It’s another week in the heat of summer. If you’re trying to keep cool by staying indoors, there’s plenty to enjoy on the best streaming platforms, but finding the highlights can often be tough. When there is so much upcoming on Netflix and even more new to Hulu, how do you decide what to watch?
Well, we have you covered with some of this week's streaming highlights. Whether you’re looking for your favorite movie or a brand new movie, some great options are coming this week. From what’s new on Disney+ to the best new movies and shows on Max, here’s what’s worth looking at over this week.
New TV
Simone Biles Rising
Three years ago Simone Biles did the unthinkable and took herself out of the Summer Olympic Games (and garnered praise from Taylor Swift and more but jeers from others). Now, a new documentary series will take a look at the gymnastics phenom, her decision to do that, and the events that have followed since, leading to her return as part of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
With the new documentary arriving just a week before the Summer Games start up, it should be a great way for fans to get pumped up for the two weeks of events that will be launching next week, though on another streaming service.
Simone Biles Rising premieres July 17 on Netflix.
Star Wars: The Acolyte, Season Finale
While fans are still waiting for several promised upcoming Star Wars movies, the franchise has done well on streaming and made a Disney+ subscription worthwhile for a lot of people. The latest series, The Acolyte has broken new ground by setting a live-action Star Wars adventure far away from the characters and worlds that are closely associated with the Skywalker Saga. The show has had numerous twists and turns along the way so fans won’t want to be late to check out the final episode when it debuts on the evening of July 16.
At this point, it’s unclear whether there are any plans for an Acolyte Season 2, or when such a thing might happen. As such, we can’t even guess what the ending of the current season will look like, if it might be mostly definitive, or leave lots of open questions for future seasons to explore.
Watch Star Wars: The Acolyte on Disney+.
Cobra Kai Season 6: Part I
The Karate Kid spawned sequels, reboots, and remakes, but its most successful incarnation may be Cobra Kai, the series that picked up the story of Daniel and Johnny decades later. Every season of the show has been a hit, since even before it was available with a Netflix subscription. The first batch of episodes from the show’s final season are arriving this week.
This is only part one of the final season, so fans won’t need to be ready to say goodbye just yet but any new fans who want to get caught up should probably do so quickly.
Cobra Kai Season 6 premieres July 18 on Netflix.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
One of the more popular pieces of Batman-related media of the last few years hasn’t been about the caped crusader, but one of his villains. The Harley Quinn animated series, in all its foul-mouthed violent glory, has been incredibly popular. And, while fans are still waiting for Quinn Season 5, among many other upcoming DC TV shows, they will get something that we hope will be as good this week.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! follows the titular, and overlooked, Batman villain in a spinoff series that picks up from the character’s introduction in the Harley Quinn series. Odds are the new show will be just as wild as its predecessor, and possibly even more ridiculous, considering the protagonist of the series is… Kite Man.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah premieres July 18 on Max.
Those About to Die
It’s a pretty good year to be a Sword and Sandals fan. A lot of people are looking towards the release of Gladiator 2, the sequel to the Oscar-winning movie from Ridley Scott. But that's not the only new media surrounding gladiators in the coliseum that we’ll get this year, assuming you have a Peacock subscription.
Those About to Die stars Anthony Hopkins as the Emperor overseeing the combat in the Coliseum during Ancient Rome. Considering the series is produced and directed by Roland Emmerich, a man who knows a thing or two about spectacle, it seems likely the new show will at least look amazing.
Those About to Die premieres July 18 on Peacock.
NFL Flag Football Championship
In an era where streaming has taken over from traditional television in many ways, live sports is one area where traditional TV tends to still rule. Disney+ has occasionally played around with unique live sporting events on the platform, and that will happen again when two live flag football championship games, one for boys and one for girls, are carried live.
Kids flag football as a TV event may be a bit unusual but, with several entertainment companies currently working on a live sports streaming platform, it may be an early look at what is to come, and with no other football to watch right now, why not?
NFL Flag Football Championship premieres July 21 on Disney+.
New Movies
My Spy: The Eternal City
Back in 2020, an action/comedy starring Dave Bautista as a CIA agent who gets entangled with a young child, My Spy, was supposed to open in theaters. A global pandemic had other plans, and the movie ultimately debuted on Prime Video. Ultimately, it must have been quite popular, as Prime Video subscribers are now getting a sequel.
My Spy: The Eternal City sees Dave Bautista’s special agent coming out of retirement to chaperone a school trip for young Sophie. The duo is off to Europe, where there just so happens to also be a terrorist plot unfolding.
My Spy: The Eternal City Premieres July 18 on Prime Video.
Fifty Shades Darker/Fifty Shades Freed
One of the benefits of streaming is that usually entire franchises end up on the same streaming platform and fans can watch everything in one big marathon if they so choose. Unfortunately for Fifty Shades of Grey fans with a Netflix subscription, when the first movie arrived on the platform last month, it did so alone. But, now, it'll be joined by the other two movies, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, which arrive alongside the original.
The Fifty Shades of Grey movies aren’t exactly beloved by everybody. However, they were box office hits, so it's clear the movies have fans. And, now, you can watch the entire trilogy at home where nobody will be able to judge you for your choices.
Stream all three Fifty Shades movies beginning July 16 on Netflix.
Love Lies Bleeding
One of the best parts of having a Max subscription is the fact that you have access to most of the great films of A24. Love Lies Bleeding wasn’t a massive hit at the box office and may not get a great deal of awards consideration, but it’s arguably one of the strangest movies of 2024 so far, and that makes it worth a watch.
What appears to be a noir queer love story, and is that, is also a great deal more. As such, Love Lies Bleeding is a movie worth checking out. It may not be for everybody, but you won’t know if it’s for you unless you watch it, and the right audience is going to be very happy they found it.
Love Lies Bleeding premieres July 18 on Max.
All this should certainly keep fans glued to their television for the next week. One can only hope that there will be as much left to keep us going for the resort of the summer.
