Sweethearts, The Madness, and 5 other must-see series and movies this weekend

Hopefully, those that celebrate have had a great Thanksgiving, and now that Black Friday is in full swing, you're not getting too caught up in the shopping extravaganza that you're ignoring your entertainment quota for the week. If you're looking for something to watch, we've got some picks ready for you and the family. If you're up for something fun and relaxing, this week's new movies make for some obvious and timely choices, starting with Sweethearts — which happens to occur during Thanksgiving weekend. Then get into the Christmas spirit with Ben Stiller's Nutcrackers, a family movie inspired by some of the classics. And wrap it up with a few goofy laughs with the Family Guy Christmas Special.

Perhaps nostalgia is on the table, and the Beatles ’64 documentary takes us back to one of the biggest musical phenomenons in history; or watch the life story of one of the world's greatest Formula One drivers, Ayrton Senna. Finally, you can get your fill of intrigue and thrills from spy series The Agency, or go for political mystery thriller The Madness.

7 The Agency

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME — Series Premiere — November 29

A covert CIA agent, codenamed Martian, is pulled back in from his six-year post in Addis Ababa to return to the London station. Things aren’t quite right, but he can’t be sure if it’s just his hyper-vigilance playing tricks on his mind, if the CIA is watching him too closely, or if something else is going on. Things get even more complicated when his former love, Sami, turns up.

Michael Fassbender stars as Martian alongside Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, and Jodie Turner-Smith. The Agency is filled with twists and political intrigue, based on the 2015 French drama series Le Bureau des Legendes. The first two episodes of The Agency launch on the 29th, with a new episode rolling out every Friday until the season wraps up on January 24th.

6 Senna

Netflix — Miniseries — November 29

Ayrton Senna was one of the most famous drivers in all of Formula One, becoming a three-time world championship winner and an idol to drivers and Brazillians. Fourteen years ago, a documentary explored his life and untimely death at just 34 years old, and now Netflix is bringing out a recreation of his story from humble beginnings through to his final race.

Brazilian-born Gabriel Leone stars as Senna in the six-episode biographical drama, a fitting follow-up to playing as Alfonso de Portago in 2023’s Ferrari. Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) co-stars alongside Matt Mella (The Winter King) as Senna’s arch-rival, French driver Alain Prost.

There’s no waiting on episodes, Netflix released the entire limited run of Senna so it’s available to binge straight away.

5 Beatles ’64

Disney+ — Documentary — November 29

Beatlemaniacs rejoice, it’s another lap around the block with another look into the history of the fab four. You’ll see some of the same footage shot by Albert and David Maysles when the Beatles first came to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, plus bits and pieces of other docs in recent history; but this film adds new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and fans and friends who participated in the moment. Despite the additions, the runtime sticks to a relatively tight 106 minutes.

This also isn’t just another random documentary from out of nowhere, it’s produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi, both having worked together on several musical projects in the past focusing on the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Suge Knight, Hector Lavoe, and The Rolling Stones. Beatles '64 is streaming on Disney+, though it's possible it appears on Hulu in some markets.

4 Family Guy: Gift of the White Guy

Hulu — Special Holiday Episode — Nov 25

In honor of the Family Guy’s 25th anniversary, they’re breaking out all the stops to make… ANOTHER EPISODE! Yeah, it’s just a regular-length episode running 22 minutes, but this is the second of a pair of Hulu-exclusive episodes to roll out this year, following the Halloween special, “Peter, Peter Pumpkin Cheater” in mid-October.

In this episode, Peter loses a brooch that’s special to Lois and recruits the guys from the Clam to help him break into a nursing home to recover it. Meanwhile, Stewie learns he’s on Santa’s naughty list and decides it’s time to change his ways.

Look, if you watch Family Guy, you know what to expect. Head over to Hulu and start watching!

3 Nutcrackers

Hulu — Movie — Nov 29

If you’re looking for the wholesome and not-too-much movie you can watch with the whole family, young and old alike, Nutcrackers might save you from sitting through another round of the same old classics. Ben Stiller stars as Mike Maxwell, a moderately successful but entirely non-parental guy that is thrust unexpectedly into taking care of Kicklighter boys, a quartet of troublesome siblings that were just orphaned.

He wants nothing to do with taking care of the kids, especially since they’re constantly up to no good, like hotwiring a rollercoaster or propping a brick on the accelerator pedal of a golf cart. However, the more time this unlikely combination stays together, the harder it would be for them to part. Nutcracker is predictable, but it’s not like everything needs a twist ending.

2 Sweethearts

Max — Movie — Nov 28

Meet Jamie and Ben (Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga), two lifelong friends that do everything together. After graduating high school and going to the same college, they’ve realized that their lives are being held back by the long-distance relationships they’ve kept with people they knew in high school. For Jamie, it’s her football star boyfriend that went on to Harvard, and Ben is feeling suffocated by an obsessive aspiring actress Claire. Now on their trip back home for Thanksgiving, they look to each other for help with the breakups.

There’s no avoiding the comparisons to When Harry Met Sally, and first-time director Jordan Weiss (Dollface, writer) doesn’t try to. While Sweethearts is inspired by the classic, Jordan has built in some unexpected depth that makes this more than just another modern-day knock off.

1 The Madness

Netflix — Limited Series — Nov 28

While Thanksgiving is a risky time to bring out anything centered around politically charged subjects, Netflix is daring you to watch The Madness anyway. The series follows Muncie Daniels (Colman Domingo, Walking Dead) as a black political pundit on the verge of getting his own solo talk show on CNN. While staying at a cabin in the Poconos to write a book, he stumbles across a dead body, and barely escapes before being killed by the murderers.

Things get incredibly more complicated when the murder victim turns out to be a prominent white supremecist, and evidence inexplicably starts popping up to suggest Muncie is the killer — an intricate frame job. The series broaches the subjects of disinformation, mass media and the public discourse, real and imagined conspiracies, and some of the other complications we’re witnessing in real time.

In true Netflix style, all eight episodes of The Madness are available immediately, so begin your binge or space it out however you like. It’s a long weekend, you do you.