The solstice may still be weeks away, but here in the States we know that summer really starts this weekend, with Memorial Day. It’s a holiday weekend with a dual identity: On the one hand, we’re welcoming the brightest season of the year, and on the other, we’re honoring those who died while serving in the armed forces. Luckily, there are streams aplenty to help you do both.
So, choose between looking forward, looking back, and living in the moment this Memorial Day. Keep things in the present tense with a docuseries that can inspire your weekend, anticipate the summer to come with a reality competition in the spirit of the season, or honor the past with a pair of dramas that recognize the reason for the holiday. However you choose to spend it, enjoy the long weekend — and the warm months ahead.
But first, what’s new on Netflix?
A different kind of holiday weekend. The new limited series Sirens, created by Molly Smith Metzler, stars Meghann Fahy as a woman who becomes suspicious of her sister’s (Milly Alcock) devotion to her boss (Julianne Moore), and goes to the billionaire’s opulent estate to intervene. Not your taste? The new reality series Sneaky Links: Dating After Darkbrings single contestants to the Sneaky Links Motel, where they will explore whether their casual hookups have potential for long-term relationships — or if new connections emerge. Not ready to commit? Tie on your corsage for Fear Street: Prom Queen; Matt Palmer takes the horror series to the ’80s for this latest franchise installment, in which Shadyside High’s annual race for prom queen turns murderous.
If you have just a night …
Take your cookout to the next level. In four mouthwatering episodes, Chef’s Table: BBQputs the spotlight on a quartet of great and innovative chefs and pitmasters around the world. Their methods and resources may be a bit beyond those available to your average neighborhood barbecue, but there’s plenty of inspiration to take from their delectable work for your own Memorial Day gathering.
If you have a whole day …
Pack your bags. For kids across the country, the new season means that summer camp is coming up, but you can get in on the action right from home with Battle Camp, which dropped late last month. The new competition series sees 18 stars of the Netflix Reality Universe — alumni of Love Is Blind, Squid Game: The Challenge, Cheer, The Circle, and more — check in at summer camp and suit up for battle. Vying for the title of ultimate Netflix reality competitor (and a quarter of a million dollars), the stars take part in a series of intense physical challenges — with a few twists of fate thrown in, just to keep things interesting.
If you have the entire weekend …
Remember, even while celebrating Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer, you can also observe it for its official significance, and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the US military. In that spirit, queue up HBO’s now-classic 2001 WWII miniseries Band of Brothers, created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg from Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 military history book. The acclaimed miniseries (which won 7 Emmys from 20 nominations)depicts the history of paratrooper unit “Easy” Company on the Western Front. Keep the weekend going with its 2010 companion series The Pacific, which moves the spotlight to Marines in the Pacific theater (and which won 8 Emmys out of 24 nominations).
Don’t forget, you have one last chance …
… to be a gangster, like you always wanted. Martin Scorsese’s 1990 classic Goodfellas, based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy, portrays the rise and fall of the mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) over 25 years. Watch it before next weekend, or be a schnook.
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