From the golden sands of Palm Beach to the scorching deserts of Cairo — and right back home to the streets of Houston — this week’s streaming lineup has it all: action, mystery, deceit, and resilience. Whether you’re looking to laugh, gasp, or reflect, these five stories remind us that great storytelling can come from anywhere — sometimes even your own backyard.
It’s another packed week in streaming, with new series and films that span glossy satire, psychological thrillers, and homegrown Houston drama. Here are five standout projects to keep on your radar.
The Beast in Me
Netflix’s The Beast in Me is one of the most captivating new series of the year. The slow-burn psychological thriller, starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, marks a reunion of two of television’s most magnetic performers. Though it’s produced in part by Conan O’Brien, don’t expect laughs—this is a haunting, character-driven exploration of loss, loneliness, and obsession.
Danes plays a celebrated author whose life begins to crumble following the loss of her young son and the collapse of her marriage. When a man accused of his wife’s murder (Rhys) moves in next door, an uneasy connection forms between the two. What follows is a tense and emotionally charged dance of suspicion, seduction, and blurred morality.
When I met with Danes and Rhys in New York, I asked Danes whether she finds that what others say about her character can sometimes reveal more than her own dialogue. “Oh, that’s a great question,” she said, smiling. “Yes, I think it was an apt description and one that I was probably very resistant to in the moment. But yes, that’s something I had to confront and address and work through over the course of eight episodes.”
Rhys, ever the dry wit, jumped in to tease his co-star. “During the entire rehearsal,” he laughed, “she’s saying, ‘I don’t agree with that line. What a stupid line! How untrue.’” But when the discussion turned to his own character, he spoke more seriously: “There was this discomfort in that moment, an immediate kind of power play in him being the one to invite her up. The off-center nature of that meeting—honestly, it terrified me as an actor. I thought, how do you make that real and make it so that Claire’s character wouldn’t go, ‘I’m not going up there, that’s ludicrous.’ But I loved that discomfort. I was deeply intrigued by anyone who would meet someone they admired that much and react that way.”
Begin to binge The Beast in Me on Netflix this week.
Palm Royale
Apple TV+ brings back its gleefully glamorous satire Palm Royale for a second season of sun-drenched scandal. Set in 1969, the series follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), a woman desperate to infiltrate Palm Beach’s elite high society. The show, created by Abe Sylvia, balances biting wit with heartfelt humanity—an outrageous love letter to ambition and reinvention.
With an ensemble cast that includes Wiig, Ricky Martin, Laura Dern, Josh Lucas, Allison Janney, and Carol Burnett, Palm Royale captures the decadence of the era with campy precision. Ahead of the new season, Sylvia told me that returning to this world wasn’t about pressure—it was about passion.
“Oh, it’s excitement—neither relief nor stress,” he said. “I love being with these characters, I love being with these actors, I love being in this world. So we all just rolled up our sleeves and said, season one is the baseline now, and now where can we go?”
I noted that many creators compare making a second season to writing a sophomore album—after you’ve spent years perfecting the first. Sylvia nodded in agreement. “You always kind of know where you want to go next,” he said. “At this point I know these characters so well, even if it’s not fully formed. You ask: where is Maxine emotionally? Who do we want to see her fall in love with next? We love the people on our show. We love these characters. We always want to leave them in a place where there are still emotional challenges that need to be met. You start there, before the twists and the plots.”
Palm Royale Season 2 premieres this week on Apple TV.
Playdate
If you’re craving a dose of old-school, high-energy fun, Playdate on Prime Video brings back the best of the action-comedy genre. Directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) and written by Family Guy alum Neil Goldman, the film stars Kevin James, Alan Tudyk, Isla Fisher, and Ally Richardson in a story about two suburban dads whose seemingly harmless afternoon playdate turns into a full-blown, high-stakes adventure.
Greenfield told me the film’s DNA comes straight from the movies that made him fall in love with cinema. “Beverly Hills Cop is one of my favorite movies of all time,” he said. “That and Midnight Run—same director, Marty Brest. That’s what I was going for completely, trying to make an action comedy like the ones we grew up on. There’s not really a blueprint for me; it’s more about that vibe. You think it’s going one way, and then it just shifts completely. It’s a very unpredictable film.”
We bonded over Midnight Run, a favorite of ours for its humor and heart. Greenfield lit up at the mention of it. “You care so much about those characters,” he said. “In the end, when they say goodbye—there’s this emotional scene of De Niro with his daughter—that was the inspiration for Alan and his father in this.”
And when I asked if Kevin James, known for his physical comedy and improvisational timing, was allowed to play a little loose with the script, Greenfield didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” he said. “Comedy has to be natural—you’ve got to let them run. Beverly Hills Cop is probably the most extreme version of that. You can tell every single scene, Eddie Murphy’s just doing his thing. We worked hard on the script, so there was a great foundation to jump off of, but yeah, there’s a hell of a lot of improv in this.”
Playdate premieres Wednesday, November 12, on Prime Video.
Murder at the Embassy
For those who prefer a mystery with vintage flair, Murder at the Embassy delivers a stylish throwback to the golden age of Hollywood thrillers. Set in 1930s Cairo, the film follows an intrepid detective (Mischa Barton) navigating a tangled web of murder and international intrigue—all set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids.
Actor Mido Hamada, who co-stars in the film, shared vivid memories from shooting on location. “It was exactly that,” he said. “It was the biggest blast in the world. Imagine that you get a 4:30 call time, and your location happens to be the Giza Plateau. You’re sitting there as the sun is coming up over the pyramids, and you have to remind yourself, I still have a scene to shoot—but this is really good.”
The experience wasn’t without its challenges. “We were filming in the middle of the summer,” Hamada recalled. “It was over a hundred degrees, easy. But the incredible gift was the location—allowing yourself to be filled by that and to be in awe of it. All of us had a shared experience there; we all felt the same wonder.”
Murder at the Embassy is available on Video on Demand and in select theaters this Friday.
Dangerous Deceit
Rounding out the week is a powerful Houston-made drama that hits close to home. Dangerous Deceit, written by and starring Victoria Vanna, tackles the harrowing realities of human trafficking in one of America’s largest cities. The film also features Jasmine Balais and brothers John and Jonathan Calton, and it stands as a testament to Houston’s thriving independent film scene.
Vanna told me the story was born from a chilling real-life experience. “The storyline came to me when I was sitting in an Uber one night and felt really uncomfortable,” she said. “I was leaving an outing and just felt some weird energy. It happens way too often that women feel sexualized or unsafe. And it kind of hit me—‘Hey, it’s really late at night and this guy could do anything.’”
Her goal was to raise awareness and promote vigilance. “Houston is actually one of the top cities for sex trafficking—it’s number two on the charts,” she explained. “I just wanted women to be more aware of their surroundings, or even just to have it in the back of their mind that this is a possibility. Especially if you’re drinking or out late—just be more careful.”
Shot with local talent, Dangerous Deceit is raw, real, and urgent. It’s streaming now on Tubi.
The post On Our Streaming Radar: From Palm Beach Glamour to Houston Grit appeared first on Houston Press.
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