Stream On This Week: The Muppet Show, a Great PBS Mystery, and the Only News Show Worth Watching

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: KPop Demon Hunters directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang!

This Week’s Picks

The Muppet Show (TV)

Directed by: Alex Timbers
Cast: Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, Sabrina Carpenter, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen
Streaming on: Disney+

At some point during the opening sequence of this Disney revival, guest-starring a pitch-perfect Sabrina Carpenter and executive-produced by Seth Rogen, I burst into tears. They were happy tears, though, pulled deep from the most nostalgic corner of my heart, because as so many (including myself) have noted, the secret to recapturing the magic of Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show is to just do The Muppet Show. And that’s what we get here! Not every sketch is perfect, but the vibe definitely is, and the Muppets are treated like the loveable stars they are. I would very much like a hundred more episodes of this, please and thank you. Get to work, Rogen.

Bookish (TV)

Created by: Mark Gatiss
Cast: Mark Gatiss, Polly Walker, Elliot Levey, Connor Finch, Buket Kömür, Daniel Mays, Joely Richardson
Streaming on: PBS Passport

I finally signed up for a PBS Passport account recently — really, shame on me for not doing so sooner, especially because it’s easy and public media matters. I believe that with my whole being, but I also confess that my specific motivation was wanting to watch Mark Gatiss and Polly Walker investigate murders with a gleeful twinkle in their eyes. Set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, this Gatiss-created series has a bit of Sherlock DNA in its system — which makes sense, considering that Gatiss also co-created that series. But the rich characters, intriguing mysteries, and fresh setting make it distinct on its own.

Have I Got News for You Season 4 (TV)

Created by: Jimmy Mulville
Cast: Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, Michael Ian Black
Streaming on: HBO Max

This show has appeared here before, because it’s just so nice to watch Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black find the funny in today’s news hellscape each week. There’s just something magical about this CNN comedy series’ chaotic energy — a show that treats what’s going on right now with exactly the level of respect it deserves. Honestly, it’s even fun to rewatch older episodes, because although the headlines might feel like reruns, the jokes still feel fresh.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Film)

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Josh Andrés Rivera, Viola Davis
Streaming on: Peacock

Somehow this one slipped through the cracks, but now that Peacock is host to all the Hunger Games movies, this 2023 prequel featuring future President Snow can get the spotlight… because y’all, this movie is nuts. It’s The Hunger Games but everything’s retro, and every member of its older cast is doing whatever the hell they want and having the best time along the way. I saw this as a coincidental double feature with Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (both movies were screening the same day at the same theater at convenient times) and honestly they worked well together as a treatise on the corrupting influence of power on the human soul. Except Napoleon didn’t feature Viola Davis cackling evilly. (Alas.)

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.

Akeelah and the Bee (Film)

Directed by: Doug Atchison
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Streaming on: Hoopla

This weekend marks football’s annual very special day — as well as the premiere of the Peacock series The ‘Burbs, with the always charming Keke Palmer following in the footsteps of Tom Hanks. So for fun, let’s spotlight one of Palmer’s earliest roles, which is also fundamentally a sports movie… presuming you consider competitive spelling a sport. (It does involve a lot of standing.) Love an underdog story like this, love to learn how to spell complicated words, and of course I love this cast! Works nicely as family viewing, too.

(This is your semi-regular reminder that if you live in the US and can get a library card, you can likely get access to both Hoopla and Kanopy for free — two genuinely fantastic streaming services rich with great content.)

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: The Directors of KPop Demon Hunters!

Who Are They? Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhaus had a pretty madcap 2025, thanks to the incredible success of what’s now the most popular Netflix film of all time. I had a fantastic conversation with the animation veterans for last December’s Annual Report, and at the end of said conversation I took a moment to ask them what they were streaming lately.

What Do They Recommend? Chris and Maggie, to be clear, were very busy at the time of our interview. But not too busy to recommend two different Apple TV shows! Chris immediately mentioned a recent Emmy-winning favorite we share:

“The Studio was really fun. It’s really smartly written and really the way they shot it is really cool — it’s a lot of one-ers, but you don’t even notice. I really enjoyed it.”

Maggie, meanwhile, enjoys watching a certain farting intelligence officer:

“I haven’t finished it, but I was watching Slow Horses. I think I have like two more episodes to go. I love spy things, and Gary Oldman’s awesome.”

Thank you so much to Maggie and Chris — hope they’ve got their finest formalwear picked out for the Oscars next month!

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!

Drifters (TV)

Directed by: Gustaf Lindström
Cast: Will Hislop, Gustaf Lindström, Jamie Demetriou, Ellie White, Barney Fishwick, Cam Spence
Streaming on: Hulu

During its 2019-2021 run, the FX anthology series Cake brought together an eclectic array of live-action and animated shorts for our viewing pleasure. All five seasons of Cake are currently available for streaming, but Hulu has also broken out some of the featured micro-series as their own distinct shows. I recently stumbled across Drifters while browsing around the library, and found it to be weird and charming in an almost Adult Swim-esque way: Each episode focuses on underwater sea life chatting amongst themselves, with a surreal yet tactile animation style that proves quite compelling. At two minutes a pop, it’s short and sweet — a fun way to cap off your night if you really need to get to bed soon.