Stream On This Week: Zach Galifianakis Connects with Nature, and an Animated Cat Speaks His Truth

Welcome to the latest issue of Stream On, the weekly newsletter from Consequence that answers the eternally confounding question: What films and TV shows should you be watching? (Subscribe here!) We’re looking at all the new and recent releases from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, and more for ideas — not to mention a Blast From the Past and streaming recommendations from some special guests!

This Week’s Picks

This Is a Gardening Show (TV)

This Is a Gardening Show (Netflix)

Directed by: Brook Linder
Featuring: Zach Galifianakis
Streaming on: Netflix

This Is a Gardening Show is your new moment of Zen, with Zach Galifianakis exploring the wonders of the natural world in a goofy, kid-friendly way. You can tell it’s kid-friendly, because he spends a lot of time talking to a young crew of assistants, asking them questions and trying to make them laugh. (Most of them have a pretty discerning sense of humor.) While the short runtimes are reminiscent of Galifianakis’s Funny or Die days, the vibe is a lot more gentle than the deliberately uncomfortable humor of Between Two Ferns. It helps that he does really seem to love gardening. You might actually learn some things!

Ramy Youssef: In Love (Comedy Special)

Related Video

Ramy Youssef: In Love (HBO)

Directed by: Christopher Storer
Featuring: Ramy Youssef
Streaming on: HBO Max

The subject matter covered in Ramy Youssef’s third stand-up special includes the challenges of trying to procreate with his wife, what it was like trying to adopt a dog during the pandemic, and his thoughts on the Riyadh Comedy Festival — which, he reveals, he was not asked to perform at, despite actually having family from Saudi Arabia. Directed by The Bear creator Christopher Storer (and shot on film, meaning the footage looks absolutely beautiful​) In Love showcases Youssef’s witty, hyper-earnest style with no shortage of laughs.

Kevin (TV)

Kevin (Prime Video)

Created by: Joe Wengert, Aubrey Plaza
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Amy Sedaris, Aparna Nancherla, Gil Ozeri, Aubrey Plaza, John Waters, Whoopi Goldberg
Streaming on: Prime Video

The world of Kevin is a little difficult to understand immediately — co-created by Aubrey Plaza and Joe Wengert (an alumnus of Big Mouth), the series imagines what it would be like if humans and animals of all species could communicate directly, with all the awkwardness that might otherwise ensue. Once you lock into that concept, as well as its Big Mouth-esque humor, it’s a good time. I especially enjoyed the eclectic voice cast, featuring John Waters as a snobby Persian, Whoopi Goldberg as a rough-living hairless cat, and Jason Schwartzman as the titular Pavement-loving cat in search of his own identity. Schwartzman also wrote and performed the theme song — in a recent interview, he revealed that its final beat (“I’m Kevin!”) was totally improvised. Which is funny, because that’s the part of the song that’s most stuck in my head.

The Testament of Ann Lee (Film)

The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)

Directed by: Mona Fastvold
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott
Streaming on: Hulu

If you know nothing about the history of the Shaker movement, The Testament of Ann Lee is a fascinating watch, enhanced all the more by the unconventional approach from the same team that made 2024’s The Brutalist. Amanda Seyfried stars as the titular prophet who established a whole new way to worship in the 1700s, before fleeing to a nascent America in search of religious freedom. Doesn’t sound like the premise for a musical? Well, that doesn’t stop director Mona Fastvold from weaving some powerful and haunting song-and-dance sequences into the movie, while never flinching from portraying the harsh reality of these true events.

Blast From the Past

The home screens of streaming services are always packed with the latest new releases, but we don’t spend enough time appreciating how much good library content is streaming across all of these platforms. Each week, Stream On will spotlight one less-than-new favorite (must pre-date the founding of Consequence, so 15 years or older) that deserves attention from modern-day eyes.

Here’s Lucy (TV)

Here’s Lucy (CBS)

Created by: Bob O’Brien, Milt Josefsberg
Cast: Lucille Ball, Gale Gordon, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr., Mary Jane Croft
Streaming on: Peacock

Peacock has a pretty robust archive of classic shows, including the third major sitcom to star Lucille Ball. Here’s Lucy ran from 1968-1974, and if nothing else it confirms how well retro TV works as a time capsule of past decades: The series premiere of this show — starring Ball as a middle-aged widow working for her cantankerous brother-in-law (Gale Gordon) — features jokes about The Beatles and a big mod dance number, while making sure to give its iconic star all the best lines. Ball’s real-life children play her kids on the show, and they’re fine, but it’s really worth watching for Ball complaining about topical-at-the-time issues, like the lack of “clean” movies in theaters — “movies you could take your kids to without having to explain the facts of life to them.” It’s funny to imagine Lucille Ball losing her mind at 1968’s The Libertine.

A Special Guest Recommends!

Liz isn’t the only person in the world capable of suggesting stuff for people to watch… So each week, Stream On will now feature picks from a special guest! Said special guest could be literally anyone from the world of entertainment — actors, writers, directors, musicians, or anyone else Liz thinks might be watching something interesting.

This Week: Jay Bushman and Megan Westerby!

Sleepy Hollow 1998 and Gilmore Girls (The WB)

Who Are They? Full disclosure: Megan and Jay are friends of mine. But they’re also brilliant multimedia producers always exploring new kinds of storytelling: Jay’s an Emmy-winning transmedia writer/narrative designer whose projects include The Lizzie Bennett Diaries and interactive experiences for properties including Silent Hill, Disney’s Haunted Mansion, The Terminator, and Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe. Megan, meanwhile, has worked as an audience strategist behind the scenes with folks like Lilly Singh and Awkwafina, and in audience development with companies like The Grammys and CBS. They’re currently in the process of launching Sleepy Hollow, 1998, a remix of the classic Washington Irving story told through the medium of physical mail, which sounds cool as hell.

What Do They Recommend? Jay and Megan have a wonderfully eclectic collection of picks for you all, some with an obvious connection to their new project:

The Scooby Doo Show (Tubi): S1E05, “The Headless Horseman of Halloween” – our favorite version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow… and surprisingly, one of the most accurate to the original story.

Gilmore Girls (Hulu): Sleepy Hollow and Stars Hollow have a lot in common. They’re both strange, magical, insular places that can be challenging for an outsider to navigate. Maybe Ichabod Crane should have drunk a lot more coffee.

Green Wing (The Roku Channel): One of the first things we bonded over when we met was British TV: Doctor Who, The Mighty Boosh, and especially Green Wing. Sure, everyone loves The Pitt, but we’d like to see those doctors last a day at East Hampton Hospital.

The 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremonies (YouTube): Danny Boyle and company made the greatest piece of performance art of the 21st century so far. If you don’t want to watch all four hours (though you should), jump straight to the Pandemonium section.

Thanks so much to Megan and Jay, and good luck with Sleepy Hollow, 1998!

One Last One Before Bed

Finally, let’s spotlight a movie or TV show that’s not only great, but won’t take up too much of your time: Think of this section as the answer to the question “What’s something I can watch before hitting the hay, that won’t keep me up too late?” The only rule is that it has to be less than 95 minutes if it’s a movie, or less than 30 minutes an episode if it’s a TV show. Otherwise, sky’s the limit!

Hotel Artemis (Film)

Hotel Artemis (Global Road Entertainment)

Directed by: Drew Pearce
Cast: Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day, Dave Bautista
Streaming on: Paramount+ with Showtime, Kanopy, The Roku Channel

I legitimately don’t know how this very odd little movie with a wild-ass cast got made, given how hard it is to describe. Still, it’s a fascinating John Wick-esque story of a safe space for those who need it in a dystopian Los Angeles. Well, it’s a safe space if you’ve paid your membership fee and haven’t broken any of the rules set by the Nurse (Jodie Foster) and enforced by her loyal orderly (Dave Bautista). Otherwise, you’re on your own. Hotel Artemis features some great action in addition to a character-focused plot that racks up the twists, and Sterling K. Brown in particular brings the star power. (Also, Foster’s character has this shuffling little walk that just cracks me up.)

We’ll be back next week with more picks — in the meantime, stay safe out there, or better yet stay inside, where it’s definitely safe, and there’s so much film and TV to watch. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter!