A couple of weeks ago, we offered up a streaming guide for these cost of living-tinged times, looking at the positives and negatives of the “big five” platforms (Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Now). But the streaming buffet doesn’t just extend to that quintet; there’s a host of other, more niche streamers each offering up their own smörgåsbord of diverting shows and films. Let’s run through the best of them – grab a plate!
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Lionsgate+
Price: £5.99 a month
Formerly known as Starzplay, this platform has long been seen as a bit of a hidden streaming gem for its collection of dynamite US acquisitions – it’s where you can see Ramy (above), The Great and P Valley before anyone else – and bargain price. Alas, it’s a bit less of a bargain these days, having recently gone up from £1.99 for the first six months to £5.99 after a 30-day trial. Still, with other platforms also raising their subscription fees, it remains well priced.
The best thing on there right now: The (somehow uplifting) pandemic drama Station Eleven (pictured top), which is very much in the running for show of the year.
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BritBox
Price: £5.99 a month
Written off as a doomed exercise before it even launched, this BBC-ITV streaming collaboration is still standing three years on. It found its niche early – essentially it’s where your mum goes to watch old episodes of Cadfael – but its hefty library of classic British series is backed up by some credible original shows (notably The Beast Must Die) and a surprisingly strong film selection at a competitive price.
The best thing on there right now: Ratcatcher, Lynne Ramsay’s bruising, Glasgow-set coming-of-age drama, doesn’t exactly chime with BritBox’s cosy teatime drama vibe, but it’s a stunner nonetheless.
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Mubi/TankTV
Price: Mubi, from £10.99 a month; TankTV from £3 a month
The cineaste’s choice, Mubi has been delivering impeccably curated film picks for more than a decade. Leaning heavily towards the arthouse, it offers cinema that other streamers are unable or unwilling to platform. At £10.99 it doesn’t come cheap, but the £16.99 option, with a “hand-picked” cinema ticket included every week, may well entice regular cinemagoers. Boasting a similar format, though significantly cheaper, is TankTV, with themed seasons featuring Tarkovsky, Varda and Von Trier.
The best thing on there right now: For Mubi, it’s surely the sumptuous Portrait of a Lady on Fire; while TankTV is showing Terence Davies’s recently restored masterpiece Distant Voices, Still Lives.
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Paramount+
Price: £6.99 a month
The newest combatant in our streaming wars arrives armed with a pretty robust catalogue of shows and films old and new. It’s where you can watch South Park (still gleefully offensive, 25 series in), Kevin Costner-starring US ratings monster Yellowstone and an extremely pricey – if strangely not-talked-about – adaptation of video game Halo. A major player.
The best thing on there right now: The frequently bonkers legal drama The Good Fight, which manages to knit everything from the January 6 riots to Jeffrey Epstein’s death into its storylines.
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Shudder
Price: From £3.99 a month
A streaming service devoted entirely to horror? Your mileage – and tolerance for severed heads flying across the screen – may vary. But if horror is your thing, Shudder is a sound investment, boasting a truly impressive library, great curation (with collections on everything from Giallo to folk horror) and some inventive original shockers.
The best thing on there right now: Saloum, a stylish and entertaining gangster/horror hybrid largely set in Senegal.
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Discovery+
Price: £3.99 a month
Once synonymous with hush-voiced wildlife programmes, Discovery now seems to churn out an endless array of reality telly and stomach-churning true crime. Its streaming offshoot has a vast library of both, if that floats your boat, as well as, admittedly, a decent chunk of nature programming too – at a pretty impressive price.
Best thing on there right now: The Men Who Sold the World Cup, a none-more-timely account of the murkiness that swirled around the Qatar 2022 bid.
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