The coming month of streamable stuff already has us charmed. It’s a simple combo of returning leading ladies of the small screen (Natasha Lyonne! SJP! Our Nic!), a few new hangout comedies about life at uni and beyond, and some more mysterious and high-concept stuff. All tantalising, no matter what streaming services you subscribe to.
Add each show that tickles your fancy to your Flicks watchlist, to get a handy notification when episodes drop!
Adults: Season 1
It’s the definition of low-concept, low-stakes TV, but this fresh ensemble comedy could be the next unmissable hangout hit: who knows! Originally titled Snowflakes, which should give you a solid sense of its pouty and dysfunctional cast of characters, the series follows five New Yorker mates crashing in one member’s childhood home.
You have certainly already watched and loved a show just like this. But there’s arguably a shift happening in the streaming landscape right now, where produceral-ish stories of regular people struggling through regular life (see: my obsession with The Pitt) are surprisingly sweeping viewers off their feet. Adults could very well be the next cab off the disarmingly charming rank.
And Just Like That…: Season 3
Look at Carrie’s huge puffy skirt! Or is it pants? An indulgent skort? Who cares: the SATC sequel series is back, and boy did season two end on a precarious note. Carrie and fan fave love interest Aidan had finally committed to one another, but with a massive caveat: he couldn’t join her in the huge Manhattan mansion she’d bought for them until his young sons were grown up enough, and didn’t need him at home anymore. Can true romantic Carrie really hold out for years and years without love?
Even when this silly series’ subplots make you roll your eyes, the bourgeoisie lifestyle porn and insane costumes make the Max original well worth a watch. Another round of cosmos please!
Duster: Season 1
What happened to the good ol’ fashioned car movie: a genre of daring characters, mad chase sequences and pedal-to-the-metal plotting? Developed and partially directed by J.J. Abrams, this crime-action series has a retro heart beating under its shiny hood.
Lost star Josh Holloway plays a maverick getaway driver, who makes a surprisingly good team with FBI agent Rachel Hilson. Together, they’ll go nyoom and vroom and bring down a dark criminal syndicate before its tentacles can entirely infect the 1970s southwest. We’re also happy to see Keith David and Corbin Bernsen amongst the supporting cast. Make sure you’re wearing your seatbelt before you hit play.
The Four Seasons: Season 1
May-December romance; entering the winter of your years; a midsummer night’s fling. It’s wild how much time (and the weather) can test our strongest relationships, from decades-long friendships to marriages that have maybe lost their spark. Tina Fey produces, writes and stars in this hilarious new marital comedy, based on a little-known Alan Alda film from the 1980s.
She and fellow SNL alum Will Forte play a couple who have always vacationed with the same close group, including Colman Domingo and Steve Carell…until Steve calls it quits on his trusted yet tired marriage. The shockwaves ripple through the pack of friends, spiralling into chaotic catch-ups and embarrassing new partners. Hot tip: if you’re trying to ensure your new squeeze makes a good impression on your dearest mates, tell ’em to leave the acoustic guitar and Elton John covers at home.
Murderbot: Season 1
Based on Martha Wells’ Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novels, this raucous cyber-comedy is one for the introverts. Take the titular security android, for example: played by Alexander Skarsgård, he’s a killing machine by trade but a socially awkward, soap-opera-loving loner at heart.
Over the course of its work for an evil, space-colonising megacorporation, our robo-hero begins to develop pesky and highly inconvenient bonds with its fleshy coworkers. Ugh! Perhaps the perfect, surreal programming to switch on at the end of the day this May, when you’re feeling completely switched off at the office.
Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 2
Season one of this wacky, wanky wellness drama was filmed in sunny Down Under, but the tropical health solutions Masha (Nicole Kidman) was peddling left some celeb guests a bit worse for wear. So, this time, it’s off to the brisk and refreshing chill of the Austrian Alps, where a new batch of famous faces will face off against Kidman’s wiggy, witchy healing magic. Mark Strong, Christine Baranski, Dolly de Leon, indie popstar King Princess, Murray Bartlett and Henry Golding are among the victims—sorry, guests—in this continuing Liane Moriarty adaptation, which is not very good for your health but is indeed extremely, foolishly entertaining.
Overcompensating: Season 1
The tagline for this fresh campus comedy says it all: “college: come as you aren’t”. Developed by comedian Benito Skinner and featuring a charming ensemble of deludenoids and wannabes, it’s a funny show about fake people hitting on real truths, as Skinner’s closeted homecoming king learns more about himself in the process of desperately trying to ace college life.
His older sister and her frat bro boyfriend are extremely unreliable guides to a world of hookups, underage drinking and the scarcest little traces of education—but I’m sure that by the end of this premiere season, genuine friendships and romantic revelations will shine through.
Poker Face: Season 2
I will not tell a lie: I’m deeply excited to spend more time with Natasha Lyonne’s freelance sleuth Charlie, one of the most charming and hang-out-able characters on TV in recent memory. Rian Johnson’s loveable whodunnit series is both a roadtrip comedy and a mystery-of-the-week serial, following a character with witchy lie-detecting abilities as she bounces across the US in her Plymouth Barracuda, meeting character actors and blockbuster stars at each pit stop. The sophomore season promises encounters with Melanie Lynskey, Katie Holmes, John Mulaney, and not one but three Cynthia Erivos. Truly delightful—emphasis on ‘true’.
Sirens: Limited Series
Heed the charismatic call of this new black comedy, featuring the month’s most exciting cast. We’re talking Julianne Moore as a domineering philanthropist billionaire, talented young Aussie Milly Alcock as Moore’s obsessed personal assistant, the delightful Meghann Fahy as Alcock’s concerned sis checking in on things, and Kevin Bacon and Glenn Howerton as rich jerks along for the ride. Part of me hopes that the mysterious show’s title is quite literal, with Moore playing some kind of brainwashing rich mermaid. Wouldn’t that be dope? In any case, the acting and acerbic script from the creator of Maid should make it worth your time.
Tucci in Italy: Season 1
Nobody on this planet may be spending their time better than Stanley Tucci. Sure, the guy’s a charming actor who could probably be getting his bag memorising scripts and going for awards…but he’d largely rather bum around Italia and eat kilos of pasta, produce and cured meats. Who can blame him? The lazy bugger is back in the boot-shaped country for this five-part Nat Geo project, taking a broad look at each region’s unique cuisine before zooming into Stan’s own personal observations and deeply-held principles. Mangia!
