trailer), a new feature-length compilation of all the unused footage and pranks that they couldn’t fit into the movie for one reason or another. So if you somehow need MORE footage of grown men having their testicles crushed for a laugh, well here you go!
Nightmare Alley
Google Play Movies/AppleTV20 May 2022
For a movie directed by fan-favourite Guillermo Del Toro and boasting a stacked cast led by Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Toni Colette, Nightmare Alley really came and went in cinemas with barely a whisper. Even four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, didn’t seem to raise its public profile much. So if you, like me and so many others, just completely missed this movie when it was on the big screen, you can now check it out for yourself as it’s available for rental on Google Play Movies and AppleTV.