The 7 best new movies and shows to stream this weekend

As another week draws to a close, we’ve got your ultimate guide to weekend watching if you’re settling in for a couple of days in front of the TV. It’s a big week for movies, too, with several brand-new releases making their streaming debuts. For starters, there’s The Union on Netflix, starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry as ex-high school sweethearts thrown together on an espionage mission, and Jackpot!, a lottery action comedy with a twist on Prime Video. 

US viewers can catch Pearl, the precursor to the recently released MaXXXine, on Netflix, and La Chimera, a film festival hit starring Challengers’ Josh O’Connor, on Hulu. UK audiences, meanwhile, can now watch emotional animated gem Robot Dreams on MUBI.

As for TV, Emily in Paris returns to Netflix for part 1 of season 4, and Vince Vaughn stars in Bad Monkey, a new Apple TV Plus series from the co-creator of Shrinking and Ted Lasso.

Emily in Paris season 4, part 1

(Image credit: Netflix)

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Netflix

Bon retour, Emily. Everyone’s favorite American abroad is back, and drama is brewing in the city of love. After the explosive wedding at the end of season 3, Emily (Lily Collins) finds herself torn between two love interests, and work and romance are dangerously close to colliding. Plus, there are some secrets brewing below the surface that threaten to ruin everything. Season 4, part 1 consists of five new episodes, with the next five dropping on September 12.

The Union

(Image credit: Netflix)

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Netflix

Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry star in new espionage action comedy The Union. Wahlberg plays Mike, a construction worker who finds himself roped into the world of secret agents when his high school girlfriend Roxane (Berry) recruits him for a high-stakes mission. Directed by Julian Farino, who also helmed the majority of the first three seasons of HBO’s Entourage, the cast also includes Luke Cage’s Mike Colter, The Sopranos’ Lorraine Bracco, and JK Simmons.

Jackpot!

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Prime Video

Bridesmaids and A Simple Favor director Paul Feig is back with a new action-packed comedy. In Jackpot!, Awkwafina plays struggling actor Katie, who wins the lottery – but there’s a catch. Set in the near future, the law allows anyone with a losing ticket to murder her and claim her winnings before the day ends. She teams up with Noel (John Cena), who agrees to help keep her alive as long as he gets a share of the prize money. 

Bad Monkey

(Image credit: Apple TV+)

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Apple TV Plus

Ted Lasso and Shrinking co-creator Bill Lawrence is back with another Apple TV Plus series: comedy-drama Bad Monkey. Vince Vaughn stars as Andrew Yancy, a former Miami police detective who now carries out health inspections at restaurants in the Florida Keys. When some tourists find a human arm, however, he realizes that if he can crack this case, he might just be able to get his old job back… The first two episodes are streaming now, with the rest dropping every Wednesday. 

Pearl

(Image credit: A24/Universal Pictures)

Available: US
Watch now: Netflix

After trilogy closer MaXXXine hit theaters last month, the second installment in Ti West’s X slasher series is now streaming on Netflix. Pearl follows the exploits of the titular Texas farm girl who dreams of being a Hollywood star, played by Mia Goth – and who we first met 60 years later in X. Set in 1918, the movie is an origin story for the first movie’s villain as she furiously pursues her ambitions to become an actor, and also stars incoming Superman, David Corenswet.

La Chimera

(Image credit: Curzon)

Available: US
Watch now: Hulu

Challengers’ Josh O’Connor stars in La Chimera as tortured English archeologist Arthur, who makes a living in the black market trade of ‘grave goods’ in the Italian countryside in the ’80s. The film opens with Arthur fresh out of jail and returning to illegally excavating Etruscan tombs with a merry band of locals as he continues to grieve for his late girlfriend. A new arrival in town shakes things up for Arthur, but can he let go of his obsessive quest for what’s long dead? La Chimera is also available to stream in the UK via MUBI. 

Robot Dreams

(Image credit: Curzon)

Available: UK
Watch now: MUBI

What if Past Lives was about an animated dog and robot living in ’80s New York City? Well, you’d (kind of) get Robot Dreams, which got a theatrical release earlier this year and is now streaming on MUBI in the UK. The movie, which is dialogue-free, sees lonely and isolated Dog quickly form an inseparable bond with a new robot companion, but an unfortunate turn of events after a trip to the beach tears the duo apart. As they try to find their way back to one another, the film has some surprisingly astute things about moving on – get the tissues ready.

If there’s nothing here that tickles your fancy, then you might have to start looking into each streaming service’s back catalogue, which can be a daunting task given how many titles they each host. Fear not, though… if you’re a TV fan, then we’ve got you covered with our lists of the best Netflix shows, best Disney Plus shows, and the best Amazon Prime Video shows.