With less than a week until the official start of autumn, the last days of summer are still delivering that unrelenting heat. Prime Video and Hulu both have unveiled some major additions to their respective streaming libraries this week, from new weekly episodic releases to American twists on European horror classics. CBR is here with a set of recommendations on what exactly to binge this weekend, with one last weekend to stay cool for the summer.
Here are CBR’s biggest picks for shows and movies to stream on Hulu and Prime Video this weekend, from fan-favorite films ready for a revisit to widely acclaimed television series’ making their eagerly anticipated return with new episodes.
Atlanta's Final Season Kicks Off With a Homecoming
In addition to his acting and musical performances, Donald Glover has astounded audiences with the sheer quality and imagination delivered as the creator of his FX television series Atlanta. Starring as an aspiring hip hop artist named Earn, Atlanta has provided a nuanced and occasionally surreal look at hip hop culture and the Black experience in the American South. The fourth and final season of the Emmy Award-winning series premiered this week, with new episodes added weekly to Hulu.
Atlanta Season 3 largely revolved around the main characters traveling across Europe as part of a concert tour, each experiencing tumultuous changes to their personal and professional lives. After this extended time abroad, Season 4 returns the characters back to their home state of Georgia while showing just how far each of them has come since the first season. An introspective look at legacy, community and destiny, Atlanta is set to go out at the top of its game.
The Handmaid's Tale Returns With a Double-Sized Premiere
Margaret Atwood’s searing 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale has been adapted into an award-winning television series by Hulu, with Elisabeth Moss heading its acclaimed cast. Set in the near future, after a second American Civil War installed a theonomic and totalitarian government in Gilead, the renamed United States, women are oppressed even more mercilessly by the patriarchy. The fifth and penultimate season has launched on Hulu this week, with a two-episode season premiere bringing audiences back to the dystopian world of Gilead.
By Season 4, Moss' protagonist June had risen to become a hardened freedom fighter looking to topple Gilead’s government and the cruel men that run it. With intrigue and distrust running rampant between the resistance and the ruling class, The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 is set to escalate the conflict on a larger stage. Driven by social commentary that feels more bitingly timely than ever, The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the best original programs available on Hulu, five seasons in.
The Last Duel Throws Down the Gauntlet on Hulu
Filmmaker Ridley Scott is no stranger to helming gritty historical epics, and his latest project in the genre was last year’s bitter historical drama The Last Duel. Set in 14th medieval France, the movie has Matt Damon and Adam Driver star as squires Jean de Carrogues and Jacques Le Gris, respectively. While Jean is away in Scotland on a military campaign, Jacques assaults Jean’s wife, Marguerite, with Jean challenging Jacques to a lethal duel to restore his family’s honor.
Featuring an all-star cast and gruesomely personal stakes, The Last Duel demonstrates that Scott is very much still at the height of his creative power. Co-written by Damon, co-star Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener, The Last Duel critiques and deconstructs the machismo and bravado of the Middle Ages. A fascinating look at a forgotten side of medieval history, The Last Duel is one of last year’s more overlooked films.
Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth Gathers on Prime Video
While Prime Video’s stunning original series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power rolls out new episodes each week, the last major adaptation of Tolkien’s work is available on the streaming service. Filmmaker Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies are both available on Prime Video for those looking to tide over the wait for new Rings of Power episodes. Though the film trilogies and television series are not narratively connected, Jackson’s work remains a stunning masterclass in bringing literary high fantasy to the screen.
Released from 2001-2003, The Lord of the Rings chronicles a coalition that sets out to destroy the One Ring of Power in order to eliminate the evil Sauron for good. Released from 2012-2014, The Hobbit trilogy takes place decades earlier, as the unassuming Bilbo Baggins acquires the ring before finding himself in the middle of a longstanding conflict. While The Hobbit was not as warmly received as The Lord of the Rings, both trilogies are ambitiously entertaining.
Goodnight Mommy Is Reimagined for New Audiences on Prime Video
The 2014 Austrian psychological horror film Goodnight Mommy received international acclaim upon its release, delivering a tautly paced story with terrifying stakes. Director Matt Sobel has remade the movie for American audiences, released this week as a Prime Video original film. Starring Naomi Watts as the apparent maternal figure, the American version of Goodnight Mommy looks to provide its own twist on the classic horror premise.
After a woman undergoes cosmetic facial surgery, she returns home to her two twin sons with her face still wrapped in heavy bandages. As the woman begins to exhibit increasingly bizarre and disturbing behavior, the boys begin to ponder if the woman in their home is actually their mother. With a mounting sense of dread and tension, Goodnight Mommy is poised to deliver the Halloween scares early at the most invasive place imaginable -- home sweet home.