With the World Cup wrapping up this weekend, we’re about to have a lot of sports fans staring into their pints looking for the next thrill. Netflix might just have a few things that can help, for U.S. subscribers, including a new season of the docuseries Quarterback (read about it in this weekend’s documentary roundup), and my top pick this weekend, a hilarious new golf series starring Will Ferrell (more below).
But I do like to mix things up when Netflix doesn’t have an abundance of new titles to stream, making this weekend a great time to tuck in and binge two of the best series of the last 15 years, including one about a feral family from Chicago’s South Side and a sci-fi time travel staple that Netflix rescued.
The Hawk
Will Ferrell’s new golf comeback comedy yells “fore!”
The opening sequence from Will Ferrell’s new (and first!) Netflix series, The Hawk, starts with a massive tour bus squealing and hurtling down the highway, as its precious passenger, pro golfer Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, races to make tee time. And while he may be on the back nine of his accomplished career, Lonnie, after whispering sweet nothings to his ball, drives it to the horizon as the show’s AC/DC-tinged anthem fires up—”They call him The Hawk! He’s a golfer! The greatest golfer in the world!”
And that’s just the first few minutes of this 10-episode comedy series co-created by Ferrell and his longtime collaborators Harper Steele and Chris Henchy, about a fading golf legend chasing one final major—he ruled the sport in the early 2000s, but never completed a career Grand Slam. Ferrell is as Ferrell does as Lonnie, with an almost Ricky Bobby narcissism and cockiness. But after a tragedy on the course (no spoilers here), Lonnie spirals and must dig deep to find his way back to greatness on the green.
In the process, Lonnie reconnects and clashes with a crew of characters from his past, including his estranged wife Stacy (another SNL legend, Molly Shannon), pro-golfer son Lance (Jimmy Tatro, American Vandal), no-nonsense caddie Sam (Fortune Feimster, The Mindy Project), and smug rival Golden Fisk (Luke Wilson, Old School).
Shameless
South Side Chicago’s worst nightmare family
Consider yourself warned—Shameless will reportedly leave Netflix on October 11, so the clock is ticking on one of Netflix’s most consistently chaotic and darkly hilarious comfort binges. Okay, so you think I’m being alarmist (three months is plenty of time!), but this Emmy winning masterpiece has 11 seasons, and you’re not going to want to miss a single one of them.
Showtime’s longest-running scripted original—with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes—is based on Paul Abbott’s British series of the same name (you should totally watch that, too—it’s on Hulu), but relocates the action to Chicago’s South Side. Loser patriarch Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy, Fargo) is a scheming, perpetually drunk, single father of six, which leaves his eldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum, The Phantom of the Opera) to raise the rest of the brood, incluidng eldest brother Lip (a pre-The BearJeremy Allen White), middle child Ian (Cameron Monaghan, Gotham), opportinistic Debbie (Emma Kenney, The Conners), delinquent Carl (Ethan Cutkosky, Happy Gilmore 2), and the youngest, Liam.
It’s a chaotic, foul-mouthed, surprisingly tender portrait of a family trying to do right but scraping by on scams, grit, and questionable decisions. Start now, 134 episodes won’t watch themselves.
Manifest
The airplane mystery that fans dragged back from cancellation
Few shows owe Netflix a bigger debt than Manifest. Canceled (too soon!) by NBC in 2021 after just three seasons, Jeff Rake’s supernatural drama immediately topped the charts when it hit the streamer, prompting Netflix to revive the cult-hit series for a 20-episode final season, which achieved a respectable 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Manifest‘s premise is still one of TV’s best sci-fi mystery hooks—Montego Air Flight 828 hits some turbulence and lands safely. But then the passengers disembark, and a strange and impossible reality sets in: the world they’ve arrived in has aged more than five years, and their loved ones have mourned their deaths and moved on. Meanwhile, no one on board has aged a day, and soon they start experiencing weird, cryptic visions drawing them all toward a larger shared destiny.
The main cast includes siblings Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh, Star Trek Beyond) and Ben Stone (Josh Dallas, Once Upon a Time), an NYPD detective and college math professor (respectively), who lead the show’s search for answers. All four seasons (and an actual ending!) await.
Something new, a couple old
Whatever you load up first—the new thing or one of those excellent classics—be sure to hydrate, pace yourself, and get some fresh air between episodes. But in case none of these are your cuppa, How-To Geek’s streaming section has plenty more recommendations waiting.
