Welcome to the latest issue of Stream On, the weekly newsletter from Consequence that answers the eternally confounding question: What films and TV shows should you be watching? (Subscribe here!) We’re looking at all the new and recent releases from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, and more for ideas — not to mention a Blast From the Past and streaming recommendations from this week’s special guest: The Drop: A Snowfall Saga creator Malcolm Spellman!
This Week’s Picks
The Invite (Film)
The Invite (A24)
Directed by: Olivia Wilde
Cast: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
Streaming on: HBO Max
This four-hander from director/star Olivia Wilde is the definition of a simple set-up: A couple, struggling with their relationship, hosts their neighbors for dinner. By the end of the night, they’re forever changed. Saying much more about where The Invite goes might lessen its powers, but not only does this small cast prove electric in all their various combinations, but Wilde really proves her talent for direction, making a single location feel like a lived-in space on a level that’s tough to pull off. When I saw this over the summer, I had no idea it’d become an actual awards contender (at least according to Gold Derby) — but the chaos Wilde orchestrates on a small scale is a true achievement for sure.
Blindspotting (TV)
Blindspotting (Starz)
Created by: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Cast: Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jaylen Barron, Candace Nicholas-Lippman, Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Rafael Casal
Streaming on: Netflix
It’s always a bit of a bummer when a great show gets produced exclusively for a streaming service that not everyone has — and always a pleasure when that show then gets picked up by a much bigger streaming service. Hence my delight in noting that both seasons of Blindspotting (originally produced for Starz) are now available on Netflix! The series continues the story begun with the well-received 2018 movie written by and starring Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs (streaming on Tubi). Both of their characters do appear in the show, but the focus is on Ashley (Jasmine Cephas Jones, who gave a fantastic performance just recently in HBO’s Lanterns), the girlfriend of Miles, Casal’s character.
Blindspotting begins with Miles getting arrested, leaving Ashley and their young son to move in with Miles’ mother (an incredible Helen Hunt) and half-sister (Jaylen Barron), but that inciting incident is just a framework for some sharp comedy packed with imagination — there are dance sequences, soliloquies delivered directly to the camera, and all sorts of unexpected delights. Also, the show is rich with guest stars like Anthony Ramos, LeVar Burton, and Stephen Root, not to mention a Season 2 appearance by Dante Basco (Rufio from Hook!) that’s a riot.
Yaga (TV)
Yaga (AMC)
Created by: Kat Sandler
Cast: Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid, Clark Backo, Hudson Williams, Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Ezra Franky, Patrick Gilmore, Emilija Baranac, Katharine Isabelle
Streaming on: AMC+
Yaga could have been a relatively dry gloomy Canadian crime drama. Thank god it’s actually a horny and chaotic good time. The technical leads of the show are Schitt’s Creek’s Noah Reid and Letterkenny’s Clark Backo as a shady PI and a no-nonsense cop (respectively) who are looking into the disappearance of a local rich boy. However, Carrie-Anne Moss is there to inspire some of the aforementioned horny chaos as a local professor who knows a lot more than she’s saying. And, um, anyone hear of this show called Heated Rivalry?Ca This is Hudson Williams’s first big project following the culture-shifting success of that series, and he really gets to stretch himself in an unexpected dual role.
Desert Bus for Hope 2026 (YouTube Live Event)
Created by: LoadingReadyRun
Streaming on: YouTube
So this pick comes to y’all courtesy of my brother Eric, who maybe blackmailed encouraged me to feature the annual launch of this epic long-running livestreamed charity event. This short video recaps the basics, but the very, very short version is that on Friday, Oct. 23rd, members of the Canadian entertainment collective LoadingReadyRun will begin playing arguably the worst video game of all time for several days, non-stop. They do this on a livestream where things get more and more unhinged as the donations come in and memories of sleep fade away. It’s pretty damn fun.
Desert Bus for Hope has been driving since 2007, having raised over $13 million so far for the charity Child’s Play — so it’s a good cause and it’s our second instance of Canadian chaos this week. Go to the LRR YouTube channel to catch highlights from past drives, and visit the official site for information on how to donate. The fun begins at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. ET. BYO comfy clothes.
Blast From the Past
The home screens of streaming services are always packed with the latest new releases, but we don’t spend enough time appreciating how much good library content is streaming across all of these platforms. Each week, Stream On will spotlight one less-than-new favorite (must pre-date the founding of Consequence, so 15 years or older) that deserves attention from modern-day eyes.
The Dead Zone (Film)
The Dead Zone (Paramount)
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Cast: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen
Streaming on: AMC+, Paramount+
This week marked the passing of Tom Skerritt, who without question had an incredible run as a character actor (his first screen appearance was in 1962). And writing his obituary led me to finally check out this 1983 Stephen King adaptation, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Christopher Walken as a man who, after waking up from a five-year coma, suddenly has special powers. It’s a clean and tight take that feels very true to the King aesthetic, and while Skerritt’s not in a lot of it, he does one of the things he did best: Play a sheriff. When Skerritt’s the sheriff, you’re always in for a treat.
A Special Guest Recommends!
Liz isn’t the only person in the world capable of suggesting stuff for people to watch… So each week, Stream On will now feature picks from a special guest! Said special guest could be literally anyone from the world of entertainment — actors, writers, directors, musicians, or anyone else Liz thinks might be watching something interesting.
This Week: Malcolm Spellman!
Malcolm Spellman, photo by Paul Morigi/PictureGroup for FX and Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)
Who Are They? Writer/producer Malcolm Spellman has been a very busy man over the years, working on shows like Empire, Bel-Air, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which he created). His newest project is The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, a spinoff of the FX series created by John Singleton — he didn’t work on the original show, but as he told me during a Zoom interview, “Singleton was my brother, so I watched that process from before they ever shot the pilot, up close. And because I’m of a certain age, I’m in my 50s, these stories are my life. I lived through all this stuff.”
The Drop begins in 1990, and follows Snowfall’s Wanda (Gail Bean) as she attempts to elevate the West Coast rap scene, an angle Spellman landed on after he spent years trying to find an idea that would “make this feel more like the original Snowfall.” Unfortunately, that approach was “strangling something creative in me. I could not figure it out, and I finally got to a point where I just let go and went through my own experience, the experience of the brothers that I came up with in the streets of L.A., and let go of the burden of trying to continue Snowfall and wrote the story of what happened in the neighborhood right next door.” The result is something both fresh and familiar, packed with authentic details about the early ’90s music scene.
What Do They Recommend? Malcolm has two picks — first, the bootleg 2005 documentary Bastards of the Party (available at least right now on Vimeo), which he calls “the most quintessential thing ever done on Los Angeles gangs and gang culture, by a brother named Cle Sloan. This is the singular motherfucking piece on LA gang culture. Nothing like it out there.”
And then, like a lot of other people this year, he’s loving Widow’s Bay (Apple TV): “They torch every episode!” When asked about his favorite characters on the show, he immediately said that he doesn’t love Mayor Tom (Matthew Rhys), because “they did such a good job with him, it makes me want to kill him.” He instead shouted out Kate O’Flynn’s Patricia, “the one who everyone thinks is lying about the… You know what, I don’t want to spoil it for people, but it’s her. Because to pull off that role without being corny is almost impossible, and she’s doing it.”
Thank you so much to Malcolm for these picks! The season finale of The Drop premieres October 27th on FX and Hulu.
One Last One Before Bed
Finally, let’s spotlight a movie or TV show that’s not only great, but won’t take up too much of your time: Think of this section as the answer to the question “What’s something I can watch before hitting the hay, that won’t keep me up too late?” The only rule is that it has to be less than 95 minutes if it’s a movie, or less than 30 minutes an episode if it’s a TV show. Otherwise, sky’s the limit!
Atsuko Okatsuka: Father (Comedy Special)
Atsuko Okatsuka: Father (Hulu)
Directed by: Ryan Harper Gray
Cast: Atsuko Okatsuka
Streaming on: Hulu
I’m correcting a major oversight with this pick, because somehow I wrote a whole dang cover story on the hilarious Atsuko Okatsuka last year without ever mentioning her latest special in this newsletter! Okatsuka’s comedy always feels personal and revelatory without going too far, and Father is full of fascinating insights into her identity as both a person and a performer. I can’t wait to see where her next special takes us.
We’ll be back next week with more picks — in the meantime, stay safe out there, or better yet stay inside, where it’s definitely safe, and there’s so much film and TV to watch. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter!