This week on streaming services, we’ve got a blockbuster action film, an Oscar-winning dramatic thriller, and a bunch of notable indies and Certified Fresh TV. Read on for the full list.
This documentary — originally shown in IMAX 3D — follows entomologist Fred Urquhart’s decades-long efforts to document the extraordinary seasonal migrations of monarch butterflies.
Available now on: Netflix
Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem star in the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning dramatic thriller about a man who discovers a briefcase full of cash, the deadly hitman ordered to retrieve it, and the grizzled local sheriff trying to make sense of it all.
Available now on: Netflix
This coming-of-age drama follows a French teenager’s troubled family life and misadventures in the Soviet Union.
Available now on: Netflix
Bill Murray plays a curmudgeon with a heart in St. Vincent, about a Vietnam vet who forges an unlikely friendship with a neighborhood boy. Naomi Watts and Melissa McCarthy costar.
Available now on: Netflix
In this psychological horror film, a pregnant newlywed couple are terrorized by their invasive new landlord.
Available now on: Netflix
This Turkish horror film tells the terrifying tale of a group of cops who stumble into an otherworldly realm.
Available now on: Netflix
Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson star in this widely acclaimed thriller, in which the IMF is on the run from both the government and a shadowy band of bad guys.
Available now on: Amazon Prime
Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander star in this Best Foreign Film nominee, a period drama about a doctor who seduces the soon-to-be queen of Denmark.
Available now on: Amazon Prime
This documentary takes a look at the life of Maila Nurmi, the woman who played television horror icon Vampira during the 1950s.
Available now on: Amazon Prime
WGN’s Certified Fresh drama centers on a group of slaves living in Georgia during the pre-Civil War plantation era who plot to escape north together with the help of the Underground Railroad.
Available now on: Hulu
David Morse and Ryan Hurst lead an ensemble cast in this WGN drama about the power struggles within an Appalachian community living off the grid in rural Kentucky.
Available now on: Hulu
Kate Beckinsale and Chloë Sevigny star in Whit Stillman‘s adaptation of the Jane Austen novel about a widow who attracts the attention of three suitors.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
This documentary profiles a Ukrainian preacher who made it a personal mission to save local kids from addiction.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
This documentary examines the complex relationship between Argentinian tango dancers Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes.
Available now on: FandangoNow, iTunes
This Certified Fresh French drama is the story of an aging factory worker who’s laid off and begins a new job as a supermarket security guard.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes. and Dakota Johnson star in this drama about an injured rock star whose recuperation from an injury is interrupted when she’s visited by an old flame.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
Craig Robinson stars in this coming-of-age drama about a teen who moves to Germany with his father and learns to adjust to his new life.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island partners Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone starin this Spinal Tap-esque satire of the modern mainstream pop scene and 21st century celebrity in general.
Available now on: Amazon, FandangoNow, iTunes
As we ramp up into summer, we reflect upon the 2016 winter/spring season, which brought with it a handful of top-notch TV shows worthy of Certified Fresh status. Whether they be series premieres or new seasons of returning shows, we’ve got all of them here in one place for you. Did your favorites make the list? Sound off in the comments below.
It’s time for our weekly countdown of the Winter TV premieres! Here are the best new shows for the week of Friday, January 29th. See how this week’s shows, Outsiders, Chelsea Does, Lucifer, You, Me, and the Apocalypse, and The Magicians stack up against each other on the Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we’ve got a portly protector (Kung Fu Panda 3, featuring the voices of Jack Black and J.K. Simmons), high seas heroics (The Finest Hours, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck), and a steamy spoof (Fifty Shades of Black, starring Marlon Wayans and Kali Hawk). What do the critics have to say?
If any studio is capable of challenging the perennial dominance of Pixar, it’s DreamWorks Animation, home to fairy tale ogres, trained dragons, and a bevy of zoo animals stranded in Madagascar. This week, another DreamWorks success story unleashes its third installment, and critics say Kung Fu Panda 3 is a visually delightful treat, even if its story is a tad ho-hum. This time out, Po (voiced by Jack Black) unites with another panda from his past (Bryan Cranston) to train a new generation of warriors and defeat an evil master (J.K. Simmons) from the spirit realm. The pundits say that, despite a thinner plot, Kung Fu Panda 3 is as entertaining and spectacularly animated as its predecessors.
Remarkable true stories don’t always translate to compelling cinema, even when they’re about harrowing maritime encounters — see last year’s In the Heart of the Sea, for example. Critics say this week’s The Finest Hours, which is based on a 1952 Coast Guard rescue off the coast of Cape Cod, mostly gets by on some old-fashioned thrills, but it also stumbles in its efforts to stir up drama. Chris Pine stars as Bernard Webber, a Coast Guard officer who leads a small motorboat crew into rough seas to retrieve the survivors of a tanker ripped in half by a powerful nor’easter. The pundits say The Finest Hours is a fairly traditional survival drama that benefits from its gripping rescue sequences but stalls whenever it cuts away from the action.
There are some who would argue that the erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey was unintentionally comedic in its own way, but those looking for even less subtlety can look forward to Fifty Shades of Black, a parody of the EL James adaptation that wasn’t screened for critics. Marlon Wayans — the master satirist behind the Scary Movie and A Haunted House franchises — stars as the titular exec, who presumably reveals his penchant for BDSM and pop culture references when he becomes involved with an innocent reporter (Kali Hawk) looking to write a story about him. Time to guess the Tomatometer!
You, Me, and the Apocalypse has a lot of fun with the end of the world, if you can keep up with its unpredictable, oddball twists.
Outsiders‘ gritty performances keep the backwoods drama intriguing, even when the story gets stuck in the mud.
Chelsea Does manages to investigate some meaningful topics, but the show’s polarizing namesake is also its greatest liability.
Lucifer‘s got sex appeal, but the show’s hackneyed cop procedural format undermines a potentially entertaining premise.
Also Opening This Week In Limited Release
Outsiders, WGN’s new series about a wild clan living atop a mountain in rural Kentucky, may not be the first show we’ve seen set in Appalachia (we still miss you, Justified), but we’ve never seen Appalachia done quite like this before.
From award-winning playwright Peter Mattei, veteran TV producer Peter Tolan, and beloved actor Paul Giamatti comes the wild tale of the Farrell clan, an extended family who has occupied the top of Shay Mountain for over 200 years, living off the grid and only interacting with society when absolutely necessary. When a threat upon their way of life finds its way up the mountain, the Farrells respond the only way they know how — with hair flying, ATVs revving, and guns at the ready. Oh, and plenty of moonshine too.
Here’s everything you should know before you watch season one of Outsiders, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 9 p.m. on WGN.
Forget what you think you know about Appalachia because Outsiders plans to dispel a number of misconceptions for you. According to actress Christina Jackson, who plays the beautiful young store clerk Sally-Ann, the cast makes sure that they play their characters simple, but not stupid. “That’s a myth about the Appalachians — that they’re just uneducated and they live crazy and wild lives.”
Some of the cast visited the Appalachian Media Institute and the Institute of Appalachian Studies at the University of Kentucky to get into character, including Thomas M. Wright, who also spent time with coal miners and local law enforcement to better understand the culture for his character Sheriff Wade Houghton.
But to be clear, don’t think that the Farrells themselves are too representative of people in the area. Laughing a little, actor David Morse, who plays the formidable Big Foster, told Rotten Tomatoes, “The Farrell life and the family that we’re playing, I think, is a little bit different than we might find normally up there.”
Under a lush canopy of trees in the verdant world of the mountaintop, the Farrells are a group of people who have known the same way of life for over 200 years, living by their own laws on zero money.
“There’s a world that’s never really been seen,” said Kyle Gallner, who plays a young inquisitive man named Hasil who’s fascinated with life down the mountain.”These people have their own rules, their own customs, and their own way of life.”
The politics within the clan will be explored as early as the first episode when Morse’s character, Foster Farrell the 6th, realizes that his long-promised anointment as the Bren’in (the Farrells’ king) is delayed by his mother, Lady Ray, when another clan member returns to the mountain — and let’s just say that his reaction is pretty extreme.
Most of us couldn’t go a day without our devices, but the simple way of the Farrells’ life is not without its appeal. For show creator Mattei, existence off the grid is one of his favorite parts of the show.
“I think I’ve just always been fascinated with people who are living alternative lifestyles — you know, any kind of weirdo cult, hippie communes, gypsy gangs, biker clans, and all that kind of stuff,” Mattei told RT. “I think a lot about technology… and how people don’t have conversations anymore; they just text each other… So thinking about people who lived in a completely alternative [lifestyle] was an interesting way to question the world that the rest of us inhabit.”
The Farrells love a good moonshine party, but it’s another character who struggles the most with substances in the early episodes of season one. Kentucky State Deputy Sheriff Houghton, who is among the fifth generation of another Appalachian family, has a serious pill problem and it definitely affects his job.
“That’s a very real thing down there — a real epidemic,” said Wright, who visited a local drug treatment facility to research his character. “I spent time [with] people who are dealing with those sorts of issues… they talk about it stealing a whole generation of people in Appalachia.”
G’winveer (Gillian Alexy), the center of a love triangle between her distant cousins Lil’ Foster and Asa, is one of the most valued members of the clan. And just because she is the best healer on Shay Mountain doesn’t mean that she can’t also inflict some serious harm.
“She is no wallflower, that’s for sure,” said Alexy. “So I think that was one of the biggest appeals — being able to play a woman in this world who was just not going to sit down and shut up. She was going to tell it how it is and get in the fight, roll up her sleeves, and be just as much a part of it, and [as] tough and strong-willed as the men.”
Though Mattei is best known for his plays, he’s done enough TV to know that executive producer Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, The Larry Sanders Show) is a big deal.
“I had done some writing for TV but never got on staff or created a show before, by any means,” Mattei mused. “So I kind of knew going in that when WGN picked up the show, I would be paired with some kind of crazy, drug addict, douchebag showrunner and that my life would be hell.”
When Mattei found out that Tolan got the script, his first thought was that, because of Tolan’s stature in the business, it wasn’t going to happen. “To my amazement and shock, he loved it and turns out to be the greatest guy to work with that I could possibly have hoped for.”
For Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy), the selling point was none other than his TV dad, David Morse (The Green Mile, The Hurt Locker). “For me, to be totally honest, I wanted to read for Hasil,” Hurst, who ended up taking the part of Lil’ Foster, explained. “And I was like, ‘That’s the only character that I wanna read for,’ and they were like, ‘You’re way too old,’ and I said, ‘Forget it.’ and they said, ‘Are you sure?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, forget it,’ and they said, ‘Well, David Morse is in it,’ and I said, ‘Aw, s–t…. he’s my favorite actor.’”
Take out the ATVs and you may as well be looking at the cast of Braveheart — or maybe even Mad Max. The accents, the long hair, and the tattoos were all aspects of the Outsiders’ world-building that really excited Gallner, and the one idea that he fought for was Hasil’s kilt. And let’s be honest: it’s working.
Jackson, who plays Hasil’s love interest in the show, is definitely on board with the styling choice. “I’m going to say it all day,” she told RT. “The kilt is a real selling point for me.”
Outsiders premieres on Tuesday, January 26 at 9pm on WGN; read reviews here.
Here it is: the ever-growing list of mid-season premieres for winter and spring, 2016. Included here are series and season premieres, as well as returns of shows that will have been on hiatus for a couple of months or more. So mark your calendars now. Will “peak TV” continue peaking in 2016? You be the judge.
January | February | March | April | TBA
Friday, Jan. 1
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride special event, 9 p.m., PBS
Sunday, Jan. 3
Galavant season two premiere, 8 p.m., ABC
Downton Abbey season six premiere, 8 pm, PBS
Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life series premiere, FOX
Bordertown series premiere, 9:30 p.m., FOX
Galavant
Monday, Jan. 4
The Bachelor, season 20 premiere, 8 p.m., ABC
The Biggest Loser season 17 premiere, 9 p.m., NBC
Tuesday, Jan. 5
The New Girl season five premiere, 8 p.m., ABC
Teen Wolf season five return, 9 p.m., MTV
The Shannara Chronicles series premiere, 10 p.m., MTV
Wednesday, Jan. 6
American Idol season 15 premiere, 8 p.m., FOX
Mike & Molly season six premiere, 8 p.m., CBS
American Crime season two premiere, 10 p.m., ABC
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 11 premiere, 10 p.m., FXX
Man Seeking Woman season two premiere, 10:30 p.m., FXX
Thursday, Jan. 7
Angel from Hell series premiere, 9:30 p.m., CBS
Beyond the Tank season two premiere, 10 p.m., ABC
Shades of Blue series premiere, 10 p.m., NBC
Todd Margaret season three premiere, 10 p.m., IFC
Sunday, Jan. 10
Shameless season six premiere, 9 p.m., SHO
Tuesday, Jan. 12
Pretty Little Liars season six return, 8 p.m., Freeform
Shadowhunters series premiere, 9 p.m., Freeform
Shadowhunters
Wednesday, Jan. 13
Second Chance series premiere, 9 p.m., FOX
Younger season two premiere, 10 p.m., TV Land
Teachers series premiere, 11 p.m., TV Land
Thursday, Jan. 14
Colony series premiere, 10 p.m., USA
Workaholics season six premiere, 10 p.m., Comedy Central
Idiotsitter series premiere, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central
Colony
Friday, Jan. 15
Hell’s Kitchen season 15 premiere, 9 p.m., FOX
Sunday, Jan. 17
Angie Tribeca series premiere, 9 p.m., TBS
Billions series premiere, 10 p.m., Showtime
Mercy Street series premiere, 10 p.m., PBS
Angie Tribeca
Monday, Jan. 18
War & Peace series premiere, 9 p.m., A&E, Lifetime, History
Almost Royal season two premiere, 10 p.m., BBC America
Hit the Floor season three premiere, 10 p.m., VH1
Tuesday, Jan. 19
Marvel’s Agent Carter season two premiere, 9 p.m., ABC
Thursday, Jan. 21
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow series premiere, 8 p.m., CW
The 100 season three premiere, 9 p.m., CW
Baskets series premiere, 10 p.m., FX
London Spy series US premiere, 10 p.m., BBC America
Portlandia season six premiere, 10 p.m., IFC
Dark Net series premiere, 11 p.m., Showtime
Friday, Jan. 22
Chelsea Does series premiere, Netflix
Mad Dogs series premiere, Amazon Studios
Children’s Hospital season seven premiere, 11 p.m., Comedy Central, Adult Swim
Saturday, Jan. 23
Black Sails season three, 9 p.m., Starz
Beowulf series premiere, 10 p.m., Esquire
Sunday, Jan. 24
The X-Files season 10 premiere, 10 p.m., FOX
The X-Files
Monday, Jan. 25
The Fosters season three return, 8 p.m., Freeform
American Dad! season 12 premiere, 8:30 p.m., TBS
Lucifer series premiere, 9 p.m., FOX
The Magicians series premiere, 9 p.m., SyFy
Recovery Road series premiere, 9 p.m., Freeform
Tuesday, Jan. 26
Outsiders series premiere, 9 p.m., WGN
Wednesday, Jan. 27
Lucha Underground season two premiere, 9 p.m., El Rey
Suits season five return, 10 p.m., USA
Thursday, Jan. 28
You, Me and the Apocalypse series premiere, 8 p.m., NBC
Friday, Jan. 29
The Vampire Diaries season seven return, 8 p.m., CW
The Originals season three return, 9 p.m., CW
Sunday, Jan. 31
The Venture Bros season six premiere, midnight, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim
Tuesday, Feb. 2
The Muppets season one return, 8 p.m., ABC
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson series premiere, 10 p.m., FX
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Wednesday, Feb. 3
Madoff series premiere, 8 p.m., ABC
Young & Hungry season three premiere, 8 p.m., Freeform
Baby Daddy season five premiere, 8:30 p.m., Freeform
Friday, Feb. 5
Sleepy Hollow season three return, 8 p.m., FOX
Animals series premiere, 11:30 p.m., HBO
Monday, Feb. 8
Castle season eight return, 10 p.m., ABC
Tuesday, Feb. 9
Tosh.0 season eight return, 10 p.m., Comedy Central
Not Safe with Nikki Glaser series premiere, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central
Thursday, Feb. 11
Grey’s Anatomy season 12 return, 8 p.m., ABC
Scandal season five return, 9 p.m., ABC
How to Get Away with Murder season two return, 10 p.m., ABC
Those Who Can’t series premiere, 10:30 p.m., TruTV
Friday, Feb. 12
The Amazing Race season 28 return, 8 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Feb. 14
The Walking Dead season six return, 9 p.m., AMC
Vinyl series premiere, 9 p.m., HBO
Monday, Feb. 15
11.22.63 series premiere, Hulu
Major Crimes season four return, 9 p.m., TNT
Better Call Saul season two premiere, 10 p.m., AMC
Bitten season three premiere 11 p.m., Syfy
Major Crimes
Tuesday, Feb. 16
The New Yorker Presents series premiere, Amazon Studios
Rizzoli & Isles season seven premiere, 9 p.m., TNT
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Survivor season 32 premiere, 8 p.m., CBS
Broad City season three premiere, 10 p.m., Comedy Central
Thursday, Feb. 18
Vikings season four premiere, 8 p.m., History
Friday, Feb. 19
Love series premiere, Netflix
Sunday, Feb. 21
Girls season five premiere, 10 p.m., HBO
Togetherness season two premiere, 10:30 p.m., HBO
Thursday, Feb. 25
Prey miniseries premiere, 10 p.m., BBC America
Friday, Feb. 26
Fuller House series premiere, Netflix
Monday, Feb. 29
Gotham season two return, 8 p.m., FOX
The Voice season 10 premiere, 8 p.m., NBC
Blindspot season one return, 10 p.m., NBC
Back to Top
Wednesday, Mar. 2
Rosewood season one return, 8 p.m., Fox
The Real O’Neals series premiere, 8:30 p.m., ABC
CSI: Cyber season two return, 10 p.m., CBS
Hap and Leonard series premiere 10 p.m., Sundance
Thursday, Mar. 3
The Family series premiere, 9 p.m., ABC
Friday, Mar. 4
House of Cards season four, Netflix
Sunday, Mar. 6
Once Upon a Time season five return, 8 p.m., ABC
I Am Cait season two premiere, 9 p.m., E!
Quantico season one return, 10 p.m., ABC
Monday, Mar. 7
Bates Motel season four premiere, 9 p.m., A&E
Damien series premiere, 10 p.m., A&E
Damien
Tuesday, Mar. 8
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season three return, 9 p.m., ABC
Of Kings and Prophets series premiere, 10 p.m., ABC
Wednesday, Mar. 9
The Carmichael Show season two preview, 10 p.m., NBC
Underground series premiere, 10 p.m., WGN
Thursday, Mar. 10
60 Days In series premiere, 9 p.m., A&E
Friday, Mar. 11
Bosch season two premiere, Amazon
The Characters series premiere, Netflix
Flaked series premiere, Netflix
Party Over Here series premiere, 11 p.m., FOX
Sunday, Mar. 13
And Then There Were None miniseries US premiere, 8 p.m., Lifetime
The Carmichael Show season two premiere, 9 p.m., NBC
Tuesday, Mar. 15
Crowded series preview episodes, 10:00 p.m., NBC
Faking It season three premiere, 10:30 p.m., MTV
Wednesday, Mar. 16
Happy Valley season two premiere, Netflix
Schitt’s Creek season two premiere, 8 p.m., POP
Nashville season four return, 9 p.m., ABC
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders series premiere, 10 p.m., CBS
The Americans season four premiere, 10 p.m., FX
NashvilleFriday, Mar. 18
Marvel’s Daredevil season two premiere, Netflix
Sunday, Mar. 20
Crowded series premiere, 9:30 pm, NBC
Monday, Mar. 21
Dancing with the Stars season 22 premiere, 8 p.m., ABC
Tuesday, Mar. 22
Heartbeat series preview, 9 p.m., NBC
Stitchers season two premiere, 10 p.m., Freeform
Wednesday, Mar. 23
Heartbeat series premiere, 8 p.m., NBC
Rogue season four premiere, 9 p.m., DirecTV
The Carbonaro Effect season two premiere , 10 p.m., TruTV
Sunday, Mar. 27
Grantchester season two premiere, 9 p.m., PBS
Mr. Selfridge season four premiere, 10 p.m., PBS
Thursday, Mar. 24
The Catch series premiere, 10 p.m., ABC
Wednesday, Mar. 30
The Path series premiere, Hulu
Empire season two return, 9 p.m., FOX
Lopez series premiere, 10 p.m., TVLand
The Soul Man season five, 10:30 p.m., TV Land
Empire
Thursday, Mar. 31
Archer season seven premiere, FX
Rush Hour series premiere, 10 p.m., CBS
Friday, Apr. 1
The Ranch season premiere, Netflix
Banshee season four premiere, Cinemax
Motive season three premiere (US), 10 p.m., USA
Wynonna Earp series premiere, 10 p.m., SyFy
Sunday, Apr. 3
Call the Midwife season five premiere, 8 p.m., PBS
Thursday, Apr. 7
The Odd Couple season two premiere, 8:30 p.m., CBS
The Odd CoupleFriday, Apr. 8
Catastrophe season two premiere, Amazon
Saturday, Apr. 9
Outlander season two premiere, 9 p.m., Starz
Sunday, Apr. 10
The Girlfriend Experience series premiere, 8 p.m., Starz
House of Lies season five premiere, 9 p.m., Showtime
Dice series premiere, 9:30 p.m., Showtime
Fear the Walking Dead season two premiere, 10 p.m., AMC
Monday, Apr. 11
The Detour series premiere, 9 p.m., TBS
Hunters series premiere, 10 p.m., SyFy
Tuesday, Apr. 12
Ajin: Demi-Human series premiere, Netflix
The Mindy Project season four return, Hulu
Game of Silence series premiere, 10:00 p.m., NBC
Wednesday, Apr. 13
The Last Panthers series premiere, 10 p.m., SundanceTV
Thursday, Apr. 14
Bones season 11 return, 8 p.m., FOX
Orphan Black season four premiere, 10 p.m., BBC America
Friday, Apr. 15
Cuckoo season three US premiere, Netflix
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season two premiere, Netflix
Monday, Apr. 18
12 Monkeys season two premiere, 9 p.m., SyFy
Tuesday, Apr. 19
Containment series premiere, 9 p.m., CW
The Night Manager miniseries premiere, AMC
Wednesday, Apr. 20
Deadbeat series 3 premiere, Hulu
Sunday, Apr. 24
Game of Thrones season six premiere, 9 p.m., HBO
Rebellion miniseries premiere, 9 p.m., Sundance
Silicon Valley season three premiere, 10 p.m., HBO
Veep season five premiere, 10:30 p.m., HBO
Monday, Apr. 25
Turn season three premiere, 10 p.m., AMC
The Last Man on Earth season two return, FOX
