Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Babetida Sadjo, Franck Saurel, Jennifer Tchiakpe, Martine Amisse, Souleymane Sy Savane
Director: Ellie Foumbi
In life and cinema, drama is everywhere. You’ll find it in thrillers, animations, romances, you name it. For entertainment that explores the human experience with sensitivity and sincerity, here’s a mixed bag of the best dramas to stream now.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Babetida Sadjo, Franck Saurel, Jennifer Tchiakpe, Martine Amisse, Souleymane Sy Savane
Director: Ellie Foumbi
A unique insight into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through one case of violence that rocked public opinion in both countries: the abduction of three Israeli boys (hence the show title) and the retaliation by Israeli extremists who abducted a Palestinian boy. This case would eventually spark the 2014 Gaza war. It’s slow, it requires subtitles, and the acting is not always sharp but there might not be a piece of storytelling that reflects how those two societies perceive each other more than this American-Israeli show.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Adam Gabay, Johnny Arbid, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Aloni, Shadi Mar'i, Shlomi Elkabetz
An uplifting and inspiring movie with Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer. Jones stars as Supreme Court Justice Associate Ruth Bader Ginsburg in this biopic centered around her hallmark case against sex-based discrimination. While it doesn't feel like it truly conveys the power of Ginsburg's story, her determination, or all the odds that were stacked against her, it serves as a mellowed-down preview of her remarkable story. Watch this if you're in need of a good dose of inspiration.
Genre: Drama, History
Actor: Amanda MacDonald, Angela Galuppo, Armie Hammer, Arthur Holden, Ben Carlson, Cailee Spaeny, Callum Shoniker, Chris Mulkey, Dawn Ford, Felicity Jones, Francis X. McCarthy, Gabrielle Graham, Gary Werntz, Holly Gauthier-Frankel, Jack Reynor, Jeff Lillico, Joe Cobden, Justin Theroux, Karl Graboshas, Kathy Bates, Michael Dickson, Ronald Guttman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sam Waterston, Stephen Root, Wendy Crewson
Director: Mimi Leder
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Ben Van den Heuvel, Ella-June Henrard, Eva van der Gucht, Jelle Florizoone, Luk Wyns, Mathias Vergels, Nathan Naenen, Patricia Goemaere, Thomas Coumans
Director: Bavo Defurne
It’s best not to overthink the details of No Hard Feelings, an uproarious comedy that benefits from the lead actors’ physicality. It’s meant to be enjoyed as it happens, at the moment, with Lawrence lighting up every scene with full-bodied commitment and Feldman, a worthy co-lead, delighting at every turn. They’re playing stock characters, and the script doesn’t give much beyond the usual backstories, but Lawrence and Feldman play them with so much heart and gusto, knocking every scene they’re in out of the park. Everything else plays second fiddle to their two-hander show. The cameos are star-studded but forgettable (except for Kyle Mooney, who I wished was onscreen more as Percy’s male nanny), the character development is heartwarming but predictable, and though it bills itself as a sex comedy, the film never really touches past third base. But all that is water under the bridge when you’re watching Maddie and Percy flirt and fumble their way through the film.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Alaina Surgener, Alysia Joy Powell, Amalia Yoo, Andrew Barth Feldman, Ari Frenkel, Brian Calì, Christina Catechis, Christopher Bailey, Darren Valinotti, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Hasan Minhaj, Jacob Augustin, Jennifer Lawrence, Jordan Mendoza, Kyle Mooney, Laura Benanti, Luca Padovan, Madison McBride, Matt Walton, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Noszka, Melissa Lehman, Natalie Morales, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Scott MacArthur, Sophie Tananbaum, Victor Verhaeghe, Zahn McClarnon
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Night Sky has an intriguing premise—underground, an elderly couple visits a portal to another world, while aboveground they go through the trials and tribulations of marriage and old age. You would think that the sci-fi element would overpower everything else in this story, but on the contrary, it’s the slice-of-life chemistry between Franklin and Irene York (played by Oscar winners JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek, respectively) that truly grounds the out-of-this-world series. Watching them pull from impressive depths and deliver consistent performances compensates for the slower and confusing plot lines in the show. Tune in for the dazzling mystery below their shed, the titular night sky that reveals evolving puzzles, but stay for the performances—grounded, honest, and ever-so gripping.
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction
Actor: Adam Bartley, Cass Buggé, Chai Hansen, J.K. Simmons, Julieta Zylberberg, Kiah McKirnan, Rocío Hernández, Sissy Spacek
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Actor: Alan Cumming, Andrew Havill, Angela Curran, Angus Wright, Anne Hathaway, Barry Humphries, Charlie Hunnam, Christopher Plummer, Daisy Haggard, David Bradley, Edward Fox, Edward Hogg, Eileen Walsh, Gerard Horan, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Kevin McKidd, Lucy Davis, Mark Wells, Nathan Lane, Nicholas Rowe, Phil Davis, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Romola Garai, Sophie Thompson, Stella Gonet, Timothy Spall, Tom Courtenay, William Ash
Director: Douglas McGrath
It seems unfair to call Neeyat India’s (and Amazon Prime’s) answer to the Knives Out series of films, but it often feels that way. It’s a murder mystery that sides with the poor and satirizes the rich, and it mostly takes place in a grand manor that forces its colorful cast of characters to interact until, inevitably, their hidden motives surface. Of course, Neeyat isn’t an exact replica; it has its own inflections and charms, and figuring out how India’s ultra-rich live, specifically, is its own kind of fun. In fact, this is when the film shines the most, when it allows its talented cast to parade the silliness of their characters. Like Knives Out, it makes for a great ensemble movie. But as a murder mystery, Neeyat is not as successful in weaving multiple mysteries and pulling off twists. It’s bogged down by unnecessary melodrama, flashbacks, and exposition, eventually falling off the rails of logic. It’s still enjoyable, for sure, but maybe more as a campy comedy than as a genuinely thrilling mystery.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Amrita Puri, Dipannita Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Niki Aneja Walia, Prajakta Koli, Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Shahana Goswami, Shashank Arora, Shefali Shah, Vidya Balan
Director: Anu Menon
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Choi Sung-eun, Heo Seon-haeng, Jo Han-chul, Kang Gil-woo, Kim Sung-ryung, Lee Il-hwa, Lee Sang-hee, Seo Hyun-woo, Song Joong-ki, Waël Sersoub
Director: Kim Hee-jin
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Anna Chancellor, Dominic Cooper, Edward Bluemel, Emily Bader, Henry Ashton, Isabella Brownson, James Corrigan, Jim Broadbent, Jordan Peters, Kate OFlynn, Oliver Chris, Rob Brydon, Robyn Betteridge
Director: Jamie Babbit
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Anders Holm, Anna Sawai, Elisa Lasowski, Joe Tippett, Kiersey Clemons, Kurt Russell, Mari Yamamoto, Ren Watabe, Wyatt Russell
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Amy Warren, Andrea Chen, Charlie Gillette, Cindy Cheung, Clare Foley, Colin Stokes, Dean Wareham, Greta Gerwig, Heather Lind, Jasmine Cephas-Jones, Jessie Austrian, Juliet Brett, Kathryn Erbe, Lola Kirke, Mary Beth Minthorn, Matthew Shear, Michael Chernus, Mickey Sumner, Morgan Lynch, Nat Baldwin, Noah Baumbach, Rebecca Henderson, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Seth Barrish, Shana Dowdeswell, Sharon Washington, Shoba Narayan
Director: Noah Baumbach
In Tina Mabry’s first full length feature film Mississippi Damned she tells the story of three poor, Black adolescents as they advance into adulthood. The story is mostly centered on Kari Peterson, portrayed by Tessa Thompson, who has fallen witness and victim to violence/abuse since her childhood. As she navigates her trauma while facing poverty and familial issues, we begin to understand the inner machinations of Kari and those who have harmed her.
While Mississippi Damned isn’t particularly easy to digest, I consider it essential. As unflinchingly brutal as this film is, it taught me a lot about trauma and how to navigate my own. With performances as powerful as these, it’s impossible to forget this film.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Adam Clark, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, D.B. Woodside, Malcolm David Kelley, Malcolm Goodwin, Michael Hyatt, Simbi Khali, Tessa Thompson
Director: Tina Mabry
With his dad in jail and mom lost to a drug overdose, Michael lives a lonely life with his grandpa in Dublin.
A minor drug bust sends him to jail for three months and implicates his grand-father with a gang.
Michael Inside uses this brief period of incarceration to offer commentary on the Irish underclass, both inside prisons and out. It's a tough watch that aims for realism and doesn't miss.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Ally Ni Chiarain, Dafhyd Flynn, Frank Berry, Hazel Doupe, John Burke, Lalor Roddy, Moe Dunford, Robbie Walsh, Shane Gately, Steve Blount, Steven Blount
Director: Frank Berry
It’s very interesting, if not startling, to see an earnest movie made about the white upper class these days. Metropolitan is one such film, and even though it was released in the ’90s, it still stands the test of time precisely because it neither judges nor defends the group of WASPs it follows. It simply shows them in all their elegance and sophistication, as well as their insulation and irony.
Metropolitan takes place in the upper crust of New York debutante society, during Christmas vacation, where soirees are rampant and afterparties even more so. The young-adult leads who navigate the scene in their expensive clothes and self-important aura recall a Scott Fitzgerald novel, or if you like, Gossip Girl episode. But instead of falling into tragedies, these characters just end up in silly but relatable mishaps and misunderstandings: they’re just kids after all. And as high and mighty as they may seem, whiling away in tall Park Avenue apartments, they’re still prone to the universal pains that haunt and shape teenagers. Expect to see heartbreak, jealousy, and longing even among the brightest and wealthiest of New York.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Alice Connorton, Bryan Leder, Carolyn Farina, Chris Eigeman, Donal Lardner Ward, Edward Clements, Francis Creighton, Isabel Gillies, Taylor Nichols, Thomas R. Voth, Will Kempe
Director: Whit Stillman