Lara Kristin Herndon
RRR
A wild, breathtaking, high-octane action blockbuster from India that’s also a parable about the dignity of mankind and the fight for independence and self-rule.
Cowboy Bebop
A strange, poignant and funny adventure with amazing music, a talented cast, and beautifully detailed costumes and sets, the live action Cowboy Bebop adaptation makes you nostalgic for the original—hey, guess what’s also streaming on Netflix? All 26 original episodes!
Last Night in Soho
Last Night in Soho takes horror and coming-of-age tropes and subverts them in a stylish thriller that has more depth than meets the eye.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
With a pretty, beach-y setting, two adorable leads, and a host of beguiling small-town characters, this is K-drama-as-comfort-food.
Muhammad Ali
There’s no better focal point to examine the turbulent racial, religious, cultural, and political currents that shook America throughout the 1960s and 70s than Ken Burns’ Muhammad Ali. Ali transcended the narrow theater of sport to become, for a time, the most famous man alive.
Gossip Girl (2021)
With a witty script packed with up-to-the-second cultural references and tear-jerking teen angst, a gorgeous cast, and a sumptuously-lit Manhattan for a backdrop, the show is a diverting addition to the teen-drama pantheon
Start-Up (Seutateueop)
Every great success starts small. But if you don’t fix the bugs in the source code, they can come back to haunt you later—in life and in start-ups.
Aggretsuko (Aggressive Retsuko)
What if Pam from The Office was secretly a head-banging heavy-metal girl by night? Created by the team behind Hello Kitty, this animated Japanese series has become an international hit.
The Leads of HBO’s “The Head” Explain What’s in Their Own
As an international show first released in 2020, The Head has flown under many radars, but the critically praised psychological thriller just returned for a gripping second season Antarctica Thriller From Hbo, and the Watercooler’s Felipe Patterson talked to the two leads to better understand the series and their characters. The Story: A team of
The Inspection
A psychological drama about feeling alienated that captivates the lost loner in all of us, The Inspection also examines how men are “toughened up” by society. You’ll be hearing more about star Jeremy Pope.
The US-UK Divide: Understanding Reactions to Harry & Meghan
The Harry & Meghan Netflix series has opened a new rift between Americans and their British friends (and foes). To understand why, US & UK journalist Sklyar Baker-Jordan sheds light on the history, class, and cultural divides that explain both sides.
Smiley
A charming, escapist Spanish rom-com series that pivots around two gay men, Smiley takes a playful and practical look at all of the complexities surrounding gay and straight modern relationships.
Devotion
A gripping biopic about the Navy’s first Black fighter pilot – Jesse Brown – and the inspiring friendship that transcended racism and the conflicts of the Korean War. Starring Jonathan Majors and Glenn Powell.
Best New K-Dramas to Watch on Netflix
In 2021, international mega-hit Squid Game introduced the power of South Korean storytelling to a broader worldwide audience. K-drama fans have historically streamed content on services like Viki or hoped their favorite TvN or JBTC series would be picked up by Netflix. Then streamer invested $500 million in South Korean movies and series to produce
The Fabelmans
At its heart a story about the relationships that make us who we are, this is a must-see and top Oscar contender, Spielberg’s own version of Back to the Future, minus the DeLorean, for his own time-traveling to life in the 1950s.
The Patient
A sharply-written character study and tense psychological thriller from the creators behind The Americans, The Patient is propelled by a pair of Emmy-worthy performances from Steve Carell and Domhall Gleeson.
The Holdovers
A cross-generation comedy drama that’s earned five Academy Award nominations, The Holdovers will tug at your heartstrings as it wrestles with themes of grief and loneliness, and it will ultimately nurture hope.
The Something for Everyone Show: Poker Face is Back
Can’t agree on what to watch together? Consider putting on your Poker Face. Peacock’s acclaimed mystery-of-the-week series created by Rian Johnson (best known for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and, most relevant here, the Glass Onion films) and starring Natasha Lyonne, is finally back for another season after two long years. That’s great news for
It’s not HBO, it’s The Pitt: How streamers are embracing old TV network models
“It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” Remember that old tagline? For nearly all of its history, broadcast television has been fighting against the perception that it’s subordinate to film as a storytelling medium. Television was just media for the masses, as opposed to the more erudite aficionados of cinema (who, by the way, poured into theaters
Boyhood
Boyhood captures the importance of moments in time as people grow up and contests the idea that any singular moment is defining to your childhood. It’s a film filled with the full breadth of the emotions of childhood, conveying each one delicately to leave you reflecting on its many pensive conversations.
Why Andor is Luring in Non-Star Wars Fans
An edgier Star Wars prequel with a timely story about rebellion, Andor skips some of the more familiar elements of the franchise — from lightsabers to Jedi to the Force — in favor of a more grounded story with parallels in both history and our current moment. While it sets up the legendary world of
Inside the War Zone: A sit down with Warfare’s director and cast
A harrowing new film from Alex Garland’s production banner, Warfare drops viewers into a real-time combat mission in Iraq. Set in 2006, it follows a team of Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone awry. Co-written and co-directed by Garland and Ray Mendoza—whose own platoon was ambushed during the real-life event—the film is both brutal
Black Bag
A taut, stylish and steamy take on the high-stakes espionage thriller, Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag keeps you second-guessing every character’s motives until the very end. The tension, the suspicion, the sense that the walls are closing in? It’s all here.