Streaming 5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming right now The best of what’s new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more. Lee Pace in “Foundation” Season 2 on Apple TV+. Apple TV+
Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.
Many recommendations are for new shows, while others are for under-the-radar releases you might have missed or classics that are about to depart a streaming service at the end of the month.
Have a new favorite movie or show you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments, or email [email protected]. Looking for even more great streaming options? Check out previous editions of our must-watch list here.
Movies
“Ambulance”
After decades of critics trashing director Michael Bay (“The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Transformers”) for his gargantuan, bombastic, and often brainless action movies, there’s been a quiet reappraisal of his work in recent years — no doubt spurred by Marvel subsuming the summer blockbuster season that used to be Bay’s playground. His most recent film, 2022’s “Ambulance,” is a small-budget picture by Bay’s standards, yet packs just as much propulsive action into two hours as anything he’s directed. When his wife can’t get the life-saving surgery she needs, a soldier played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen (“Watchmen”) agrees to help his bank-robbing brother (Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”) with a job that goes horribly wrong. The duo spends most of the film racing through the streets of Los Angeles in a stolen ambulance, all while a paramedic (Eiza González, “Baby Driver”) tries to keep a fallen cop alive in the back. If you’re anything like my friend who left the room 20 minutes in, you’re already rolling your eyes reading that plot synopsis. But “Ambulance” succeeds because the action simply Does. Not. Stop. It’s Bay’s best work since “The Rock,” a “Mad Max: Fury Road” set on The 101 during rush hour.
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How to watch: “Ambulance” is streaming on Peacock.
“Jaws”
As the Discovery Channel wraps up Shark Week 2023, now is the perfect time to revisit the movie that kickstarted Steven Spielberg’s career, turned Martha’s Vineyard into a giant film set, and made everyone a little more leery of going in the ocean. Generally regarded as the first summer blockbuster, it’s impressive that almost 50 years later, “Jaws” still inspires such terror. From the opening scene of a skinny dipper being devoured by the unseen monster, the tension builds on the island of Amity. By the time the unforgettable trio of aquaphobic police chief Martin Brody, precocious marine biologist Matt Hooper, and lunatic shark hunter Quint (Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, respectively) take to the high seas to combat the beast, the suspense is almost unbearable.
How to watch: “Jaws” is streaming on Peacock.
“The Shallows”
In the years following the release of “Jaws,” countless films starring menacing aquatic creatures popped up, including three largely forgettable sequels. That said, Hollywood (and audiences) haven’t been able to stay away from the water, gorging themselves on B-movie thrills with the likes of “Piranha,” “Deep Blue Sea,” and most recently, “The Meg” (and its upcoming sequel). One of the more entertaining (albeit lightweight) shark movies of the last decade is 2016’s Blake Lively vehicle “The Shallows.” Seeking respite from the daily grind on a remote beach, Lively’s surfer girl is, much like the lone swimmer in the intro to “Jaws,” bitten by a great white far from shore. This time, however, the victim survives, with Lively stuck on a tiny island hundreds of yards from shore, playing a game of cat and mouse (or fish and bigger fish) with the shark. “Jaws” it ain’t, but “The Shallows” is a quick bite of entertainment.
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How to watch: “The Shallows” is streaming with ads on the Roku Channel.
TV
“Foundation”
Decidedly the more complex of the two shows that span 1,000 years of human history in this week’s streaming guide (more on that below), “Foundation” returned for a second season earlier this month on Apple TV+. Loosely based on the sci-fi series of the same name by Isaac Asimov, “Foundation” concerns a group of rebels (The Foundation) who use the power of a sort of scientific prophesy known as ‘psychohistory’ to take down the Galactic Empire. Confused yet? Just know that “Foundation” follows in the tradition of shows like “The Expanse” and “Battlestar Galactica” in telling a dense, lore-intensive sci-fi story buoyed by great individual performances by actors like Jared Harris (“Mad Men”), Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”) and Leah Harvey (“Tuesday”). Oh, and definitely start with Season 1.
How to watch: “Foundation” Season 2 is streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes airing Fridays.
“Futurama”
Following his success on “The Simpsons,” creator Matt Groening took the same comic sensibilities to outer space with “Futurama,” which premiered on Fox in 1999. Since then, the show has been cryogenically frozen and unfrozen more times than its main character, a delivery boy named Philip J. Fry (Billy West) who steps into a cryogenic chamber on the eve of Y2K and wakes up 1,000 years in the future. “Futurama” was canceled in 2003, revived as a series of direct-to-DVD films in 2007, brought back as a show by Comedy Central in 2010, canceled again in 2013, and has now been reborn for an 11th season a decade later on Hulu. The first episode of the new season is a little heavy on the self-referential humor, but subsequent episodes feel like the “Futurama” of old, and should please long-time fans of the show.
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How to watch: “Futurama” Season 11 is streaming on Hulu, with new episodes airing Mondays.