There are weekends when you genuinely have plans, and then there are weekends where your only plan is to disappear into your sofa, order something unnecessarily indulgent and let Netflix or Prime Video make all your decisions for you. This weekend is one of those weekends because the OTT platforms have decided to give us a pretty solid lineup.
From the book adaptation we have been waiting to see on screen to a True Detective reunion we did not know we needed, a dark true-crime story and a new Indian thriller that looks ready to make us suspicious of literally everyone, there is enough coming to our screens to justify cancelling plans. Here are four new movies and shows we are very much ready to spend the weekend watching.
1. The Love Hypothesis — Because We Will Always Fall For Fake Dating
If there is one trope that will have us seated before we even know the plot, it is fake dating. Add a bestselling romance novel, two scientists, an intimidating professor and the inevitable “wait, are we actually catching feelings?” situation, and The Love Hypothesis basically had our attention from the announcement.
The Prime Video movie is the adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling novel and stars Lili Reinhart as Olive Smith, a biology PhD student, opposite Tom Bateman as the famously difficult Dr. Adam Carlsen. Olive initially gets into the fake relationship to help convince her best friend that she has moved on from her crush, but obviously, because romance novels enjoy watching people make their own lives unnecessarily complicated, things start getting a little too real.
And honestly, this is exactly the kind of weekend watch we want. We already know the trope, we already know the book has a fanbase and we already know there is going to be chemistry, awkwardness and at least one moment where we are yelling at the screen because JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER. Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman stepping into Olive and Adam’s shoes is enough to make us curious about whether the movie can capture the charm that made the book such a favourite.
2. Brothers — Put McConaughey And Harrelson Together And We’re Sold
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson together again? After True Detective? You don’t really need to give us a pitch. We’re already watching.
Except this time, thankfully, nobody is making us sit through the darkness of True Detective. Brothers is an eight-episode comedy in which McConaughey and Harrelson play fictionalised versions of themselves — two lifelong friends whose relationship gets thrown into absolute chaos when they discover they might actually be brothers. Yes, that is the premise.
The story takes off after Woody’s daughter’s wedding falls apart and his family ends up staying at Matthew’s Texas ranch. Then comes the little family secret that changes everything, with Holland Taylor playing Matthew’s mother and accidentally dropping the bombshell that sends Woody into detective mode. From there, it is basically two extremely charismatic men trying to figure out whether Hollywood friendship has somehow turned into a family tree.
And really, the best part might be watching McConaughey and Harrelson bounce off each other again. Their chemistry is already established, their real-life friendship makes the whole thing even more amusing, and the fact that the show is playing with a genuine rumour about the two possibly being related makes it even more ridiculous. After True Detective, seeing these two go from brooding detectives to potentially confused brothers is quite the genre switch — and we’re here for it.
3. UNABOMBER — Because Apparently We Needed Something Disturbing Too
Of course, we cannot have a weekend watchlist without something that makes us question why we chose to relax in the first place. Enter UNABOMBER.
The Netflix film dives into the real-life story of Ted Kaczynski, the man who became known as the Unabomber, following his transformation from a brilliant young Harvard student into the perpetrator of a decades-long mail bombing campaign. Jacob Tremblay plays the young Kaczynski, while Russell Crowe plays Harvard professor Henry Murray, with Shailene Woodley as FBI agent Joanne Miller.
What makes this one particularly intriguing is that it isn’t simply a retelling of the FBI hunt. The story moves between Kaczynski’s younger years and the investigation into the Unabomber, looking at the experiences and psychological factors that surrounded his transformation without giving away the entire journey. And with Jacob Tremblay taking on a role this unsettling alongside Russell Crowe and Shailene Woodley, this is definitely the one for the weekend when we’re in the mood for something darker, more psychological and considerably less fluffy than The Love Hypothesis.
Basically, if your idea of a relaxing Friday night is “let’s watch something that will make me Google the real case at 2am,” this one is for you.
4. Shaque: Trust No One — And Honestly, The Title Says It All
The title is Shaque: Trust No One, so if you go into this expecting to trust literally anyone, that is already your first mistake.
The new Netflix thriller stars Parineeti Chopra in her series debut as a mother who has spent nine years searching for her missing child. What begins as a desperate search gradually opens up a much bigger mystery, with secrets surrounding the people closest to her and the uncomfortable possibility that the truth has been hiding much closer than she imagined.
And this is where the cast makes things even more interesting. Alongside Parineeti are Jennifer Winget, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Soni Razdan, Anup Soni, Harleen Sethi and Sumeet Vyas, giving the show a pretty stacked ensemble. The whole premise seems built around making you question every character, every relationship and probably your own ability to figure out a mystery before the show gets there first.
Created by Rensil D’Silva and Siddharth P. Malhotra, Shaque promises the kind of thriller that keeps moving the pieces around just when you think you have figured them out. And with Parineeti making her OTT series debut, this feels like one to put on when you want to spend the weekend saying, “I don’t trust that person,” about literally everyone on screen.
So, yes, our weekend plans are officially sorted. One fake relationship, one questionable family tree, one deeply disturbing true-crime story and one mystery where apparently nobody deserves our trust. Honestly, not a bad lineup for a few days of doing absolutely nothing productive.
