Welcome to the definitive guide of the freshest titles new to streaming this weekend, June 24th, 2022. Whether you’re looking for a full weekend binge or just a little inspiration for movie night, STW has you covered with picks for the best new shows and films being released this weekend across all platforms. This week: Tuca and Bertie, Westwold, Only Murder in the Building, and more.
1. Westworld, Season 4 Premiere (HBO Max)
After a two year absence, everybody’s favorite robots are back for another round of existential warfare to determine the fate of humanity and the nature of consciousness itself. Season 4 of Westworld premieres on Sunday, June 26th, but not a lot is known about the events of the new season.
HBO Max previously dropped a teaser for Season 4 of Westworld in early May, but absent of dialogue, the teaser was just that: a big old tease. With only visuals to go on to suss out where the various robots and humans of Westworld landed after the Season 3 finale, not much was certain from the teaser other than the fact that Season 4 seems to take place in a bleak futuristic version of NYC.
But HBO finally did everybody a favor and dropped a full and official trailer in the lead up to the premiere, providing a little more insight into the state of the union of Westworld. The trailer finds Evan Rachel Wood inhabiting a new character, Christina, but whether she is android or human is unclear (which is kinda the point, right?).
Tessa Thompson, Thandiwe Newton, Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, and Ed Harris are all back for the fourth outing, but even with dialogue, it’s still difficult to define their relationships to one another. Guess viewers will have to tune in on Sunday to find out if these violent delights will have violent ends.
2. Only Murders in the Building, Season 2 Premiere (Hulu)
The fictional “true” crime podcast comedy/murder mystery Only Murders in the Building is back for its sophomore season with a whole new murder in the building to investigate. Season 1 ended on quite the cliffhanger, and from the looks of the trailer, Season 2 will pick right back up where the first one left off.
With a new murder in the building (surely this amount of carnage must be affecting property values), the “Two Boomers, One Millennial” crime fighting trio are desperate to discover Whodunit after finding themselves suspects this time around. Insisting they’re being framed, the trio butt heads with the savvy detective who worked the case in Season 1.
Same address, whole new mystery. Season 2 premieres on Hulu on July 28th with new episodes weekly.
3. Dateline: The Last Day (Peacock)
It’s a great weekend for fans of true crime both fictional and real as the spinoff series to newsmagazine stalwart Dateline begins streaming exclusively on Peacock.
Using the familiar format of Dateline proper, Dateline: The Last Day will focus in on the crucial final hours of a crime victim’s life. The spinoff will still feature reporting from Dateline faves like Keith Morrison as it attempts to answers questions about the victims’ lives and deaths.
Presumably the spin-off will still treat the stories of victims in the characteristic Dateline way, which is to say with a victim-first approach that is successful in maintaining the humanity of the subject while never glorifying alleged and convicted killers, something other true crime productions can’t always pull off.
4. Tuca and Bertie, Season 2 (HBO Max)
After transitioning from Netflix to Adult Swim/HBO Max, the animated dram-com Tuca and Bertie will return for a third season with new episodes hitting HBO Max on July 11th. In the meantime, HBO Max has released Season 2 in its entirety so that fans can catch up before the third season premiere.
From creator Lisa Hanawalt, one of the minds behind Bojack Horseman, the show tells the stories of the titular best bird friends played by Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish. The show follows the pair as well as Bertie’s boyfriend Sterling as they tackle real-life millennial concerns and navigate relationships and their own friendship.
The trailer for the third season indicates that the bright and beautiful animation will be a backdrop for some darker, grittier topics this go-round. The trailer touches on how the pair deal with mortality, and Hanawalt confirms the season will explore new territory.
“I can’t wait for everyone to catch up on all the latest calamity and soul-searching from these birds,” Hanawalt said in a statement. “(Tuca and Bertie) Season three is packed with romance, chronic pain, ambition, large ducks, lustful trees, and hungry snakes!”
Seasons 1 and 2 of Tuca and Bertie are streaming now on HBO Max. Season Three of Tuca & Bertie premieres on July 10 on Adult Swim with new episodes streaming the next day on HBO Max.
5. The Bear (FX on Hulu)
With Showtime stalwart Shameless ending its 11 season run in 2020, Jeremy Allen White, the big brother of the Gallagher clan, has found a new gig, and he didn’t even have to leave Chicago.
The Bear is an FX drama (with all episodes streaming now on Hulu) starring White as Carmen Berzatto, a Chicago native who left the midwest to make it big in the fine dining restaurant world. But a tragic event forces him to return home to Chicago to run his family’s local sandwich shop.
Heavy on both restaurant and family drama, The Bear will please both fans of the hot mess express that was Shameless as well as viewers who enjoyed the restaurant drama Sweetbitter and anything from the Anthony Bourdain oeuvre.
All episodes of The Bear are streaming now on Hulu.