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5 must-watch movies & TV shows streaming right now

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

What to watch this weekend: Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames in “East of Eden,” now streaming on Netflix. Geoffrey Short/Netflix

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.

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.


  • All the new movies and TV shows streaming now (October 2026)


  • The best movies on Netflix streaming now (October 2026)

New Movies Streaming

‘The Last First: Winter K2’ (2026)

Movies about extreme mountain climbing like “Free Solo” tend to show us clean, conventional stories of extraordinary athletes taking on impossible challenges and succeeding. “The Last First,” which chronicles a race among extreme climbers to become the first to summit K2 (the second-highest peak, behind Mount Everest) during winter, is not that kind of film. Instead, Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary asks complex questions about the social media effect on climbing, the psychology of extreme climbers, and even the relationship between native Himalayans and the would-be Western pioneers.

How to watch: “The Last First: Winter K2” is streaming on Apple TV.

‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ (2026)

Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow,” “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair”) is incapable of making a movie with a boring title. The director keeps that streak alive with this surrealist sapphic slasher satire (say that three times fast) about a director (Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”) tasked with rebooting a horror franchise who forms a bond with the “final girl” from the original film (Gillian Anderson, “The X-Files”).

How to watch: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” is streaming on Mubi.

‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)

Even if you already know the twist ending that had everyone talking back in 1999, “The Sixth Sense” is still worth revisiting when you want a scare. As a child who sees dead people, Haley Joel Osment gives one of the best child actor performances ever, and landed a fully-deserved Oscar nomination for the role. Toni Collette, playing his concerned but uncomprehending mother, is nearly as good. And don’t forget Bruce Willis, all furrowed brows and heavy sighs, as the child psychologist trying to find answers. Director M. Night Shyamalan’s career has been a rollercoaster ever since, in part because of the impossibility of living up to the standard of this film.

How to watch: “The Sixth Sense” is streaming on Netflix

More new movies streaming: “Evil Dead Burn” (HBO Max); “Schumacher ’94 — The Birth of a Legend” (Netflix); “Soulm8te” (Hulu)


New TV Shows Streaming

‘East of Eden’

As I predicted a couple of weeks ago, Florence Pugh is the best part of this Netflix miniseries adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel that moves the biblical story of Cain and Abel to California’s Salinas Valley. As the wicked cipher Cathy, whose dramatic entry into the lives of the Trask brothers (Mike Faist, Christopher Abbott) sets them on a path to ruin, Pugh is magnetic. Showrunner Zoe Kazan also finds time to expand a few characters from Steinbeck’s novel, giving new depth to the likes of the Trasks’ hired help (Hoon Lee) and the town’s brothel owner (Martha Plimpton).

How to watch: “East of Eden” is streaming on Netflix.

‘War’

Both Dominic West (“The Wire”) and Sienna Miller (“American Sniper”) have experience with their real-life marriages becoming tabloid fodder in the U.K., so it makes sense that the pair would play a high-powered couple going through a public divorce in this HBO drama. Initially, Miller’s scorned socialite has the upper hand in the court of public opinion, but West’s tech CEO — and his high-paid legal team — have a few chess moves of their own.

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

More new TV shows streaming: “Miller Night Football” (HBO Max); “Lego One Piece” (Netflix); “The Torment” Season 1 (HBO Max)

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