The Best Tv Series To Stream This Week

If you're looking for a new show to watch this week, the vast landscape of streaming networks will provide plenty of them. Three of the biggest streamers are rolling out high profile TV series: Prime's starting the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Netflix is premiering Jeff Goldblum comedy Kaos, and Hulu has a new season of Only Murders in the Building ready to go.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, season 2

Internet opinion-havers and fantasy nerds didn't exactly love the first season of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, but critics were positive, and a new season means a new chance to tap into that demanding audience's Tolkien glands. Season 2 of Rings of Power will have eight episodes that detail Sauron's stab at creating the Rings of Power so he can rule Middle Earth, while heroic underdogs fights to stop him—you know, fantasy shit.

Where to stream: Prime

Kaos

The great Jeff Goldblum leads the cast of Kaos, a strange, dark comedy series about what might happen if Zeus (Goldblum) and the rest of the Greek pantheon existed in the modern world. If Goldblum playing a track-suited god isn't a big enough reason to give this series a spin, Kaos was created by Charlie Covell, the genius behind The End of the F***ing World.

Where to stream: Netflix

Only Murders in the Building, season 4

How many murders can happen near the main characters of Only Murders in the Building before someone figures out that they're serial killers? (Not really.) This series stars comedy greats Martin Short and Steve Martin and comedy good Selena Gomez as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, podcast hosts and amateur detectives. Season 4 finds the trio going to Hollywood where a movie about their podcast is in production.  

Where to stream: Hulu

Terminator Zero, Season 1

This eight-episode anime series based on the classic Terminator franchise features the voices of Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, André Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, and Ann Dowd. Instead of focusing on the characters from the movies, Terminator Zero introduces us to a soldier sent back in time to protect a scientist working on an AI system to combat SkyNet. As you'd probably guess, Skynet's assassin is hot on her heels.

Where to stream: Netflix

Killer Lies: Chasing a True-Crime Con Man

This National Geographic-produced series tells the twisted true tale of self-proclaimed serial killer expert, Stéphane Bourgoin. Bourgoin built an international reputation and a large fanbase for his true crime books that describe his tragic life and his encounters with evil. But his fans became suspicious about some of the details in his stories, and started pulling the threads, revealing a complex web of lies. Director Ben Selkow goes beyond the story of a writer who lies all the time to examine the larger context of true crime culture.

Where to stream: Hulu

Last week's picks

Chimp Crazy

Chimp Crazy is an HBO original documentary that tells the story of nurse-turned-exotic-animal-broker Tonia Haddix, who battles law enforcement, animal rights activists, and common sense on behalf of a great ape that could rip her face off at any time because it's a wild animal, not a baby. There are also interviews and profiles of other chimp moms, and a look into the culture of people who keep primate pets.

Where to stream: Max

Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War

The beef between Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton and his Cowboys was so vicious they're still making art about it 143 years later. Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War is a six-episode series that uses reenactments to take viewers back to the Old West town of Tombstone to examine the forces that led Earp, his brothers, and other lawmen to do battle with a vicious gang of cattle rustlers—a feud that defined the nation.

Where to stream: Netflix

The Anonymous

This competition reality show tests players' ability to deceive by awarding $100,000 to the contestant who is most successful at hiding their identity. If you like cutthroat reality TV where only the most cunning and strategic players survive, check out The Anonymous; it's good, mindless, late-August TV.

Where to stream: Hulu

The New York Times Presents: Lie to Fly

If you're afraid of flying, you may want to skip the latest episode of The New York Times' monthly documentary series. Lie to Fly tells the story of commercial airline pilot Joseph Emerson, who was accused of deliberately trying to crash an Alaska Airlines flight while high on psychedelic mushrooms. More than just an examination of one of the most white-knuckle flights in history, Lie to Fly digs into how the FAA's rules around mental health may have led to Emerson seeking an alternative treatment for a mental disorder.

Where to stream: Hulu