What to Watch: 40 TV Shows and Movies to Stream Free of Charge
From ‘Leverage: Redemption’ to the debut of ‘Yellowjackets,’ here’s where to find movies, series and episodes streaming at no cost
There is a streaming battle under way among free, ad-supported streaming services that are attracting millions of viewers who don’t mind spending time with commercials. Once known as the cheapest way to find “Matlock” reruns, free streamers have been investing heavily in original programming featuring top Hollywood talent.
Here are some of the new shows—and other classics, hits and favorites— that are currently on offer on six free streaming services:
New Releases: ‘Leverage: Redemption,’ ‘Alex Rider’
(IMDb TV)
“Leverage: Redemption” reboots the series “Leverage,” a TNT series that wrapped at the end of 2012. The reimagined series, commissioned by Amazon’s IMDb TV, is about a talented group of crooks who bring vigilante justice to the corrupt. “Redemption” starts with the crew targeting a man who made millions selling opioids and donates art to try to clean up his name.
Ryan Pirozzi, co-head of content and programming for Amazon’s ad-supported service, says the series is part of the streamer’s ambition to be a “modern broadcast network.”
“Our hypothesis is that, while people are cutting the cord from broadcast and basic cable, it’s not a rejection of the kind of shows that you find there,” he says. “It’s more embracing all the wonderful things about streaming.”
Other IMDb TV originals include “Judy Justice,” starring Judy “Judge Judy” Sheindlin, and “Alex Rider,” a spy series based on Anthony Horowitz’s novels that premieres its second season on Dec. 3. Originals in the pipeline include a forthcoming cop show from Dick Wolf, “On Call,” and a spinoff of Prime Video’s “Bosch.”
New Release: ‘The Freak Brothers’
(Tubi)
In the animated comedy “The Freak Brothers,” three friends and their cat score an enhancement for their weed at Woodstock 1969 that puts them into a half-century slumber. They wake up in 2020 San Francisco to a world of gentrification, squatter’s rights, phones the size of Pop-Tarts and legal marijuana. The friends are voiced by John Goodman, Woody Harrelson and the “Saturday Night Live” performer Pete Davidson. The cat is the voice of Tiffany Haddish.
“The Freak Brothers,” which premiered on Sunday, is part of Tubi’s recent investment in original programming, after long being known as the home of catalog fare such as “Con Air,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Columbo.” Tubi, which is owned by Fox Corp. , promised 140 hours of original content this fall, including documentaries, animation, horror, thrillers and more. For Halloween, it rolled out titles such as true-crime series “Meet, Marry, Murder” and a horror film called “Harland Manor.”
Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent company News Corp share common ownership.
New Release: ‘Player vs Player with Trevor Noah’
(The Roku Channel)
In “Player vs. Player with Trevor Noah,” the host of “The Daily Show” chats up gamers and celebrities while playing videogames with them. In the first episode, which premieres Friday, he and actor/gamer Jordan Fisher use a round of “Fortnite” as an excuse to talk about friendships and relationships, and to wax nostalgic about videogames.
“Player vs. Player,” is among the short-form shows originally commissioned for the now-defunct Quibi service that has been picked up by the Roku Channel. Others include “Reno 911!,” “The Fugitive,” and the Kevin Hart/John Travolta series, “Die Hart.” Roku has already given a greenlight to new seasons of some of the shows, including “Die Hart”—called “Die Harter”—and “Most Dangerous Game.”
On Dec. 1, Roku will debut “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas,” an original holiday feature film based on the NBC series, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” which Roku is currently streaming.
Rob Holmes, Roku’s vice president of programming, says Roku launched the channel because, among other reasons, the term “free” was consistently one of the top search terms on Roku players. The ad-supported service includes live channels and on-demand shows and movies.
New Releases: ‘Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol,’ ‘Paris in Love’
(Peacock)
“Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol,” is a series based on the novel by the author of “The Da Vinci Code.” It acts as a prequel to the trilogy of movies, which includes “Angels & Demons” and “Inferno.” Ashley Zukerman steps into the Tom Hanks role as Robert Langdon. After his mentor goes missing, the Harvard professor is swept up in yet another conspiracy. All 10 episodes are available to stream on Peacock; the first three are free of charge.
The series is just one of many original titles commissioned for the NBCUniversal streamer, which debuted last year. The service features a combination of live channels alongside on-demand shows and movies. It offers a number of different tiers of service, including an ad-supported free tier.
In addition to “The Lost Symbol,” the free tier includes access to episodes of Peacock originals such as the Emmy-nominated late-night series “The Amber Ruffin Show,” its “Saved By the Bell” reboot, “Dr. Death,” “One of Us Is Lying,” the Emmy-nominated comedy “Girls5Eva” and Paris Hilton’s new “Paris in Love” reality series.
New Releases: ‘Yellowjackets,’ ‘Julia at Home’
(Pluto TV)
Pluto TV is built around hundreds of live channels and thousands of on-demand movies and shows. It has also become a place to sample new shows from various ViacomCBS properties (and beyond) free of charge.
For example, viewers can sample new shows on Showtime and Paramount+ on the 24-hour channels, “Paramount+ Picks” and “Showtime Selects.” On-demand, viewers can catch the first episode of Showtime’s buzzy new series, “Yellowjackets,” about the surviving members of a high-school women’s soccer team 25 years after they were on a plane that crashed in the wilderness. “Julia at Home,” a new series starring Julia Collin Davison of “America’s Test Kitchen,” premiered on Pluto this week. It is available exclusively on the platform, both on demand and on the America’s Test Kitchen channel.
Pluto’s other free channels include those dedicated to offerings as diverse as the “CSI” franchise and James Bond films including “Dr. No.” Professional Bull Riders’s PBR RidePass streaming service recently folded itself into a Pluto channel, which is home to live bull-riding events and related programming.
Critical Consensus: ‘Another Round,’ ‘Parasite’
(Kanopy)
Kanopy is both free and ad-free. Users gain access to the streaming service using participating library and university accounts. Its catalog currently includes recent Oscar winners such as “Parasite,” “Moonlight” and “Another Round.” It’s also home to classic films such as “Chinatown,” “The Odd Couple,” “Black Orpheus,” “Memento,” “Rain Man” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Documentaries include “I Am Not Your Negro,” “RBG” and “Trouble the Water.”
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