Whether it’s the blood-splattered battle between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees or the ever-present NBA debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan, the battle of a particular supremacy is consistently active in entertainment media — especially the current Netflix showdown between Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams.

And while these two individual actresses won’t soon be engaging in a bloody rivalry or handling their business on a basketball court, it’s become evident that their respective movies have been put on the table together and thoroughly studied and compared. The movies in question, of course, would be Lohan’s romantic comedy Irish Wish and McAdams’ thriller Red Eye — both of which are soaring up the ranks on Netflix.

On one hand, Lohan’s romantic comedy is still fresh, having just released on the streaming platform on March 15, while the McAdams vehicle experienced a theatrical release all the way back in 2005, grossing over $95 million at the box office. Despite being made nearly two decades ago, the action-packed thriller has found a new life on streaming over the last several days.

As per FlixPatrol, both Irish Wish and Red Eye have landed in the Netflix Top 10, all while being streamed in a variety of countries — including France, Germany, and Greece. As successful as both flicks have been on Netflix, it’s clear that Irish Wish is winning the competitive battle, with the romantic comedy currently resting at number one on the Top 10. 

So while Lohan might have won this battle, only time will tell who will ultimately win the war. Either way, we’re fans of both actresses’ work.

Nothing is more annoying than sitting down to watch some anime on Crunchyroll only to be met with an error that sounds like something Elon Musk would name his child; but if you’re reading this then that’s probably exactly what you’re going through right now.

Don’t sweat it though, errors aren’t uncommon when streaming and this might not be the only one you’ll experience on Crunchyroll. Luckily a few things you can do to try and fix the error although first things first, we’ve got to try and figure out the cause of the error code.

What causes the p-dash-28 error?

The p-dash-28 error can appear for a number of reasons, it could be a server overload, meaning too many people are trying to stream content at the same time. Or it could be due to a more easily fixable situation such as a cache overload on your device or a poor connection on your end. Cache overload can certainly impact performance in a negative way and an unstable connection could disrupt your streaming. 

If you’re trying to access geo-restricted content that could also result in the error code as some platforms restrict streaming in certain locations for various reasons. Another possibility is that the Crunchyroll app could be outdated or even corrupted which could lead to compatibility issues. It’s important to try and identify what exactly could be causing the error as it could help you fix the problem quicker. Now that you have an idea of what could be causing the issue, here are some possible solutions.

Check server status

First port of call would be to check whether the Crunchyroll servers are down. You can do this by going to the Downdetector website and typing in “Crunchyroll.” It will bring up reports that can tell you whether the site’s servers are currently down or not. If they are then there isn’t a lot you can do unfortunately. Unless you want to take a roadtrip to the Crunchyroll headquarters and try fixing their problem yourself.

Resetting your network

You can check your internet speed on free websites online if you need to check, an internet speed of 25mbps is recommended for the best anime streaming experience. If your connection seems a little slow and unstable you could reset your router by turning it off for at least 10 seconds and then turning it back on. You could also try the classic IT technique of turning the device you’re watching from off and on again. Alternatively, you could do a network reset by going into settings>Network & Internet>Advanced Network Settings>Network Reset, this will remove network adapters from your PC and will reinstall upon restarting.

Modify DNS

The next thing to try would be changing your DNS settings. Changing to a public DNS servers could provide a better connection. You’ll want to go into your device settings and replace the preferred DNS and alternate with either Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1) this could give you a better connection.

Check for app updates

If you’re still getting the error then try updating the app. Locate Crunchyroll on the Microsoft/App/Play store and see if there is a newer version to potentially download. You could also try uninstalling the app altogether and then reinstalling.

Clear your cache

Whilst the cache and cookies are designed to improve the browsing experience, it can also affect playback, so clearing your cache could possibly fix the error. To do this, simply find your way to the history or privacy settings, you can usually get to this by clicking on the three dots in the top right, although this can change depending on the browser you’re using. From there click Clear Browsing Data and select a time frame, make sure that Browsing Data, Cookies and Other Site Data, and Cached Images and Files are selected, then click “Clear Data.”

Other potential fixes

If you know that the content is region locked then the solution to your problem might be slightly trickier to solve. You could try a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to change your location and bypass the restrictions.

There could also be certain extensions and plug-ins causing the error so it might be worth disabling them. To do so, navigate your way to extensions, which will likely be hiding in that three dot menu in the top right again, then disable any extensions which could be causing issues.

If you’ve gotten this far and are still experiencing the error then your best course of action might be to contact Crunchyroll support and see what wisdom they have to offer.

It feels like YouTuber IShowSpeed has been creating content for ages, he’s been a prominent figure online for a number of years now with plenty of highs and lows to show for it, but he’s actually a lot younger than you’d expect.

Born Darren Jason Watkins Jr, the online gamer started his YouTube channel back in 2016, although he didn’t start making game related content until around December 2017. He started out streaming games such as NBA 2K, Fortnite, and Roblox, although didn’t start seeing major success until 2021. In that year alone, his channel grew rapidly; he hit 100,000 in April, and then two months later hit 1 million. As of right now, IShowSpeed sits at 22.5 million subscribers on his channel.

That’s quite an impressive number, on top of that the streamer has lots of other achievements you could list, including winning a Streamy Award two years in a role. It would normally take years and plenty of experience for somebody to grow that much and do that much so logically you’d maybe expect the Speed to be in his mid 20s or something.

How old is IShowSpeed actually?

Darren has got to be one of the youngest individuals with such a high following, being only 18 years of age. During the period in which his channel was growing exponentially (2021-2022) he was still technically a child! His huge following is made even more impressive when you consider how young he is and how much more potential he has to grow.

At the time of writing it’s actually not too far off from his birthday, with the YouTuber set to turn 19 in three days. Darren was born on January 21st 2005, not a whole lot is actually known about his personal life but we do know he’s started making content on the internet almost as soon as he could. He would have only been 11 years old when he joined YouTube in 2016, and about 12 years old when he started streaming.

Today, His content has stayed largely consistent with how he started. He continues to stream games regularly on YouTube and has even been unbanned on Twitch, which is a pretty big deal considering how often other creators get banned on that platform.

But he’s done a lot more than just streaming, Speed has broadened his horizons somewhat, trying his hand at other things like making music and even appearing in music videos. Who knows what the future holds for him now.

In the booming age of modern technology, and as expanded resources to watch pulse-pounding horror flicks from home become more available, it comes as no major surprise that the majority of film buffs flock to streaming platforms to digest the latest morsel of fear and fright. Because let’s face it, horror movies don’t have to be cool only around Halloween time.

And after creating a list of the best horror movies on Max, we’ve expanded our search to Prime Video. There’s a wide variety of horror films on the interactive service, where classics like Carrie (1976) sit right beside remakes such as Suspiria (2018). Amazon’s library also contains comedies like An American Werewolf in London and more serious fare, including The Descent (2006). 

So, let’s dive right in and explore the best horror movies to watch on Prime Video right now.

Train to Busan (2016)

Yet another entry into the zombie genre, Train to Busan is, surprisingly, a family drama at its core, telling the story of a divorced, workaholic father named Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) who attempts to protect his young daughter, Soo-an (Kim Su-an), from the infected zombies. Director Yeon Sang-ho derives so much tension from trapping his characters on a cross-country bullet train as the virus spreads across South Korea. The film works as a bloody, fast-paced popcorn flick.

Midsommar (2019)

Considering how impactful and memorable Ari Aster’s projects truly are, it makes perfect sense as to why plenty of film fanatics would flock to 2019’s Midsommar. Centering around a cult-like atmosphere during a festival in Sweden, things eventually take a sinister turn for the worst in regards to main character Dani and her friends. It might not be the bonafide classic a large portion of the other films on this list, but it would be a complete understatement to say that the movie didn’t carry a particular amount of flair and intrigue.

Suspiria (2018)

Suspiria (2018) is a remake of Dario Argento’s film of the same name. Argento’s version follows a long line of Italian Giallo films – colorful mystery thrillers that typically contained slasher, psychological horror, eroticism, and supernatural horror elements. Director Luca Guadagnino described his film as more of an “homage” than a remake, placing the film in 1977 Germany to explore themes of national guilt during the Cold War. While the 2018 film loses much of the maximal and expressive style of the original, including its signature exaggerated colors and surreal imagery, it remains memorable in its own way, featuring enthralling dance sequences and a bloody climax.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

In a long line of low-budget horror films, Paranormal Activity was one of the most successful, raking in almost $200 million with a budget of just $215,000. The found-footage horror follows a couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) who record supernatural elements that haunt them in their new home. Director Oren Peli gets terrific performances from his cast, and builds tension methodically. It’s an effective horror film that still holds up to this day, leading to it launching a series of seven films and a video game.

Us (2019)

Without a doubt, 2019 was a prominent year for the horror universe, especially with the release of horror genius Jordan Peele’s second directorial venture, Us. And while Peele gained momentum in the industry with Get Out, which is actually available to stream on Netflix, Us further helped to establish Peele’s credibility as a horror storyteller. With the premise focusing on a group of doppelgängers from a failed experiment looking to enact revenge, the 2019 project is easily one of Peele’s best, and one of the best options for horror on Prime Video.

The Descent (2005)

The Descent is one of the best horror films of the 2000s, following a group of women who go spelunking at a cave system in the Appalachian Mountains. During their adventure, the cave collapses, trapping them. Underground creatures attack the women, who struggle to survive and escape the cave. The story is quite straightforward, but director Neil Marshall extracts a remarkable amount of tension and terror from the situations that he places his characters in. 

Hellraiser (1987)

Since Hulu’s new Hellraiser reboot will be released in October, it’s the perfect time to see why the series has maintained its prominence. Horror author Clive Barker directed the film based on his own novella The Hellbound Heart. Hellraiser centers around the Cenobites and the main antagonist, Pinhead (Doug Bradley). Their puzzle box opens up to the Hell realm of the Cenobites, who aim to torture human souls through barbarous experiments. The supernatural horror franchise includes ten films in total and various comic books.

Let the Right One In (2008)

Tomas Alfredson’s film tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) who befriends a young girl, Eli (Lina Leandersson). Oskar is bullied at school and dreams of revenge. Eli, who turns out to be a vampire, encourages Oskar to stand up for himself. Let the Right One In follows Oskar and Eli as they try to survive with Eli needing to feed on blood regularly. Its success critically and at the box office led to an American remake called Let Me In (2010).

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

John Landis is often thought of as a comedic director with films like National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) under his belt. After this film, he would continue with the comedy route, directing films like Coming to America (1988) with Eddie Murphy. This gory film, however, follows two American backpackers, portrayed by David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, who are attacked by a werewolf. The one who survives deals with the possibility of eventually transforming into a werewolf. Landis infuses his comedic sensibilities into the film, creating a true horror-comedy that is equally funny and terrifying. 

Carrie (1976)

Carrie is not only a horror film, but a coming-of-age tale about a sheltered teenager’s experience being bullied at school and growing up with her religious and abusive mother. Like many classic horror films, Carrie’s standout scene has cemented itself in pop culture. Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is asked out to the school’s prom, and her subsequent humiliation sparks a bloody revenge against her classmates. The film was the first and possibly the best Stephen King adaptation, launching numerous film and television productions of the author’s work.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

As the film that started the original zombie craze, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is the genre’s most influential entry. It focuses on a group of people who are trapped in a Pennsylvania farmhouse when zombies appear and begin to attack. The film formed our knowledge of how zombies work as reanimated corpses that hunt for living flesh. The film was successful at the box office and served as the first in a wildly popular horror series. On top of that, Night of the Living Dead incorporates social commentary on race relations in America, making it relevant to this day. 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Jodie Foster plays Clarice Starling, an FBI agent-in-training, in Jonathan Demme’s psychological horror adaptation of a Thomas Harris novel. The film follows her quest to find a serial killer who targets female victims, most notably the daughter of a U.S. senator. Starling asks Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), another serial killer and psychiatrist, for help. The Silence of the Lambs examines Starling’s perspective in a world run by men. Both Foster and Hopkins earned Academy Awards for their performances, and after winning Best Picture, the film spawned a series of sequels. 

If you’ve been watching the controversial yet popular reality competition show Squid Game: The Challenge, then you’ve probably noticed player 278 (out of 456). Her name is Ashley Tolbert, and using wits and some sneaky gameplay, she’s been making some waves so far.

Obviously, there are some spoilers ahead. Tolbert really captured everyone’s attention when she refused to go along with the group during the Glass Bridge challenge and instead made Trey jump, leading to his elimination. Spicy!

That means she made it into the top nine, and if you’ve seen episode 9 you know what happens to her, which we’ll discuss at the end. First, let’s get to know Tolbert a little bit better.

Who is Ashley Tolbert (Player 278) from ‘Squid Game: The Challenge?’

In the real world, Tolbert, 30, is a civil rights advocate living in Atlanta. Specifically, she’s a HIPAA and civil rights investigator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights in Atlanta.

She previously worked as a graduate assistant at Emory University and the Moorehouse School of Medicine. In May 2022, she participated in the Cydney Gillon Peach Classic as a bodybuilder.

Perhaps due to her newfound popularity from the show, she’s also selling T-shirts with her face on them.

She also worked as an ESL teacher in Shanghai, China and speaks Mandarin fluently. That experience, she said, helped her to learn to maintain a tough outside shell to make sure she does what it takes to get ahead in the game.

That’s what’s helped her stick out in the game but also made her more infamous than anything else. After she refuses to work with everyone else in the Glass Bridge game and Trey is eliminated, Mai (278) wants to get her out by any means necessary.

She responded to people’s criticisms in a recent Instagram post:

“But you agreed to blah blah Team blah blah overtake blah blah blah” now can yall please stfu. I never agreed to shit, but I did get up there and do what worked for ME! These people are OBSESSED with me, they literally have to find my page to TELL me their opinion because what I think of their opinions matter so much!”

She comes close to elimination during the dice game, where players can nominate someone else to get eliminated if they roll a 6. While each player said they would nominate themselves, Mai surprised everyone and nominated Tolbert. She didn’t roll a 6, and Tolbert in turn nominated Mai for elimination. However, she didn’t roll a 6 either.

She is eliminated during the Circle of Trust game, when Phil correctly guessed who left the gift box on his desk.

Among the pantheon of reality TV show hosts, Gordon Ramsay, the demon-mouthed chef of the cooking competition show Hell’s Kitchen, stands out among the memorable. His show is not known for his kindness, and over the 22 seasons the show’s been on the air, he’s berated, dressed down, and just plain been mean to hundreds of chefs. Some go on to gain infamy, others do not. Unfortunately, some have even passed away.

The chef world is notorious for attracting so-called outsiders and rebels, people who don’t necessarily want to conform to society’s norms, but still want to have a vocation that is all at once creative and bone-breakingly singular and difficult. That’s what makes the show so great, but unfortunately with those types of personalities, unfortunate things tend to happen.

As of this writing, seven chefs who appeared on the show are now resting peacefully for eternity. Let’s take a look at their stories.

Who died on Hell’s Kitchen?

Since the show’s been on the air since 2005, there are bound to be a few people who simply pass away from natural causes. There’s also the element of tragedy, which unfortunately struck a number of contestants on the show.

Paulie Giganti from Season 16

Season 16 has the distinction of being one of two seasons to have more than one contestant from that season pass away. Paulie Giganti was found dead in his home at the age of 36 from an accidental drug overdose.

Paulie, an executive chef from Brooklyn, initially impressed Ramsay with his signature dish: Biscotti-encrusted scallops over a crispy polenta with a basil curry cream sauce. He would eventually get eliminated by Ramsay after sending out raw lamb.

In an interview before his death, Giganti revealed that he was a self-taught chef.

“I never went to school for cooking. I was going to be an engineer. I just wanted to see how I stacked up against other guys, like ‘school-y’ guys and other people. I was basically doing it as a measuring stick on myself. I didn’t care about any preconceived fears and notions. I just wanted to see how I could cook against other trained chefs.”

Genaro DeLillo from Season 16

Genaro DeLillo is the other unfortunate passing from season 16. His signature dish, a duck breast entree, didn’t impress Ramsay and led to a famous quip when Ramsay said he “ducked up” the dish. He was eliminated from the show after sending both over- and undercooked bass.

He was even responsible for the men’s team being thrown out after he sent up raw NY Strip steaks, twice. DeLillo passed away unexpectedly at the age of 32 on August 7, 2020. His obituary summed up his life’s passions:

“Cooking was one of Genaro’s passions. He was proud to have participated in the 16th season of Hell’s Kitchen and was also a judge for the 2016 Iron Chef Hamburg Competition. Genaro had a love for writing and in high school wrote for the Reading Eagle Voices. Throughout his life he wrote poetry. Genaro was very creative in many ways. He also had a love for photography and ran his own business with his dearest wife, called G&C Funtography.”

Jessica Vogel from Season 12

Jessica Vogel passed away on July 30, 2018 after a battle with an inflammatory bowel disease called colitis. She was only 34 years old. Vogel made a strong impression during her episode. She impressed Ramsay with her rosemary-crusted venison loin with goat cheese polenta, and helped her team win the signature dish challenge.

She was eliminated during a “Cook For Your Life” challenge when she went head to head with Richard Mancini and had to cook risotto, halibut, and scallops — each in under 30 minutes. She undercooked the lobster in the risotto and overcooked the halibut, and she was sent on her way.

She also appeared in a 2016 episode of Cutthroat Kitchen, a Food Network show about crazy cooking challenges, hosted by Alton Brown.

Louis Petrozza from Season 4

Louis Petrozza leaves behind a legacy of being one of the kindest contestants on any reality show ever, but especially in the face of a brutalizing Ramsay. He had a slow start on the show when his signature Cornish-game-hen-stuffed-in-a-pumpkin dish didn’t adhere him to Ramsay at all.

Despite this, he finished second on the show. Petrozza passed away on Nov. 15, 2019 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 58 years old.

Aaron Song From Season 3

Most people remember Aaron Song as the guy who showed up on the show in a cowboy outfit and ultimately cried on TV, but he was a lot more than that. He actually impressed Ramsay with his signature dish, but couldn’t handle the pressure of service and started crying, forcing service to be delayed.

When the male team lost a challenge to cook for Army and Navy service members, he fainted while preparing a thousand pounds of potatoes and onions. Gordon eliminated him from the show for health reasons.

He came back for season 6 to tell everyone “there’s no crying in Hell’s Kitchen.” Song died on November 10, 2010 after succumbing to complications from diabetes. He was 51 years old.

Keith Greene from Season 2

Ramsay’s first impression of Keith Greene was while he was perusing profiles of the cooks. “Oh dear. Slightly demented,” he said, when he saw Greene. Things didn’t improve much from there. He botched his signature dish, and a confused Ramsay dumped the top of it into Greene’s hat and handed it back to him.

Greene’s time on the show was uneven, but he did have a few good moments on the show as well. He was eliminated on the ninth episode of the season. Greene died at the age of 35 on August, 15 2012. His official cause of death was drowning.

Per local reports, he “went out for a swim in the surf, got caught in a bad spot and drowned. He was the head chef at Schmidt’s Seafood Market in North Sea and Schmidt’s Market in Southampton Village.”

Rachel Brown from Season 2

Rachel Brown, the “proud redneck,” made a strong impression on the show. While her butterfly shrimp in chocolate sauce didn’t blow Ramsay away, she had a strong showing on the first few challenges. When things got a bit more fancy and difficult, she had trouble keeping up.

She was eliminated on episode 5 after previously nominating herself for elimination in episode 4. Brown passed away on May 9, 2007 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

There’s a new mini-series on Netflix about a young blind girl and a German orphan, called All the Light We Cannot See. It’s based on a phenomenal book by the same name by novelist Anthony Doerr, who won the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 2015.

The four-part miniseries takes place in World War II-era Occupied France, and follows two main characters: A boy who joins Hitler’s army, and a young blind girl who’s trapped in a seaside town during an aerial bombardment. The story follows these two from youth to adulthood, until they finally cross paths.

It’s directed by Shawn Levy, who said he didn’t want to do a page-by-page adaptation, but something that captures the “heart of the story.” The book, while featuring short paragraphs, is still very long and full of so much detail that a directict adaptation would probably take much more than four episodes. He said:

“The book is the mountain. The mountain will always exist. Long after us, the mountain will be here. We did a painting of that mountain. We’re not trying to replace it. We’re not trying to make a photograph or a Xerox. It’s our impression of that mountain.”

Shawn Levy, by the way, is partly responsible for a plethora of well-known properties, like Stranger Things, the Night at the Museum franchise, Arrival and many more. So what’s it about?

What is All the Light We Cannot See about?

All the Light We Cannot See is about two teenagers during WWII. One is a blind girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc, who had an idyllic life with her father, a locksmith for a museum. The other is a blond haired German boy named Werner Pfennig.

Marie-Laure flees the war and ends up living with her uncle in a coastal town in France, who broadcasts secretly from the house. Werner, who’s a genius with radios, is part of a group of soldiers who track down illegal broadcasts.

It plays over several different time periods and eras, and it’s a sprawling tale with delightful pacing and and ancillary characters.

Who stars in All the Light We Cannot See?

Blind girl Marie-Laure is played by newcomer Aria Mia Loberti. Levy said he held a global casting search to find the right actress to portray the blind character. He wanted a blind actress, and said “It’s not like the talent agencies have filled their rosters with actors who are blind; it’s not a big pool.” Loberti heard about the casting and filmed a self tape.

“I just did a tape in my bedroom because I was having a rough couple of months, and I wanted to do something that sounded fun and different. I never really thought anyone would see it. When I got the call back the day after I sent in my tape, I was really surprised. And then after that, I got the call to meet with Shawn for the first time. It never dawned on me that I was ever going to get the part or that I was ever in contention for it.”

German boy/soldier Werner is played by Louis Hofmann. Marie-Laure’s father is played by Mark Ruffalo, her uncle Etienne is played by Etienne LeBlanc, and the cast is rounded out by Lars Eidinger, Nell Sutton, Marion Bailey and Andrea Deck.

All the Light We Cannot See is currently streaming on Netflix.

Comedian Bob Newhart has had an astoundingly prolific career. From beloved classic family films like Elf and The Rescuers to modern day TV success like Young Sheldon and NCIS, he’s made a huge impact everywhere he’s performed.

With the death of fellow comedian and co-star on one of his shows, Bill Daily, many are wondering if it’s possible to see the duo back together to rekindle some nostalgia. The only issue is that Newhart had his name on three different shows, making it a bit hard to not only figure out which show you’re searching for, but if it’s available to watch online at all. Don’t worry, I’ll help make things much less confusing!

Is The Bob Newhart Show from 1961 streaming anywhere?

Bob Newhart’s original comedy variety show aired on NBC from October 1961 through June 1962. Despite winning both an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and a Peabody Award, this classic show is available nowhere to stream legally online. Come on Peacock, preserve some television history for us all to watch already!

Is The Bob Newhart Show from 1970 streaming anywhere?

Thankfully, all 142 episodes of this 70s sitcom classic are available to stream online! The only issue is that the availability of all those episodes depends on which streaming service you use.

The easiest choice would be on Prime Video, which hosts all six seasons of the show available to watch for anyone with a subscription. Not into Amazon? Apple TV has the entire show available to watch for a single payment of $1.99. While Vudu also has the show, it costs $1.99 to watch and that will only cover the first three seasons, so save that cash and choose a different service.

Is Newhart streaming anywhere?

Bob Newhart found sitcom success a second time in the ’80s with the much shorter named Newhart. It managed to span across 182 episodes in an incredibly impressive eight-year run. Sadly, while it was nominated for 25 Emmy Awards during that time, it never managed to becoming an Emmy Award-winning show. The only place Newhart is currently streaming is on Prime Video for those with subscriptions.

What about The Bob Newhart Show: The 19th Anniversary Special?

Unfortunately, the special made to commemorate the anniversary of the ’70s sitcom is not available to stream anywhere. For the most die-hard fans who want to see it, Shout! Factory included it in its DVD box set The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Series.

Are you over the cable experience, and yet, want something a little bit different from the typical big three streaming services of Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu? Or maybe you have those services already and have some expendable income to add even more streaming apps to your repertoire. Whether you’re trying to save money or just want a more unique catalog of selections, we’ve gathered a list of streaming services for you to consider that you may not have heard of before.

While there are tons of streaming apps to choose from nowadays, such as Max, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus, and Peacock, we won’t necessarily mention every single one of those on our list. Instead, we are highlighting the more obscure, underground-feeling streaming apps that have probably slipped past your radar or ones that are wallet-conscious. With that said, let’s get to our recommendations so you can stop reading and start streaming.

AMC Plus

Featuring a selection of prestige TV, exclusive movies, and more, AMC Plus is your destination for everything from the universe of The Walking Dead to Mad Men to the Creepshow series and classic horror films like Halloween and Hellraiser. With a starting price of $4.99 per month for the ad-supported tier of AMC Plus, you get a lot of bang for your buck, with full access to the horror platform Shudder, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimted, BBC America, and six live TV channels.

Criterion Channel

If you are a cinephile, there is perhaps no better streaming service to sign up for than the Criterion Channel. It is the streaming version of the Criterion Collection, a celebrated DVD and Blu-Ray group of films representing “an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary films from Hollywood and around the world, many not available anywhere else,” according to its website. While not every physical media release from the collection is represented, there are still 2,000+ titles to choose from, including exclusives like the restored uncut version of Dario Argento’s classic horror film Suspiria or Akira Kurosawa’s unsung post-war classic I Live in Fear. The Criterion Channel costs $10.99 per month and it’s only available in the U.S. and Canada but the good news is you won’t have to worry about ads at all.

Free streaming apps

If you are looking for budget-conscious options, there are a lot of streaming services available for just that. For instance, if you have an Amazon account but do not have Prime, there is still a catalog of ad-supported movies and TV shows available for you to watch for free via their platform FreeVee. You can also enjoy popular movies and shows for free on Tubi, which has a rather prolific catalog that features a regular rotation of classic popcorn flicks, though you’ll have to contend with ads. Paramount’s Pluto TV is another free option, which is a live, ad-supported TV experience, that also features on-demand titles.

If you’re a fan of the Netflix show Virgin River, then this was a good month for you. The latest season of the hit show debuted on Sept. 7, and people have been burning through the latest Mel and Jack drama.

Virgin River tells the story of Alexandra Breckenridge as a nurse practitioner named Mel, and Jack, played by Martin Henderson. Other residents of the titular town include Mayor Hope (Annette O’Toole), the town doctor (Tim Matheson) and chef preacher (Colin Lawrence).

Season 5 saw Mel struggling with her pregnancy, Jack struggling with his own demons and Charmaine, Doc, Mayor Hope struggling with their impairments. The latest batch of episodes answered a lot of questions, and the end of the season brought even more surprises, setting up season six of the show – so let’s recap what went down.

Virgin River season 5 ending explained

While there have been five seasons of the show for us, it’s only been months inside of the show. That means that season 5 only emcompasses a mere few weeks, but so much happens!

Let’s start with Mel’s pregnancy. Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage while helping neighbors as a massive fire eats through the town. Breckenridge previously said that the miscarriage story was “important to tell.”

“Not everyone gets their miracle baby. And so, talking to a friend of mine who had dealt with fertility issues, it seemed as though we were going to be talking about it in an honest way that would be appreciated by women who have experienced that. It was very hard for me, though. There was a lot of crying. It’s a really sad storyline, but in the end, I think Mel comes out of it on the other side in a better way.”

Despite Mel’s eagerness to have children, she informs Jack that she can’t go through another pregnancy. The two find a way to work through it, and are going to have to find another way to have a family together. Speaking of family, we also found out that Jack’s ex Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) was lying about Jack being the father of her twins. This means that Jack went from potentially being a father of three to father of none. Brutal.

The real father of the child? Drug kingpin Calvin (David Cubitt). We thought he was dead, but in another shock twist, he’s alive and wants to help raise his kids. We thought he perished in Season 4 in that boat accident, but that wasn’t the case. After Calvin “died,” we met Melissa Montgomery, the true drug kingpin and sister to Jack’s business partner Nick, who, by the way, doesn’t know his sister deals drugs.

Let’s talk wildfire. As the fires threaten everyone, it also brings the town closer together, with Mayor Hope and her new chief of staff Lizzie taking charge. Sarah Dugdale plays Lizzie, and she said she loved her character’s arc from misguided teen to adult hero.

“Going from that bratty teen girl who thinks she’s the center of attention, and then getting thawed out by being in Virgin River and realizing that people care about her and she’s valued here, to having an important job in government and being mentored by someone like Hope, who I think is a badass woman who speaks her mind,” Dugdale said.

Other Lizzie news is that she thinks she’s pregnant, but time will tell if that turns out to be the case. After the fire, Mel and Jack stood in the ashes of Lilly’s farm and decided to stay in Virgin River for good. What about those love letters Mel’s sister Joey (Jenny Cooper) found? They could possibly be from Mel’s unknown father. We’ll find out more about that when the Christmas episodes premieres in November.

Doc was struggling with eyesight issue through the season, but he didn’t come clean until the wildfire when he lost his vision while treating wildfire victims. He confesses this to Dr. Cameron Hayek (Mark Ghanimé) and fortunately starts a clinical trial to help his vision issues.

Hope recovered from her traumatic brain injury and was reinstated as mayor during the fire. She also got a little closer with Doc.

Now onto Preacher and Kaia (Kandyse McClure). The two had a fling or two, but decide to make a real go of it, despite the fact that Kaia is in the midst of a divorce. Oh, and then there’s the whole body situation, because Kaia took a job nearby and there’s always the chance she could find the hidden body. Honestly, she probably will. Drama!

More couple talk: Muriel (Teryl Rothery) and Cameron are actually dating, and shared a public kiss at the Labor Day carnival.

Right off the bat we learned that Preacher and Paige (Lexa Doig) didn’t kill Vince, and thanks to Mike’s intrepid police work, Vince ends up in custody. But he also told police that Paige killed Vince’s brother Wes (also played by Steve Bacic) and Preacher hid the body. So that’s definitely going to pop off next season.

Let’s talk Brady (Benjamin Hollingsworth), who was recruited by Calvin to help with his illegal cannabis operation inside the lumberyard. Brady spent a lot of Season 5 trying to take down Melissa, but no one believed he wasn’t involved with drugs anymore.

In the last episode, Melissa abducts Brady and Mike gets shot, leaving him unable to backup Brady’s story. He eventually does, but the damage is done. Brady’s girlfriend Brie (Zibby Allen) breaks it off with him and starts up a new thing with Mike.

Brie is all about justice, so when she gets a feeling that Brady’s involved in the drug game, she bails. This is made more complicated by the fact that Mike and Brady are working together secretly.

Finally, we met Ava (Libby Osler), who is one of Lilly’s daughters. She moved to Virgin River to care for sister Chloe, and to help liquidate the farm. She suffers from endometriosis and decided to freeze her eggs and get a hysterectomy.

There are obviously so many more things to be answered and wrapped up, but some of that will be answered on Nov. 30 when the two Christmas episodes premiere.

With so many streaming services out there to choose from such as Netflix and Prime Video, it can be hard to work out which one stands out as the best. In many ways, to answer that question, you have to know what you want out of the platform. Is a lower starting price the only deal maker for you? Or do you care about the number of titles a streaming service has? How about the level of user-friendliness of each platform?

Lucky for you, we’ve taken the time to break down which streaming service reigns supreme in the three criteria we mentioned, as well as who takes the top spot overall. We’ve assessed the starting price, user interface, and volume of content for the following platforms: Netflix, Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, Peacock, and Paramount Plus. Let’s start out with the most obvious deciding factor: which platform will make the smallest dent in your wallet.

Lowest Starting Price – Paramount Plus & Peacock ($6)

If you’re looking for a streaming service that’ll offer a fair bit of bang-for-buck, both Peacock and Paramount Plus’ starting price begins at $6. That’s about as bottom dollar as you can get. Considering you can stream box office-topping titles like Paramount Plus’ Top Gun Maverick or Peacock’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, that can certainly seem like a screaming deal. However, you will have to contend with ads in both cases.

If you’re a stickler for ads, you can find the lowest tiers without them for Prime Video’s $9 monthly subscription and Apple TV Plus’ $7 subscription. For pretty much every other streaming service though, their lowest tiers are all ad-supported.

If you’re an S-tier-level penny pincher, It’s worth noting that a couple of the major streaming services that we are examining have separately branded ad-supported streaming services that are completely free, including Paramount Global’s Pluto TV and the Amazon-owned Freevee (formerly IMDb TV).

Most User-Friendly – Netflix

When it comes to user-friendliness, you truly can’t get better than one of the very first streaming services out there, Netflix. To this day, Netflix’s user interface is considered the gold standard for many. In fact, the overall consensus of 40 Hollywood insiders pointed to Netflix’s interface as a standout favorite compared to other streaming services, according to Variety.

It isn’t hard to see why Netflix’s is so acclaimed, since it introduced many innovations that other platforms began to emulate, such as the Top 10 list they started on their site that Max has now been adopting for its own platform. Netflix has also been praised for its high-quality subtitles in movies and shows and ease of navigation, overall.

In terms of a runner-up, Disney Plus has an extremely straightforward and colorful presentation bolstered by its subcategorization of recognizable brands of content, such as Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel. Max also has a respectable interface, though it’s become a bit more cluttered overall thanks to its recent integration with Discovery content. The absolute least user-friendly streaming services we came across have to be Paramount Plus and Peacock, whose navigation and functionality seem lacking compared to the competition.

Most Titles – Prime Video

With an estimated 25,000-plus titles to its name (according to Metacritic), Prime Video is far and away the winner when it comes to sheer volume. Plus, it is a streaming service that has made it easier than ever to add premium swaths of content from other services into one app. For instance, you can subscribe to Paramount Plus and Max by adding those as channel premiums for the price of each subscription service and watch it through the Prime Video app. Plus, it offers the free-with-ads tier known as Freevee. Though Prime Video struggles in other areas, such as its user interface, there is little question the streaming service has the most to choose from, including a few excellent originals, such as The Boys.

Best Overall – Netflix

When it comes to the best overall streaming experience, Netflix is still the king. It features a reasonable starting price of $7 for the ad-supported experience, 15,000-plus titles to chew through, and a sleek interface that makes browsing their selection a breeze. Indeed, if there is one drawback to be noted it is the classic issue of feeling so overwhelmed over the mountain of content that you spend several minutes on end looking for something to watch.

Though there have been criticisms that Netflix has adopted a quantity over quality mentality, as evidenced by some poorly received shows and movies over the years like Death Note and Mute, the overall picture is that the streaming service is still a dominant force to be reckoned with. Case in point: when its shows or movies do hit, they fire on all cylinders — just look at One Piece, Squid Game, Stranger Things, and They Cloned Tyrone — they often become the hottest topics around the veritable water cooler.

Light the torches, grab your pitchforks — Over the Garden Wall is being removed by Max on August 31, and the fandom at large shouldn’t be letting that slide. Rage may not be the most appropriate word to describe my feelings right now. Perhaps, sorrow? That’s on-brand. This is Over the Garden Wall we’re talking about.

Is it a dream? Is it a nightmare? Does it even matter anymore? Beloved as any mini-series ever made, 2014’s Over the Garden Wall stands alone as a melancholy adventure unlike anything the world has ever seen. Which is why Max’s plan to remove the show at the end of next month is downright despicable.

Thankfully, TikTok might play a role in making sure that doesn’t happen. In a string of trending videos that I’ll let do most of my talking, fans of this animated show can get an education in what its removal could mean.

Removing a distinctly autumn-themed show right before October probably isn’t good for business — but, hey, what do I know, right? I just write about entertainment for a living. It’s not like I have to be up on trends…

This news shared by the user above on Over the Garden Wall, along with words from the show’s creator Patrick McHale, is pretty on point. As streaming becomes our cultural norm, television and film find themselves in an incredibly unique position — and I’m not just talking about the current strikes going on.

Another user echoes these points below, along with adding some interesting perspectives that make this whole ordeal that much creepier. And not in a good way.

The gist? September 1 is the start of fall, hence, Max probably wants to shuffle Over the Garden Wall out the door before the seasons start to change. Why? Because when fans go to stream the show to shift their seasonal mood, all that traffic supports the creatives behind the show. Even if only a bit.

Are things starting to sound topical now? Yes, these big media conglomerates don’t want to cough up the cash, but more than that (and even worse) — if they remove programming from their platforms, they’re able to cut costs on listening deals.

Now I’ve always been of the mind that even if something on a streamer isn’t performing, it should be left alone for the four people out there that might actually enjoy it. Although it seems to be a sentiment that isn’t shared by the folks in charge these days.

I’m exhausted. We’re all exhausted. The entertainment landscape couldn’t look worse right about now, and with our collective faith placed so confidently in streaming — I’m not sure if anyone knows how to proceed.

Keeping things analog could be our only option, and there’s nothing wrong with that if you ask me. So, go out and buy a DVD, find that favorite show, and get yourself a hard copy. Make things personal again.