5 Best New Movies and Shows to Stream This Weekend on Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount Plus and More (October 30-November 1)

This article contains discussion of addiction.

Can you believe October is already over? I know I can’t. With October fast approaching and the final weekend falling during Halloween, many people are probably planning their Elizabeth Holmes-inspired outfits or figuring out how to perfectly drape old sheets to approximate the period costumes from “The Odyssey.” If you’re a homebody and looking to stream good stuff over the weekend, we’ve got you covered with some solid choices.

Everything on this list is either completely new and exclusive to a streaming network Or the premiere of a new blockbuster movie streaming for the first time, so just because your favorite movie was randomly added to Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Max doesn’t mean it’ll make the cut here. From a truly stunning documentary series about a star we lost too soon to two major season premieres to a really fun animated film for the whole family, here are five movies and TV shows you should watch on major streamers this weekend, October 30 – November 1, 2026.

Not all documentaries about celebrities who have died tragically are. GOOD; some of them feel a little like gawking at a road accident. Fortunately, Mary Robertson’s three-part Netflix documentary “The One About Matthew Perry” is a surprisingly sweet and honest portrait of a troubled man who did his best and made the world laugh. Perry, as you probably remember, died suddenly in 2023, with the possible cause of death being ketamine use and accidental drowning. As “The One About Matthew Perry” makes clear, he struggled with sobriety for most of his life, and fame only exacerbated his addiction.

As dark as that subject matter is, “The One About Matthew Perry” handles its subject matter with respect and grace, and having Perry’s half-sister Mia Perry Bowick – who became a psychotherapist after seeing her brother struggle with sobriety – and old friends like Roger Castillo, David Pressman, Nate Torrence and Kevin Pollak on board helps tell Perry’s story the way one hopes he would want it to be told. Robertson said as much in an interview with Vulture: “I think Matthew would be really upset if I made a movie about his life that wasn’t funny,” she mused. “It was very important to me that this film be as funny as possible, and that we find lightness in the darkness and in moments of sadness.” I am happy to report that Robertson succeeded in this mission.

If you or someone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Since the release of “Despicable Me” in 2010, Minions have become a pop culture phenomenon, so it’s no surprise that there is also a Minions spinoff franchise that received a new movie in 2026 called “Minions & Monsters.” What East surprising is that, according to Rafael Motamayor of /Film, this film is very good and a sneaky remake of a semi-recent box office failure. Directed by Pierre Coffin (who also plays the Minions), “Minions & Monsters” follows the most creative of the titular yellow guys, James, who ends up stumbling upon an actor staging a bank heist for an upcoming film.

Because the Minions technically interrupt filming, the film’s director, Max (Christoph Waltz, real Oscar winner) decides to cast them, and “Minions & Monsters” becomes an ode to old Hollywood as they attempt to transition from silent films to “talkies.” (I’m just as surprised as anyone that a Minions movie also pays homage to one of my all-time favorite films and one of the best musicals ever made, “Singin’ in the Rain.”) Elsewhere, there’s a fun subplot involving an alien robot named Dort that’s clearly a riff on Gort from the 1951 sci-fi classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” The bottom line here is that “Minions & Monsters” is well worth your time, whether you’re a big fan of the Despicable Me movies or love old Hollywood (or, somehow, both).

If you’re a fan of “Downton Abbey” or “Bridgerton” but haven’t yet watched “The Gilded Age,” you might want to catch up ASAP because the fourth season of the hit HBO drama returns this weekend. “The Gilded Age,” created by Julian Fellowes (the guy who is literally responsible for “Downton Abbey” as well as films like “Gosford Park”), focuses on high society New York in the titular era of 1880s, where the wealthy residents of Manhattan find themselves divided into two societal camps: the “old money” and the “new money.” As the new Russells – matriarch Bertha (the incomparable Carrie Coon), her husband and robber baron George (Morgan Spector, who recently and publicly accepted his fan nickname “Train Dad”), their son Larry (Harry Richardson) and their married daughter Gladys Vere, the Duchess of Buckingham (Taissa Farmiga) – try to find their place in society, they face opposition from old money stalwarts like the Agnes sisters. van Rhijn. (Christine Baranski, regal as always) and her sister Ada Forte (Cynthia Nixon).

The “Gilded Age” is full of, as Aretha Franklin once said, “big dresses, beautiful dresses.” It’s also full of intrigue, deliciously petty bickering, and old-fashioned drama that will absolutely keep you hooked. Season 4 begins on HBO on November 1, and after the final two episodes of Season 3, in which George suffers a life-threatening injury, his marriage to Bertha remains strained, and Ada supplants Agnes in a surprising move, you’ll want to check in on your favorite 1880s socialites and see what happens to them next.

The original series finale of “Dexter,” the serial killer drama developed by James Manos Jr. and adapted from the crime novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay, is considered one of the worst series finales in television history to this day. Maybe that’s why “Dexter,” which stars Michael C. Hall as the titular righteous murderer Dexter Morgan, didn’t get one but three rebirths. “Dexter: New Blood” aired on Showtime from 2021 to 2022, a prequel called “Dexter: Original Sin” aired in 2024, and now we have “Dexter: Resurrection,” a direct sequel to “New Blood” that began streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime in the summer of 2025.

During its initial run, “Resurrection” picked up where “New Blood” left off, in that Dexter is nearly killed after being shot by his own son, Harrison Morgan (Jack Alcott), but manages to make a miraculous recovery. As Dexter follows Harrison to New York, where the young man works as a bellboy at the Empire Hotel, he unfortunately realizes that his old friend from Miami turned sworn enemy, Angel Batista (David Zayas), is stalking him. himleading to a complex game of cat and mouse anchored by Hall’s excellent and familiar performance. With new actors joining Season 2 like Bokeem Woodbine (who recently had a great role on “Primetime”), “Succession” veteran Brian Cox and “Downton Abbey” alum Dan Stevens, among others, “Dexter: Resurrection” promises one hell of a good time in its second outing. The kick-off is October 30.

If you want one second Serial killer drama to pair with “Dexter: Resurrection”, you are…