Stream

The best of what’s new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more.

Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, upstream, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO MaxPeacock, Paramount+, and more.

Many recommendations are for new shows, while others are for under-the-radar releases you might have missed or classics that are about to depart a streaming service at the end of the month.

Have a new favorite movie or show you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments, or email [email protected]. Looking for even more great streaming options? Check out our previous editions must-watch list here.

Movies

“Extraction 2”

After the highly forgettable Chris Evans-Ryan Gosling action-thriller “The Gray Man,” there was some worry that the Russo Brothers, the duo responsible for multiple “Avengers” and “Captain America” movies, had lost their fastball. Thankfully, “Extraction 2,” the sequel to one of Netflix’s biggest hits, is the perfect slump-buster, putting black ops mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth of “Thor” fame) back in the line of fire. Rake seems dead at the end of the first installment, and begins “Extraction 2” waking up from a coma. Despite efforts to lead a quiet life, Rake is put back in the line of fire when he attempts to rescue the family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they’re being held captive. Hemsworth is wonderfully morose in the role, and the action sequences are once again beautifully choreographed and extremely violent.

How to watch: “Extraction 2” is streaming on Netflix.

“Fantastic Mr. fox”

“Asteroid City” (which opens this weekend in NYC and LA then next weekend nationwide) isn’t the only Wes Anderson project audiences will be able to enjoy in 2023. The director is also helming an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” a collection of short stories intended for a slightly older audience than was typical of the children’s book author. Anderson’s previous attempt to adapt Dahl’s work resulted in a career highlight with 2009’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a charming stop-motion tale that Anderson co-wrote with filmmaker Noah Baumbach. when Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his family (Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman) move into a new tree near a nasty group of farmers, the two sides quickly butt heads. Enlisting the help of woodland pals voiced by regular Anderson collaborators like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, the critters fight to restore their humorously bohemian life (Mr. Fox is normally a newspaper columnist) and put the farmers out of business.

How to watch: “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is streaming on Max.

tv

“Black Mirrors”

“Black Mirror” was a big hit in the early days of Netflix, with the British import originally broadcast on Channel 4 serving as a modern-day “Twilight Zone” for the streamer. Netflix quickly connected with creator Charlie Brooker in order to the exclusive rights to subsequent seasons, with most following the early episodes’ themes focusing on technology’s corrosive influence on society. Brooker and Co. are back for Season 6 of the series this week, and it remains as acidic as ever. Not every episode hits with the same ferocity as Season 1 episodes once did, but some of the stronger outings veer away from technology as the boogeyman and expose instead the darkness of humanity itself.

How to watch: “Black Mirror” Season 6 is streaming on Netflix.

“Our Planet”

There’s a simple rule in my household: If there’s a nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough, I’m watching it. The naturalist has been showing the wonders of our planet for decades now, most notably in the BBC’s “Planet Earth.” Netflix’s second season of “Our Planet” brings even more asounding animal footage, filmed with the most powerful cameras in existence. As always, Attenborough doesn’t mince words about the dangers of climate change, urgently imploring viewers to act to let the natural beauty on display disappear permanently.

How to watch: “Our Planet” is streaming on Netflix.

“A Small Light”

The name Anne Frank is known worldwide thanks to the diary she kept while hiding in an attic from the Nazis. Less known is that of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman who was one of several people who helped hide the Frank family and preserved Anne’s diary when the family was taken to Auschwitz. “A Small Light,” a new eight-part miniseries from National Geographic, focusing on the helpers like Gies (who passed away in 2010 a month short of her 101st birthday), telling a tale of courage in the face of all-encompassing fascism . As Gies, Bel Powley shows her fiery side as an immigrant who feels for the Frank family, while Liev Schrieber, playing patriarch Otto Frank, is another standout.

How to watch: “A Small Light” is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.