And so begins the closing out of summer on Netflix. As the world’s biggest streaming service basks in the month’s standouts like Don’t Say Good Luckand The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, there’s still a bit more to squeeze out of it, including Adam Scott’s horror film The Whisper Man and one topping this weekend’s bingeable list: the fifth season of Outer Banks.
If you’re looking for something good to watch this weekend, everything below can be knocked out to completion in just a couple of days. The lineup includes something new (the latest adventures of the Pogues, if you’re all caught up), an epic history romp, a night-vision-tastic video game series, and my top pick, a season-one refresher of a show with new episodes coming next month.
Outer Banks (season 5)
Pogues for life: the treasure-hunting crew chases one last score
Assuming you’re caught up on all four seasons of Netflix’s hit teen-drama-action-romance-crime-thriller series Outer Banks, then get ready to binge 10 brand-new final-season episodes that dropped yesterday—no split season, the whole shebang. The story picks up straight after the events of season 4, with the Pogues still reeling from JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) murder in Morocco, and Blackbeard’s fabled Blue Crown—which legend says can raise the dead—still out there.
With Kiara (Madison Bailey) leading the hunt across Europe for JJ’s killer, his real dad, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), John B and a pregnant Sarah (Madelyn Cline) must carefully weigh their options. It’s the definitive conclusion of the whole Outer Banks saga, putting all that closure just a weekend binge away.
Death by Lightning
A stacked ensemble cast and a presidential assassination
As a Canadian, I am not at all versed in the history of American presidents beyond what I’ve learned from historical documents such as the movies JFK, Lincoln, Independence Day, and Dave.But since the American Film Institute named Death by Lightning—a Netflix limited series about the assassination of President James A. Garfield—one of 2025’s best TV shows, it was an obvious knowledge binge.
The 90%-rated series is just outstanding, largely because of its formidable cast. Four hour-long episodes trace how U.S. Representative James Garfield (Michael Shannon, Boardwalk Empire) went from a reluctant nominee to the 20th president of the United States, and how delusional zealot Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen, Succession) spiraled to the point of shooting him. It’s a gorgeously produced and authentic period drama with a rounded-out cast that includes Betty Gilpin (Widow’s Bay) as Garfield’s wife, and the fantastic Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as Vice President Chester Arthur. The Emmy-nominated series is four hours in total, and you can get through it in one night if you’re ambitious.
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
There’s no rest for retired, deadly dark ops legends
I love animated video game-based series on Netflix—everything from Arcane and Castlevania to Devil May Cry—but Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is special because it’s based on a game I actually played and loved, back when I could call myself a gamer. Ubisoft’s legendary stealth espionage franchise is honored well in this 86%-rated eight-parter from John Wick writer Derek Kolstad.
The series features the perfectly cast voice talents of actor Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan himself) as the retired and grumpy special ops legend, Sam Fisher, as he’s dragged back into action when a young operative, Zinnia McKenna (Kirby Howell-Baptiste, The Good Place) turns up needing his help. With Fourth Echelon handler Anna Grímsdóttir (Janet Varney) and her team guiding things from headquarters, Sam and Zinnia power up their night-vision goggles and start kicking ass.
The Gentlemen
Prep for season 2 of Guy Ritchie’s brilliantly clever crime series
Whether you watched British grit king Guy Ritchie’s 2020 movie of the same name or not, The Gentlemen is a Netflix spin-off that landed in the top 4 of the streamer’s most-watched shows of the first half of 2024, and stands on its own as a clever and stylish crime series you’ll tear through in a weekend. And the timing couldn’t be better, as its gritty second season heads our way September 3.
Eddie Horniman (The White Lotus‘ Theo James) is a British Army captain who ditches his military life when he inherits his father’s dukedom and sprawling estate. When Eddie discovers the real source of his father’s wealth—a massive weed empire being run by the imprisoned boss, Bobby Glass (Sexy Beast‘s Ray Winstone)—he wants to sell it off. But as Bobby’s gorgeous, sharp-witted daughter, Susie (Crawl‘s Kaya Scodelario), entices him into the life, Eddie learns that he just might be good at being bad. Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito plays a billionaire potential buyer, and longtime Ritchie collaborator Vinnie Jones plays Eddie’s gamekeeper. Breeze through all eight episodes and be poised for season 2.
Wind down August with a great binge or four
I like flipping between shows as much as the next person, but sometimes I just want to lock into something great and follow it through to a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. The four Netflix shows above offer just that, and you can manage it in just a couple of days, if you like.
