What’s fresh in streaming this week? (January 17, 2025)

All items showcased here are chosen independently by our editorial team. If you make a purchase through the links on our website, Mashable could receive an affiliate commission.

Searching for an amazing show to enjoy at home? Streaming services offer an abundance of options with platforms like Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and many others. And that’s just scratching the surface when you consider the extensive collections of films and series available on each service!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more.

However, if you're on the lookout for something completely fresh (or recently available for streaming), we've got you sorted as well.

Mashable's entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're looking for mind-bending mystery, nerve-fraying horror, addictive docs, teen romance, animated mayhem, or some of 2024's most buzzed-about movies, we've got something just for you.

Here’s a rundown of the latest streaming offerings, ranked from least impressive to most outstanding.

12. Unstoppable

Seeking a feel-good story about self-determination and overcoming adversity? Then you'll revel in Unstoppable, a sports drama based on the inspiring true story of NCAA Division wrestling champion Anthony Robles.

Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight) stars as Robles, who was born with one leg yet went on to win matches, fans, championships, and endorsement contracts. His story begins in Mesa, Arizona, where he's a high school wrestler balancing school, practice, a job, and drama at home — most of it stemming from his belligerent father (Bobby Cannavale). But no matter what hardships come his way, Anthony perseveres with the help of his spirited mother (Jennifer Lopez). Though the plotting of this William Goldenberg-helmed biopic is pretty by-the-numbers, Jerome is a terrific in the lead role, giving audiences an underdog who's easy to root for in a feel-good movie that's easy to watch.

Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle

11. An Update on Our Family

For some, family vlogging appears to be innocent fun, showcasing the charming lives of attractive parents and their adorable children. However, what occurs when the facade of an ideal family begins to crack?

An Update on Our Family takes a look inside this kind of content creation, including the controversy that surrounded YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer following their decision to give up custody of their 4-year-old adopted son in 2020. This limited three-part series from filmmaker Rachel Mason explores what went down offline and what other vloggers make the Stauffers' story. From episode to episode, it may well make you rethink your online viewing habits.

10. SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night

If you love Saturday Night Live, you won't want to miss this documentary miniseries that takes audiences behind the scenes of Lorne Michaels' epic sketch show. Tracing SNL's origins from a scrappy risk to a comedy institution, documentarian Morgan Neville (Piece By Piece) offers a jaw-dropping array of interviews as well as never-before-seen footage and clips from the show's archives.

Over the course of four episodes, SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night will usher audiences through everything from the intimidating audition process to the week-long development demanded of each episode to the creation of some of the show's most iconic sketches, including the challenges Michaels and company have faced as the concept of comedy in America has shifted. Featuring cast members past and present, this doc series is a treasure trove of fun facts and wild stories, sure to entertain.

Starring: Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Bowen Yang, Cheri Oteri, David Spade, Ego Nwodim, Fred Armisen, Heidi Gardner, Jason Sudeikis, Jay Pharaoh, Jeff Blake, Joe Piscopo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kenan Thompson, Kyle Mooney, Lindsay Shookus, Marci Klein, Mike Shoemaker, Molly Shannon, Nasim Pedrad, Pete Davidson, Stephen Colbert, and Tracy Morgan

9. Castlevania: Nocturne, Season 2

Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 reunites us with our merry band of vampire hunters, including Richter Belmont (voiced by Edward Bluemel) and sorceress Annette (voiced by Thuso Mbedu). But this time around, there's a big addition to the crew: Dracula's son Alucard (voiced by James Callis), a key character from the original Castlevania series.

With Alucard by their side, Richter, Annette, and co. hope to take down the Vampire Messiah Erzsebet Báthory (Franka Potente) before she can plunge the world into eternal darkness. Based on the trailer, we can expect more incredible fight sequences, dark magic, and even a dragon.* — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Edward Bluemel, Pixie Davies, Thuso Mbedu, Sydney James Harcourt, Nastassja Kinski, Zahn McClarnon, Franka Potente, James Callis, Richard Dormer, Iain Glen, Elarica Johnson, and Aaron Neil

8. XO, Kitty, Season 2

To All the Boys I've Loved Before spin-off series XO, Kitty is back, this time with more love triangle drama and a super special guest.

It's a new semester at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS), and Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart) is ready to buckle down and study. She might be a little distracted though, given her romantic feelings for Yuri (Gia Kim) and Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee), and her confusion on what to do next. You know what'll cheer her up though? A surprise visit from Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) himself, who appears briefly in Season 2's trailer to give her a sweet pep talk.* — B.E.

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Starring: Anna Cathcart, Choi Min-young, Gia Kim, Sang Heon Lee, Anthony Keyvan, Regan Aliyah, and Peter Thurnwald

7. A Different Man

One of the most buzzed-about movies out of the festival circuit in 2024 was Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man, which starred Sebastian Stan as a self-conscious actor who undergoes an experimental procedure to radically alter his face.

The MCU's Winter Soldier wore realistic prosthetics for the beginning of A Different Man to play Edward, who feels held back by his facial differences. When the aforementioned procedure makes him look like — well — a movie star, he has a new lease on life, embracing a new identity. That is, until his past comes back to haunt him in the form of a play inspired by his former self. Eager to reconnect with the playwright he once crushed on, Edward auditions for the role of himself — without revealing who he really is. But the arrival of the charismatic Oswald (Chained for Life star Adam Pearson) threatens his plans of artistic triumph and romantic bliss.

Critics, including Mashable contributor Siddhant Adlakha, cheered the film. In his review, Adlakha wrote, "By grounding its story in a character drama first and foremost, A Different Man anchors its many plot zig-zags, and its anxieties about its own existence, to a tangible emotion