As we kick off the month of June — which will give us a handful of major titles like Extraction 2 and new episodes of The Witcher — it’s time for our look at the first week’s batch of new Netflix releases that we have to look forward to, including a 3-part Arnold Schwarzenegger docuseries, a thrilling new K-drama, and much more. We’ll get into the highlights of all of that, and more, below as part of our latest Netflix weekend look-ahead.
And in addition to the new recommendations of what to watch below, don’t forget to also check out some of our other recent Netflix coverage highlights, including:
- The 72 best shows on Netflix
- 5 of Netflix’s grittiest, must-watch crime series that I can’t recommend enough
- Watch all 6 of these series before you complain there’s nothing good on Netflix anymore
Arnold Schwarzenegger Netflix documentary series
As for the documentary I mentioned above, it’s yet another reminder that the star of classic action films like Terminator and Predator is kind of having a moment on Netflix right now.
In addition to Arnold, for example, his 8-episode series Fubar is currently the #1 show on Netflix in the US as well as worldwide. There’s also the documentary, which will add one more sure-to-be compelling character study to what’s been an all-around fantastic slate of Netflix documentaries so far this year.
The streamer also shot a fun bit of promotional footage with the star, who it dubbed its new “chief action officer,” by way of teasing all of the big new Netflix action movies coming down the pike (including Heart of Stone and Extraction 2).
As for the documentary Arnold, coming on June 7, it will follow the extraordinary and improbable life story of the star from the Austrian countryside to the pinnacle of the American dream — including success in Hollywood and eventually politics. From director Lesley Chilcott, Arnold features interviews with Schwarzenegger himself, as well as friends and co-stars who tell the story of everything from his time as the governor of California all the way back to his early days pumping iron. It promises to be a fascinating look at the larger-than-life personality with the big persona who’s been entertaining moviegoers for decades now.
And as an indication of how much residual popularity and affection he still commands, consider: His Fubar series, an action romp in which he plays a CIA agent who comes out of retirement for one last mission, racked up almost 90 million hours viewed worldwide, according to data from Netflix, for the week that ended on May 28.
For the hardcore Schwarzenegger fans among you, some of the biggest releases of his career that are also available to watch on Netflix right now include:
What else to watch
Moving right along, here are snapshots of some of the other binge-worthy titles coming to Netflix over the next several days, starting with a fan-favorite comedy that’s now on its fourth season.
Never Have I Ever: Creator Mindy Kaling’s coming-of-age comedy, about the adolescence of a modern-day first-generation Indian-American girl, is still going strong as it prepares to return for a fourth season. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as Devi, an overachieving high-schooler who keeps finding herself caught up in one predicament after another. Release date: June 8.
Tour de France: Unchained: This 8-episode series follows all of the many participants in the tour, from riders to team managers, in an effort to show viewers have the race has become a major international event that’s now broadcast in 190 territories. Release date: June 8.
This World Can’t Tear Me Down: From Netflix’s official description of this 6-episode animated release, “An old friend returns to the neighborhood after several years away and struggles to recognize the world in which he grew up. Zerocalcare would like to do something for him but realizes that he is unable to help him feel at home again and make the right choice to find his place in the world.” Release date: June 9.
One more big new Netflix release to check out
Lastly, on the heels of the most recent K-drama to hit the streamer — the dystopian thriller Black Knight, which has been one of the biggest Netflix releases in the world for three weeks now — we’re getting a similarly action-packed and pulse-pounding Korean release next week that will definitely appeal to fans of the genre.
The 8-episode thriller Bloodhounds, out on June 9, is about two youngsters who get caught up in a cutthroat and ruthless money-lending business and who decide to risk their lives to take down an evil loan shark. From Netflix’s synopsis:
“After meeting at the finals of a boxing championship, up-and-coming boxer Gun-woo (Woo Do-hwan) and fellow competitor Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi) forge a friendship that is cemented by their shared experience in the grueling Marine Corps. Their newfound brotherhood is taken up a notch when scheming loan sharks from Smile Capital trick Gun-woo’s mother into debt and trash her café, spurring Woo-jin to help avenge her.”
Bloodhounds promises a David-and-Goliah kind of a narrative mixed with epic fight scenes as two friends and rookie boxers team up for one of the oldest but oh-so-satisfying dynamics in the K-drama genre: Taking down an entrenched, powerful, Big Bad. The title is a reference to the fact that, as Netflix explains, the brothers are like bloodhounds in the sense that even when they’re bitten, they never let go.
Two other Netflix Korean dramas along these same lines that I wholeheartedly recommend, by the way, in which protagonists go up against seemingly impregnable, daunting foes include:
- Vincenzo — in which a Korean-Italian lawyer befriends a building full of small-business owners and protects them from an evil corporation
- and Itaewon Class — Taking place largely in the trendy Seoul neighborhood of Itaewon, this is the story of an ex-con and his friends who take on the angry, evil CEO of a restaurant business to make their dream of a street bar a reality.
