The Weekend Binge: Faye Dunaway Doc, AMC+ Goes Wild, OC Housewives, Naughty Sausages, Fierce Queens, and a Pinot Noir To Pair with Film Noir
It's the weekend, let's binge!
Hello Weekend!
Listen, some audiences are still in Shark-Week 🦈 mode, but for the rest of us there are so many new things to stream and at the top of my list is Faye, the HBO documentary about Oscar-winning actress Faye Dunaway. I can’t wait! The above photo, shot poolside at The Beverly Hills Hotel the day after Dunaway won her Oscar, is on my permanent vision board above my desk. Keep scrolling to see the wine I’ll be pairing with it this weekend.
Netflix is still riding high on its Beverly Hills Cop ratings, so I’m looking forward to keeping it Netflix-light by just streaming Hannah Berner’s stand-up special, We Ride at Dawn. The clips I’ve seen on Instagram recently seem pretty damn funny.
And for all you House of the Dragon fans, there is a new episode on Sunday that follows that epic dragon battle from last Sunday. Are dragons the new dogs of television? Like I’m more upset when a dragon dies than when a human does. I need medieval times emotional support therapy!
Here Are My Top Streams I’m Looking Forward To This Weekend
Faye: Documentary (Max)
House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 5 (Max)
Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn (Netflix)
Planet Earth: Mammals (AMC+/BBC)
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Here’s Everything New Streaming This Weekend
Receiver
A sports documentary series that follows five of the NFL’s top wide receivers in the spotlights through the 2023-2024 season. Streaming Time: 8 episodes. Forecast: ☀️ Wine Pairing 🍷: Framboise Belgian-Style Ale by Lindeman’s (note: Belgian Beer uses many of the same techniques as wine).
Also New On Netflix - Hannah Berner: We Ride At Dawn, The Boyfriend, Lobola Man, Blame the Game, The Champion, Viking Valhalla: Season 3, Vanished Into The Night, Another Self: Season 2, Wild Wild Punjab, Sugar Sugar: The Baking Point - Season 2, Eva Lasting: Season 2, Exploding Kittens
Netflix’s Top 5 Weekend Streams (TV/Film)
Receiver / Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Vikings Valhalla / The Long Game
Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn / Vanished Into the Night
The Man with 1000 Kids / Minions
Supacell / A Family Affair
Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer
Leave it to Hulu to offer yet another documentary about serial killers. This streamer is killing it - pun intended! This series is told in three parts from a different perspective following a specialist in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit who transformed how authorities look into serial murders. Streaming Time: 3 episodes. Forecast: ☀️ Wine Pairing 🍷 : Serial Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles.
Also New On Hulu - Scrambled, Fast Charlie, Road Wars: Season 2, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Inmate to Roommate: Season 1, HIP: High Intellectual Potential: Seasons 1-3, Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test - Special Premiere, The Animal Kingdom, Who Want To Be A Millionaire: Season 23 Premiere, Claim To Fame: Season 3 Premiere, Sasha Reid and the Midnight Order, Family Feud: Decades of Laugh, Celebrity Family Feud: Season 10 premiere, The Bachelorette: Season 21 Premiere
Hulu’s Top 5 Weekend Streams
The Kardashians
20/20 True Crime Collection: Betrayal
Fast Charlie
Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test
The Bachelorette
Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Remember that raunchy food-focused animated film Sausage Party from 2016? This is the series that follows the events from the film. Frank, Brenda, Barry, and Sammy are back to try to build their own food society. Featuring the voices of Seth Rogan, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Michael Cera, and The White Lotus’ Natasha Rothwell. Streaming Time: 8 episodes. Forecast: 🌥️ Wine Pairing 🍷: Geil Gewurztraminer Kabinett White Wine
Also New On Prime Video - Every Family, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black, Sam Morril: You’ve Changed
Prime Video’s Top 5 Weekend Streams
The Boys
Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black
Sausage Party: Foodtopia
The Beekeeper
My Lady Jane
Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken
A different sort of rock documentary where singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge takes a journey to create a new song inspired by five incarcerated women she meets at the Topeka Correctional Facility in her Kansas hometown, exploring themes of redemption and human connection through music. Streaming Time: Two Episodes. Forecast: ☀️ Wine Pairing🍷: Carole Shelton Rockpile Reserve Zinfandel, 2019
Also New On Paramount+ - IF, The Patrick Star Show
Paramount’s Top 5 Weekend Streams (TV/Film)
Criminal Minds: Evolution / IF
NCIS / South Park: End of Obesity
Spongebob Squarepants / Spongebob Movie
Evil / No Time To Spy
Mayor of Kingstown / Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
The Real Housewives of Orange County: Season 18
Okay, I’m SOOOO behind on my housewives. Like remember when the OC girls went to Iceland? - yeah, that’s about where I’m at. However, this season is rumored to be one of the best in a very long time as Alexis joins the cast and causes quite the stir when she gets engaged to Shannon’s ex beau. Streaming Time: 18 episodes (new episodes each Thursday). Forecast: ☀️ Wine Pairing🍷: The Beach House Pinot Grigio, South Africa
Also New On Peacock - Road to Olympic Games, Rescuing Christmas, Genesis Scottish Open Golf, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles: Season 15 (Peacock), The Hungry Games: Alaska Big Bear Challenge, Parachute
Peacock’s Top 5 Weekend Streams (TV/Film)
Love Island USA / Red
Law & Order: SVU / Red 2
The Real Housewives of Orange County / Back to Black
Chicago P.D. / Men in Black
Chicago Fire / Monkey Man
Faye
A candid documentary film about the life of actress Faye Dunaway. Considered a star of the “second” Golden Age of Hollywood, Dunaway starred in such memorable films as Chinatown, Bonnie and Clyde, and Mommie Dearest. Features interviews from Sharon Stone and Mickey Rourke. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau who also directed the HBO documentary on Natalie Wood. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes. Forecast ☀️: Wine Pairing🍷: Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose Champagne
Also New On Max - Sharktopia (Discovery), Mothersharker: Hammertime (Discovery), The Real Sharkano (Discovery), Sharks of the Dead Zone (Discovery), Shark Attack Island (Discovery), Teen Torture, Inc., Monster of Oz (Discovery), MILF of Norway: Season 1, Great White Danger Zone (Discovery), Christina on the Coast: Season 5 (HGTV), Caught! When Sharks Attack (Discovery), Quad Gods (HBO), Great White North (Discovery), Expedition Unknown: Shipwrecks of WWII, Alien Sharks: Ghosts of Japan (Discovery), 6000-lb Shark (Discovery), Bobby’s Triple Threat: Season 3 (Food Network), Deadliest Bite (Discovery), Monster Hammerheads: Species X (Discovery), My Big Fat Fabulous Life: Season 12 (TLC), Mecum Main Attractions: Indianapolis IN (Motor Trend)
Max’s Top 5 Weekend Streams (TV/Film)
House of the Dragon / Godzilla Kong: The New Empire
Hard Knocks: Off Season with The New York Giants / Twister
Teen Torture, Inc / Gods of Egypt
Smiling Friends / The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders / Signs
Me
Ben, a 12-year-old middle school student discovers a superpower that enables him to transform into anyone he meets. This new “shapeshifter” power has him navigating life as he figures out who he wants to be. Streaming Time: 10 episodes. Forecast: 🌥️
Also New On Apple TV+ - Sunny
Apple TV+’s Top 5 Weekend Streams (TV/Film)
Presumed Innocent / Fancy Dance
Sunny / The Family Plan
Ted Lasso / Luck
The Last Thing He Told Me / Ghosted
Land of Women / CODA
The Serpent Queen: Season 2
This costume drama series is based on the book by Leonie Freida “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. In the second season Catherine aims to unite France under Charles IX, pushing her secular agenda. The Bourbons present an ambitious trade deal with Protestant England. As tensions rise on the Privy Council, the Guise’s plan to reignite religious conflict. Streaming Time: 8 episodes (New episodes stream Fridays). Forecast: ☀️ Wine Pairing🍷: Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion 2018 Bourdeaux
Mammals
This is seriously the best franchise of nature documentaries. I remember when I first saw Planet Earth and was just blown away by how beautifully done it was. Sir David Attenborough is back to narrate as they travel through every continent and every ocean to discover the life and survival of these gorgeous creatures. The series takes you through different elements of geography — Dark, Water, Cold, Heat, and Forest. Streaming Time: 6 episodes. Forecast:☀️ Wine Pairing🍷: Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc, 2019
Also New On AMC+ - Arcadian
Descendants: The Rise of Red
I can’t tell you the cringe I felt when I saw the trailer for this atrocity. I hate to judge a movie by its trailer (I’ll let the reviews do that for me), but anytime you take on “Alice in Wonderland”, one of my fave stories of all time then you’re gonna get the side eye. This story follows Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts who pairs up with Chloe, the daughter of Cinderella as they team up to save Auradon by traveling back in time via The White Rabbit’s pocket watch. The movie is giving theatre kids summer camp. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes. Forecast: 🌧️
IF
A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone’s imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. Stars Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carell, and the late Louis Gossett, Jr. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes. Forecast: ☀️
New On Demand: The Bikeriders (Buy or Rent)
Elvis’ Austin Butler and Mad Max’s Tom Hardy join Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer in this gangster period drama about a headstrong Midwestern motorcycle club, The Vandals that begins to transform into a dangerous and violent gang. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. Forecast: ☀️
Chinatown x Angels Ink Pinot Noir Central Coast
Chinatown (Max)
You know those films that you feel everyone has seen, but you haven’t gotten around to it yet? Even though I’ve had the opportunity for decades! Well, for me that film is Chinatown. I have never seen this film from 1974 and I am a fan of both Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson. In honor of Faye, the documentary of Faye Dunaway premiering on Max this weekend, and also the recent passing of writer/director Robert Towne, I’ll finally be watching this film.
The movie is in the style of film noir that follows a private detective who is hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles. Jack ‘J.J.’ Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson, specializes in these cases and his new subject is a high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Interesting Facts About Chinatown
Won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Robert Towne)
The screenplay is regarded as being one of the best screenplays ever written and is taught in many screenwriting seminars and classes throughout the world
At the end of the film, when Jake says “give me five minutes”, there are exactly five minutes left in the film. This was unintentional.
There were many rumors of Faye Dunaway’s diva-like behavior on-set. The director refused to let her go to the bathroom until they finished a filming a scene set in a car. Dunaway apparently urinated in a coffee cup and threw it in his face.
Robert Evans first time producing a film after leaving Paramount Pictures.
Angel’s Ink Pinot Noir, Central Coast 🍷
This pairing is inspired where this film is set, The City of Angels. Right from the top you’ll taste how rich and balanced this wine is. Its texture is round and supple. While there is a slight oak presence, the wine bursts on the palate with crushed berries and warm vanilla notes. $13.50
Happy Streaming 🍷 📺