If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, we’ve got you covered. Our recommendations highlight the new and best shows and movies on Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video and other streaming services.
The biggest deal this weekend is the House of the Dragon finale. The last installment of the first season looks to ignite the Targaryen civil war known as Dance of the Dragons. We’re fully expecting fireworks (and literal fire).
Several new shows have dropped that you can watch this weekend, including the sci-fi thriller The Peripheral, Zoe Saldaña’s romantic drama From Scratch and the Korean celebrity travelogue In the Soop. Returning favorites include American Horror Story season 11 and Inside Amy Schumer season 5.
In the list of new movies to watch this week, The School for Good and Evil features some big stars in Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington. The YA book adaptation follows two teen girls who join an academy for budding heroes and villains of fairy tales. Raymond and Ray pairs up Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as brothers, while the feature-length Doctor Who special, The Power of the Doctor, sees Jodie Whittaker take on the role for the final time.
Here’s our guide on what to watch this weekend.
House of the Dragon season 1 finale (HBO)
After a rather lackluster penultimate episode, the House of the Dragon finale has a lot riding on it. Namely, we hope to see a lot more dragon riding and (fingers crossed) some dragon-on-dragon fighting. Now that the Greens have crowned Aegon king, Rhaenyra and Team Black will undoubtedly retaliate. It’s highly doubtful that the longtime heir will accept whatever “terms” Queen Alicent means to propose.
Rhaenyra still has supporters among the lords and knights of Westeros. And she has more dragons, though her half-brother Prince Aemond has the biggest dragon of all in Vhagar. She will need to raise an army, though, which means recruiting more houses to her cause. Civil war is brewing. The question is, which side will strike first?
Airing Sunday, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max (opens in new tab)
The School for Good and Evil (Netflix)
Based on the bestselling books by Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil is a little bit Wicked, a little bit Harry Potter. The movie follows best friends Agatha (Sofia Wylie) and Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) after they are kidnapped and taken to the titular academy, which trains future fairytale heroes and villains.
Beautiful Sophie is entered into the Evil side of the school, while homely Agatha is selected for the Good side. Their differing fates test their bond, yet both are determined to stay true to themselves and their friendship.
Streaming now on Netflix (opens in new tab)
The Peripheral (Prime Video)
Amazon famously paid an astronomical sum for the rights to The Lord of the Rings, allegedly because Jeff Bezos wanted his own version of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Now, it seems Amazon is getting its own Westworld, too, as The Peripheral’s producers include Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Creator Scott Smith adapts William Gibson’s bestselling sci-novel of the same name.
In the near-future, Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a smart young woman going nowhere fast while living in a small Appalachian town. Her only escape from a dull routine is via advanced video games. She’s a top player, so a company sends her a new video game system to test. It provides an escape into a glamorous world filled with adventure. But it also plunges her and her family into very real danger.
Streaming now on Prime Video (opens in new tab)
Inside Amy Schumer season 5 (Paramount Plus)
After a six-year hiatus, Amy Schumer is returning for another season of her sketch comedy series, which originally aired on Comedy Central. She has joked that she’s coming back to “burn any remaining bridges” and get herself “forever cancelled.”
It’s a short installment, consisting of just five episodes. The first two are premiering together, with the remaining three released weekly. Still, we’re happy to see more of the show that gave us such classic sketches as “Last F**kable Day”, “Compliments” and “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer.”
Streaming now on Paramount Plus (opens in new tab)
Raymond and Ray (Apple TV Plus)
Ethan Hawke and Ewen McGregor join their considerable acting powers to play half-brothers whose lives have been shadowed by a terrible father. When he dies, it gives them a chance to heal their old emotional wounds and reinvent themselves.
The brothers haven’t interacted with each other or their dad in years, but the death brings Raymond and Ray together. They decide to meet the people who were around their father in his later years and soon discover he was a very different man than the one they knew.
Streaming now on Apple TV Plus (opens in new tab)
American Horror Story season 11 (FX)
From rampant rats to sick passengers on the subway, New York City is a treasure trove of American horror stories. So, naturally, Ryan Murphy takes his long-running anthology series to mine nightmares from the city that never sleeps.
AHS:NYC follows one story through several different time periods. The details of that story are unknown, since Murphy likes to keep his plots under wraps. But we do know that, per usual, he’s recruited a bunch of his frequent collaborators, including Billie Lourd, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto and Leslie Grossman. Other faces are new, though, including Kal Penn and Russell Tovey. Sarah Paulson is nowhere in sight (sob).
Streaming now via Hulu (opens in new tab)
In the Soop: Friendcation (Disney Plus)
BTS Army members who are missing the K-pop group during their hiatus will appreciate a little pick-me-up in the form of this travel series. The second season features V of BTS, along with Korean actor Choi Woo-shik (Parasite), actor Park Seo-jun (Itaewon Class), rapper Peakboy and singer/actor Hyungsik.
The four episodes follow the five celebs on a trip in “the soop” (the forest). They head to a remote villa in the mountains on a well-earned vacation where they can unwind, relax and step away from the pressures of fame and stardom.
Streaming now on Disney Plus (opens in new tab)
From Scratch (Netflix)
This cross-cultural love story is half cute, lighthearted romp and half serious, tear-jerking drama. Amy (Zoe Saldaña) is a college dropout pursuing her artistic dreams in Florence, Italy. There, she meets and falls in love with handsome Sicilian chef Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea).
After a whirlwind romance, Lino follows Amy to Los Angeles to turn their fling into a real relationship, with all the attendant complexities involving families and careers. Still, their passion for each other prevails — until a health crisis completely upends their lives.
Streaming now on Netflix (opens in new tab)
Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor (BBC America)
Jodie Whittaker goes on one last adventure as the Thirteenth Doctor in a feature-length special. The Doctor must fight for her very existence against her most formidable enemies: the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Master.
The Power of the Doctor explores several calamities that seem to be connected, including attacks against a speeding bullet train in a distant galaxy, missing seismologists in 21st century Earth, the defacement of history’s most iconic paintings and Rasputin’s sway over Tsar Nicholas in 1916 Russia. And just why in the universe is a Dalek trying to contact the Doctor?
Airing Sunday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. ET on BBC America (via Sling (opens in new tab) or Fubo (opens in new tab))
More new shows to watch this weekend
The Vow season 2 (HBO)
New episodes chronicle the NXIVM trial and explore the group’s inner circle.
Streaming now on HBO Max (opens in new tab)
Love Is Blind season 3 (Netflix)
Singles from Dallas meet, sight unseen, in pods to find love.
Streaming now on Netflix (opens in new tab)
One of Us Is Lying season 2 (Peacock)
The Bayview Four do what it takes to protect their secret and each other.
Streaming now on Peacock (opens in new tab)
Acapulco season 2 (Apple TV Plus)
Máximo continues to recount his days as a teen cabana boy at a lux resort.
Streaming now on Apple TV Plus (opens in new tab)
Unsolved Mysteries season 3 (Netflix)
New episodes dig into a teen’s tragic death, unearthly spotted in Michigan and a dead body in bags.
Streaming now on Netflix (opens in new tab)
Next: These are the 7 best new Netflix movies that are 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.
