5 new movies and TV shows on Netflix, HBO Max and Disney Plus to watch this weekend

New movies and TV shows to watch this weekend: Cherry
(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Spring forward this weekend and watch the new movies and TV shows dropping on Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus and more. Yes, the dreaded Daylight Saving time change is here (don’t forget to set your clocks forward by an hour on Sunday), but we’re still making the most of our weekend time with these streaming selections.

Another awards show is coming our way: the Grammys. The socially-distanced ceremony will honor the best music released during the pandemic-stricken year and feature performances by Billie Eilish, BTS, Cardi B, Meghan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift and many others.

The rest of the weekend lineup includes a new HBO Max teen drama (which may be good if you’re missing Euphoria) and a Netflix documentary about the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal (remember that?!). 

Here’s our guide to what to watch this weekend, March 12-14.

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards

Airs Sunday, March 14 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS
However terrible 2020 was, the year did produce a lot of great music. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia gave everybody a fun disco escape during the early days of the pandemic, while Taylor Swift released two surprise albums capturing the moody cottagecore vibe of lockdown. They’re among the artists vying for the top Album of the Year Grammy, along with Post Malone, Haim and Coldplay. Not in the mix? The Weeknd, whose shutout from this year’s nominations is an embarrassing look for the Grammys. The ceremony will still feature live performances, though they will be socially distanced. Let’s just hope the Grammys don’t suffer the same technical mishaps seen at the Golden Globes.

Genera+ion 

Streaming now on HBO Max
Genera+ion wants to be the voice of its generation (Z), much like Hannah Horvath proclaimed for herself for the previous one (millennials). Much like its HBO cousin, Euphoria, the new series focuses on the daily micro interactions and emotions of precocious GenZ teens. They speak in hashtags and are attached to their phones. When they’re not texting, they’re tweeting; when they’re not tweeting, they’re ‘gramming. But they face the same things as teens of all generations — falling in love, suffering a broken heart, wrestling with their sexuality, giving birth in a bathroom. Genera+ion doesn’t seem that far off from My So-Called Life or even Beverly Hills, 90210. It just has that annoying + styling that indicates it’s a child of the streaming era.

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of WandaVision

Starts streaming Friday, March 12 on Disney Plus
WandaVision is (sob) over, but Marvel is soothing us with one last treat. This making-of documentary chronicles how Marvel’s first Disney Plus series came to be, from concept to costumes to special effects. Fans may be surprised by some of the behind-the-scenes details, like how the first episode was filmed in front of a studio audience and the crew used old-fashioned wires to depict Wanda’s magic. Cast members Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn and Teyonah Parris talk about character development. Plus, get a peek into how songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez came up with the extremely catchy “Agatha All Along.”

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

Streaming now on Netflix
While 2019 feels like a different lifetime, it wasn’t all that long ago that we were riveted by the college admissions bribery scandal that took down celebrities like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. They were paying a man named Rick Singer to game the system and get their children into elite universities. Director Chris Smith was also behind Netflix’s Fyre Festival doc (and produced Tiger King), so he’s adept at digging into juicy gossip. In this instance, he deploys a mix of dramatizations — with Matthew Modine playing Singer — and interviews with talking heads. Operation Varsity Blues ends up providing an incisive and fairly scathing indictment of the faux meritocracy that college admissions pretend to be. This goes beyond “eat the rich” — more like, eat the system that ensures the rich stay that way.

Cherry

Starts streaming Friday, March 12 on Apple TV Plus
Tom Holland keeps trying to tap into his dark side. He tried it out in Netflix’s The Devil All the Time and he’s doing it again in this addiction drama, which reunites him with Avengers filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo. Holland plays the titular character, a young man who pinballs from hard partying in college to the army to prison. He becomes addicted to opioids and starts robbing banks. The Russos put an oddly glossy spin on a gritty story (adapted from Nico Walker’s semi-autobiographical book), while Holland goes hard-core in his performance.

What to watch this weekend: ICYMI

Last week had some gems you might have let slip past you. Here's what you shouldn't skip:

Coming 2 America (Amazon Prime Video)
Nostalgia is king in this sequel to Eddie Murphy’s classic 1988 comedy. Enjoy revisiting old characters and locales, while getting a small dose of new antics courtesy of Jermaine Fowler and Leslie Jones.

Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney Plus Premier Access)
Disney’s newest princess is a major badass, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran. Raya embarks on a quest to save her realm from terrifying monsters, but her true journey is learning to trust again.

Oprah With Meghan and Harry (CBS.com)
If you didn’t catch this tea-spilling interview last week, it’s streaming free for a month. You can see all of Oprah’s shocked-face expressions as Meghan talks about experiencing racism and suicidal thoughts after joining the royal family.

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.