New movies, shows and music to stream, from a show about scamster Belle Gibson to The Weeknd's final album

The National

07-02-2025

Netflix found a winning formula with its 2022 series Inventing Anna, a mostly true account of the life of Anna Sorokin, a fraudster who claimed to be a wealthy heiress. It's latest offering, Apple Cider Vinegar, centres around another scamster who became rich and famous by inventing a back story, but was eventually exposed. Meanwhile, two films available to stream this week will mark the directorial debut of two actors, one from Bollywood and one from Hollywood. Here are some of the latest films, shows and music to stream this week. Sometime in 2015, Australian influencer and author Belle Gibson made an admission that grabbed headlines around the world. The single mother, who claimed to have healed herself from terminal brain cancer through health and wellness, revealed that she had made her illness up. Before the revelation, Gibson had built a successful business through her app, The Whole Pantry, which was also turned into a bestselling book. Gibson's story has now been turned into a limited series with Kaitlyn Dever playing her. Based on the 2017 book, The Woman Who Fooled the World, by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, Apple Cider Vinegar looks at the early days of Instagram, the rise and fall of a wellness empire, the culture that built it up and the people who tore it down. While the series is based on a real-life person, Netflix calls it "a true-ish story based on a lie". "Like most works based on true events, Apple Cider Vinegar is not a biopic and many characters are fictionalised," the streamer warns. Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Helen (Heather Headley) and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) are back. The show, based on the book series of the same name, first debuted in 2020 and follows lifelong friends as they juggle relationships, family and careers in their charming South Carolina hometown. In season four, the women once again negotiate the twists and turns of their romantic lives, as well as the return of old foes, the loss of some loved ones and, for the first time, a major discord between them. Acclaimed Indian actor Boman Irani makes his directorial debut in this heartfelt film about a father and son who, at odds with each other, are forced to spend 48 hours together. It explores their tumultuous relationship as old wounds resurface and each men grapple with their relevance in each other's lives. Irani, who has already won awards for his acting in the festival circuit, shares writing credits with Alexander Dinelaris Jr, who won an Oscar for co-writing the 2014 film Birdman. Another directorial debut, this time of actress Zoe Kravitz, this psychological thriller was a critical and commercial success when it was released last year. It centres around a waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) who, one night, gets invited by tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. Once there, Frida and the rest of the guests are treated lavishly. But she soon realises she's experiencing memory lapses, and begins to piece together sinister occurrences that soon turn deadly. A commentary on the abuse of power and the importance of sisterhood, Kravitz, who also co-wrote the film, received wide praise for it. Blink Twice also made more than $46 million at the global box office. Pop culture's obsession with American gangsters continues. This new documentary from the History Channel is narrated by The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli and delves into the five mafia families who ruled New York – Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese. Based on Selwyn Raab's New York Times bestselling book, Five Families, it tracks their rise and fall, starting with the Prohibition Era in the 1920s to the golden age of the mafia, which extended to the 1960s. The sixth and possibly the final album by the RnB star known as The Weeknd – before he reverts to his birth name Abel Tesfaye – Hurry Up Tomorrow is the final installment in a trilogy that started with 2020's After Hours, followed by 2022's Dawn FM. The 22-track album, which has already received rave reviews from critics, features several collaborators including Travis Scott, Florence and the Machine, Future and Lana Del Rey and singles such as Timeless, Cry for Me and Wake Me Up. A film inspired by the album, starring Tesfaye alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, is scheduled to be released in May.