Here’s what you must watch this weekend on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar

In the time of coronavirus, weekends translate to staying in. That, of course, means bingeing on shows, series, and movies.

But, it’s not that simple.

The problem of plenty when it comes to content on OTT platforms means you often end up spending an hour or more deciding what to watch.

Worry not for we've got you covered with our weekend watchlist. We’ve done all the hard work – all you need to do is get the popcorn, plonk yourself on the comfiest couch, and hit play.

Mare of Eastown

Starring: Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters

Directed by Craig Zobel, this seven-part HBO miniseries seems to be a whodunnit to remember. Kate Winslet leaves her Titanic days far behind to play the titular small-town Pennsylvania detective Mare Sheehan. She must investigate a local murder and tie up loose ends of an earlier mystery as her life crumbles around her. The mini-series, finely detailed in setting, character, and performance, showcases the ripple effect of crime on a small town. The murder mystery is “only part of the narrative”, according to Kate. “For me, it’s a story about community, and family, and mercy, and hope as well,” she told TVLine.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

The Handmaid's Tale

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Joseph Fiennes

The first season memorably debuted just three months into Donald Trump’s presidency, which made the many dystopian themes—particularly the curtailing of reproductive rights—all the more significant. Created by Bruce Miller and based on Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, Hulu’s straight-to-series order has attained cult status. The story of a totalitarian state that, following a Second American Civil War, forces fertile women called Handmaids into child-bearing slavery, has won critical acclaim. In Season 4, Elizabeth Moss’ June (better known as Offred in Gilead - strikes back against the dictatorial state, but will she be consumed by her quest for justice and revenge?

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Shadow and Bone

Starring: Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Ben Barnes

The world of Ravka in this highly anticipated fantasy series has drawn comparisons to Westeros in Game of Thrones. Developed by Eric Heisserer, the show is based on Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse books and draws you into the country populated with element-manipulating powers and divided by a region of tangible darkness filled with monsters called the Shadow Fold. The first season traces the journey of Alina Starkov, a mapmaker who discovers that she has a rare power – she can summon sunlight, which could destroy the Fold and save countless people. No wonder then that she becomes part of Grisha, Ravka's Second Army of people with powers, and blazes her way through the web of magic, intrigue, and romance.

Streaming on Netflix

The Last Hour

Starring: Sanjay Kapoor, Shahana Goswami, Raima Sen, Karma Takapa

Being advertised as Amazon Prime Video’s first-ever supernatural crime thriller series, The Last Hour unfolds in a small Himalayan town. Created, written, and produced by Amit Kumar and Anupama Minz, and executive produced by Amit Kumar and Academy Award and four-time BAFTA award winner Asif Kapadia, follows Sanjay Kapoor's Arup, a seasoned city cop transferred to a small town. He’s in charge of tracking a mysterious killer on the loose and ropes in a young Shaman who claims to be able to communicate with the dead in their last hour as a local informant. The Original Series combines a gripping storyline with supernatural elements – and is sure to thrill!

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Soul

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga

Produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, Soul is the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher who must reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician. After a near-death experience leaves him stranded in the afterlife, New York-based Joe must contemplate his choices and why he took his existence for granted. Directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, the film has won huge critical acclaim - and an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA!

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Minari

Starring: Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, this semi-autobiographical drama about a family of Korean immigrants trying to realise the big American dream in the 1980s made a buzz at Oscars 2021. The home of the family that moves to an Arkansas farm transforms after the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, super-loving grandmother. As they navigate the instability and challenges of a new life, the family learns what really makes a home. Minari was nominated in six different categories, and Youn Yuh-jung created history by bagging the trophy for the Best Supporting Actress - the first Korean actress to do so!

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Halston

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rory Culkin, Bill Pullman, Kelly Bishop

Scheduled to release on May 14, this series traces the rise and fall of Roy Halston Frowick, known mononymously as Halston. Starting out as a milliner and gaining great fame for outfitting Jacqueline Kennedy in her iconic pillbox hat for JFK's presidential inauguration, Halston then goes on to showcase his glamorous aesthetic in womenswear. From his life and rise to fame in the 1970s – along with the sex, drugs, shows, ambition, hedonism, and lust for power – this five-episode biopic offers an up, close and personal look at the controlling and self-obsessed designer.

Streaming on Netflix