What’s new to streaming this week? (Oct. 23, 2026)

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that’s before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer!

Don’t be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We’ve got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you’re seeking something brand new (or just new to streaming), we’ve got you covered there, too.

16. The New Stanford Prison Experiment

If you thought Netflix recreating Squid Game was a new low for reality series totally missing the point, I raise you its new unscripted series, The New Stanford Prison Experiment. The show recreates Philip Zimbardo’s controversial study, in which subjects were randomly assigned inmate and guard roles in a fake prison, to examine power dynamics. The New Stanford Prison Experiment‘s executive producer Jane Lipsitz insists this series comes with “different safeguards,” but ultimately, Netflix is still repackaging an infamous study for entertainment. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: The New Stanford Prison Experiment is now streaming on Netflix.

15. By Any Means

Directed by Elegance Bratton, the drama draws on true events to expose anti-Black racism in the American South in the 1960s. In the lead role, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Special FBI Agent Wayne Strider, a Black G-man who’s investigating the murder of civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito). Mark Wahlberg, who also produces, co-stars as Gregory Scarpa, a mafia hitman called in to be muscle for the feds.

However, this movie takes major leaps in imagination, making By Any Means feel more like Mississippi Burning meets Green Book. As I wrote in my review, “By Any Means becomes a kind of buddy-cop movie, where Strider is the by-the-books hero, and Scarpa is the scrappy, no-rules, no-fucks-given man of action… [but offers] a muddied message about the place of violence in seeking justice.” — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito

How to watch: By Any Means is now available on digital.

14. The Terminal List, Season 2

Navy SEAL James Reece (Chris Pratt) is back and just as growly as ever in The Terminal List Season 2 — the next chapter in David DiGilio’s thriller about a lieutenant commander going rogue to protect his family. The good news? The president is apparently willing to give him a full pardon for everything if he works with his old colleagues to track down the people behind a series of terror attacks. Expect a lot of action, and not much smiling in this adaptation of Jack Carr’s series of novels. — Sam Haysom, General Assignment Editor, UK

Starring: Chris Pratt, Constance Wu, Taylor Kitsch, Riley Keough, Arlo Mertz, and Jeanne Tripplehorn

How to watch: The Terminal List Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.

13. The Cycle

Co-written and directed by Jordan Downey, this movie weaves a particular horror subgenre into a crime thriller narrative. True Blood‘s Deborah Ann Woll stars as Meg, a forensic anthropologist who studies corpses for a living. But her past comes back to haunt her when her long lost father’s remains turn up at a murder scene.

The facts of the case don’t fit. So, Meg teams with the local police to try to make sense of the impossible. Along the way, she’ll face dark secrets and horrific truths, leading to a climax that’s a real howler. — K.P.

Starring: Deborah Ann Woll, Jeffrey Donovan, Gretchen Corbett, Phillip Andre Botello, and Will Hochman

How to watch: The Cycle debuts on Shudder on Oct. 23.

12. Moana (2026)

Disney continues to make live-action movies based on their beloved animated films with Moana. And this is certainly one of Disney’s cash-grabbing remakes.

In my review, I wrote, “Aside from my general grievance about the lack of innovation in Disney’s menagerie of live-action remakes, Moana has a strangely false quality to it. The cast — led by 19-year-old Catherine Laga’aia — gives performances that feel straight out of a Disney Channel show. They’re bouncy and broad in a way that made me expect the cheer of a pre-recorded studio audience to break in.”

While director Thomas Kail and his ensemble aim to recreate the original film with care, the artifice of CGI backdrops and Dwayne Johnson’s eyesore of a Maui costume is ruinous. “The result is a film that misses the point of its protagonist’s journey. Rather than going somewhere new, Kail and company avoid discovery, opting instead to approximate popular IP. And in that way, it feels like AI. It does not feel like an earnest, human expression, but rather a shallow approximation that might have the general look but misses the soul of the original work.”* — K.P.

Starring: Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Frankie Adams, and Rena Owen

How to watch: Moana (2026) is now streaming on Disney+.

11. Lupin, Season 4

French mystery thriller Lupin returns for Season 4, meaning gentleman thief Assane Diop (Omar Sy) is back to steal our hearts (and our diamonds). There’s just one problem: Assane is still in prison following the events of Season 3, and he wants nothing more than to serve out his sentence, then reunite with his family in Senegal. However, when a Lupin copycat begins pulling off museum heists and pinning the blame on the still-imprisoned Assane, he’ll have to engineer a daring escape of his own in order to clear his name. — B.E.

Starring: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella, and Etan Simon

How to watch: Lupin Season 4 debuts on Netflix on Oct. 23.

10. Junk

An impressive cast combines with an intriguing premise in Junk, which follows two different storylines in the same city: a bitter TV writer (David Schwimmer) trying to get his career back on track, and two teenagers (Dominic Fike and Talia Ryder) on the hunt for a stolen backpack. Music video director Jack Begert’s feature-length debut looks like a dark and comedic mishmash of sex, drugs and violence — but the reviews leave something to be desired. — S.H.

Starring: Dominic Fike, David Schwimmer, Talia Ryder, and Gaby Hoffmann 

How to watch: Junk debuts on Mubi on Oct. 23.

9. Swipe Right on the Devil

There’s plenty of documentaries about online dating gone wrong. Swipe Right on the Devil is alarmingly more twisted than most. It begins with 24-year-old Sydney Loofe, a Nebraska woman looking for her match on Tinder. What she found was a catfisher who lured her into a deadly game of sex, deception, and self-proclaimed witches.

In this three-part documentary, Loofe’s friends and family remember her alongside their quest to find her. Then, as the missing persons investigation moves into a murder trial, director Brian Biegel speaks with investigators, the press, attorneys, and other victims who share their stories of trauma and terror. Be warned, this one is disturbing. — K.P.

How to watch: Swipe Right on the Devil is now streaming on Hulu.

8. The Invite

As the follow-up to Don’t Worry Darling, actor/director Olivia Wilde offers an English-language remake of the Spanish comedy The People Upstairs.

Written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, The Invite stars Wilde and Seth Rogen as a married couple with a kid, a great apartment, and no patience left for each other. So, when the hot couple from upstairs (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) come down for an adults-only dinner, sparks fly, as does a spicy invite.

In my review, I cheered, “I was enchanted by The Invite. McCormack and Jones’ screenplay is smartly written, bringing emotional depth to all four lovers, while solidly establishing the relatable frustrations of long-term relationships. Wilde’s direction is deceptively simple in its aesthetic, favoring cinematography that allows us to spy without the discomfort of voyeurism. This keeps the tone light even as the talk turns dirty. And with an ensemble that’s totally game to embrace the silly, sexy, and subversive, The Invite is ruthlessly entertaining.”* — K.P.

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton

How to watch: The Invite debuts on HBO Max on Oct. 23.

7. I Want Your Sex

Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman heat up the screen in Gregg Araki’s buzzy erotic comedy I Want Your Sex, now on digital. Hoffman plays Elliot, an assistant to Wilde’s famed artist Erika Tracy. When Erika initiates a BDSM relationship with Elliot, he’ll reconsider everything he thought he knew about sex and his own relationships.

On top of bringing Erika and Elliot’s kinky fantasies to life, I Want Your Sex also probes generational differences when it comes to sex, sparking conversations about whether Gen Z is actually repressed. The result is, as Mashable’s Kristy Puchko wrote in her review, “an exuberantly entertaining comedy, alive with sexual vigor, earnest humanity, and biting humor.”* — B.E.

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, and Charli XCX

How to watch: I Want Your Sex is now available on digital.

6. Nobody Wants This, Season 3

Netflix’s Emmy–nominated rom-com Nobody Wants This returns with its third season this week, which sees its central pairing of Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody) taking a big next step in their relationship. They’re moving in together! With that move comes further stability and commitment for both of them, so expect an October binge full of butterflies. — B.E.

Starring: Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, and Jackie Tohn

How to watch: Nobody Wants This Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2

Return to Night City in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, the next installment in CD Projekt Red and Studio Trigger’s award-winning anime. This season boosts a new art style and a whole new crew of characters, but for Mashable’s Digital Culture Editor Crystal Bell, all that novelty works in the show’s favor. As she wrote in her review, “Edgerunners 2 doesn’t just live up to its predecessor. In some ways, I think it surpasses it.” — B.E.

Starring: Valeria Rodriguez, Kimoy Lee, Cesili Williams, Daniel Wu, Brittany Lauda, and E.G. Daily

How to watch: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

4. Adam Conover: Big Divorce Energy

Comedian Adam Conover spent three seasons educating audiences with Adam Ruins Everything. Now, he’s back, dropping the cheeky wise-guy act and getting personal with his new comedy special Big Divorce Energy.

Far from a bitter look at the end of his long-term relationship, Conover explores how this big change has affected his sex life, his identity, and his politics. The special is one that is jolting, funny, and still educational. For more from Conover, look for Mashable’s upcoming episode of Say More. — K.P.

Starring: Adam Conover

How to watch: Adam Conover: Big Divorce Energy debuts on YouTube on Oct. 23.

3. Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story

If you don’t know the name Maria Bamford, chances are good you’ve heard her work. Outside of being a stellar stand-up comedian who uses funny voices and powerful punchlines to bring light to dark topics, she’s a prolific voice actor who’s worked on Futurama, Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth, Harley Quinn, and many, many more.

This documentary, however, is more in line with her stand-up, which has long dealt with her mental health journey with brilliant humor and insight. Directed by Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley, Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story charts the course of Bamford’s childhood in Duluth, Minnesota, to her discovery of stand-up in college, chasing her dream of comedy to Los Angeles, and beyond.*

For more from Bamford, look for Mashable’s new episode of Say More. — K.P.

Starring: Maria Bamford

How to watch: Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story debuts on Netflix on Oct. 23.

2. Yaga

Heated Rivalry‘s Hudson Williams returns to our TVs this week in Canadian series Yaga, based on the play of the same name by Kat Sandler. The series follows private investigator Rapp (Noah Reid) and small-town detective Carson (Clark Backo) as they look into the disappearance of Henry Park (Williams), a billionaire heir. Along the way, they’ll cross paths with an enigmatic professor (Carrie-Anne Moss) and a series of eerie visions and rituals that suggest that Henry’s disappearance may have something to do with the occult.

Presented as a dark feminist fable rooted in Slavic folklore, Yaga should be a slam dunk. I mean, look at that cast! Yet the show’s witchy mystery falls disappointingly flat. As I wrote in my review, “As an examination of witchcraft as a conduit for female rage, it’s not angry enough. As an erotic thriller, it’s not titillating enough. As a mystery, its twists and turns are intriguing, but never quite captivating. The ingredients for success are there, but they never quite come together to cast the right spell.” — B.E.

Starring: Noah Reid, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hudson Williams, Clark Backo, Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Ezra Franky, Patrick Gilmore, Katharine Isabelle, Hiro Kanagawa, Emilija Baranac, Georgia Acken, Anisa Harris, and Sam Krochmal

How to watch: Yaga‘s first two episodes premiere Oct. 23 on AMC+, with new episodes weekly.

Best of streaming this week: Phony

What would you do if your mom got replaced by a doppelgänger, but only you could tell? That’s the dilemma facing high schooler Sonny (Sam Nivola) in Hulu’s new series Phony. After Sonny gets in a car crash, he wakes up in the hospital to find that his mother Ellen (Connie Britton) has been swapped with an impostor (Britton in subtly transformative prosthetics).

As Sonny tries to find out what, exactly, happened to his mother, Phony constructs an engaging mystery that ranges from unsettling to downright creepy. Through all that, it manages to keep a funny streak thanks to its delightful ensemble of high school characters who feel authentic and lived-in. With its first two episodes out today, Phony has all the makings of your next fall mystery obsession. — B.E.

Starring: Connie Britton, Sam Nivola, Meera Syal, Grace Brennan, Mahaela Park, Maliq Johnson, and Colter Lee

How to watch: The first two episodes of Phony is now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes every Tuesday.

(*) denotes a blurb came from a prior list.