Not sure what to watch this weekend? New films and TV shows are now streaming in the UK across Netflix, Prime Video, Sky/NOW, ITVX and Disney+. There are full boxsets for a proper weekend binge, plus a couple of films if you would rather be finished before midnight, so the only real challenge is choosing which platform to open first. Here are seven new and recent releases worth adding to the watchlist.
Heartstopper Forever — Netflix
Heartstopper returns for one final goodbye, this time as a feature-length film. Written by creator Alice Oseman, Heartstopper Forever picks up after season three as Nick (Kit Connor) prepares to leave for university and Charlie (Joe Locke) begins finding more independence at school. The prospect of long distance brings doubts that neither can neatly ignore.
For viewers who have followed them from that first corridor “hi”, this is the obvious place to start. A film gives the ending room to breathe without turning the farewell into another full series, and Connor and Locke now serve as executive producers as well as leads.
Heartstopper Forever is now streaming on Netflix.
The Hawk — Netflix
Will Ferrell plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a once-great professional golfer who is convinced one final comeback can secure the major that has eluded him for 20 years. Created by Ferrell, Harper Steele and Chris Henchy, the ten-part comedy also stars Molly Shannon as his estranged wife Stacy.
The premise gives Ferrell plenty of room to make one man’s sporting ambition everybody else’s problem. The reunion with Shannon is the best reason to press play, especially if your ideal weekend comedy requires very little knowledge of actual golf.
The Hawk is now streaming on Netflix.
Ride or Die — Prime Video
Debbie (Octavia Spencer) thinks she knows everything about her lifelong best friend Judith (Hannah Waddingham). She does not know Judith is an international assassin, which becomes a fairly important gap in the friendship when a hit goes wrong and the pair are forced to flee across Europe.
Ride or Die puts two excellent comic performers in the middle of an action series built around the person you would call in a crisis turning out to be the reason for it. Spencer and Waddingham are enough of a pairing to make this worth trying, even before the chase gets moving.
Ride or Die is now streaming on Prime Video.
Jesy Nelson: Life Changing — Prime Video
Jesy Nelson’s one-off documentary follows the former Little Mix singer after her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, are diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1. It covers the daily reality of caring for the girls and her adjustment to single motherhood. The film also follows her campaign for SMA to be added to newborn screening in the UK.
This is the most difficult watch on the list, but it is also the most immediately relevant. Nelson allows the camera into an intensely personal part of her family’s life while keeping the focus on a change that could help other babies receive treatment earlier.
Jesy Nelson: Life Changing is now streaming on Prime Video.
The Five-Star Weekend — Sky and NOW
Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel, The Five-Star Weekend stars Jennifer Garner as Hollis Shaw, a food influencer mourning the sudden death of her husband. She invites four women from different stages of her life to spend a weekend at her Nantucket home, only for old tensions and private truths to arrive with them.
The eight-part drama has a strong ensemble in Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, Gemma Chan and D’Arcy Carden. It is an easy summer binge for anyone who likes friendship dramas with an expensive house and awkward dinners. There is enough history between the guests to keep the weekend from going entirely to plan.
The Five-Star Weekend is now streaming on Sky and NOW.
The Dark — ITVX and STV Player
The Dark is a Scottish crime thriller adapted by Matt Hartley from GR Halliday’s novel From the Shadows. The six-part series stars Laura Donnelly as DI Monica Kennedy, called in after a young man’s body is found staged in the Scottish wilderness. Mark Rowley co-stars as her new partner, DC Connor Crawford.
Donnelly is a compelling lead, and the Scottish landscape becomes part of the tension from the opening discovery. The full series is available now too, so there is no need to wait a week between cliffhangers.
The Dark is now streaming on ITVX and STV Player.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland — Disney+
For anyone sharing the remote with younger viewers, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is the new family option. Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker) discover that changing the past has created a fresh threat in Wonderland, where Maddox Hatter has captured the Queen of Hearts. Their rescue team brings together the children of several familiar Disney characters.
Rita Ora and Brandy return as the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella, while Awkwafina joins as Chessy the Cat. Directed by Kimmy Gatewood, the film brings the franchise back with new songs and dance sequences, which should settle the family movie-night decision without another half-hour of scrolling.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is now streaming on Disney+.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.