This is the week that TV fans have been waiting for since August began. Only Murders in the Building season 4 has hit Hulu, while Prime Video has dropped three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. And if that’s not enough for you, Netflix’s Terminator Zero anime offers a fresh take on the Terminator franchise.
But if you’re looking for something more down to earth for your next binge watch, then Peacock’s latest addition, Homicide: Life on the Streets, may be what you’re looking for in a show. This series was critically acclaimed in the 1990s and absent from streaming until recently. But now that it’s online, Homicide can finally find a new audience in the streaming era. You can find that series and all of the rest of the best new shows to stream below.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+ all have one thing in common: They’re more expensive than they used to be! We can live with higher rates as long as new shows keep coming, but it’s always a good idea to consider signing up for the ad-supported tiers, which are worth it if you can sit through a few commercials.
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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Solar Opposites2020
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Terminator Zero2024
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Industry2020
Amazon Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
67%
6.9/10After a two-year hiatus, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has returned for its second season on Prime Video. And now that Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has been revealed, he’ll be getting the spotlight this season as he advances his agenda. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) discovered the truth about Sauron’s identity in the first season finale, and now she’s trying to stop him from regaining his lost power.
Meanwhile, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) are going to encounter Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), a beloved figure from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. But they’ll also have to contend with a dark wizard, as portrayed by Game of Thrones‘ Ciarán Hinds.
Hulu
Only Murders in the Building (2021)
80%
8.1/10Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) are back in Only Murders in the Building season 4. This season is going even more meta than before, as Paramount plans to make a movie of the fictional podcast in the show. Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria are even playing themselves as the actors lined up to portray Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, respectively.
Of course, there are always more mysteries to solve. Last season ended with Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) taking a bullet that was clearly meant for Charles. But who wanted him dead, and why? We’ve got a brand new season to discover the answers to those questions.
Solar Opposites (2020)
72%
8.0/10Solar Opposites has quietly put together a significant run on Hulu. This adult-themed animated series is about a family of aliens on Earth. Season 5 begins with Korvo (Cuckoo‘s Dan Stevens) and Terry (Thomas Middleditch) trying to start over on another planet with their makeshift offspring. But they wind up back on our world soon enough.
This season features a What If…? style detour into alternate realities, and a very unwelcome revelation for Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone), who discovers that his true purpose in life isn’t what he hoped for.
Netflix
Terminator Zero (2024)
70%“The end of the world is tomorrow.” Except in this case, the end of the world is August 29, 1997, as depicted in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Scientist Malcolm Lee (André Holland) has seen the future dominated by Skynet, and it terrifies him to his core. That’s why he’s created an alternate AI, Kokoro (Rosario Dawson), that may be able to mitigate Skynet’s influence and prevent the fall of humanity.
Skynet retaliates by sending a new Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) back in time from an alternate version of 2022. A resistance soldier named Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno) is sent back to prevent the Terminator from killing Malcolm and/or his three children. But with Judgment Day looming in the near future, can either Eiko or Malcolm truly change the outcome of humanity’s destiny?
The Umbrella Academy (2019)
59%
7.9/10The Hargreeves family is back in the abbreviated final season of The Umbrella Academy. And their most immediate problem in their new timeline is that they’ve been stripped of their superpowers. Also, the world is going to end. Again.
Getting their powers back is one thing. But stopping their adoptive brother, Ben Hargreeves (Justin H. Min), from making a tragic mistake is much more difficult. This is the last chance that the Hargreeves have to save the day… and each other.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024)
66%
6.7/10Who murdered Andie (India Lillie Davies)? That’s a question that’s haunted Pippa Fitz-Amobi (Wednesday’s Emma Myers) in A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. Even with university life beckoning Pippa during her last year in high school, she can’t let go of her theory that Andi wasn’t killed by her late boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni).
To prove herself, Pippa plans to solve the murder and use it as her school project for the year. This manages to anger a lot of people in Pippa’s hometown who would rather not dig up the secrets that she’s getting uncomfortably close to. Pippa’s seen a lot of detectives on TV, and they may not have been the best role models for her as she soon finds herself in genuine danger.
Peacock
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)
95%
8.7/10Before he went on to create The Wire — another all-time great crime series — David Simon pushed network television to its limits with Homicide: Life on the Streets. This show broke all of the rule in the ’90s by staying away from the traditional formula for cop shows. There weren’t always perfectly resolved cases, and the pressure of solving these crimes was taxing for the main characters on spiritual and mental levels.
The performances of the cast were simply incredible, especially the late Andre Braugher and Richard Belzer. This series actually shares continuity with Dick Wolf’s Law & Order franchise, as Belzer’s John Munch had a starring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. But as a standalone series, Homicide is impeccable. This is the first time that the show has ever been available to stream, and it deserves to be rediscovered by audiences.
Bel-Air (2022)
60%
6.4/10We can say this for Bel-Air: The show has really committed to being a dramatic reinterpretation of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Consequently, every character on the show has their own dramatic subplot as the series heads into season 3. For Will Smith (Jabari Banks), the sky’s the limit as he sees a real future for himself. His cousin, Carlton Banks (Olly Sholotan), is having a rougher time of it now that his addictions have been revealed. And his dreams of an Ivy League education may have gone up in smoke.
Meanwhile, there’s tension in the marriage between Philip (Adrian Holmes) and Vivian Banks (Cassandra Freeman), and even the house manager, Geoffrey Thompson (Jimmy Akingbola), has some dark secrets that he’s running from. It’s hard to predict where this show will go, but that’s part of the appeal.
Disney+
OceanXplorers (2024)
7%OceanXplorer may have a title that sounds like it escaped from the ’90s, but since it’s the actual name of an oceanic research vessel, we’re going to let that slide. James Cameron is lending his voice to this National Geographic miniseries, and producing the show is another example of his passion for the sea and what lies beneath.
Each episode follows the explorers and scientists on the OceanXplorer as they head to some of the most remote locations on the seven seas in the name of scientific research. They’re also equipped with some of the most cutting-edge technology available, which offers a unique opportunity to learn more about the creatures and the ecosystems that live beneath the waves beyond our view.
Apple TV+
Bad Monkey (2024)
74%
7.2/10Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence adapted Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey for Apple TV+, and the name is a bit of a misnomer. There is a monkey, who isn’t particularly bad … and he doesn’t even belong to the main character. Instead, the story focuses on Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), an ex-cop from Miami whose career has seen him sink from detective to restaurant inspector.
But when a severed arm shows up without the rest of the body, Yancy is roped into the investigation that exposes the seamy side of life in Florida. And when Yancy learns who the arm belongs to, it opens up a completely different set of questions about who committed the crime and why.
Time Bandits (2024)
65%
5.8/10The reboot of Time Bandits has a lot to live up to, because Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film of the same name is a cult classic. What We Do In Shadows’ Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi — both of whom appear in guest roles — co-created the new series with Iain Morris.
In this new retelling, Friends veteran Lisa Kudrow stars as Penelope, the leader of a small gang of thieves that moves throughout time and space. Their latest recruit is Kevin (Kal-El Tuck), an 11-year-old kid from the present who’s a history lover. But even Kevin may not have enough knowledge to see the group through to the end of their quest.
Max (formerly HBO and HBO Max)
Industry (2020)
76%
7.2/10HBO’s Industry is giving off some Succession vibes in its third season. It also helps that Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington and Barry’s Sarah Goldberg are both joining the cast this season. The first two seasons depicted the cutthroat world of a London investment bank, Pierpoint & Co., that separated two main characters, Harper Stern (Myha’la Herrold) and Danny Van Deventer (Alex Alomar Akpobome), from their jobs.
Harper may get a lifeline from a woman named Petra (Goldberg). Meanwhile, Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) finds himself feeling out of place as he’s assigned to work with Henry Muck (Harington), a CEO who is looking to take his green energy company public. This is a slow-burn series for adults, and fans of Succession should feel right at home.
