Stream On This Week: A New Michelle Yeoh Short and a Ciarán Hinds Recommendation!

Welcome to the latest issue of Stream On, the weekly newsletter from Consequence that answers the eternally confounding question: What films and TV shows should you be watching? (Subscribe here!) We’re looking at all the new and recent releases from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, and more for ideas — not to mention a Blast From the Past and streaming suggestions from this week’s special guest: Midwinter Break star Ciarán Hinds!

This Week’s Picks

Strip Law (TV)

Created by: Cullen Crawford
Cast: Adam Scott, Janelle James, Stephen Root, Shannon Gisela, Keith David
Streaming on: Netflix

Netflix has a very strong track record in the realm of adult animation, a medium where creators like Star Trek: Lower Decks alumnus Cullen Crawford really do get a chance to flex their singular voices. Strip Law continues that tradition with a fantastic voice cast (Adam Scott, Janelle James, Stephen Root, and Keith David?!?) and a deliciously skewed angle on the intersection between life in Las Vegas and the law. The series begins with a struggling lawyer (Scott) realizing he needs to add some Vegas flash to his lawyering if he’s going to make it in Sin City, and gets more demented from there. If nothing else, I must admire a first-season show pivoting to a holiday special with its second episode. And it’s a holiday special unlike any you’ve ever seen.

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (TV)

Created by: Connor Hines
Cast: Sarah Pidgeon, Paul Anthony Kelly, Grace Gummer, Naomi Watts
Streaming on: Hulu

In last week’s battle between Predator: Badlands and Love Story, Love Story did lose, but I said that I’d feature it this week! While based on the true story of John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette — one of those situations where the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry is a spoiler for the finale — Love Story plays a bit like a chick-lit adaptation, tracking the emotional highs and lows of Bessette and Kennedy falling in love despite the accompanying publicity swarm. It’s juicy, gossipy stuff (with an admittedly weird spin on Daryl Hannah’s involvement), but there’s also a lot of deep empathy for the people at the center of this story. The ’90s-era soundtrack in particular stands out — some incredible pulls here.

Song Sung Blue (Film)

Directed by: Craig Brewer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, King Princess
Streaming on: Peacock

There’s a lot of gentle pathos to be found in this movie based on a documentary about two Neil Diamond tribute artists and their struggles. There’s also a ton of Neil Diamond music, largely performed by Hugh Jackman, which on its own is a good enough reason to watch. (Going on a brief tangent now to bring up the fact that back in the early 2000s, Jackman had the chance to audition for the film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera and couldn’t do it for scheduling reasons, but the thought of him instead of Gerard Butler in Joel Schumacher’s version… What if that movie had been good, y’all?)

Okay, tangent over, and back to Song Sung Blue, a sweet enough story about people whose dreams aren’t huge, but still feel impossible to achieve, making their journey all the more powerful. And this movie is officially an Academy Award nominee, thanks to Kate Hudson’s incredibly empathic performance, though there are a good number of actors here revealing a new side to themselves, including Jim Belushi as the humble manager of tribute act Lightning and Thunder, Michael Imperioli as a Buddy Holly impersonator, and King Princess as an ordinary teenager (seriously!).

Industry Season 4 (TV)

Created by: Mickey Down, Konrad Kay
Cast: Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Kit Harington, Ken Leung, Max Minghella, Miriam Petche, Sagar Radia, Toheeb Jimoh, Charlie Heaton, Amy James-Kelly, Roger Barclay, Andrew Havill, Kiernan Shipka, Kal Penn, Jack Farthing, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Forlani, Edward Holcroft
Streaming on: HBO Max

So I’m a little behind on this season of Industry, but I’ve still seen enough to yell things like “THE CUT TO THE OYSTER!” at friends. In some ways it kind of feels like the creators of this show enjoy the way it flies a little bit under the radar, allowing it to execute some incredibly bugnuts plot developments. If you haven’t dived into this show before, highly recommend giving it a shot — yes, it’s one of those shows where everyone is a little bit of a monster, but that’s HBO for you, bayyyybe.

I do let a lot of Industry’s finance talk just wash over me, not dissimilar to my approach to watching Succession. Except that while Succession’s drama was largely family-oriented, there’s a psychosexual angle to every character relationship on Industry. Not saying Succession lacked psychosexual drama! Just saying that Industry really cranks that dial to 11. Good stuff!

Blast From the Past

The home screens of streaming services are always packed with the latest new releases, but we don’t spend enough time appreciating how much good library content is streaming across all of these platforms. Each week, Stream On will spotlight one less-than-new favorite (must pre-date the founding of Consequence, so 15 years or older) that deserves attention from modern-day eyes.

The Cutting Edge (Film)

Directed by: Paul Michael Glaser
Cast: D. B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, Roy Dotrice, Terry O’Quinn
Streaming on: AMC+, MGM+

Friends, this is the 176th issue of this humble newsletter, and I’m shocked to discover that I have never once featured my all-time favorite Olympics-related movie here. Shocked! The Cutting Edge might not hit as powerfully for those who didn’t go see it in theaters on a chaperoned Girl Scouts trip in 1992. But stars D. B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly have a fiery enemies-to-lovers chemistry for the ages, and for everyone who might be struggling with an addiction to Olympics drama, this romantic comedy about a hockey player becoming a world-class figure skater might be a nice comedown. Toe pick!

A Special Guest Recommends!

Liz isn’t the only person in the world capable of suggesting stuff for people to watch… So each week, Stream On will now feature picks from a special guest! Said special guest could be literally anyone from the world of entertainment — actors, writers, directors, musicians, or anyone else Liz thinks might be watching something interesting.

This Week: Ciarán Hinds!

Who Are They? One of the most acclaimed Irish actors of all time! Ciarán Hinds began his career on stage before making his screen debut in 1981’s Excalibur, and some of his most notable projects since then have included acclaimed performances in movies including Road to Perdition, Munich, In Bruges, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Belfast. Some other highlights: Voicing the Troll King in the Frozen films, starring as Julius Caesar in HBO’s Rome, and even dropping by Game of Thrones for a few episodes. His newest film, Midwinter Break, is in theaters right now — Hinds and Lesley Manville (another great!) star as a long-married couple whose relationship is forever changed by a trip to Amsterdam.

What Do They Recommend? Ciarán’s pick feels like the true definition of “game respects game”:

I was very late to the party to watch Breaking Bad, but when Vince Gilligan’s spin off Better Call Saul (Netflix) arrived I was straight in there. It has an element of madness/ridiculousness to it, but it also managed to be mysterious and funny, and very dark and dangerous. Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill and Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler were so brilliant together, their relationship unlike any I’d seen before. Terrific writing, great cast, highly recommend it.

Truly an honor to have Ciarán contribute this week! Midwinter Break is in theaters now — click here for showtimes.

One Last One Before Bed

Finally, let’s spotlight a movie or TV show that’s not only great, but won’t take up too much of your time: Think of this section as the answer to the question “What’s something I can watch before hitting the hay, that won’t keep me up too late?” The only rule is that it has to be less than 95 minutes if it’s a movie, or less than 30 minutes an episode if it’s a TV show. Otherwise, sky’s the limit!

Sandiwara (Short Film)

Directed by: Sean Baker
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh
Streaming on: YouTube

Anora director (and four-time Oscar winner) Sean Baker hasn’t announced his next feature directing project yet, but he doesn’t seem to be sitting around bingeing Netflix. Instead, he and Michelle Yeoh have collaborated on this 11-minute short featuring Yeoh as five very different characters (wearing five very different wigs). It’s the latest example of “major director and star(s) team up with fashion house for an unexpected short,” a phenomenon that previously gave us “Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal are cowboys in love, directed by Pedro Almodóvar.” It’s more importantly a very fun exercise in iPhone cinema. Yeoh channeling Instagram influencer energy makes it worth the click.

We’ll be back next week with more picks — in the meantime, stay safe out there, or better yet stay inside, where it’s definitely safe, and there’s so much film and TV to watch. We’ll update this post every Friday morning with the best to consider, and also be sure to subscribe to the newsletter as well!