So, what's everyone been watching this week? Hmmmm?
Just to get a sense of the most popular movies and TV shows people are streaming, we've streaming aggregator Reelgood(opens in a new tab), which gathers viewership numbers from hundreds of streaming services in the U.S. and UK. Each week, the most streamed watches come down to a few elements — sheer buzz, a big finale, smart marketing, star power, critical acclaim, or word-of-mouth that leads people to finally watch it out of spite.
But just because a lot of people are watching something doesn't make it...good. Here they are, the 10 most streamed TV shows and movies of the week, where to watch them, and what Mashable critics thought.
1. Beef
A chance encounter between two strangers leads to a feud — and a quest for revenge. This is the premise of Beef, Netflix and A24's series that sees Amy Lau (Ali Wong) and Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) become entirely consumed after a road rage incident. The former is a disillusioned entrepreneur and the latter, a failing contractor, and their mutual obsession with revenge starts to affect their respective relationships and everyday lives.
Created by Lee Sung Jin, the 10-part dark comedy also stars Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, Patti Yasutake, Maria Bello, Ashley Park, Justin H. Min, Mia Serafino, Remy Holt, Andrew Santino, and Rek Lee.* — Meera Navlakha, Culture Reporter
What we thought: Like the vivid paintings that open each of its episodes, Beef is a large canvas of two people with the not-so pleasant details of their lives excruciatingly enclosing around them — creating a stunning portrait of the cost of empathy and a story that'll linger with you long after its credits finish rolling. — Yasmeen Hamadeh, Entertainment Intern
How to watch: Beef is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a new tab)
2. Cocaine Bear
Inspired by outrageous true events from 1985 in which a black bear got his paws into quite the sticky situation — that being cocaine — director Elizabeth Banks and writer Jimmy Warden bring us the turbulent and satirical Cocaine Bear.
After a cocaine-filled plane crashes and leaves the drug’s whereabouts unknown, absolute carnage is afoot when a raging bear finds and ingests the products. As the town’s inhabitants, local tourists, and crime-loving teens attempt to retrieve the missing drugs, the bear (high out of his mind) advances into a coke-fueled attack on anyone in sight. Millions of dollars worth of cocaine, annoying tourists with superiority complexes getting shred to bits, and one drugged-out papa bear: What else could film buffs ask for from the cinema gods of 2023?* — Kyle McWilliams, Entertainment Intern
What we thought: There are few films that can deliver as succinctly and accurately on their title as Cocaine Bear does. There is a bear. She does cocaine. Hence, the Cocaine Bear of it all. But while the movie comes through on its gloriously stupid title, it still left me craving something extra. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Cocaine Bear is now streaming on Peacock.(opens in a new tab)
3. The Last Thing He Told Me
Author Laura Dave has adapted her novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, with co-creator Josh Singer for Apple TV+ and it's highly popular this week. The limited series stars Jennifer Garner and Angourie Rice as Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey, who must figure out what happened to their missing husband/father. Producers Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadterare behind this one with Hello Sunshine. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
How to watch: The Last Thing He Told Me is now streaming on Apple TV+.(opens in a new tab)
4. The Night Agent
He's an agent, who works at night. But that's not all this show is. Based on Matthew Quirk's novel and created by Shawn Ryan, The Night Agent follows low level FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) who works in a windowless room in the basement of the White House under the command of White House Chief of Staff Diane Farr (Hong Chau). Peter sits around processing paperwork and waiting for hotshot Night Agents to call the secret landline if they're in need of assistance — and then one call changes it all. — S.C.
How to watch: The Night Agent is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a new tab)
5. The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die
Stephen Butchard's long-running Viking/Anglo-Saxon series, based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories novels and hinged around the fictional Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg has come to a close. Well, another close. Following the fifth and final series streaming on Netflix in March last year, this sequel film Seven Kings Must Die brings the whole thing to an actual end. An adaptation of the final Saxon Stories novel, War Lord, the film follows King Edward's heirs, Aethelstan and Aelfweard, in their battle to claim the throne, and the impending arrival of Danish Warrior‐King Anlaf on the British Isles. — S.C.
How to watch: The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die is now streaming on Netflix.(opens in a new tab)
6. Yellowjackets
Buzz buzz buzz! Showtime's taking us back into the wilderness to pick up where we left off with the Wiskayok High School Yellowjackets soccer team, lost somewhere in the Canadian wilderness after their plane crashed on the way to Nationals. Season 1 threw plenty of mysteries at us in the past and present, with the show meeting up with the survivors of the crash 25 years later. Who might die in the wilderness in Season 2? What's the deal with all this cult stuff? Are there clues in the opening credits? Before you jump into Season 2, here's a recap of everything you need to remember from Season 1, and the burning questions we have. — S.C.
What we thought: Yellowjackets Season 1 was just an amuse-bouche. The excellent kickoff to Showtime's addictive series hinted at cannibalism and ritualistic sacrifice, but it's only in Season 2 that we truly get at the meat of what happened to the Yellowjackets in the wilderness. — B.E.
How to watch: Yellowjackets Season 2 is streaming on Showtime, with new episodes streaming weekly on Fridays(opens in a new tab). Episodes also air every Sunday on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET.
7. Succession
The wait for Succession Season 4 can fuck off. After a diabolical Season 3, the latest and final season of Jesse Armstrong's award-winning series is here, and the Roy siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) are geared up to challenge their newly estranged father Logan (Brian Vox) in the media game. Everything is on the table this season. — S.C.
What we thought: Jesse Armstrong's Emmy-winning drama takes no prisoners in its fourth and final season. It's as unsparing and sharp as its predecessors, yet somehow manages to up the show's audacity to new heights. — B.E.
How to watch: Succession Season 4, episode 1 is streaming now on HBO Max(opens in a new tab), with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays at 9 p.m.
8. Tetris
Everyone's favorite blocky video game gets the big-screen treatment in Apple TV's Tetris. But this is no adaptation of the popular puzzle game. (How would one even do that?) Instead, it's a look at the wild true story of how Tetris came to be played around the world.
Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers, who discovers Tetris and becomes obsessed with bringing it to the masses. With its combination of art and math, it is, in Henk's words, "the perfect game." There's just one problem: Inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) lives in the Soviet Union. With the Cold War still raging, there's no way they'll let Tetris out easily. Henk and Alexey team up and car chases, spy shenanigans, and "Final Countdown" karaoke ensue.* — B.E.
What we thought: Combining the stranger-than-fiction story of its making with an ardent embrace of the game's aesthetic and nostalgia for the era more broadly, Tetris is a surprisingly smart, silly, and satisfying adventure. — Kristy Puchko, Film Editor
How to watch: Tetris is now streaming on Apple TV+.(opens in a new tab)
9. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) is back for one last round, in the fifth and final season of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Emmy-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In Season 5, Midge's standup career is gaining bigtime steam, in step with everyone's favourite no-nonsense agent Susie (Alex Borstein). For the last season, Midge’s parents Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marin Hinkle) are back, as is comedian Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) and Midge's ex-husband Joel (Michael Zegen). Where and how will we finally say good night to Mrs. Maisel? — S.C.
How to watch: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is now streaming on Prime Video.(opens in a new tab)
10. John Wick
"It wasn't just a puppy."
John Wick can't melee his way back onto our screens fast enough, with the fourth instalment now showing in cinemas. So, it seems everyone's going back to the start, meeting Keanu Reeves in 2014 in the first film as a hitman jolted out of retirement on a quest for revenge. Justice for Daisy. — S.C.
How to watch: John Wick is now streaming on Peacock.(opens in a new tab)
* Asterisks indicate the writeup is adapted from another Mashable article.
