HOLLYWOOD,CA — This week's four picks span a landscape of superhero reinvention, high-velocity conflict, post-apocalyptic power plays, and a family-friendly special anchored by a popular beagle. First up is "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," a superhero movie tracing Peter Parker through anonymity, grief and resilience.
"Furious" Season 1 kicks the pace up with a street-level blast of loyalty, speed and ambition colliding under pressure. Meanwhile, "The Walking Dead: Dead City" Season 3 drives into a fractured Manhattan with shifting alliances and territorial strain.
For light-hearted offerings, "Snoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy" softens the lineup with a gentle search for belonging.
Ready to dive in? Scroll down for the full lineup, with deeper explorations below that unpack performances, themes and craft in greater detail.
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Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal; directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Destin Daniel Cretton's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" reframes the web-slinging mythos as a meditation on anonymity and ache, a film where the street-level hum of the city brushes against the inner burn of a young man rebuilding an ordinary life severed from his alter ego. In Tom Holland's most piercingly nuanced work as Peter Parker, it emerges as a portrait of resolve and identity — heroism lived in plain sight and carried in silence.
In "Brand New Day," Peter hides behind the mask to protect the ones he holds dear, fully aware that blending his two lives could be catastrophic. A selfless undercurrent shapes the film's restrained yet propulsive emotional trajectory, even as the narrative occasionally struggles to keep pace with its introspective rhythm.
Working with cinematographer Brett Pawlak and composer Michael Giacchino, Cretton extends this duality into muted, confessional visuals and a score that deepens Peter's interiority. Four months after "No Way Home," Peter lives in total anonymity — isolated, lonely, unmoored — shadowing MJ from the margins while battling a telepathic entity (Sadie Sink) and The Punisher's explosive force.
Holland's mature, inward-driven performance grounds the film, supported by Sink's unsettling presence, Jon Bernthal's combustible intensity as The Punisher, and flashes of warmth from Zendaya and Jacob Batalon.
Though its action is spare and its momentum uneven, "Brand New Day" endures as a deeply affecting chapter in Spider-Man's saga, embracing heroism shaped by selfless acts.
Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Scoot McNairy; created by Elizabeth Meriwether
Hulu's "Furious," a Hulu original crime thriller, follows rookie FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum) as she becomes entangled with Catherine (Lola Petticrew), a trauma-scarred young woman targeting the powerful men who once abused her. Their connection — forged through shared wounds and mirrored rage — drives a story more invested in the psychology of survival than in traditional cat-and-mouse mechanics.
Creator Elizabeth Meriwether grounds the series in bruised intimacy and procedural tension, moving through interrogation rooms, shadowed suburbs, and institutional corridors with a slow, unnerving burn. Ariel Marx's haunting, partially vocalized score deepens the show's atmosphere, threading unease beneath every encounter.
Rossum delivers a raw performance, charting Alice's struggle between duty and the darkness she recognizes in Catherine. Petticrew is mesmerizing — fluid, terrifying, and heartbreakingly human. Quincy Tyler Bernstine adds cynical gravitas as Alice's mentor, sharpening the series' commentary on power and victimhood.
"Furious" Season 1 unfolds as a dark, emotionally complex thriller — absorbing and occasionally predictable — but powered by two exceptional leads and a steady thrum of danger.
Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek; created by Eli Jorné
In its third season, AMC's "The Walking Dead: Dead City" pivots into a sharper, more character‑driven chapter as Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) navigate a Manhattan filled with violent enclaves and walker‑ridden ruins. A new threat forces the pair into a fragile cooperation, pushing their long‑fractured history into unfamiliar territory.
Rather than leaning solely on survival spectacle, creator Eli Jorné frames the season around shifting loyalties and the uneasy politics of rebuilding. The city's decayed vertical sprawl — rusted towers, flooded tunnels, and claustrophobic streets — becomes a pressure cooker for moral compromise.
Cohan brings a grounded ferocity to Maggie, charting her evolving resolve with clarity, while Morgan tempers Negan's volatility with a weary pragmatism that deepens their dynamic. Strong turns from Gaius Charles and Željko Ivanek widen the season's stakes, adding texture to its fractured power structures.
Season 3 stands as the show's most critically energized outing yet — leaner, more focused, and unexpectedly revitalized — even if its tonal shift may divide longtime viewers.
Voice cast: Riley Vargas, Terry McGurrin, Rob Tinkler, And More; directed by Ridd Sorensen
Apple TV+'s newest Peanuts special follows Snoopy and Charlie Brown on a gentle quest to recover Snoopy's beloved doghouse after it's mistakenly sold at a yard sale. The story unfolds with classic Peanuts warmth, exploring what makes a home through quiet humor and emotional simplicity.
Produced by WildBrain and Peanuts Worldwide, the special features an original song by Allen Stone and continues Apple's long-term Peanuts partnership through 2030. Premiering globally July 31, it adds another heartfelt chapter to the Snoopy Presents banner.
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