Batten down the hatches. Fill up the fridge. Save the women and children first. The Great Snowpocalypse is upon us. You can go outside if you dare, but wouldn’t it be nicer to stay in and stream? This little list is purely dealer’s choice. It includes some newer stuff and some older favorites, all of which will help pass the time as you await the big thaw. Because what’s a snow day without TV?
The White Lotus
HBO’s acidic ensemble drama is proof that people can behave abominably in the nicest of climates (including Hawaii, Sicily, and Thailand so far). American tourists, amiright? All the sunshine in the world can’t help ‘em. Next season takes us to The French Riviera. Stream it on: HBO Max, Prime Video.
The Criterion Channel
You can get lost in the glories of world cinema with this streaming service, which remains essential for all manner of cinephiles. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve watched "Ikiru," Akira Kurosawa’s life-affirming drama about seizing the day (and the bureaucratic imperative to do nothing); and "Il Posto," Ermanno Olmi’s look at a young Italian man seeking a new life in the big city (which, coincidentally, is also showing as part of Harvard Film Archive’s Antonioni/Bertolucci/Olmi series).
James Bond on Netflix
There’s also this other little streamer called Netflix. You may have heard of it. Thanks to a recent licensing deal with Amazon MGM, they’re streaming all 26 Bond movies, including, unfortunately, "Moonraker." Here’s your chance to definitively decide who’s the best Bond. Just kidding. It’s obviously Sean Connery.
Dark Matter
I bang the drum for this brainy physics romance every chance I get, mostly because I don’t think many people watched it. Joel Edgerton plays a vaguely dissatisfied Chicago physics professor who gets abducted by an alternative version of himself. Things get even trickier from there. Jennifer Connelly plays his somewhat confused wife. It looks like Season 2 is coming this summer. Stream it on: Apple TV.
Viral: The Indecision
I see ads for this new series whenever I watch the NBA (which I do frequently), so I finally decided to check it out. This first episode is a fun, cheeky look at the DeAndre Jordan free agency saga of 2015, in which the Dallas Mavericks thought they had all but signed the high-flying big man away from the Los Angeles Clippers – only to see key Clippers go to his house and beg him to stay. The resulting internet frenzy was as entertaining as any on-court action. Stream it on: Prime Video.
Cover-Up
Perhaps the biggest Oscar snub this year was in the documentary feature category, where Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’ timely profile of cantankerous, invaluable investigative reporter Seymour Hersh went unnominated. Kudos to Netflix for buying it, distributing it, and streaming it, and showcasing why great journalism matters.
Build your own Vince Gilligan marathon
If you want to be a completist, you can go all the way back to "The X-Files." The man who would go on to create "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul," and "Pluribus," which just wrapped up its admirably ambitious first season, got his start as a writer there. Throughout his career, Gilligan has returned time and again to questions of identity – what defines who we are, what we’re willing to do in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and the price we pay along the way. His creativity evolves each time out. Stream it on: AMC+ ("Better Call Saul"); Hulu ("The X-Files"); Netflix ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul"); Prime Video ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul"); Apple TV ("Pluribus").
Chris Vognar can be reached at chris.vognar@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram at @chrisvognar and on Bluesky at chrisvognar.bsky.social.
