5 must-see movies & TV shows streaming now (Sept. 12, 2025)

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, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and more.

Want more streaming goodness? Sign up for The Queue, our streaming newsletter featuring the latest industry news, movie and TV recommendations, and more in your inbox every week.

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

New Movies Streaming

‘Misery’ (1990)

With Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” hitting theaters this weekend, I decided to rank the horror maestro’s best film adaptations. The best of the bunch currently streaming is this Rob Reiner-directed horror-thriller, a dark, unsparing look at celebrity and fandom gone wrong.

As the “No. 1 fan” of novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), Kathy Bates won a deserved Best Actress Oscar as nurse turned captor Annie Wilkes. In a world where it’s become en vogue for studios to cater to fans’ every whim and powerful stan culture influences societal discourse, it’s not so hard to believe that another Annie Wilkes is somewhere out there right now, posting a fan edit in the replies of your favorite pop star.

How to watch: “Misery” is streaming on HBO Max.

‘This is Spinal Tap’ (1984)

Speaking of films hitting theaters this weekend, “This Is Spinal Tap” has a very belated sequel arriving in cinemas more than 40 years after the Rob Reiner-directed original.

The modern legacy of the “loudest band in Britain” (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) is unquestionably the joke about the amp that goes up to 11. But more than that, “Spinal Tap” perfected the mockumentary genre, setting the template for not only decades of films, but inspiring an entire genre of sitcoms like “The Office.”

How to watch: “This Is Spinal Tap” is streaming on Xumo.

‘Warfare’ (2025)

“Warfare” isn’t a film that glamorizes combat, but it’s also not an anti-war screed. Co-directed by former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza (alongside Alex Garland) “Warfare” is a visceral, brutal film that offers an immersive, real-time re-creation a 2006 mission Mendoza was a part of while stationed in Iraq.

The film’s cast is loaded with talented young actors, including Will Poulter (“We’re the Millers”), Joseph Quinn (“Gladiator II”) and Charles Melton (“May December”). But there’s no show-stopping speeches or tearful goodbyes that might land on an actor’s best-of reel; There’s just waves of smoke, gunfire, and anxiety as the troops fight for their lives.

How to watch: “Warfare” is streaming on HBO Max.

New TV Shows Streaming

‘The Girlfriend’

Summer is almost over, but Prime Video has one more show about rich people behaving badly to keep the season alive. Unlike lighter fare like “The Perfect Couple,” “The Girlfriend” is a pretty shocking psychological thriller, as a mother (Robin Wright, “Forrest Gump”) and her son’s new girlfriend (Olivia Cooke, “House of the Dragon”) engage in a no-holds-barred battle for the heart and soul of their number one boy (Laurie Davidson).

How to watch: “The Girlfriend” is streaming on Prime Video.

‘Only Murders in the Building‘

The cameo-filled Hulu mystery-comedy is back for a fifth season, with Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) looking into the death of the Arconia’s beloved doorman, Lester.

The show has had its fair share of wealthy characters before, but in Season 5, they really jump on the current “eat the rich” train, casting Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger, and Logan Lerman as a trio of villainous billionaires. Waltz’s performance is pretty clearly based on the first person you thought of when you read the words “villainous billionaires,” but showrunner John Hoffman isn’t naming names.

How to watch: “Only Murders in the Building” Season 5 is streaming on Hulu.