Welcome to Streaming Rewind, a weekly breakdown of the new and noteworthy as we work to help readers wade through the absolute deluge of television series and movies in the streaming space.
Happy almost Christmas to all of those definitely working right now. I wish I were “definitely working” right now, but alas, I am writing this list of what to watch this weekend for all of you. (Insert sarcasm about my job being very hard.)
Alright, what have we got this week? Let’s see…
The Simpsons: O C’Mon All Ye Faithful (Disney+)
This feels like a Christmas for cynicism and snark, and what better way to get that injected into your veins than via a long-beloved adult cartoon that’s been around for most of our lives. In fact, the special marks the 35th anniversary since the original The Simpsons Christmas Special, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Typing that, it occurs to me that for the younger readers, for those who 35 years could be more than their whole lives… excuse me while I go turn to dust. I digress! This year’s Simpsons Christmas Special is up on Disney+ now. It’s a double-episode that features British mentalist Derren Brown coming to Springfield and running amok. Homer gets hypnotized and believes he’s Santa Claus, too. Who knows, maybe this will get you into the Christmas spirit!
Beast Games (Prime Video)
If you were looking for the television version of a lump of coal, force the person who has been most awful to you this year to sit down and watch an episode of Beast Games. It’s out now and we had, well, no real kind words for it here at IGN.
Here’s the verdict from our review: “Beast Games is a reality show that tries and fails to translate the style of MrBeast’s popular YouTube videos to a longer-form reality show. It’s largely dull and without much of anything to get invested in, relying on constantly shouting at us about the stakes while frenetic editing slices everything to pieces. It’s about what you’d expect from an ever-hustling spectacle merchant like MrBeast, but that only makes it all the more exhausting to take in.”
What If…? Season 3 (Disney+)
What If…? is back for Season 3! If you’re not familiar with the Disney+ series yet, it’s a riff on the old comic runs of the same name that basically asked “what if this weird stuff that didn’t actually happen in canon occurred?” Now, What If…? has, by and large, played it pretty safe throughout its tenure, but I’m hopeful that maybe they’ll go hard in this final season of the show. Some of the episodes include “What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood?”, “What If… the Emergence Destroyed the Earth?”, and the series finale titled “What If… What If?” We’re not sure what’s actually coming in that finale, but cast details tell us Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter will be involved, and that’s all I need to know in order to show up for something.
Also New This Week
Anora — December 17 (Digital and Demand)Aaron Rodgers: Enigma — December 17 (Netflix)Secret Level (Second group of Season 1 episodes) — December 17 (Netflix)The Six Triple Eight — December 20 (Netflix)Juror #2 — December 20 (Max)
