The Weekend Binge: Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood', Federer Doc, New Orphan Black, Black Barbie Doc, Sip & Stream with Classic Movies + Middle Eastern Wines
It's the weekend, let's binge!
I’ve got the perfect remedy to the massive heatwave sweeping the country — stay inside with a cool glass of wine and binge watch new movies and tv shows! Somebody give me a medical license! Not gonna lie, this weekend is a little light when it comes to new releases, but there’s plenty to catch up on like new episodes of House of the Dragon and Love Island.
Sip & Stream Snacks 🧀
I’m pretty hooked on those Cheese Bites from Trader Joe’s that taste like an actual piece of cheese in chip form. They are crunchy and rich in flavor. I always have a handful of these now while I’m sipping on wine and streaming TV. Have you tried these?
What I’m Currently Streaming
I am all over the board when it comes to streaming, and some of these you’ll be like “omg, I streamed those years ago!” but I thought I’d share for inspo:
Peacock: The Real Housewives of New York, Vanderpump Rules, Apples Never Fall
Paramount+: A Gentleman in Moscow
Prime Video: Funny Girl, Oppenheimer
Netflix: The Gentlemen, The Crown, Ripley
Hulu: Shogun, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (I’m on Season 6!), BBC’s Pride and Prejudice
AMC+: Monsieur Spade, Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches
STARZ: Mary & George, Outlander, Minx, Party On
Max: House of the Dragon, Gilded Age, Dune Movies
MGM+: Billy the Kid, Hotel Cocaine, Fiasco
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Here’s Everything New Streaming This Weekend - What’s On Your Watchlist?
Trigger Warning
Jessica Alba stars in this action thriller about a devoted daughter who attempts to figure out the cause of her father’s death. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes. Forecast: 🌥️
Also New On Netflix: Keith Robinson: Different Strokes, Tour de France: Unchained - Season 2, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Season 5, King of Collectibles: the Goldin Touch - Season 2, Bridgerton: Season 3 - Part 2, Doctor Climax, Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams, Ultraman: Rising, Miss Night and Day, Agents of Mystery, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, Black Barbie, Inheritance, Kleks Academy, Love is Blind: Brazil - Season 4, The Accidental Twins, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Gangs of Galicia, Trigger Warning, The Victims’ Game: Season 2, Rising Impact
Netflix’s Top Weekend Picks (Film/TV)
Trigger Warning / Bridgerton
Home / Perfect Match
Fifty Shades of Grey / Your Honor
Tell Them You Love Me / America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Hit Man / Dexter
Perfect Wife: My Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini
A docuseries about the mysterious disappearance of Sherri Papini. Keith a Sherri Papini’s seemed to have an ideal life until everything shattered when Sherri vanished from their rural neighborhood in California that triggered a frenzied search and became national news. However once Sherri was found, a new nightmare began. Streaming Time: 3 episodes. Forecast: ☀️
Also New On Hulu: Wreck: Season 2, From Tomorrow: Season 1, Trapped in a Farmhouse, To Kill A Stepfather, Rose’s War, Pirates: Truth Behind Legends, BRATS, The Levall Crawford, Chewing Gum, Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown, Clotilda: The Return Home, Wicked Tuna: Season 13, To Catch A Smuggler: Season 7, Cesar Milan: Better Human, Better Dog, Marmalade, Shoresy: Season 3, Prey, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld
Hulu’s Top Weekend Picks
Perfect Wife
The Kardashians
Devil’s Peak
Brats
Bad Boys For Life
Federer: Twelve Final Days
This documentary film follows the last 12 days of Roger Federer’s career, considered one of the best tennis players in the world, as he plays his final tournament. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes. Forecast: ☀️
Also New On Prime Video - The Boys: Season 4, Oppenheimer, Power of the Dream
Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood
A docuseries about the feud between Taylor Swift and music mogul Scooter Braun who owned the rights to Taylor’s first six albums. Streaming Time: 2 episodes. Forecast: ⛅️
Also New On Max: Deadliest Catch: Season 20, Motel Rescue: Season 2, Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go, House of the Dragon, American Monster: Season 12, Bellator: Fight Camp Confidential Dublin: Season 2, Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp - Season 1, Here To Climb, How It Really Happened: Season 8, Crimes Gone Viral: Season 5, Slave Play. Not A Movie. Not A Play, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, Getting Lost with Erin French: Season 1, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 8
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Max’s Top Weekend Picks (Film/TV)
Dune: Part Two / House of the Dragon
Practical Magic / Smiling Friends
Ride Along 2 / Six Schizophrenic Brothers
The Other Guys / Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Am I Ok? / Pretty Little Liars: Summer School
Travelers Championship
One of the perks of having Paramount+ with Showtime is that you have access to live sporting events on CBS and other Paramount networks with live events. This weekend is the Travelers Championship Golf tournament, a PGA tour that takes place in Cromwell, Connecticut. Streaming Time: Live event starts June 20 and is played over the course of four days through June 23.
Miss Watching Live Events? Give Paramount+ a Try with a Free Trial!
Also New On Paramount+: How Music Got Free, Chopper Cops
Paramount’s Top Weekend Picks
South Park: The End of Obesity / Criminal Minds: Evolution
No Time To Spy / The Chi
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back / NCIS
Jack Reacher / Spongebob Squarepants
Top Gun: Maverick / Evil
U.S. Olympic Team Trials
It’s time to get in the Olympic spirit. With the Paris Olympics starting next month, it’s warmup time with the U.S. Olympic Team trials. Peacock has live coverage (one of the perks of having Peacock this summer!) of the events including swimming and track & field this weekend. Check Peacock’s listings for more info!
Also New On Peacock: Love Island: Season 6, The Dirty D: Season 3, Megamind Rules: Season 1, Kung Fu Panda 4,
Peacock Top Weekend Picks (Film/TV)
Monkey Man / Love Island
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent / Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Savoring Paris / Chicago P.D.
Blockers / Chicago Fire
Tipline Mysteries / Days of Our Lives
Presumed Innocent
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this remake of a Harrison Ford film, also an adaptation of a novel by Scott Turow, about a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when on of its own is suspected of the crime. Streaming Time: 8 episodes, new episodes every Wednesday. Forecast: ☀️
Apple TV+’s Top Weekend Picks
Presumed Innocent
Dark Matter
Defending Jacob
Ted Lasso
Acapulco
How I Learned To Fly
After their parents suddenly left them, two teenage brothers found themselves all alone. Daniel, the older brother is deeply troubled by the violence they endured at the hands of their father and is committed to keeping their family safe. Streaming Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes. Forecast: ☀️
Orphan Black: Echoes
Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad) stars in this mystery thriller about a group of women weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey that unravels the mystery of their identities. Premieres Sunday. Streaming Time: 10 episodes. Forecast: ☀️
Also New On AMC+ - Exhuma (Shudder), Dracula, Steeltown Murders, Asthma, The Nowhere Inn, Moffie
Disney+ - Meet Spidey and His Amazing Friends - Season 3
Our favorite web-slinger is great at working solo, but Spidey is about to discover that power of having super-hero friends by his side. Streaming Time: 11 episodes. Forecast: 🌥️
Also New On Disney+ - Fiennes Return To The Wild: Season 1, SuperKitties: Season 2
MGM+ - Hotel Cocaine
From the team that brought you Netflix’s Narcos and MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem comes another chapter in the life of infamous druglords. Hotel Cocaine is the true story of Roman Compte, a Cuban exile, CIA operative and general manager of the Hotel Mutiny, the glamourous epicenter of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Miami cocaine scene. Streaming Time: 8 episodes. Forecast: ☀️
Accompanying Podcast: Business Wars: Drug Cartels from Wondery
Also New On MGM+ - Billy The Kid: Season 2, Part 2
Sip & Stream: Lawrence of Arabia x El Massaya Wine
I just finished the very fascinating book, Paris 1919. It’s a nonfiction book about the first six months in Paris when World Leaders came together to draw new border lines and allocate new lands to countries following World War I. It’s quite the read. Exciting and infuriating at the same time and how certain countries’ influence (superpowers Britain, America, and France) created more division in the world at a time of great despair. There are plenty of documentaries and films to stream that are inspired by this time in history, but three names that were mentioned in the book are T.E. Lawrence, Prince Faisal and Sherif Ali. I’ve seen the Oscar-winning film Lawrence of Arabia before without any knowledge of the history, so I’ll be rewatching it again this weekend after reading this book.
The film stars Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif. Streaming Time: 3 hours, 38 minutes. Platform: MGM+.
Fun Facts About Lawrence of Arabia - Winner of 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (David Lean), and Best Actors (Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif).
The movie was banned in many Arab countries as they felt historical Arab figures were misrepresented. Omar Sharif arranged a viewing with President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser who loved the movie and allowed it to be released in Egypt where is was a blockbuster hit.
Most of the film’s soldiers are played by real soldiers as King Hussein of Jordan lent an entire brigade of his Arab Legion as extras for the movie.
Almost all movement in the movie goes from left to right. Director Sir David Lean said he did this to emphasize that this movie was a journey.
Although 3 hours and 38 minutes long, this movie has no women in speaking roles. It is reportedly the longest movie not to have any dialogue spoken by a woman.
This film spent two years in pre-production before its 14-month long shoot in locations like Jordan, Spain and Morocco.
El Massaya Arak, Lebanon 🍷 🍸
El Massaya Arak is an exceptional Lebanese spirit that is a perfect apertif on a warm day. It’s considered more of a liqueur made from the base of a white wine (using Obeidi grapes fermented for two weeks), tripled distilled in traditional Moorish copper stills over vinewood embers, and then infused with the finest organic, green aniseed from the Syrian slopes of Mount Hermon. The spirit is allowed to rest in clay amphorae for two years. Serve El Massaya Arak with two parts cold water. $45. Available at select specialty liquor stores and online.
About Middle Eastern Wines 🍷 :
The production and consumption of wine has been widespread in the Middle East, but its consumption and demand is based on the varying different religious groups in the vast region. Islam forbade all intoxicants and even pressed grape juice for Muslims. Wine was traded and used among the Jews, at least in Egypt, for sacramental purposes, and had to be prepared by Jews according to stated practices. Many Christian monasteries in the region made and sold wine to raise revenue. Finally, the Zoroastrian communities of Persia continued to make and drink wine after the Islamic conquest.
Happy Streaming! 📺 🍷