Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Best new shows and movies to stream: ‘Marvel’s Runaways,’ ‘Godless,’ and more

best new shows and movies to stream fences
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Online streaming is bigger than ever, and with so many streaming services adding new shows and movies every week, it can be nearly impossible to sort through the good and the bad. If you need something to watch and don’t want to wade through the digital muck that washes up on the internet’s shores, follow our picks below for the best new shows and movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, and other services.

On the list this week: A new, younger superhero squad, a former athlete grappling with the wreckage of age, and more.

‘Marvel’s Runaways’ season 1

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Don’t let superhero fatigue deter you from watching the latest Marvel series, Runaways. Adapted from one of Marvel’s more oddball comics, Runaways is an exciting blend of superhero hijinks and high school soap opera. The series follows a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are all members of a supervillain cult known as The Pride. The teens also discover that they have superpowers and skills, inherited from their parents, and decide to thwart The Pride’s goals. Runaways uses the discovery of special powers and intergenerational conflict as a way to explore the thrills and pains of adolescence.

Hulu

‘Godless’

Image used with permission by copyright holder

While Westerns tend to be male-dominated, the new series Godless, set in the town of La Belle in the 19th century, subverts this tradition by killing off most of the men in the beginning. Following a mining accident, La Belle is now largely run by women. The town’s recovery is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger named Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), who takes shelter with La Belle’s outcast Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery). Roy is fleeing his past, specifically an outlaw named Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), and when that past reaches La Belle, violence comes along for the ride.

Netflix

‘She’s Gotta Have It’

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s rare to see an artist reinvent their own work, but that’s what Spike Lee is doing with this series, a reimagining of his first feature film, She’s Gotta Have It, as a 10-episode serial. The show focuses on Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise), an artist juggling three male lovers: The goofball Mars Blackmon (Anthony Ramos), charming photographer Greer Childs (Cleo Anthony), and mature Jamie Overstreet (Lyriq Bent). All three want to be the only man in Nola’s life, but the show is about her exploration of her own desires, and her attempts to build a life she finds meaning in.

Netflix

‘Kong: Skull Island’

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Following the successful 2014 reboot of Godzilla, Legendary continued to build its so-called “MonsterVerse” with Kong: Skull Island, another entry in the long-running King Kong movie franchise. Set in the 1970s, the film follows a group of soldiers on a mission to investigate a newly discovered island. The core members include British tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), U.S. government agent Bill Randa (John Goodman), and Army Lt. Col. Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), as well as photojournalist Mason Weaver (Brie Larson). On the ominously named Skull Island, this band of adventurers finds monsters, the largest among them being the towering ape King Kong. Skull Island is a fun creature feature, with a distinct visual style and great performances all around.

HBO Go

‘Fences’

Image used with permission by copyright holder

August Wilson’s Fences is a powerful stage play about a complicated man, and director/star Denzel Washington skillfully adapts it to the big screen. Set in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, the story focuses on Troy Maxson (Washington), who was once a rising star in baseball’s Negro Leagues. Troy wasn’t able to break into Major League Baseball due to segregation, and now lives a modest life as a garbageman with his wife and son. Troy is a man dragging around a lot of resentment, which he takes out on his family by cheating on his wife and stifling his son’s attempts to pursue a career in football. Fences is an intimate study of a twisted heart, and although the transition from stage to film doesn’t necessarily enhance the story, Washington’s ferocious performance stands out as one of his best.

Amazon Prime Hulu

Editors' Recommendations

Will Nicol
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Nicol is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends. He covers a variety of subjects, particularly emerging technologies, movies…
Can Nicolas Cage’s new film Longlegs be the scariest movie of 2024?
A woman looks at a board full of notes in Longlegs.

It's only February, but 2024 already feels like it needs a good horror movie to shake things up. Last year, audiences were spoiled with the January delights of M3GAN and Infinity Pool and the promise of yet another installment in the Scream franchise. So far this year, all we've gotten is a tepid Mean Girls musical remake, another Jason Statham action movie, and Argylle, which is only scary in how bad it is. (Seriously, don't see it.)

Leave it to film distributor Neon and beloved weirdo actor Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario) to save the day. Over the past few weeks, the former has released a slow trickle of new info about the 2024 movie, starting with a series of intriguing posters that hint at the movie's American Gothic approach to horror.

Read more
Everything coming to Netflix in February 2024
Three people stand on a ship in The Last Airbender.

It's 2024, and some things haven't changed: the economy is great, people keep getting laid off at video game companies for no reason at all, the rich keep getting richer, and Netflix is still the streamer to beat. Netflix remains the primary destination for Oscar-nominated movies and exciting TV shows. With recent hit shows like The Fall of the House of Usher, the Emmy Award-winning Beef, and the true-crime docuseries American Nightmare, plus blockbuster movies like the Kevin Hart action comedy Lift and the real-life tragedy Society of the Snow, Netflix remains the top destination for audiences worldwide.

THE KILLER | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflix

Read more
Everything coming to Max (formerly HBO Max) in February 2024
The cast of Tokyo Vice season 2.

Tokyo Vice Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max

The year may be young, but Max isn't wasting any time in delivering the best programming around. February is stacked full of returning shows and series premieres, in addition to dozens of movies new and old being added to an already impressive lineup.

Read more