Peak TV has made life inarguably more challenging. When Netflix announced more than 700 new shows and movies coming in 2018, it seemed as though the company was perhaps trying to kill us. The sheer amount of content to potentially relax with after a long day is already daunting. It’s an almost incomprehensible breadth of variety, which can lead to 45 minutes of careful weighing options, and then a viewing experience marred by nervously evaluating whether there’s something better to watch instead.
At the same time, there’s also a counter-argument of wheeeeee! A constantly refreshing slate of possibilities makes choosing something to watch feel like always being on the verge of making a delightful discovery. Perhaps one of these random shows or original movies that pop up online with little to no fanfare is secretly great, and you’re getting in on the ground floor.
So with that adventurous spirit in mind, we decided to launch a weekly guide to help you navigate what’s emerging in Infinite Content. Here we go.
What’s New
- AMO – Netflix’s first series from the Philippines follows Joseph, a student who graduates from piddling high school dealer to middling player in the extremely dangerous grown-ass drug trade. (Netflix)
- The Boss Baby: Back in Business – Oscar nominee The Boss Baby is back before you have the chance to miss it in this new, Alec Baldwin-free series of juvenile adventures. (Netflix)
- Chef’s Table: Pastry – What if the food competition show Chef’s Table focused only on pastries? That’s the question this mini-show dares ask. (Netflix)
- Come Sunday – This Sundance-gracing religious drama stars Academy Award-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, the red-hot Lakeith Stanfield, and Jason Segel. It tells the tale of Bishop Carlton Pearson, a real-life evangelical preacher who went from leading a religious congregation to being labeled a heretic. (Netflix)
- Lost in Space – The Robinson family lost its Swiss-ness for an extremely campy ’60s TV show and a semi-campy ’90s film adaptation. Now the family is once again crashing into a lost planet during a colonization mission in a reboot that seems to have dwelled even further from its campy roots. (Although at least it brought Parker Posey along for the space-ride.) (Netflix)
- I Am Not an Easy Man – A shameless misogynist wakes in a world where women reign supreme and then tangles with a powerful female author. Um, considering recent events, this movie should be called I Am Not an Easy Sell. (Netflix)
- Ram Dass: Going Home – The beloved spiritual teacher Ram Dass, a favorite of comedian Pete Holmes, explores how his spirituality deepened after he suffered a stroke 20 years ago. (Netflix)
- My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: JAY-Z – The latest installment of Letterman’s online talk show has already stoked the ire of right-wing pundits. (Netflix)
- Seth Rogen’s Hilarity for Charity – Rogen and his wife, the filmmaker Lauren Miller Rogen, started a charity to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. That charity’s titular special gathers Tiffany Haddish, Kumail Nanjiani, and the friggin’ Muppets for an hour of sketches, stand-up and weird surprises. (Netflix)
- Troy: Fall of a City – It’s the first season of an ancient epic that finds Helen and Paris falling in love. The exact number of ships her face launches over the course of the season is expected to be at least in the high hundreds. (Netflix)
Fast Company‘s Recommendation
The most promising picks from this crop are AMO and Hilarity for Charity. The former promises a new take on series like Narcos that skews younger and sheds light on a culture that doesn’t get much representation on American airwaves. Seth Rogen’s special piqued our interest when a clip of John Mulaney shit-talking Timothée Chalamet went viral, and that was before we heard there was a dick-vape scene. If neither of these options seems up your alley, however, two of last fall’s greatest arthouse offerings, Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Florida Project, started streaming on Amazon this week.
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