This week’s new streaming releases sees record-breaking biopic blockbuster Michael moonwalk onto VOD release, while we also get Anya Taylor-Joy crime drama series Lucky, the Hannah Waddingham/Octavia Spencer action-comedy series Ride or Die, and more!
SERIES
The Ghost in the Shell S1
7 July 2026 – Prime Video
No, that’s not a typo on the date above, but this one slipped through the cracks last week. There had been a press release back in February that the brand new The Ghost in the Shell anime series would actually be airing on Prime Video in certain countries outside of Japan, but South Africa was not specifically mentioned anywhere. Luckily for us though, here we are! For the uninitiated, Masamune Shirow’s iconic and hugely influential original 1980s/1990s cyberpunk manga is set in the mid-21st-century and follows a fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization, Public Security Section 9, led by the badass cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi as they investigate various cyber-crimes. The manga has been adapted to screen several times before (most famously in Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime feature film), with this being the second time we’re getting an animated series adaptation. This latest iteration is hewing much closer to Shirow’s original art style and sticking closer to the source material.
R.J. Decker S1
14 July 2026 – Disney+
While we all love premium drama that sends us an emotional rollercoaster, sometimes you also just want to chill on the couch with the TV version of junk food. And that’s what crime procedurals are. The latest bit of low-calorie entertainment you may find yourself hooked on is R.J. Decker, a new crime series following Scott Speedman as the titular character. Once a successful newspaper photographer who had a fall from grace that ended with him serving time in jail, R.J. is now trying to start his life over as a private detective in sunny Florida. With no shortage of colourful characters in the Sunshine State, R.J. finds himself tackling the odd and bizarre cases with the help of his journalist ex and her police detective wife. When a shadowy person from his past shows up and offers to be his benefactor though, R.J. has to figure out if she is his shot at redemption or leading him to yet another downfall.
Lucky S1
15 July 2026 – Apple TV
Adapted from Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name, Lucky is a new seven-episode crime drama miniseries from Banshee and Warrior creator Jonathan Tropper with Reese Witherspoon exec producing. Despite Tropper’s involvement and his background, you probably shouldn’t expect this one to have bone-crunching martial arts action, but it makes up for the fisticuffs with some serious thespian talent on-screen. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as the titular Lucky, a young woman who left behind the life of crime she was raised in years, after she and her then-boyfriend-soon-to-be-husband Cary (Drew Starkey) pulled off one last heist. Now, years later, Lucky wakes up one morning to find that Cary and the remainder of the money have just disappeared, and his mob boss mom, Priscilla Matheson (Annette Bening) has come looking for both. Forced to turn to her estranged criminal father (Timothy Olyphant) for help, Lucky is forced on the run to try and figure out what has happened. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Fichtner co-star.
Ride or Die S1
15 July 2026 – Prime Video
If you’re looking to keep things criminal, with a lot more fun action, then Ride or Die could scratch that itch for you. Starring Ted Lasso breakout Hannah Waddingham and Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer, this eight-episode action-comedy series follows Judith Burton (Hannah) and Debbie Claybourne (Spencer), the best of friends for the last 20 years after a chance encounter brought them together. They know every detail of each other’s lives and are as close as sisters. At least that’s what Debbie thought, but she gets a huge surprise when armed gunman start attacking them and Judith fights back… really well. It turns out that Judith is secretly an international assassin and now a mysterious figure has emerged from her past to go after Debbie for reasons of his own. Forced to go on the run together all across Europe, it would be the best friend road trip of their dreams if it wasn’t for all the law enforcement, highly trained assassins, and some very dangerous criminals at their heels.
The Hawk S1
16 July 2026 – Netflix
Will Ferrell has been on our screens for a very long time, but the fan-favourite actor has somehow never led a TV series. Well, that is all changing now with The Hawk. Ferrell stars as Lonnie “the Hawk” Hawkins, the number one golfer in the world…. back in 2004. Way past his prime, Lonnie is still struggling recapture the magic he once was had. His estranged ex-wife, Stacy (Molly Shannon), and hotshot son Lance (Jimmy Tatro), golf’s new golden boy, know he’s through, but while Lonnie’s body says retire, his heart says he’s not done yet. And with the chance to one more major to win to complete golf’s Grand Slam, Lonnie refuses to believe he’s anything other than one stroke away from the greatest comeback in golf history.
MOVIES
Undertone
11 July 2026 – Netflix
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a major resurgence of small-budget horror films that have become hugely successful both with critics and at the box office. Currently, Obsession is the film grabbing all the headlines as it earns over $400 million on a budget less than $1 million, but another such recent example was Undertone. A Canadian horror film from writer/director Ian Tuason, Undertone was made for just $500 000 but still went on to earn over $22 million with a limited global theatrical release. And now it’s finally hitting our screens locally courtesy of Netflix! Undertone stars Nina Kiri as Evy, one half of a paranormal podcast, with Evy being the skeptic to co-host Justin’s (Adam DiMarco) believer. When Evy moves back home to take care of her dying mother, she comes across recordings of a married couple claiming to be experiencing paranormal events in their home, and the more Evy listens to these recordings, the more paranoid she becomes, noticing all sorts of weird goings-on around her. What gives Undertone its unique schtick (and also what kept the budget so low), is that Evy and her mother are the only characters visible on screen throughout the entire film. All other characters are either just heard on Evy’s podcast or the recordings she listens to, with the film leaning heavily into unsettling sound design. Watch this one with the lights off and the sound up!
RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Michael
Purchase: Apple TV – R150
Rental: Apple TV – R55
Arguably the most famous pop star of all time, it was inevitable that Michael Jackson would get the big budget biopic treatment, especially considering all the drama surrounding the late great King of Pop’s later years. Except, with Michael, director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan fully sidestep any controversy, focusing instead on Jackson’s earlier years from his time as a child prodigy with the Jackson 5 to his 80s peak during his “Bad” era. Critics weren’t as favourable as a result, with our very own Noelle saying in her 6.5/10 review that while the film is an “unapologetic crowd-pleaser, energised by the musical hits and incomparable dance moves of Michael Jackson”, “as a biopic, it’s superficial”. Despite having Jackson’s real-world nephew Jafaar Jackson playing, lending it familial authenticity, the film overalls feels like “a puff piece lacking in credibility and relatability as it resolves to treat its title figure as a saint, not a real person”. All of that being said though, Michael has thus far earned just shy of $1 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing biopic of all time. A sequel has thus been greenlit, so maybe the filmmakers will sing their proverbial teeth into much more dramatically juicy meat next time. Either way, if you’re one of the few people who didn’t watch Michael in theatres, you can now check it out in the comfort of your home (where nobody will see your bad moonwalks).