With summer at a full boil, TV is cooking up a fresh batch of new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Hulu and more of the best streaming services. I, for one, am fully in favor of surrendering to the AC and letting other people do the emotional heavy lifting this time around.
That includes saying goodbye to “The Bear” as it serves its final season and returning to the elemental world of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” in season 2. With their finales airing this week, this weekend is an ideal time to binge all of the Jane Austen romance “The Other Bennet Sister” and the supernatural thriller “From.”
Plus, you can get two very different U.S. history lessons in the docuseries “The American Experiment” and Larry David’s sketch comedy “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.” Here’s our guide on what to watch this weekend.
‘The Bear’ season 5 (Hulu)
The vibes: Carmy, pack up your knives and go — for real, this time.
The plot: The final season opens the morning after Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) bails on the restaurant, leaving Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Natalie (Abby Elliott) to keep the place from imploding. There’s a potential buyer circling, a bank account running on fumes, and the usual kitchen chaos unfolding. With one last dinner service on the line, the crew has to decide if they can pull off perfect or just try to survive.
All 8 episodes streaming now on Hulu
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ season 2 (Netflix)
The vibes: Destiny + adolescence = you in danger, boy.
The plot: After a hard-fought victory in the North, Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), and Sokka (Ian Ousley) set their sights on Ba Sing Se, hoping to convince the Earth King to join the war against Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). But the journey gets off-kilter in the stew of political unease, growing distrust and Aang’s rocky earthbending lessons with Toph (Miyako). The “destiny of the world” starts to feel a lot more complicated than a straight path to heroism.
All 7 episodes streaming now on Netflix
‘Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness’ (HBO)
The vibes: U.S. history, with Larry David’s signature kvetching.
The plot: To mark the nation’s semiquincentennial, this HBO sketch series from producers Barack and Michelle Obama reimagines key moments in U.S. history as a loosely structured, improv-like half-hour. Larry David drifts through foundational American milestones in a constant state of irritation. Across roughly four sketches per episode, a rotating lineup of comedian pals joins as history gets rewritten in real time with maximum discomfort.
Episode 1 premieres Friday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max
‘The Other Bennet Sister’ (BritBox)
The vibes: Jane Austen gets a remix where the ignored middle sister is the star.
The plot: With the finale airing this week, and all episodes available, now is the perfect time to settle into this “Pride and Prejudice” fanfic adaptation that hands the spotlight to Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri), the chronically overlooked sister whose chief crime is not being dazzling. After revisiting familiar events from Mary’s sidelined perspective, the series sends her beyond Meryton and into a life of her own, where self-discovery, independence, and, naturally, romance await.
All 10 episodes streaming now on BritBox
‘From’ (MGM+)
The vibes: The puzzle box has grown terrifyingly tight.
The plot: With the season 4 finale airing June 28, now’s the perfect time to catch up on TV’s most maddening mystery box. The Man in Yellow has escalated his game, while Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau) continues to struggle to keep Fromville from unraveling. Meanwhile, Julie’s time-jumping has caused complications, and a newcomer has brought fresh trouble to town.
Episodes 1-9 streaming now on MGM+
Finale drops Sunday, June 28
‘A Woman of Substance’ (BritBox)
The vibes: A rags-to-riches melodrama with grit and tears.
The plot: Jessica Reynolds stars as Emma Harte, a Yorkshire maid who refuses to accept the limits of her place in the world. After betrayal and heartbreak force her out on her own, she spends decades clawing her way to power, building a business empire that stretches from the moors to Manhattan. By the time Brenda Blethyn takes over as the older Emma, she’s conquered boardrooms, but the real battleground turns out to be her own family, where the knives are just as sharp..
Episodes 1-2 streaming now on BritBox
‘The American Experiment’ (Netflix)
The vibes: Your high school civics class but with way more drama.
The plot: Arriving just in time for the United States’ 250th birthday, this five-part series takes a closer look at the nation’s origin story. Historians, politicians and assorted Very Serious People dissect the Revolution, the writing of the Constitution and all the contradictions baked in from the beginning. Beneath the debate and archival footage, one question keeps resurfacing: Was this grand experiment really built to last?
All 5 episodes streaming now on Netflix
‘Wild Cherry’ (Paramount+)
The vibes: “Big Little Lies” with British accents.
The plot: In a picture-perfect pocket of privilege, two longtime friends find themselves on opposite sides of a scandal involving their teenage daughters. It starts as neighborhood gossip, but curdles into something darker as old resentments surface. Their community soon discovers just how much mess is hiding behind the immaculately manicured hedges.
All 6 episodes streaming now on Paramount+
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