For the weekend of April 7, Streamline recommends “Collateral” in the top Netflix spot for the fifth time.
Over the last few weeks, Netflix has debuted far more original movies than original shows. “Collateral” is very, very good, but it has only maintained that top spot for so long because Netflix hasn’t debuted anything worthy to knock it down.
Still, if you haven’t checked out the show yet, you definitely should. Carey Mulligan’s character is one of the most inventive and charming on television in a while and alone makes “Collateral” worthwhile.
What’s New This Week
“Troy: Fall of a City” debuts this week. It has “Game of Thrones” vibes kind of sort of, but it’s also certainly no “Game of Thrones.” The budget is much smaller, the writing worse and the acting choices far more questionable.
Still, if you love period pieces with sword-fighting, this might be good for you. Note that the show does focus more heavily on its central love story than its battle sequences.
It also veers wildly from the source material of The Iliad. Maybe watch the trailer below and decide for yourself if this is your kind of show. Honestly, it’s not for me.
These weekly updates about new Netflix shows appear on HuffPost on Saturday mornings, but you can also stay up-to-date with what to watch by subscribing to the Streamline newsletter.
Graham Bartholomew/BBC/Netflix
Top 5 Netflix News From This Week
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are teaming up again for a new comedy project. This time around, the two (who did movies like “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers” before) are making a television series called “Dead to Me.” This will apparently be a “dark comedy.”
Here’s a first look photo for Netflix’s upcoming reimagining of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” The A.V. Club put it well: “This image is so happy that it seems like something from a lighthearted Disney channel movie about teenagers in love, not a spooky show about a girl who has surrendered her soul to Satan in exchange for sinister magic powers. Where are the pentagrams? Where are the Baphomet drawings?” Suffice it to say, it’s unclear what the tone of this show will be.
Netflix is getting another animated show, this time from the “Brickleberry” creators. The upcoming program is called “Paradise P.D.” and will focus on a small-town police department.
Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are reuniting for a new movie. The upcoming Netflix comedy is called “Murder Mystery.” The two will play a married couple who get caught up in the murder of a billionaire. It will probably be bad but very popular, right?
And Netflix is apparently going to spend around $300 million to buy a billboard advertising company in California. This would allow the company to dominate some of the most prominent billboards around Los Angeles with its own ads while leaving its rivals fighting for the remaining spaces.
Random Netflix Tweet
The Netflix Twitter account is one of those try-hard media brands that like to make jokes. Streamline will present one a week without comment.
One Weird Thing
The Duffer brothers have responded to a plagiarism lawsuit alleging they stole the idea for “Stranger Things” from a 2012 short film called “Montauk.” The creator of that movie alleges that he met with the Duffers in 2014 to pitch turning his short into a television series. An attorney representing the brothers issued a statement calling the suit “completely meritless.” There’s a potential smoking gun: a 2015 Hollywood Reporter story about Netflix inking a new deal with the Duffer brothers that called their forthcoming project “Montauk.”
Streamline includes related reading below the show recommendations, as well as a list of other shows and movies joining the service this week.
Ji Sub Jeong/HP
Note: This list only includes shows that debuted their most recent episode less than a year ago. Much like the main list, it prioritizes newness.
Plot: Crime thriller in contemporary London.
Pro: It's a compelling watch that stays fun with a constant sense of humor. At just a few episodes, “Collateral” resembles one long movie.
Con: At times it certainly feels like yet another crime thriller.
Plot: Spooky things happen to woman.
Pro: There are solidly presented mysteries in the show that make the episodes easy to binge. It's truly scary.
Con: The show is definitely too ridiculous and over-the-top at times.
Plot: Couple sometimes loves each other.
Pro: The show depicts relationships in a generally more realistic, mundane way that's strangely compelling.
Con: Because not much happens plot-wise, the show occasionally forces characters to act irrationally, which is frustrating to watch.
Plot: Family experiences myriad terrible things.
Pro: Creative storytelling and many legitimately funny moments despite being geared to a younger audience. The costuming alone makes it worth checking out.
Con: Super quirk doesn't seem to be the zeitgeist now after years of being a thing. This show can be exhausting.
Plot: Former superhero still fights crime.
Pro: Krysten Ritter is very good as the protagonist in this. The superhero aspects are actually pretty subdued, which is welcome in the current superhero glut.
Con: The plot moves a bit too slow for a show that is still presenting itself as an action-driven project.
Plot: A trial about police racism.
Pro: This is a very solid crime thriller. It's a standout in a popular genre.
Con: The show isn't very innovative. It also drags on a bit.
Plot: Friends try surviving high school.
Pro: The characters are unique for the teen comedy genre. It's often funny.
Con: There isn't much reason to watch this if you're outside the high school demographic.
Plot: Love story within Troy's walls.
Pro: The costuming and period sets are usually pretty good here.
Con: It's a fairly silly show. The writers chose to veer far from the source material to focus on romance. Those looking for thrilling battle sequences will be disappointed.
Netflix has certainly presented this as a show that will have broad appeal like "Game of Thrones," with a mix of love and war.
But the production comes across as cheap and the writing is lacking. If you can't get enough sword-fighting material, check this out. Otherwise, it's not your best bet.
And here are the shows and movies arriving on Netflix through the rest of this week:
April 9
- “AMO” (Season 1, Netflix Original)
April 10
- “Greg Davies: You Magnificent Beast” (Netflix Original)
April 12
- “Pickpockets” (Netflix Film)
April 13
- “Chef’s Table: Pastry” (Netflix Original)
- “Come Sunday” (Netflix Film)
- “I Am Not An Easy Man” (Netflix Film)
- “Lost in Space” (Season 1, Netflix Original)
- “The Magic School Bus Rides Again” (Season 2, Netflix Original)