What to Watch This Week: Chill Out With Top 9 TV & Movie Picks (July 29–August 4)

New on TV this week

On Friday, August 2, Netflix will release Zack Snyder’s R-rated director cuts Rebel Moon—Chapter One: Chalice of Blood (previously known as Rebel Moon—Part One: A Child of Fire) and Rebel Moon—Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness (formerly Rebel Moon—Part Two: The Scargiver). So, even longer versions with maybe some extra blood and boobs? Pass, Zack.

This week’s What To Watch picks include the new season of Futurama, the premiere of Batman: Caped Crusader, the second season of Rob Lowe’s Unstable, the streaming debut of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and WWE SummerSlam pro-wrestling action. Tune in and chill out!

Streaming on Max this week

Veep | Max | Comedy

Series, now streaming: Attention newly-engaged politicos swept up in Kamala Fever: Veep is not an aspirational model of how government is supposed to be run (you should be looking to The West Wing, also on Max). After President Joe Biden stepped aside from his 2024 White House run and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, viewership of the 2012–2019 HBO comedy Veep jumped by over 350% last week. Not that you shouldn’t watch the wickedly funny political satire, just don’t confuse this Veep with the VP.  Watch trailer

New on Hulu this week

Futurama | Hulu | Animation, comedy

Season 12 premiere, Monday, July 29: The most unkillable cartoon since The Simpsons returns for a 12th season on Hulu, which has already greenlit seasons 13 and 14 of Futurama. This season will wrap up the cliffhangers of the previous run, and introduce several wacky plots that can only be described as Futurama-esque: Bender selling his soul as an NFT, children’s games played to the death, Fry being supplanted by a temp worker, “Bug Fighting,” and, worst of all, fast fashion. New episodes drop weekly.  Watch trailer

New on Prime Video this week

Batman: Caped Crusader | Prime Video | Animation, fantasy

Series premiere, Thursday, August 1: Originally made for Max before Warner Bros. Discovery decided to cut costs and hold a content fire sale, Batman: Caped Crusader brings another piece of the DC Universe to Prime Video. This Dark Knight saga takes place in the 1940s, when Batman (voiced by Hamish Linklater) was new to Gotham and the police didn’t know if this masked crimefighter was an ally or a loose-cannon psycho. (Maybe a little of both?) All 10 episodes will be available to stream on August 1.  Watch trailer

New on Netflix this week

Unstable | Netflix | Comedy

Season 2 premiere, Thursday, August 1: Unstable was a low-key comic gem of 2023, and Rob Lowe’s funniest performance since the days of Parks and Recreation. Lowe plays the erratic CEO of a biotech company who’s been nudged further off the rails by the death of his wife, while his introverted son (played by Lowe’s actual son, John Owen) does his best to keep him from the edge. True to its title, Unstable veers wildly between feel-good family fuzzies and stinging corporate satire, but it’s all hilarious.  Watch trailer

New on Prime Video this week

The Mallorca Files | Prime Video | Drama, mystery

Prime Video streaming premiere, Thursday, August 1: The first two seasons of breezy British cop procedural The Mallorca Files previously streamed in the U.S. via Freevee, but now it’s moving up the Amazon food chain to Prime Video. The series, which premiered in 2019, follows straight-laced London detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys) as she’s partnered with chill-bro detective Max Winter (Julian Looman) on the gorgeous Spanish island of Mallorca. Season 3 drops next week—enjoy the scenery.  Watch trailer

New on Hulu this weekend

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Hulu | Drama, sci-fi

Movie streaming premiere, Friday, August 2: In the fourth installment of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, the story swings 300 years into the future, long after the death of Caesar (good riddance). Apes have established numerous tribes, humans have reverted to non-verbal cavemen, and young chimpanzee Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) has begun to question everything about this world. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes isn’t the best of the series, but it’s still a visually stunning film.  Watch trailer

Live on Peacock this weekend

WWE SummerSlam | Peacock | Sports, wrestling

Coverage begins Saturday, August 3, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET: Live from Cleveland Browns Stadium in Ohio, it’s SummerSlam 2024. The card: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Special Guest Referee Match), Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa (Undisputed WWE Championship), Damian Priest vs. Gunther (World Heavyweight Match), Bayley vs. Nia Jax (WWE Women’s Championship), Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Championship), and Logan Paul vs. LA Knight (U.S. Championship). Hulk Hogan was presumably disinvited.  Watch trailer

New on Tubi this weekend

Blood, Beach, Betrayal | Tubi | Drama, thriller

Movie premiere, Saturday, August 3: At Brook Haven, a beach club for ultra-rich elites, young lifeguard Abby (Natalee Linez) falls into a secret, torrid affair with wealthy married woman Imani (Gina Vitori). Meanwhile, more and more club employees are turning up dead. Were they murdered? Is Imani involved? Will Abby be next? Blood, Beach, Betrayal is soapy trash with a beautiful backdrop, and you’re certainly not going to strain any brain cells trying to keep up. In other words, the perfect Tubi Original.  Watch trailer

New movie releases available to rent/buy on VOD this week

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

As you may have gathered from the title, A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel to the previous two Quiet Place movies. The story follows Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a terminally ill cancer patient in New York City who’s there for the first wave of the invasion of the blind-but-sound-sensitive killer aliens. The urban setting of A Quiet Place: Day One amps the chaos and tension of the prior films to 11, and even throws a hero cat named Frodo into the mix, all while holding to a brisk 99-minute runtime.  Watch trailer

• A Quiet Place: Day One (July 30)
• The Abandon (July 30)
• The Bohemian (July 30
• Janet Planet (July 30)
• Touch (July 30)
• Treasure (July 30))
• All My Friends Are Dead (August 2)
• Escape From Germany (August 2)
• The Highest Brasil (August 2)
• The Vourdalak (August 2)