5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming right now

Streaming

The best of what’s new streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and more.

By Kevin Slane

January 9, 2026 | 5:25 PM

3 minutes to read

Welcome to Boston.com’s weekly streaming guide. Each week, we recommend five must-watch movies and TV shows available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.

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For even more great streaming options, check out previous editions of our must-watch list here.

New Movies Streaming

‘The Long Walk’ (2025)

There are two Stephen King movie adaptations new to streaming platforms this weekend: “The Long Walk” (Starz) and “The Life of Chuck” (Hulu). My colleague Odie Henderson loved the latter, but I prefer the former, which takes place in an alternate 1970s America ravaged by civil war in which young men compete in a “Hunger Games”-style contest of endurance. Whoever walks the farthest without stopping wins unimaginable wealth. The rest are killed en route, while millions watch on TV.

If that sounds pretty grim, it is. But the doomed boys have a profane chemistry reminiscent of “Stand by Me,” particularly Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”) and David Jonsson (“Alien: Romulus”). Also: If you find yourself trying to identify the sunglasses-wearing Major overseeing the dystopian contest, you’ve seen him before in a galaxy far, far away.

How to watch: “The Long Walk” is streaming on Starz.

‘Tron: Ares’ (2025)

Judging by its middling box office performance, “Tron: Ares” may be the last we hear from the sci-fi franchise for a while — which would be a shame, despite the issues with this latest edition. The action mostly takes place in the real world instead of cyberspace this time, as competing CEOs of AI companies (Greta Lee, Evan Peters) fight for market dominance. When the latter moves too quickly in introducing a lifelike AI (played by Jared Leto), all hell breaks loose.

The plot takes some confounding turns, and Jeff Bridges, reprising his role from the first two films, feels like an afterthought. But the action is entertaining enough, and the score from Nine Inch Nails duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is worth the price of admission alone.

How to watch: “Tron: Ares” is streaming on Disney+.

New TV Shows Streaming

‘His & Hers’ (2026)

While “His & Hers” strains credulity, it’s an eminently bingeable show, thanks to twists that grow in absurdity and strong central performances from Tessa Thompson (“Creed”) and Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher”).

The pair play an estranged couple — she a former news anchor, he a police detective — who both suspect each other’s involvement in a small-town murder. Everyone in this small town outside of Atlanta seems to be involved with the victim in some way, and a number of people — the central pair included — certainly have both motive and the sociopathic tendencies that suggest they are capable of murder.

How to watch: “His & Hers” is streaming on Netflix.

‘The Pitt’ Season 2

One of the best TV shows of 2025 is back, with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Robby returning to the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center for another emergency room shift from hell, playing out in real-time on an hourly basis for our entertainment.

Season 2 takes place on Fourth of July, the one day a year where emergency rooms are reliably overwhelmed by fireworks-induced carnage, and throws a few more wrenches into the machine to make things worse. The show’s characters are all flawed but never outright villainous, though a new AI-embracing attending physician (Sepideh Moafi) certainly gets treated as a villain by the hospital staff.

How to watch: “The Pitt” Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

‘The Traitors’ Season 4

For reality TV fans who enjoy the social Darwinism of competition shows like “Survivor,” the newest season of Peacock’s “The Traitors” should whet your appetite before the return of Season 50 of “Survivor” in late February.

The show plays out like a big game of Mafia or Werewolves, with various former reality TV contestants split into the “Faithful” — who try to complete missions and win a grand prize — and a much smaller number of “Traitors,” who conspire to eliminate the Faithful contestants undetected and claim the prize as their own. Along with the typical mix of “Survivor,” “Real Housewives,” and “Bachelorette” alums, Season 4 features former figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski (presumably as a tie-in to Peacock’s upcoming Winter Olympics coverage) and Donna Kelce, the mother of football-playing brothers Jason and Travis Kelce.

How to watch: “The Traitors” Season 4 is streaming on Peacock.