Get ready to head back to the nineties, because Paramount is finally launching its own streaming service.
That’s right: the iconic mountain is heading to the small screen and bringing with it a slate of new original TV shows and films and recent hits, along with a slew of old favourites. To put it bluntly: “Netflix who?”
Here’s our lowdown on what to expect.
What is it?
With more than a century of films under their belt, you’d expect film studio Paramount to have brought a streaming platform to the table sooner.
No matter: they’re here now. After months of anticipation, the service launched in America in March 2021 and has already clocked up almost 40 million subscribers, so we’re expecting big things when the service launches in the UK on June 22.
They’re also extremely ambitious: alongside heavy hitters like Mean Girls and Top Gun, the Financial Times recently reported that the studio was looking to create its own Squid Game-level hit show.
What’s coming to Paramount+?
Honestly, there’s too much to count. Not only will you be able to watch iconic films like Skyfall, Anchorman and A Quiet Place, you’ll also be able to make the most of the brand-new shows that will be dropping on the platform as the weeks roll on. However, here are our top picks for what to watch first.
The First Lady
This show caused some controversy a few months ago due to Viola Davis’ much-criticised and “exaggerated” take on Michelle Obama. However, this star-studded show (featuring none other than Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford) is still very much worth a watch, telling the story of first ladies in the US White House across the years.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Loosely based on the 1963 book of the same name (an earlier adaptation also starred David Bowie), Chiwetel Ejiofor helms this TV show as an alien who falls to earth during a critical period in human evolution. Accompanied by scientist Naomie Harris, he must race to find a way to save both their worlds.
The Offer
Exactly fifty years after the release of the first film in 1972 , return to the world of The Godfather. The Offer is the show that tells the bizarre true story behind the films’ creation, with Miles Teller taking the role of producer Albert S. Ruddy and Dan Fogler as legendary director Francis Ford Coppola. Expect plenty of shouting.
1883
This prequel to the hit drama Yellowstone follows the ancestors of Yellowstone’s John Dutton (aka Kevin Costner) as they strive to make a life for themselves in the American Mid-West. Their journey will be marked by gun battles, sketchy allies and lawlessness - will they survive?
Yellowjackets
This cult show was a major hit for Sky and is set to draw in the viewers on Paramount+too. Billed as a psychological horror and survivor tale, the show tells the story of a high school girls’ football team whose plane crash-lands in the wilderness. Things then proceed to go wrong Lord of the Flies style, with the show switching between the past and the present, 25 years later.
Halo Season 1
When is a first-person shooter game not a first-person shooter game? Apparently, when it’s a multi-million dollar TV series. Telling the story of game protagonist Master Chief, this big-budget show boasts no big names to speak of but broke Paramount+ streaming records for the most-watched show premiere ever.
What else is coming out?
Films
- South Park Post COVID and Return to COVID - TV’s most satirical show is back to take a jab at the Covid-19 pandemic.
- PAW Patrol - Puppies save the world as firefighters and police offers. What’s not to like?
- Grease - the iconic film about two very ill-matched people who fall in love. Features John Travolta in his prime.
- Star Trek: Wrath of Khan - watch the origin of Spock’s iconic line, “Khaaaaan!” as Khan causes chaos in the Star Trek galaxy.
- Star Trek (2009) - the reboot, starring Chris Pine.
- Star Trek: Generations - the 1994 film which sees the deaths of several major characters in the Star Trek universe.
- Star Trek: Nemesis - this 2002 outing sees the USS Enterprise foil sinister plots on the planet Romulus.
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - Leonard Nimoy is Spock in this 1984 film on finding Spock. Do they find him? Tune in to find out.
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Leonard Nimoy! William Shatner! George Takei! All your Trek favourites.
- Mission Impossible: Fallout - the 2008 edition of the franchise tackles the threat of nuclear extinction.
- Jack Reacher - the Tom Cruise bonanza continues in this film about odd-job detective/ man for hire Jack Reacher.
- Transformers: Age of Extinction - love cars? Love robots? Watch this explosion-ridden film about robot cars.
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - more cars! More robots! More explosions!
- Flashdance - the original and still the best, stars Jennifer Beals as a steel welder who wants to become a ballerina.
- Castaway - Tom Hanks (aka Chuck Nolan) is cast away on a desert island. How will he possibly survive?
- Mean Girls - you can’t wear pink on Fridays, but you can rewatch cult classic Mean Girls.
- Pulp Fiction - watch Samuel L. Jackson launch his career in this genre-bending film.
- Footloose - the classic dance film that will make you want to book lessons immediately.
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - a Paramount+ exclusive TV show about the years that Captain Christopher Pike manned the USS Enterprise.
TV
- Queen of the Universe - an international drag singing competition/ reality show? Sign us up!
- Mayor of Kingstown - Jeremy Renner helms this show about a family of power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan.
- Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber - stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as founder Travis Kalanick in this TV show about his rise and fall.
How much is it?
£6.99 a month, making it roughly the same price as a London pint. Even better, Paramount+ has confirmed that UK subscribers will be able to get a seven-day free trial before being charged.
Sky subscribers can rest easy: the service will also be available free of charge to Sky Cinema subscribers. Our verdict? A bargain.
I love this! How can I sign up?
For those people desperate to watch Spongebob Squarepants, bad news: you can’t pre-order your subscription. However, users will be able to download the app from June 22, when it launches.
When it drops, you’ll be able to download the Paramount+ app, which will be available on mobile and TV devices.
