While Kissing Booth 3 offers a glossy and generally joyful look at California, another new Netflix title this week is far more enamoured with the inherent darkness of L.A. That project is Brand New Cherry Flavor, a proudly weird TV show about curses, the undead, and the horror of creativity. This is Get Out mom Catherine Keener like you’ve never, ever, ever seen before. You’ll also find a new baking series, a John David Washington-led thriller, the return of Netflix’s absolute sexiest international series, and more.
These are all the new Netflix offerings broken down by plot, genre, and whether you should watch something immediately or skip for now. Keep reading for the lowdown on all of these Netflix treats, including their trailers.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (Season 1)
What is it?: The weirdest show you’ll watch this year.
What is it about?: Recognizing that Los Angeles feels haunted as hell. Filmmaker Lisa Nova (Rosa Salazar) is our entryway into Brand New Cherry Flavor’s eerie, dreamlike version of a city we’ve seen on screen ad nauseam. Lisa grew up in Brazil and, after a mysterious directorial sojourn in the woods of California, is determined to take Hollywood by storm. In L.A., Lisa meets famed producer Lou Burke (Eric Lange), who offers to take her career to the next level.
When Lou betrays Lisa — and inflicts the type of violence upon her the #MeToo movement brought to light — she turns to Boro (Catherine Keener at her most offbeat), an enigmatic connection to some supernatural force, for revenge. A twisty curse, a spooky door, and bizarre sex with movie stars lies ahead for Lisa and her friends, including Manny Jacinto as nice guy drug dealer Code.
See or skip?: See, in the right headspace. Brand New Cherry Flavor is odd. As in unlike anything else on Netflix odd. It will challenge you. It will confuse you. It will deeply gross you out (prepare for someone constantly vomiting kittens). But the series is also a rewarding experience that, if you’re anything like me, will remind you of all the uncanny indie horror movies you watched during high school.
Skip all together, if you want to avoid nightmares and watching someone eat guinea pig stew.
The Kissing Booth 3
What is it?: The end of an era.
What is it about?: Priorities. Kissing Booth leading lady Elle Evans (Joey King) approaches the third and final film of her series with a predicament: to follow her best friend Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney) to college at Berkeley or join his older brother and her boyfriend, Noah (Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi), at Harvard. When Elle makes a decision, she assumes she’s solving her biggest problem. Instead, she opens up the new can of worms that is perfectly maintaining her very different relationships with both Flynn brothers over the summer.
Wacky tensions only rise as the trio wind up in a beach house together, orbited by Elle’s former love interest Marco Peña (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Noah’s eligible schoolmate Chloe Winthrop (Maisie Richardson-Sellers).
See or skip?: See, to wrap up your Kissing Booth 3 experience. However, don’t come to Kissing Booth 3 expecting a proper rom-com. The three-quel is all about growing pains as Elle juggles her responsibilities as a best friend, girlfriend, daughter, and sister — four roles that often seem at odds while she’s trying to become her own person. At least Kissing Booth 3 finds its traditional silly spark in set pieces like a delightful Go Kart race and a surprisingly charming flashmob dance sequence.
Beckett
What is it?: John David Washington’s second Netflix movie this year.
What is it about?: Poor, poor Beckett (Washington). Beckett thinks he is on top of the world during a vacation to Greece with his girlfriend April (Alicia Vikander). Then Beckett passes out at the wheel of a car in a remote part of the country. April is left dead after the car goes through a house; Beckett is hospitalised. As Beckett tries to put together the shreds of what happened — and figure out if he accidentally killed innocent strangers in the collision — he finds himself in an ever-heightening deadly conspiracy. The backdrop of bubbling political unrest in Greece does nothing to help Beckett’s battle to survive.
See or skip?: Skip, until you’re in the mood to be stressed or confused. Beckett is meant to serve as a weekend thrillride, but the never-ending terror inflicted upon a performer as game as Washington may be too much to bear after Beckett’s third (or 13th) unfortunate event in the Greek countryside.
Bake Squad (Season 1)
What is it?: The spiritual baking show opposite of Nailed It.
What is it about?: Confectionary excellence. Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi hosts Bake Squad, which offers regular people the chance to offer spectacular desserts at their upcoming functions. The creators of those sweet delights are the highly trained members of Tosi’s bake squad: Maya-Camille Broussard, Ashley Holt, Gonzo Jimenez, and Christophe Rull. In each episode, the squad whips up individual creations for the challenge at hand (think: a family birthday party or swanky wedding). After hours of hard work, the client must choose just one jaw-dropping dessert to win.
See or skip?: See, if you love a low-stakes competition series. While Bake Squad is visually a lot more colourful (and professional) than Great British Baking Show it has a lot in common with that beloved baking show. Not only are contestants genuinely determined to do their best, they also go out of their way to help their fellow competitors, no matter how much that kindness may affect their own chances at winning. Sweet!
Untold: Malice at the Palace
What is it?: The first in a series of in-depth sports documentaries.
What is it about?: The 2004 “brawl” at the Detroit Pistons’ then-stadium, The Palace. The basic facts of the evening are well known in athletic circles. During an early-season November game, Indiana Pacers player Ron Artest pushed the Pistons’ Ben Wallace. A “dust-up” then broke out between the teams, which escalated when a fan then threw a beer at Artest, sparking an all-out fight in the stands. Players were involved. Staff was involved. Fans were involved.
Untold gets to the pieces of this watershed sports moment viewers likely don’t know about, like the fact that Artest was in therapy at this time or the criminal investigation that followed the “malice.” Untold is packed with insiders, including Wallace, Artest, coaches, and even a fan who tried to fight Artest on the court.
See or skip?: See, if you want to continue your sports entertainment diet after the Olympics. Malice at the Palace successfully reveals the dog whistle politics behind the industry, where Black players are celebrated until they’re branded as “thugs” for stepping out of line. Smartly, the series also allows players themselves to work through this daunting bind and share their own personal truths.
Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
What is it?: Standup comedy in the COVID age.
What is it about?: Breaking a lot of your assumptions on life as an alleged “other” like Phil Wang. Biracial Wang, as he says at the beginning of Philly Philly Wang Wang, is British and Malaysian-Chinese. Some people try to tell him that that makes him a “minority” — Wang counters that he is actually a double majority if you look at the wider state of the world. From there, Wang explores race during the pandemic, his place as both “Pepsi” and “Coke” in international demographics, and the simple terror of entering your 30s.
See or skip?: You can skip, unless you’re a voracious stand-up viewer. Much of Philly Philly Wang Wang is boundary-pushing — and likely to ruffle the feathers of those afraid of even a whiff of controversy. The most noteworthy section of the special is saved for its final few minutes. During the crescendo, Wang shares one of the most thoughtful and sharp criticisms of panicky “woke” handwringing you’ve seen in a while.
Valeria (Season 2)
What is it?: Wallpaper porn. Something very close to regular porn sometimes.
What is it about?: Four messy, lovable best friends in Madrid. Technically, Valeria (Diana Gómez) — a clumsy writer who has left her unhappy marriage by season 2 — is Valeria’s star. But her longtime pals Lola (Silma López), Carmen (Paula Malia), and Nerea (Teresa Riott) all carry the narrative weight as well. Valeria spends season 2 settling into her place as a writer — whether that means accepting a lucrative ghost writing gig or striking out on her own. Lola, Carmen, and Nerea all battle their own difficult relationships over these eight episodes, while also attempting to prove they can thrive without being dominated by their love lives.
As with season 1, Lola’s tortured situationship with married man Sergio (Aitor Luna) is a particular bright spot.
See or skip?: See, and not just because Valeria’s love interest Victor (Maxi Iglesias) is one of the most beautiful men available to grace your screen right now. The frothy, explicit, and charming escapades of Valeria will hold you over until you’re back at brunch with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and co. with the buzzy Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That.
AlRawabi School for Girls (Season 1)
What is it?: A rare teen show on the streamer from the Middle East.
What is it about?: The fictional AlRawabi School for Girls, of course. After a frightening altercation with her school’s protected and posh bullies, Mariam (Andria Tayeh) gathers her fellow outcasts to mete out revenge on their tormentors. AlRawabi skips betweens the girls’ at-school capers and personal home lives.
See or skip?: See, as a followup to last week’s Control Z. While AlRawabi School for Girls isn’t as high tech as its Mexican-made Netflix cousin, it is similarly focused on the stories of girls, outsiders, and questioning the right way to take down a bully (and who, ultimately even is a bully). AlRawabi also offers the added bonus of being almost entirely led and produced by women.
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