What to Watch, Play and Read in Australia This Weekend

What to Watch, Play and Read in Australia This Weekend
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

There are more entertainment options than ever before. While the pandemic may cause restrictions to change at any moment, there’s always something to watch, play or do on your weekend.

To help you cut through the noise of an overwhelming amount of new movies, TV shows, games and experiences on offer right now, every week we’ll give you a list of recommendations to entertain you over the weekend.

Here’s what’s new this week.

What’s new on streaming?

Here’s what you can watch on streaming services in Australia this weekend.

Netflix

This week we can get ready to say goodbye to everyone’s favourite devil, Lucifer. Following that cliffhanger from last time you won’t want to miss the action in the final season.

If you missed them some other new additions include part 5 of Money Heist, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Clickbait, and Sweet Girl.

If none of these appeals to you, check out our list of the best Netflix movies based on their Rotten Tomato ranking.

Stan.

What’s happening on Australia’s local streaming service?

It’s time to return to Axe Capital with the second half of Billions season 5, which sees Corey Stoll arrive as a new powerful billionaire.

Stan recently nabbed streaming rights to some of the best shows in Hollywood right now including Chapelwaite,  Hacks and Heels.

Disney+

A new Disney+ Star special is Only Murders in the Building which stars Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short as a trio of true crime fans who attempt to solve a murder in their apartment building.

For Marvel fans there are still weekly episodes of What If…? and Star Wars folks can get a behind the scenes glimpse at the making of The Mandalorian’s Luke Skywalker episode in the new Disney Gallery.

Binge

This week on Binge we can dive into the latest American Crime Story which follows the impeachment of Bill Clinton and his scandalous affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Taika Waititi specials Reservation Dogs and What We Do In The Shadows season 3 are also streaming on Binge now.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon recently released another take on the classic fairytale with Camila Cabello’s Cinderella.

If that’s not your speed, easily the biggest thing on Prime Video right now is Nine Perfect Strangers. The series is based on a book by Liane Moriarty (who also penned Big Little Lies) and stars Nicole Kidman as a mysterious wellness resort director. New episodes air each Friday.

Paramount+

The glow of Australia’s brand new streaming service Paramount+ hasn’t worn off just yet. Recently the streaming service became home to The Bite, a new thriller series about a (get this) strange new virus.

If you’re stuck on what to watch here are some of the best movies and TV shows on Paramount+ according to critic reviews.

SBS On Demand

In what should be essential viewing for all Australians, Incarceration Nation tells the story of the many unjust cases of imprisonment of First Nations Australians and their inhumane treatment within the prison system. You can catch this new documentary streaming on SBS On Demand.

You can find out what else to watch on streaming services in Australia this month with our guide.

What’s new at Australian cinemas?

Glad you asked. We’re lucky enough to have (some) cinemas open in Australia, so what’s good on the big screen?

The biggest thing in cinemas around the world this week is Marvel’s new kung-fu superhero movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Unfortunately, those who worked on the movie while it was shooting in Sydney won’t be able to catch the film in theatres, but those Aussies that aren’t locked down should definitely buy tickets and support the film.

You can also catch these movies in theatres:

  • The Suicide Squad
  • Candyman
  • Free Guy
  • Don’t Breathe 2
  • Respect
  • Reminiscence
  • The Ice Road
  • Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
  • Jungle Cruise

Any new video games?

For those who enjoy gaming on the weekend, you’ll be glad to know there are some hot new titles to dig into.

It’s a pretty big week for video games with thanks to the release of Life is Strange: True Colours, NBA 2K22, Tales of Arise and WarioWare: Get it Together! That gives you a lot to choose from to get you through this weekend and beyond!

Apart from that, why not use the lockdown to catch up on your pile of shame? Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Hades on consoles are all recent releases you may have missed.

How about something new to read?

success experiment new books to read
Image: Amazon

A new month means lots of new books are out there just waiting to be read.

Lillian Ahenkan (aka Flex Mami) released her book The Success Experiment earlier this year. If you haven’t checked it out yet (which you should) the good news is that Audible now has the first three chapters of the audiobook for free.

You can also check out an interview with the author herself, courtesy of our friends over at Pedestrian.TV.

Articles worth your time

Looking for a shorter read for your weekend? We’ve collated some of the top articles from our sites at Pedestrian Group over the past week that are well worth your time.

Or some new music?

Good tunes are a sure-fire way to get the good vibes going.

Rap fans have had a lot going on lately with new albums from both Kanye West and Drake dropping within days of each other.

Elsewhere there’s also new music from Iron Maiden, Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran and Troye Sivan.

If you’ve missed Kristen Bell and Monica Podman’s 10-episode limited series podcast We are supported by… then catch up because this week’s guest is none other than Reese Witherspoon.

Are there any good events happening around Australia?

There’s a ton of great events out there now that restrictions, for some, have eased.

The lockdown is still going hard in the ACT, NSW and Melbourne but an easing of restrictions is in sight. If you haven’t already, your number one event should be to go and get vaccinated!

Brisbane-folk should look alive, however, because this weekend marks the opening of Brisbane Festival. A city-wide program of events celebrating the arts will kick off on September 3 and continue until September 25. You can check out what’s going on here.

Lifehacker recommends

Here’s what the Lifehacker team is checking out this weekend.

Steph: I’ve been going back through and watching old seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race. After obsessing over All Stars Season 6, I realised that no other show brings me quite as much joy in these lockdown times as the Olympics of Drag does, so I’ve started working my way through some old favourites of mine once again. Those would be: season 6, season 9, season 10 and All Stars season 2. Oh, and Drag Race Down Under season 2 has just been announced so if you haven’t seen the first instalment of that (it was okayyyy) now’s the time to catch up on Stan.

Mel: I am obsessed with Only Murders In The Building on Disney+ Star. Every episode has so many twists and turns. The cheeky references to the Serial podcast are truly a joy.

Lauren: My recommendation this week is probably incredibly over-used but if you need something to play with locked down or long-distanced friends then you can’t beat the Jackbox Party Pack games. My friends and I have been gathering over these party games weekly and it’s one of the highlights of my lockdown. If you’re just getting started I’d recommend any packs with Drawful, Quiplash and Trivia Murder Party.

That’s it from us. Enjoy your weekend!

This article is updated with new recommendations each week.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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