It’s a new week, which means there are nearly endless new options to watch on our favorite streaming services. We like to keep tabs on what’s new to Netflix and Max in the month ahead, but don’t you just hate when you get all excited to watch a show or movie, only to find out you still have to wait weeks for it to come out? That’s why we like to keep things a little short-sighted here, by telling you about the best entertainment options available this week.
With these excellent choices to look forward to, the week will fly on by. Just try to see how many you can make it through before the weekend hits!
What to watch this week — the best movies and TV on streaming
Anyone But You (Oct. 20)
If you never caught the 2023 rom-com starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in theaters (or you simply want to watch it again), you’ll be able to do so on Hulu starting this week. The movie is based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and takes on the fake-dating trope.
9-1-1: Lonestar season 5 (Oct. 20)
In this procedural, Brian Michael Smith, Roben Rubinstein, and Rob Lowe play firefighters in the 126 Fire Department who have to save lives while keeping their own from falling apart. The full season five drops on Hulu this week so you can binge the whole thing.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Oct. 22)
This Hulu original movie reimagines the 1992 classic of the same name. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as an upscale suburban mom who brings a new nanny into her home — only to find out that she’s not who she claims.
The Monster of Florence (Oct. 22)
This Netflix series tackles one of Italy’s first serial killer, who caused a 17-year reign of terror and eight double murders. It’s based on true events, direct testimonies, procedural documents and journalistic investigations.
Nobody Wants This season 2 (Oct. 23)
The hit comedy starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell is back for another season! Last season we watched cool Rabbi Noah and agnostic (and definitely not Jewish by birth) podcast host Joanne fall in love. This season, we’ll see how they begin to merge their lives and confront their differences. This Netflix standout also stars Justine Lupe (Succession) and Jackie Tohn (Glow).
The Perfect Neighbor (Oct. 17)
In Netflix’s latest true crime drama, viewers see firsthand — through bodycam footage — how one neighbor terrorized their community. The hostility reaches a boiling point and takes a deadly turn.
The Diplomat season 3 (Oct. 16)
When we pick up on season 3 of The Diplomat, Ambassador Kate Wyler has accused the Vice President of the United States of hatching a terrorist plot. Now, the president’s dead and the former VP has become commander-in-chief, dashing Kate’s VP aspirations. Complicating matters further? Kate’s husband may have accidentally killed the president.
Love Is Blind season 9 (Oct. 1)
Grab your opaque gold wine glass, and get ready to head back to the pods, because Love is Blind is finally back! This season takes us to Denver, where a host of new singles will see if they can really fall in love (say it with us now) sight unseen. As always, Nick and Vanessa Lachey will be our hosts guiding us (and the hopefuls) through this process.
The Golden Bachelor (Oct. 1)
Ready to dive into another season of The Golden Bachelor? Check out everything you missed during the premiere in our recap. Whether you’re watching for the love stories or the redemption arc, we’re sure to get plenty of memorable moments this season. The show airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. eastern and is available to stream the following day on Hulu.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Oct. 3)
Ryan Murphy’s controversial true crime series continues, this time taking on the Plainfield Ghoul, the murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. Similar to Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, this upcoming Netflix series has faced criticism from those who say the series sexualizes Gein. That said, the first season of Monster was one of the most-watched series on Netflix, so if The Ed Gein Story sounds like your cup of tea, you probably won’t be alone.
The New Force (Oct. 3)
This new Swedish drama on Netflix centers on Sweden’s first crop of female police officers (who graduated in 1958, BTW). Ridiculed by the public, the media, and their own colleagues, these women are far from being seen as equals. And when they’re stationed in Sweden’s most crime-ridden district, they realize their biggest problem isn’t the criminals, it’s society’s treatment of them.
Best new books to read this week
Isn’t It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz (Oct. 21)
This rom-com has been described as an updated You’ve Got Mail! but with podcasting. NYT best-selling author Rachel Lynn Solomon calls Isn’t It Obvious? “stunningly intimate and effortlessly wise” and says it “offers a truly unique take on enemies offline/anonymously falling in love online, with every sentence made to savor.”
This Is a Safe Space by Lucinda Berry (Oct. 21)
USA Today best-selling author Lucinda Berry has another heart-pounding thriller up her sleeve — and soon to be in our ears. In this new audiobook, Jenna may be a therapist, but that doesn’t mean she’s perfectly well-adjusted. She’s got trust issues, which cause her to snoop in her husband’s phone, where she discovers a conversation about a dancer from a bachelor party, claiming he cheated. The dancer is ready to expose the truth if she doesn’t get what she wants. The kicker? Jenna recognizes the name of this dancer as a former client who ghosted on her sessions suddenly.
Winston and the Windsors by Andrew Morton (Oct. 21)
The New York Times called Andrew Morton “the king of royal tea,” and his new book is piping. This dual biography explores the behind-the-scenes drama of how the Prime Minister helped shape the House of Windsor — and his at times hot-and-cold relationship with the royal family. Trust us, this history book is written like a riveting drama. Case in point: I lent the book to my dad (who has read just about every biography on Churchill there is), and he finished it in three days.
