Sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary makes its streaming debut, alongside the VOD debut for The Devil Wears Prada 2, and we have the third season premiere of Silo in this week’s streaming releases.
SERIES
Elle S1
2 July 2026 – Prime Video
Reese Witherspoon’s two Legally Blonde movies are widely beloved, to the point that they’ve actually spawned a multimedia franchise. Since the first film’s debut in 2001, it has also received a stage musical adaptation as well as a straight-to-home-video spinoff. However, despite an announcement about a third film being developed, fans have been waiting nearly a decade to see more of Elle Woods’ adventures. Well, wait no more! Kinda! Elle is a new prequel TV series that sees Lexie Minetree take on the eponymous role as a young Elle Woods before she became a fish-out-of-water at Harvard. Set in 1995, it follows Elle’s tumultuous years in high school where she encounters tricky friendships, forbidden romance, and questionable fashion choices.
Silo S3
3 July 2026 – Apple TV
Silo is back! The acclaimed sci-fi series adaptation of Hugh Howey’s best-selling novel season has been keeping us on tenterhooks for two seasons as we uncover the mysteries of why humanity has evolved into a dystopian society of just 10 000 people living in isolated underground societies. Rebecca Ferguson leads once again as Juliette Nichols, the erstwhile engineer-turned-sheriff of one such “silo” who made the discovery that her community was actually not alone in the world. Unfortunately for Juliette, due to the events of season two, all the discoveries she made may be lost. But while the characters in the show will still be looking for answers, we will finally be getting some as season three will boast a split narrative, with one arc following Juliette in the future, and another set in the past revealing just what happened to wreck the surface and force everybody underground.
Little House on the Prairie S1
9 July 2026 – Netflix
If you’re an oldie like me, you know the title Little House on the Prairie very well. Originally a series of novels released Laura Ingalls Wilder in the 1930s, the Little House books told a semi-autobiographical tale of Wilder’s own childhood on the American frontier. Those novels captivated generations of readers and have since been adapted to screen multiple times, most famously in the late 1970s/early 1980s American TV series that my generation are familiar with. But now it’s time for a new generation to discover this timeless story as Netflix is gives us their own spin on it. Billed as “part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West”, this fresh adaptation stars Alice Halsey as the young Laura Ingalls with Luke Bracey and Crosby Fitzgerald playing her parents, Charles and Caroline Ingalls. This series is intended to be a more accurate adaptation of the original books instead of the famous TV series, and Netflix must like what they have as it’s already been renewed for a second season.
MOVIES
Project Hail Mary
3 July 2026 – Prime Video
Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary is easily one of my favourite sci-fi books of the last decade, as it was the perfect blend of the author’s highly detailed and realistic scientific geekery alongside hugely inventive storytelling and perfect character beats. So, it was no surprise just how excited I was that it was being adapted to the screen by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and writer Drew Goddard (who had previously adapted Weir’s The Martian to wildly successful effect as well). And boy, did they deliver! Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! As I mentioned in my 8.5/10 review, “A never-been-better Ryan Gosling leads this wildly triumphant adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel that benefits massively from directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s masterful tonal balance, and eye for visuals. Balancing the source’s detailed science experimentation with strong emotional storytelling – while also just being plain fun! – Project Hail Mary is one of those rare crowd-pleasing blockbusters that also has something meaningful to say.” Now you will notice that I’ve not really mentioned anything about the film’s plot, and that is by design. In fact, I’m hoping that you haven’t actually clicked play on that trailer above. One of the original book’s great joys were all the unexpected directions the plot took you in, including some very surprising character additions. But unfortunately, that got thrown out of the window in the film’s promo phase as several big reveals got shown ahead of time. If somehow, you’ve not had the movie spoiled for you yet – which is a tall order given how massively popular it was on theatrical release – then I highly suggest going into this one as cold as possible at home.
RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Purchase: Apple TV – R200
Rental: Apple TV – R170
It took two whole decades, but this year fans of 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada finally got to reunite with their fashionista faves as the long-gestating sequel hit cinema screens. The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought back stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and more, as well as writer Aline Brosh McKenna and director David Frankel, and miraculously they managed to create magic once more as the film was a huge box office hit. If you missed it in theatres though, you can now check it out at home. For the uninitiated, the 20-year-later sequel sees Andy Sachs (Hathaway) return to Runway, the iconic fashion magazine where she once became assistant to battleaxe editor Miranda Priestly (Streep). Now though, the power dynamic is very different as Miranda needs Andy’s help to navigate a new modern media landscape that is very far removed from the days of printed magazines.
You, Me & Tuscany
Purchase: Apple TV – R150
Rental: Apple TV – R50
With some cold weather upon us, you may just be looking for a nice cozy rom-com full of beautiful people and gorgeous landscapes to snuggle up with. If so, check out You, Me & Tuscany starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page. Bailey plays Anna, an aspiring American chef who had to put her culinary dreams on hold after suffering a personal tragedy. When she meets and spends the night with Matteo, a handsome Italian man who tells her all about his enchanting home before bailing on her the next morning, it leads to an impulsive decision to fly to Tuscany, Italy as a break. When a local festival results in all the hotels being booked, she decides to seek out the villa of her former fling only to find it empty. Through a complete comedy of errors and language barriers though, Matteo’s family assume her to be his fiancée and make a big fuss out of the situation. But while Anna is wondering how she will explain herself out of that one, she runs into Michael (Page) a local man, who she quickly falls for, complicating matters even further.