It often feels like there’s more new movies and seasons of TV releasing on streaming platforms and in theaters than there is time to watch them. And for people with busy schedules, it can be hard to know which are worth your limited time.
If you want to catch up on the best media of 2026 so far, KCUR’s film experts have you covered.
From big-budget adaptations to under-the-radar films and new seasons of beloved TV series, creative producer and film critic Lonita Cook and film critic Jason Wiese offer recommendations for a variety of tastes.
Lonita Cook’s recommendations
Joe and Angela’s marriage has been rocky. But when the upstairs neighbors visit for a dinner party, the night spirals in a way that will either mend their relationship – or dissolve it completely. This Olivia Wilde-directed and starring film is about what happens to us when we let the minutia of our lives creep into our relationships.
Ryan Gosling plays a middle school science teacher who wakes up from a coma on an 11th-hour interstellar mission to save humanity from a cryptic organism that could cause total extinction. But for all the high stakes, the movie also has heart. The relationship between Gosling’s character and Rocky, an alien he meets on the journey, tug at your emotions.
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the epic by Homer was one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer. Nearly everyone in the film is a star: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong’o and Travis Scott all appear in roles big and small during the course of the nearly three-hour film.
Ted Lasso becomes the coach of a women’s soccer club in the fourth season of this feel-good Apple TV+ show about an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team. The first episode of the new season explores Ted’s Kansas roots, and Kansas City takes center stage — makes sense, since the show was filmed in the metro last summer.
Based on a novel of the same name, the first season of this Apple TV+ series follows a physicist kidnapped into an alternate version of his life. The second season expands the story past the novel.
Jason Wiese’s recommendations
A music store employee wishes on a cursed charm to make his crush fall in love with him, but when she does, it’s more of a nightmare than a dream come true. “Obsession” is exquisitely crafted, thoroughly unnerving, and surprisingly funny. This film has sparked conversations about its nuanced character portrayals and the way YouTubers like Curry Barker, who wrote and directed, are changing the industry.
This Japanese psychological horror film, inspired by a video game, follows a man trapped in an endless, looping subway terminal who must spot “anomalies” to escape. “Exit 8” relies on repetition, but the film gets more shocking as it goes on. It’s similar – but better than – “Backrooms,” which made waves in Hollywood at the beginning of the summer. Plays on the “liminal space” horror trend from this year.
“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”
The members of “Nirvanna the Band,” a Canadian music duo, have been struggling for years to book a show at their favorite venue. In their latest effort, hilarity and time travel ensue. The result is a brilliantly absurd piece of guerilla filmmaking, told in a mockumentary style and based on a late-2000s web series.
“Buffet Infinity” is my favorite example yet of the “analog horror” trend, which uses the look of obsolete media formats like VHS tapes to create suspense and fear. A collection of advertisements for fake local businesses comprise this film, and a bizarre overarching narrative follows the eponymous restaurant’s bid for superiority. But there’s more than meets the eye in this devilishly funny and cleverly creepy flick.
“Reacher” is one of the few television series I’m actively keeping up with. The action crime series follows the intelligent, butt-kicking former military policeman Jack Reacher, who gives a standout performance. In season 4, Reacher finds himself caught in the middle of an international conspiracy.
- Lonita Cook, creative producer, film critic and arts advocate
- Jason Wiese, journalist, film critic and staff writer at CBR.com
