Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ 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.
Finally, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing many movies to hit digital platforms much sooner than planned, we’ll make note of any major films — as well as other notable streaming service news — that fall into this category when applicable.
Amazon Prime Video
The Underground Railroad [Amazon Original]
In an alternate reality, the Underground Railroad is an actual railroad that enslaved Black people try to ride and escape to freedom.
Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad was co-written and directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and stars Thuso Mbedu (Is’Thunzi), Chase Dillon (Little America) and Joel Edgerton (Loving).
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: May 14th, 2021
Genre: Historical drama
Runtime: 10 episodes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent (based on 29 reviews)
Stream The Underground Railroad here.
An Amazon Prime Video subscription is included with a $69/year Amazon Prime membership.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.
Crave
The Crime of the Century
Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) takes a look at Big Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis, which has led to half a million overdose deaths in this century alone.
Crave release date: May 13th, 2021 (first part, second part released May 14th)
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: Two parts (the first part is 1 hour, 52 minutes, the second part is 1 hour, 58 minutes)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93 percent (based on 14 reviews)
Stream The Crime of the Century here. Note that a $19.98/month Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
Hacks
A legendary Las Vegas comedian forms a dark mentorship with an entitled young outcast.
Hacks was created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky (Broad City) and stars Jean Smart (Watchmen) and Hannah Einbinder (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert).
Crave release date: May 13th, 2021 (first two episodes, two new episodes release every Thursday)
Genre: Dark comedy
Runtime: 10 episodes (around 30 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on nine reviews)
Stream Hacks here. Note that a $19.98/month Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
Run the World
Four Black women in their ’30s live out their wild lives in Harlem.
Run the World was created by Leigh Davenport (Boomerang) and stars Amber Stevens West (The Carmichael Show), Andrea Bordeaux (NCIS: Los Angeles), Bresha Webb (Marlon) and Corbin Reid (Valor).
Crave release date: May 13th, 2021 (first two episodes, two new episodes release every Thursday)
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: Eight episodes (around 30 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Run the World here. Note that a $15.98 Crave + Starz subscription is required.
Sound of Metal
Riz Ahmed (The Night Of) stars as a metal drummer who loses his hearing in this Best Picture and Actor Oscar nominee.
Sound of Metal was co-written and directed by Darius Marder (Loot).
Original theatrical release date: November 20th, 2020 (select cinemas)
Crave release date: May 14th, 2021
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 2 hours
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent (based on 265 reviews)
Stream Sound of Metal here. Note that a $19.98/month Crave + Movies + HBO subscription is required.
A standard Crave subscription is priced at $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.
This week in Crave news: Despite Crave being the exclusive Canadian streaming home of Friends and Bell having an exclusive licensing deal for HBO Max’s Warner Bros. Television Group content, Bell says it currently has no news to share regarding the long-awaited Friends reunion special — set to release on HBO Max in the U.S. on May 27th — potentially coming to Crave.
Disney+
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Season 2) [Disney+ Original]
It’s a new semester, which means the theatre gang has a new competition and new drama to deal with.
Inspired by Disney’s High School Musical films, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was created by Tim Federle (Ferdinand) and stars Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark), Joshua Bassett (Grey’s Anatomy), Matt Cornett (Life in Pieces) and Sofia Wylie (Andi Mack), among others.
Disney+ Canada release date: May 14th, 2021 (first episode, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Musical drama
Runtime: 12 episodes (around 30 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream High School Musical: The Musical: The Series here.
A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year in Canada.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Disney+ Canada this month can be found here.
This week in Disney+ news: The Rock’s Jungle Cruise is now coming to Disney+ and theatres simultaneously in July in Canada. Additionally, Disney has confirmed that this year’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Free Guy will be in theatres for just half the usual time before streaming.
Netflix
Castlevania (Season 4)
In the final season of Castlevania, Belmont and Sypha investigate plans to resurrect Dracula while Alucard struggles with his humanity.
The series is based on Konami’s video game series of the same name and features the voices of Richard Armitage (The Hobbit), James Callis (Battlestar Galactica), Graham McTavish (Outlander) and Alejandra Reynoso (Flora the Fairy of Nature).
It’s worth noting that Netflix is in early development on a spin-off series featuring a different cast of characters.
Netflix Canada release date: May 13th, 2021
Genre: Anime
Runtime: 10 episodes (24 to 31 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100 percent (based on six reviews)
Stream Castlevania here.
Love, Death and Robots (Volume 2) [Netflix Original]
Netflix’s dark anthology series returns with wild new stories, ranging from a home-cleaning unit attempting to murder its owner to a crash-landed pilot trying to survive on an alien planet.
Love, Death and Robots was created by Tim Miller (Deadpool) and features an ensemble cast that includes Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther), Nolan North (the Uncharted game series), Élodie Yung (Marvel’s Daredevil) and Nancy Linary (Two and a Half Men).
Netflix Canada release date: May 14th, 2021
Genre: Adult animation
Runtime: Eight episodes (seven to 18 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Stream Love, Death and Robots here.
Oxygen [Netflix Original]
An amnesiac woman wakes up in a medical cryo unit, forcing her to rebuild her memory and escape before she runs out of oxygen.
Oxygen was directed by Alexandra Aja (Crawl) and stars Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds), Mathiue Amalric (Munich) and Malik Zidi (Poison Friends).
Netflix Canada release date: May 12th, 2021
Genre: Sci-fi thriller
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95 percent (based on 55 reviews)
Stream Oxygen here.
The Upshaws [Netflix Original]
This new sitcom from Regina Y. Hicks (Insecure) and Wanda Sykes (Black-ish) is about the everyday struggles of a working-class Black family in Indiana.
The Upshaws stars Sykes, Mike Epps (Next Friday), Kim Fields (The Facts of Life) and Page Kennedy (Weeds).
Netflix Canada release date: May 12th, 2021
Genre: Sitcom
Runtime: 10 episodes (25 to 29 minutes each)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 50 percent (based on six reviews)
Stream The Upshaws here.
A ‘Basic’ Netflix subscription costs $9.99/month, a ‘Standard’ subscription (HD-supported) costs $14.99/month and a ‘Premium’ membership is priced at $18.99/month (4K-supported).
The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.
Premium video on demand (PVOD)
Those Who Wish Me Dead
After witnessing a murder, a teenager goes on the run with a wildland firefighter in the Montana wilderness to escape a group of assassins.
Based on Michael Koryta’s 2014 novel of the same name, Those Who Wish Me Dead was co-written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) and stars Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted), Finn Little (Angel of Mine), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Jon Bernthal (Marvel’s The Punisher).
It’s worth noting that this is another of Warner Bros.’ 2021 movies that came to the HBO Max streaming service and theatres in Canada (following the likes of Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat), but has been made available on PVOD instead in Canada.
Canadian PVOD release date: May 14th, 2021
Genre: Neo-Western, thriller
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 66 percent (based on 79 reviews)
Those Who Wish Me Dead can be rented for $24.99 on Google Play, the Cineplex Store, the Amazon Prime Video Store and other platforms.
What are you planning on watching this week? Let us know in the comments.
For more suggestions, check out last week’s Streaming in Canada column here.
Image credit: Netflix
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