Every week, MobileSyrup goes over some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
This column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video Canada, Crave and Netflix Canada, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ will be mentioned when relevant.
We’ll also highlight shows or movies that are made in Canada, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.
Amazon Prime Video
The Great
A satirical, comedic drama chronicling Catherine the Great’s rise from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russian history.
The series was created by Tony McNamara (The Favourite) and stars Elle Fanning (Super 8) and Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road).
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Comedy-drama, satire
Runtime: 10 episodes (50 to 55 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80 percent (based on 46 reviews)
Stream The Great here.
Manhunt: Deadly Games
The second season of Manhunt tells the true story of Richard Jewell, the unassuming security guard who helped save lives during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta.
Manhunt was created by Andrew Sodroski (The Handmaid), Jim Clemente (Criminal Minds) and Tony Gittelson (Awakenings). Deadly Games stars Burlington, Ontario’s Cameron Britton (Mindhunter), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Judith Light (Ugly Betty) and Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House).
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: May 11th, 2020 (first episode, new episodes every Monday)
Genre: Docuseries
Runtime: 10 episodes (around 43 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Manhunt: Deadly Games here. Note that a $9.99 CAD Super Channel add-on is required.
Amazon Prime Video, meanwhile, is included at no additional cost in a $79 CAD/year Amazon Prime subscription.
The full list of movies and shows that are hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.
Crave
Anything is Possible — The Serge Ibaka Story [Crave Original]
This documentary takes a look at Toronto Raptors player Serge Ibaka’s journey to become an NBA player, starting with a difficult childhood in the Congo.
Original TV broadcast date: December 12th, 2019 (TSN)
Crave release date: May 12th, 2020
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 46 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Anything is Possible: The Serge Ibaka Story here.
Ready or Not
A newlywed is hunted by her in-laws in their mansion as part of a sadistic family ritual.
Ready or Not was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet (Devil’s Due).
Notably, the film features a predominantly Canadian cast, outside of stars Samara Weaving (The Babysitter) and Adam Brody (The O.C.). The Canadian stars include St. John’s, Newfoundland’s Mark O’Brien (Republic of Doyle), Toronto’s Henry Czerny (Mission: Impossible), Montreal’s Nicky Guadagni (A Nero Wolfe Mystery), Ottawa’s Melanie Scrofano (Wynonna Earp), Toronto’s Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black), Regina’s Elyse Levesque (The Originals) and Chatham, New Brunswick’s John Ralston (Life with Derek).
It’s also worth noting that Ready or Not was filmed in various parts of Ontario, including Toronto and Oshawa.
Original theatrical release: August 21st, 2019
Crave release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Comedy-horror
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88 percent (based on 283 reviews)
Stream Ready or Not here. Note that a $19.98 Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
Restless River
An Inuk woman in the 1940s struggles with motherhood after giving birth to the son of an American soldier.
Restless River is based on Saint Boniface, Manitoba-born author Gabrielle Roy’s 1970 short novel Windflower, was directed by Igoolik, Nunavut filmmakers Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu and stars Iqaluit, Nunavut’s Malaya Qaunirq Chapman.
Additionally, the film was shot in Kuujjuaq, Quebec.
Original theatrical release: 2019
Crave release date: May 14th, 2020
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Restless River here. Note that a $19.98 Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
Tom Henry: 66 Jokes [Crave Original]
My special '66 Jokes' comes out tomorrow on Crave TV. Here's my never before seen first appearance on television. pic.twitter.com/J5A8tP77FG
— Tom Henry (@TomHenry) May 14, 2020
Toronto comedian Tom Henry riffs on vegan cupcakes, tap dancing and more.
Crave release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Stand-up comedy
Runtime: 44 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Tom Henry: 66 Jokes here.
A standard Crave subscription costs $9.99/month, with Starz costing another $5.99/month and HBO an additional $9.99/month
The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.
Disney+
It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer [Disney+ Original]
Bill Farmer, the voice of Disney icon Goofy for more than 30 years, travels across the U.S. to meet rescue dogs, movie star dogs and other canines with unique jobs.
Disney+ release date: May 15th, 2020 (first episode, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Docuseries
Runtime: 10 episodes (around 22 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer here.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Maleficent teams up with a seasoned warrior and group of outcasts to stop an evil queen and her powerful army from destroying the land’s fairies.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and stars Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted), Elle Fanning (Super 8), Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange).
Original theatrical release date: October 18th, 2019
Disney+ release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Fantasy
Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40 percent (based on 250 reviews)
Stream Maleficent: Mistress of Evil here.
A Disney+ subscription costs $8.99/month or $89.99/year in Canada.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Disney+ Canada this month can be found here.
Netflix
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics [Netflix Original]
This documentary follows an assortment of celebrities — such as rapper A$AP Rocky, comedian Sarah Silverman and late actress Carrie Fisher — as they recount their experiences with psychedelics.
Netflix Canada release date: May 11th, 2020
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 50 percent (based on 14 reviews)
Stream Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics here.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Season 5) [Netflix Original]
In the fifth and final season of She-Ra, Adora and the princesses struggle to keep the rebellion alive.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was created by Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) and features the voices of Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor), AJ Michalka (Steven Universe) and Marcus Scribner (Black-ish).
Netflix Canada release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Fantasy
Runtime: 13 episodes (24 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on seven reviews)
Stream She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Season 5) here.
Trial by Media [Netflix Original]
This new true crime series examines how the media may have impacted the verdict in some of the most prominent trials in history.
Netflix Canada release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Docuseries
Runtime: Six episodes (57 to 64 minutes)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78 percent (based on seven reviews)
Stream Trial by Media here.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend [Netflix Original]
Unlike traditional Unbreakable Jimmy Schmidt episodes, Kimmy vs. the Reverend is an interactive special in the vein of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch that lets you choose how the story unfolds. Help Kimmy get married while foiling the Reverend’s evil plot.
Kimmy vs. the Reverend stars Kimmy Schmidt mainstays Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski and Tituss Burgess alongside newcomer Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter franchise).
Netflix Canada release date: May 12th, 2020
Genre: Comedy, choose-your-own-adventure
Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92 percent (based on 26 reviews)
Stream Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend here.
A ‘Basic’ Netflix subscription costs $9.99/month, a ‘Standard’ subscription (HD-supported) costs $13.99/month and a ‘Premium’ membership is priced at $16.99/month (4K-supported).
The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.
Video on demand
Scoob!
Because of mass theatre closures around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Warner Bros. has decided to forgo a theatrical release for Scoob!, its latest animated Scooby-Doo movie. Instead, the Scooby-Doo reboot is now available on digital platforms as the latest in a growing list of films that have gone straight to video on demand.
In Scoob!, Scooby-Doo and the gang must get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Cerberus, a deadly ghost that threatens to unleash a dog-pocalypse on the world.
Scoob! was directed by Tony Cervone (Space Jam) and features the voices of Frank Welker (the long-running voice of Scooby-Doo across a variety of media) as Scooby, Will Forte (Last Man Standing) as Shaggy, Zac Efron (High School Musical) as Fred, Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) as Velma and Amanda Seyfried (Les Misérables) as Daphne.
Digital release date: May 15th, 2020
Genre: Animated, comedy, family
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 53 percent (based on 55 reviews)
Rent Scoob! for $24.99 or purchase the film for $29.99 on Google Play and iTunes.
What are you planning to stream this week? Let us know in the comments!
Image credit: Bell
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