September has arrived at long last, and summer is slowly drawing to an end. In just a few weeks, Autumn will fall upon us in all its fiery splendor. But for now, we have just about three weeks of summer and warm weather to enjoy—and enjoy it we shall, because we know that time is fleeting.
A new month also means another weekend of new streaming content, and unlike last weekend there are some pretty big shows dropping on the myriad streaming services we’re all required to keep up with (and subscribe to) these days.
Each week I bring you this guide after scouring the internet and sundry for all the best new and interesting shows and movies headed to our TVs over the weekend. I don’t always catch everything, so if there’s anything dropping that isn’t included here, please do reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook.
Alright, on to all the new stuff!
One Piece (Netflix)
Netflix has done a lot of adaptations, including some very bad live-action renditions of popular anime like Cowboy Bebop, but One Piece is actually faring quite well with both critics and fans of the original anime. The show dropped Thursday on Netflix and looks pretty great. I have never watched the anime, so I come in with virgin eyes and opinions pure as snow. I’m hoping to at least get started on this with my kids this weekend.
Wheel Of Time — Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
I wish I could be more excited about The Wheel Of Time’s second season, but the first was just so wildly hit-or-miss in just about every way. The casting was perfect in places and weird in others. The costumes and sets looked great one minute and cheap the next. The changes to the books were often puzzling and bizarre, and the acting and pacing and really just about everything was all over the map. I haven’t watched any of this new season yet but from what I’ve heard it follows the same path. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of Robert Jordan’s books, but that actually made me hopeful that a TV adaptation could work in my favor. So far, not so much.
Choose Love (Netflix)
This is another “choose-your-own-adventure” movie at Netflix. This time around, you get to make choices in a rom-com, deciding if the protagonist, Cami, stays with her current boyfriend, or chooses to go a different route, like trying to get back with “the one that got away.”
Disenchantment (Netflix)
The fantasy cartoon from Simpsons creator Matt Groening drops its final season on Netflix this weekend. I’ll be honest, I tried to get into this in Season 1 because it looked exactly like my cup of tea, but it was just . . . not very funny. Maybe it gets better? Maybe I should add it to the endless backlog of stuff to catch up on, I don’t know. Hopefully it will be a satisfying conclusion for fans.
Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Edition (In Theaters)
I just learned about this, but Jurassic Park is returning to movie theaters to celebrate its 30th anniversary, which makes me feel very old. I remember seeing this in theaters as a kid and being absolutely blown away. I went twice and have seen it many times since. Far and away the best of the Jurassic Park franchise, the original is still one of my all-time favorite movies and I think I’m going to have to go see it—in 3D—this weekend. I can still hear the original soundtrack at will, those majestic horns, some of legendary composer John Williams’ best work.
Qui-Gonn Reacts To Ahsoka
Finally, if you haven’t had the great pleasure of watching Charlie Hopkinson’s wonderfully hilarious YouTube videos, now you can. In his latest, he lovingly pokes fun at Ahsoka on Disney+ and does some really funny impressions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gonn and Anakin Skywalker, all watching the episodes and reacting to them. Just delightful (so far my favorite part of Ahsoka).
Some of the ongoing shows I’ve been covering include:
- The new Star Wars show Ahsoka which airs its third episode this coming Tuesday. I’ve written rather critically of the new Rosario Dawson show from Dave Filoni, which is pretty hit-or-miss so far, and a far cry from the masterpiece that was Andor.
- I’m one episode behind on The Winter King but that’s only because I found the series premiere so very, very disappointing. This period drama is based on one of my favorite trilogies ever, The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, but the show does—so far at least—does not do it justice.
- I’m working my way through Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and enjoying it a great deal. I have so many shows to catch up on it’s really a problem: Only Murders In The Building, Reservation Dogs, The Bear, Handmaid’s Tale and plenty more.
- I did catch up on Outlander, however, and enjoyed the first half of the new season a great deal. Part 2 isn’t arriving until 2024, sadly, but we do have Men In Kilts to watch on Starz which is quite lovely and charming and will make you want to travel, which is a fine thing.
- I read this piece at Vanity Fair about a bunch of ‘perfect’ TV episodes and while I haven’t seen a lot of them, the ones I have seen I agree with completely. One is “The Constant” from Lost, which reminds me I really need to finish watching that show with my kids. Another is “Battle Of The Blackwater” from Game Of Thrones, which was so brilliant. For a funnier episode, “The Injury” from The Office is included, which is absolutely my all-time favorite from that show. Good stuff!
What are you watching these days?
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