Netflix remains the biggest streaming service compared to all other comers by an order of magnitude, but that doesn’t mean its myriad rivals aren’t continually pumping out new TV series and movies for subscribers to enjoy.
In fact, several of those smaller streaming outlets have a bevy of new content worth checking out over the next several days. They range from documentaries to returning favorites and all-new original dramas, and we’ll take a closer look at these new non-Netflix titles below. And, as always, don’t forget to check out our monthly rundowns that include the full release slate for Disney+, HBO/Max, Peacock, Prime Video, and Paramount+.
Before (Apple TV+, Oct. 25)
I know I’m not the only one who got “I see dead people” energy from the trailer for Apple’s new psychological thriller Before, starring Billy Crystal.
I always love seeing comedians display their chops in serious dramatic roles (a la Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction). Here, Crystal plays Eli — a child psychiatrist who’s recently lost his wife. The drama veers off into spooky territory when Eli encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection to his past. Apple TV+ has been killing it of late with psychological dramas (like current hit Disclaimer), and Before definitely has all the makings of Apple’s next must-watch release.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Disney+, Oct. 25)
There’s no getting around it: Rock’s elder statesmen these days are literal senior citizens. Some, like ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, still tour despite being an octogenarian. At 75, Bruce Springsteen is a little younger but still tours just as relentlessly as Macca — and a new documentary sets out to explain why The Boss is still going after all these years.
In the Disney+ concert documentary Road Diary, according to the streamer, “Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band offer the most in-depth look ever at the creation of their legendary live performances, including footage of band rehearsals, backstage moments, rare archival clips and personal reflections from Springsteen himself.”
Lioness: Season 2 (Paramount+, Oct. 27)
There’s no such thing as “immoral war,” Zoe Saldana’s CIA officer Joe somberly muses at one point in Season 2 of Paramount+’s Lioness. “There’s survival, and there’s surrender.”
One of a growing pile of Taylor Sheridan-connected TV series in the Paramount+ stable, Lioness was inspired by a real-world US military program. In Season 2 of the series, Paramount+ notes that “the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home. Joe (Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Kidman), and Byron (Kelly) enlist a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe is forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she has made as the leader of the Lioness program.”
Breath of Fire (Max, now streaming)
HBO and Max are home to some of the most talked-about and compelling documentary films and series, including titles like Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos and Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (to name just a couple of recent standouts). In the new Breath of Fire, from directors Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens, viewers are introduced to YouTube astrologer Katie Griggs — a sort of yoga influencer who became the face of Kundalini yoga, which is a much more intense and meditation-focused version of yoga.
As she rose to fame, Griggs rebranded herself as Guru Jagat. She attracted all sorts of followers thanks to her promises of prosperity and fulfillment, but Breath of Fire goes deep on the dark side of her story — with a focus on whether she was more manipulator than guru.
The Pasta Queen (Prime Video, now streaming)
Finally, I’ve sort of been on the hunt for a food show to salivate over while waiting for The Bear‘s fourth season to arrive. If the same goes for you, this new Prime Video TV series — which features New York Times bestselling author Nadia Caterina Munno, a descendant of an Italian pasta dynasty — could be worth checking out.
Nadia, who has millions of followers on social media, takes viewers along on a journey to four regions of Italy, highlighting their cuisine and ingredients along the way. She also walks viewers, step-by-step, through the making of authentic Italian dishes, including Pugliese staples like Orecchiette con Pomodoro e Cacioricotta and Cozze alla Tarantina — and her culinary creations, it should come as no surprise, are literal works of art to behold. I wouldn’t watch this show on an empty stomach if I were you.
