Our February 2023 Streaming Guide

Subscribers are feeling the February love from streaming platforms this month as new shows and movies flood screens with fresh stories, compelling characters and heart-stirring documentaries for Valentine’s Day and Black History Month.

Lethal stalker Joe is back to terrorize the objects of his affection in the fourth season of You on Netflix – lighten the mood with the new David Harbour horror flick We Have a Ghost, also starring Jennifer Coolidge and Anthony Mackie. Gripping Mandarin-language drama series Taiwan Crime Stories is drawing attention over on Hulu, along with a feature-length retooling of the spellbinding short film Bruiser. Amazon Prime subscribers won’t want to miss Christoph Waltz’s creepy turn as a weirdo tech consultant in The Consultant, and HBO is bringing back the Aqua Teens in a long-delayed movie sequel developed from the hit Adult Swim cartoon. Disney Plus digs up a modern interpretation of long-lost vintage Jim Henson gem Turkey Hollow, and Jean-Luc Picard embarks on an emotional final season of adventure on Paramount Plus. Don’t miss all the heart-squeezing action coming to your favorite media service this month.

Netflix

Gunther’s Millions (Feb 1) – In a tale that could only be born of the excesses of the twentieth century, a wealthy German countess dies and leaves $400 million to her beloved dog Gunther and his descendants. Over the next four decades, a succession of Gunthers, accompanied by a caretaker and an entourage of support staff and beautiful people, indulge in headline-grabbing power moves like buying Madonna’s Florida mansion, an Italian soccer team, and a nightclub in Pisa. But the quirky story is a mere prologue to the realeye-popper: the caretaker is pharmaceutical heir Maurizio Mian, and Gunther’s “inheritance” is an elaborate ruse to shelter his family wealth from Italian taxes. Mian’s absolutely bananas schemes involved filling the mansion with hard-partying models to conduct “happiness experiments” and creating a superhuman race incapable of sadness. The documentary can only guess at the elements at play behind the Gunther project: was it mental illness, performance art, trolling, behavioral experimentation, or good old fashioned grift? 

Class Season 1 (Feb 3) – Don’t miss the freshman season of the anticipated Indian adaptation of popular Spanish series Elite, as the drama plays out with a whole new class. Sparks fly when three students from a poor neighborhood join an exclusive high school for Delhi elite, where old dynamics are challenged and dark secrets and rumors ultimately lead to murder. Class boldly tackles tensions within the city’s stratified culture as two worlds collide in the privileged enclave, shaking up families, relationships and futures. The teen series showcases a dynamic young cast, with director Ashim Ahluwalia calling it a “wild, addictive watch.”

You Season 4 Part 1 (Feb 9) – After the literally explosive ending to season three, serial killer and stalker Joe Goldberg travels to England and reinvents himself as Professor Jonathan Moore, resolving to focus on higher-minded pursuits. But can the tiger, who actor Penn Badgley calls “profoundly ill, disturbed, traumatized and violent,” change its stripes? Season four doesn’t offer high hopes. The new installment of Netflix’s wickedly popular drama follows Joe as he creeps the streets of London, falls for the latest object of his obsession, and climbs the professional ladder by pushing his competition off the rungs. The show’s unusual structure of compartmentalizing seasons with new sets of characters means everyone is potentially disposable – who will survive Joe’s intense focus, and can he find a way to quench his inner darkness for good?

Bill Russell: Legend (Feb 28) – The remarkable life and legacy of NBA superstar and civil rights icon Bill Russell is captured in a new two-part documentary from award-winning director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI). Bill Russell: Legend features the athlete’s last interview before his death last year, along with unprecedented access to his extensive personal archives. Russell’s incredible gamesmanship led to two concurrent NCAA titles, an Olympic gold medal, and 11 championship titles in 13 years with the Boston Celtics– his last two as the first Black head coach in NBA history. Off-court, Russell was a major figure in the fight for human rights, marching with Martin Luther King Jr., leading NBA boycotts over racist policies and speaking out against segregation — earning him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Featuring interviews with Russell’s family and friends as well as Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Magic Johnson, Barack Obama, Larry Bird and more, Pollard’s emotional tribute is a masterclass in standing tall.

Also playing:

We Have a Ghost (Feb 24)

Your Place or Mine (Feb 10)

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Feb 22)

Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 5 (Feb 24)

Visit Netflix for a full list of releases.

Hulu

Bruiser (Feb 24) – After his strict but loving father Malcolm (Shamier Anderson, Awake) gets into a fight at a bowling alley, 14 year old Darious (Jalyn Hall, Till) grapples with shame, confusion, and the limitations of his own masculinity. He confronts the complexities of manhood with Malcolm and charismatic drifter Porter (Trevante Rhodes, Moonlight)—but when Darious learns Porter’s true identity, he’s forced into a conflict between the two men that may rip his family apart. Inspired by Worldstar fight videos, the feature version of Miles Warren’s award-winning short film interrogates the emotional fallout of macho violence and explores the nature of fatherhood, bullying and male friendship.

The Company You Keep (Feb 20) –  CIA agent Emma and conman Charlie fall hard for each other after a steamy encounter at a bar – under their assumed identities, of course. As they Mr. and Mrs. Smith their way through one imbroglio after another, the nature of their work keeps them professionally connected: as Charlie builds the “family business” with the hopes that he can leave permanently, Emma pursues a criminal holding a debt over Charlie’s family. As their bond grows, their path becomes ever thornier – and soon the lies and deceit will force a tipping point that threatens everyone they love.

Not Dead Yet (Feb 9) – Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) returns to satirical comedy with a morbid twist in the newest joint from This is Us creators David Windsor and Casey Johnson. Nell Serrano is broke, broken up with, and feeling broken down after upending her career to move to London for an unsuccessful relationship— but the self-described “disaster” is ready to restart the life and career she left behind years ago. When she lands the only job she can find–writing obituaries–Nell starts getting life advice from an unlikely source: dead people. Also starring Lauren Ash (Superstore) as Nell’s pompous boss, it remains to be seen whether the script can retool the lazy-ish “writers writing about hot mess modern writers struggling to find connection” narrative into an interesting story.

Taiwan Crime Stories (Feb 1) – Dive into Taiwan’s dark underbelly and explore four dark, three-episode tales inspired by real criminal cases: a deadly train derailment that’s not what it seems, a reporter’s quest to uncover the truth behind a family murder, the death of a popular elementary school teacher, and a child homicide on a military base. The Mandarin-language thriller anthology is an international collaboration produced by Taiwan’s CalFilms, Hong Kong-based Sixty Percent Productions and Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Thirteen Lives) through Imagine Entertainment.

Also playing:

Black Travel Across America Series Premiere (Feb 7)

A Million Little Things Final Season Premiere (Feb 9)

Next Level Chef Season 2 Premiere (Feb 13)

Visit Hulu for a full list of releases.

Amazon Prime

Harlem Season 2 (Feb 3) –  Viewers can’t wait to reunite with Camille (Meagan Good), Quinn (Grace Byers), Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) and Tye (Jerrie Johnson), four girlfriends who are going through big changes and expanding their lives, careers and relationships in the second season of the hit comedy series Harlem. After blowing up her career and disrupting her love life, Camille has to figure out how to put the pieces back together; Tye considers her future, Quinn goes on a journey of self-discovery, and Angie’s career takes a promising turn. And this season’s narrative centerpiece takes the girls on a sexy, action-packed girls’ trip to Puerto Rico.  “Thematically, this season is overwhelmingly about Black joy and finding our happiness in the little things in life and learning to accept our version of womanhood, whatever that may be, instead of what society dictates,” said creator Tracy Oliver in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. Guest stars this season include Countess Vaughn (Moesha), Rick Fox (Shameless), Sherri Shepherd (30 Rock), and Lil Rel Howery (Poker Face).

Somebody I Used to Know (Feb 10) – On a trip to her hometown, workaholic Ally (Alison Brie) reminisces with her ex Sean (Jay Ellis) and starts to question everything about her life choices. Things only get more confusing when she meets Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons)– Shawn’s fiancée. The story swerves from a predictable sexual-competition narrative when Ally finds herself bonding with Cassidy, who reminds her of the person she used to be. Also starring Brie’s Community alum Danny Pudi in their first collaboration since the cult series ended, and directed by Dave Franco, who says romantic comedies of the 80s and 90s inspired the story.

Carnival Row Season 2 (Feb 17) – Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne are back in the second and final season of the hit steampunk series ripe with social allegory. In a Victorian fantasy world, humans oppress and fear the magical, immigrant Faefolk, but hope springs afresh as a human detective and a faerie kindle a dangerous affair. When a string of mysterious killings inflame tensions, and with revolution brewing, everyone in Carnival Row must choose sides– and the murder investigation reveals a monster that no one expected.

The Consultant (Feb 24) – When a prominent merger falls through after a horrible tragedy, the employees of Los Angeles gaming company CompWare are freshening up their resumes when Regus Patoff (Christoph Waltz) blows in out of nowhere. The scrupulously-groomed consultant seemingly comes to the rescue and starts running the company, but his sinister one-liners and creepy head-sniffing ways send the staff on a search for answers – and Patoff’s true identity. The eight-part dark comedy series explores the twisted relationship between boss and employee, with Waltz stalking around the chilly, dark-lit workspace raising goosebumps by flicking his Austrian accent around lines like “If it helps you to see me as a monster, so be it.”

Also playing:

Three Thousand Years of Longing (Feb 17)

Smile (Feb 21)

The Head of Joaquín Murrietta (Feb 17)

Visit Amazon Prime for a full list of releases.

HBO Max

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over (Feb 2) –  The iconic five-time Grammy-winning singer is the subject of a new documentary that reveals the intimate stories behind her remarkable 60-year career, from her church-singing childhood in New Jersey to genre-busting chart toppers like “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” The pioneering artist, who recently performed on the Nope soundtrack and appeared as herself on SNL, took ownership of her career early, smashing musical, racial and gender barriers to become the beloved soundtrack for generations. Gladys Knight, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and others discuss Warwick’s incredible career, from spokeswoman for the Psychic Friends Network to supporting humanitarian causes. And she’s not dropping the mic anytime yet: the 82-year old is currently on tour.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm (Feb 8) – The edible trio of troublemakers from the hit Adult Swim cartoon are reuniting in the long, long, looong-awaited sequel to the 2007 film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. The Aqua Teens are broken up: Master Shake is homeless and Meatwad is secretly sleeping at an animal shelter. After his hard drive was destroyed, Frylock moved out and got a job at the IT department of mega-corp Amazin. But his new boss, evil tech mogul Neil and his mad scientist sidekick Elmer, are about to unleash an plant-monster invasion that threatens the world – and the boys must put their differences aside to conquer the latest ridiculous villain. Series creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis are returning with their erratic sense of the absurd, along with the voices of Dana Snyder and Carey Means.

Last Week Tonight Season 10 (Feb 19) – HBO’s critically acclaimed half-hour weekly news show is celebrating its tenth season with a hilarious promotional before-and-after photo of host John Oliver, taking a page from similar Presidential stress-transformations: the split shot shows Oliver as a squirrel-perky brunette in the first season next to a gray-haired, unkempt present-day pic, captioned “It’s only been nine years.” The incisive, side-splitting series has earned 26 Emmy Awards, along with several Critics Choice Awards and two Peabodys. Oliver, whose infotainment debut came as a reporter for The Daily Show, offers well-researched topical insights, signature deep dives, and skits to lighten up the latest headlines– along with covering lesser-known but interesting topics like death investigations, data brokers and live entertainment ticketing.

All That Breathes (Feb 7) – The sumptuous Oscar-nominated documentary directed by Shaunak Sen is alighting on Amazon Prime, much to subscribers’ luck. The film follows Muslim brothers Nadeem and Saud who run a bird hospital on a shoestring, dedicated to rescuing injured black kites in New Delhi, India. Amidst religious and cultural tensions in the tightly populated city, the “Kite Brothers” care for thousands of the sick and neglected creatures that drop from Delhi’s smog-choked skies. As pollution and civil unrest escalate, the brothers’ relationship with the kites takes flight as a poetic chronicle of the city’s collapsing ecology and deepening social fault lines. Sen’s exquisitely stirring cinematography earned several awards, becoming the first film in history to win Best Documentary at both Sundance and Cannes.

Also playing:

Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark (Feb 11)

Poor Devil Season 1 Premiere (Feb 17)

Empire of Light (Feb 7)

Visit HBO Max for a full list of releases.

Disney Plus

Turkey Hollow (Feb 10) – A long-forgotten 1968 Jim Henson treatment for an experimental puppet special was found in his company’s archives and aired as a Lifetime movie in 2015. Fast-forward eight years and the vintage Henson treasure has finally found a home on Disney Plus. A family heads to a small town to spend Thanksgiving with relatives, where they encounter strange forest creatures, a hunt for a mythical creature and a turkey theft. Luckily, the story of the film’s production is better than its plot. By some miracle, a box with the original Turkey Hollow puppets was also dug up, and engineers were able to recreate the original design with modern animatronics. Henson’s pitch was bold: it would be the first special to be shot outside instead of the controlled environment of a soundstage, featuring creepy Dark Crystal-esque critters that could believably live outdoors. Henson’s daughter surmises that the project never got off the shelf because her father’s company got busy with another fortuitous project: Sesame Street.  

The 7 Toughest Days on Earth (Feb 3) – Polar expeditionist and glutton for punishment Dwayne Fields is pushing himself to the limits of human tolerance in a brutal new series that would give Bear Grylls agoraphobia. Against all survival instinct, Fields is dropped into some of Earth’s most extreme places for a week— smack dab in the middle of their wildest seasons. The goal is simple: keep himself and his film crew alive until they can make it to an extraction point, revealing incredible moments of nature’s power only a few have witnessed.

Blow Your Mind (Feb 24) – Blow Your Mind is the owner’s manual to the most complex machine ever developed: your brain. In this fascinating show, host Robert Llewellyn and neuroscience expert Bruce Hood use mind-melting demonstrations, hidden camera stunts, try-at-home tests and lively animations to uncover the storm of unconscious processes that comprise the human mind. Get ready to explore the flaws, quirks and wonders of the brain – through real-life experiments on unsuspecting members of the public.

Tommy (Feb 10) – In 1996, 27-year old boxing champ Tommy Morrison had it all: after starring in Rocky V, he beat George Foreman for the heavyweight title, signed a 38 million dollar contract and was expected to fight Mike Tyson. Then a positive HIV test blindsided him, and the entourages, money and women evaporated along with his career. His lifestyle of excess had come to an end, but Morrison refused to admit defeat, remaining in deep denial that he had the disease at all despite regular tests confirming the horrible news. Feeling his own loss of potential, refusing to let go of what might have been and determined to go down swinging, he spiraled into drug abuse and jailtime– and eventually a tragic end. The documentary details the poignance of a great career lost and a larger-than-life athlete scorched by his own spotlight. 

Also playing:

Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter (Feb 10)

Water and Power: A California Heist (Feb 3)

Life Below Zero Season 19 (Feb 3)

Visit Disney+ for a full list of releases.

Apple TV Plus 

Hello Tomorrow! (Feb 17) – The Jetsons-adjacent new dramedy finds Billy Crudup in a retro-future world where a group of traveling salesmen hawk lunar timeshares. Crudup is Jack, an optimistic shill whose unshakeable faith in a brighter tomorrow inspires his coworkers and revitalizes his desperate customers, but threatens to leave him dangerously lost in the lunar dream that sustains him. Shot in New York, the show’s set design, costumes and location management are a mid-century modern dream. The ensemble cast includes Hank Azaria, Haneefah Wood, Alison Pill, Nicholas Podany, Dewshane Williams, Matthew Maher and Jacki Weaver.

Sharper (Feb 17) – Julianne Moore is a high-stakes conwoman whose looks and finesse snag her billionaire mark (John Lithgow), becoming an icy power couple and capitalist caricature whose conversations only revolve around money and drop snarly rich person one-liners like “If you’re going to steal, steal a lot” and “Of course I like him, he’s a billionaire!” But a new grifter is about to threaten her ill-gotten gains and set off a lethal chain of events. The neo-noir thriller promises lots of secrets, lies, competing agendas and betrayals as a clot of designer-clad wastrels battle for riches and power in a game riddled with greed, lust and jealousy, set in NYC’s wealthiest and most insular enclaves.

Liaison (Feb 24) – Eva Green may be in the middle of a bitter film dispute, but the production controversy won’t dull her shine in the anticipated French/English-language thriller series Liaison, also starring Vincent Cassel (Black Swan). Apple TV calls the six-episode thriller series, directed by Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins, a “high-stakes, contemporary exploration of how the mistakes of our past have the potential to destroy our future, combining action with an unpredictable, multilayered plot where espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of passionate and enduring love.”

The Reluctant Traveler (Feb 24) – Host Eugene Levy is on a journey to broaden his horizons and visit some of the world’s most beautiful and intriguing destinations, experiencing thrilling local adventures with wisecracking trepidation. The self-confessed homebody says he prefers “the great indoors to the great outdoors,” but gamely follows the producers’ itinerary: immersing in a sound bath in the Maldives, ice floating in Finland, connecting with the Navajo Nation in Utah, captaining a sailboat in Lisbon, sampling Tokyo’s culinary culture and journeying into the Costa Rican jungle. Levy also stays in remarkable hotels along the way, including the historic Gritti Palace in Venice and a train hotel suspended above Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Also playing:

Dear Edward (Feb 3)

Visit Apple TV+ for a full list of releases.

Paramount Plus

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 (Feb 16) – The third and final season of the franchise spin-off will be the end of an era, as Patrick Stewart has announced he’ll be hanging up his phaser as the legendary Starfleet admiral Jean-Luc Picard (although he remains coy about possible future Star Trek projects). The show has leaned away from nostalgia in favor of reflecting modern sensibilities and forward-looking themes, but Season 3 will see Picard returning to his roots as he reunites with most of the main cast from TNG, including Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), as well as Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) returning in their roles from season one (notably missing is Brent Spiner as Data). In the “epic, thrilling conclusion” of the series, a desperate message from a long-lost friend draws Picard into the most daring mission of his life, forcing him to recruit old – and new —allies. This final adventure sets him on a collision course with the legacy of his past and lead to explosive revelations that will alter the fate of the Federation forever.

Murder in Big Horn (Feb 2 or 3) – Directors Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin craft a powerful portrait of tribal members and their communities within Big Horn County, Montana battling an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women since colonization. The three-part docuseries examines the circumstances surrounding many of these cases, told through the perspectives of grieving Native families, Native journalists, and local law enforcement officers. Their haunting testimonies bear witness to the crimes’ spiritual toll on the Indigenous community: “The darkness that has happened is this black cloud, a vapor. That energy just consumes your whole tribe.”

The Equalizer Season 3 (Feb 19) – Tough, no-nonsense vigilante Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah) has dropped off the face of the earth after being kidnapped at the end of season 2— and it’s no surprise considering she’s made no shortage of baddie enemies by helping the vulnerable and desperate. The ex-CIA operative is unflagging in her pursuit of justice for anyone in need of help – now it’s time for those closest to her to come together to save her. Expected to star alongside Latifah are Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black), Laya DeLeon Hayes (Raven’s Home), Adam Goldberg (Taken, Saving Private Ryan) and Liza Lapira (Nancy Drew).

Also playing:

At Midnight (Feb 10)

65^th Annual Grammy Awards (Feb 5)

Visit Paramount+ for a full list of releases.