New Releases on Netflix and Top 10 Movies & Series: April 12th, 2024

Happy Friday, and welcome to your weekly roundup of what’s new on Netflix! Below, we’ll be taking a look at all 28 new arrivals this week, running you through our top picks for what to watch, and examining what’s been dominating the Netflix US top 10s throughout the week.

Just a bit of housekeeping from me: If you’re looking for a new series to watch, we just put together our list of our favorite six new English-language series added so far in 2024. Earlier in the week, we also updated our guide for what’s still to come throughout April 2024.

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What to Watch on Netflix This Week

Megan Leavey (2017)

Rating: PG-13
Language: English
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Cast: Kate Mara, Ramón Rodríguez, Tom Felton
Writer: Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, Tim Lovestedt
Runtime: 116 min / 1h 56m

One movie you’ve all been seemingly checking out already this week is the Kata Mara-led biopic (sometimes called Rex), which is about a soldier who creates an immense bond with a field dog during the Iraq invasion.

Listed as Certified Fresh on RottenTomatoes, the movie has been equally beloved by critics and audiences since its release in theaters seven years ago. In his review for RollingStone, Peter Travers says, “Kate Mara is raw and riveting in the title role, a marine who ends up in combat in Iraq with a bomb-sniffing German shepherd. It’s a true story that earns your tears.”

Baby Reindeer (Limited Series)

Number of episodes: 7
Rating: TV-MA
Language: English
Genre: Biography, Drama
Cast: Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning, Danny Kirrane
Runtime: 32 mins

The big new Netflix Original series release of the week (sorry, Good Times) is the latest British comedy that, at face value, may not be for everyone, particularly given its rather sensitive subject. But despite that exterior, it’s a solid piece of media with a lot to say.

Per Netflix, here’s what you can expect from the 7-part limited series:

“When a struggling comedian shows one act of kindness to a vulnerable woman, it sparks a suffocating obsession which threatens to wreck both their lives.”

Strange Way of Life (2023)

Rating: R
Language: Spanish
Genre: Short, Drama, Western
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, Pedro Casablanc
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Runtime: 31 min
Awards: 2 nominations

Two actors at the height of their careers right now are undoubtedly Pedro Pascal (who got his big break arguably on Netflix via Narcos) and Ethan Hawke (most recently seen in the Netflix Original movie Leave the World Behind), who star in this half-hour short that comes to Netflix via the Sony Pictures first window deal.

Best known for movies like Talk to Her, All About My Mother, and Volver, this short sees two men reunite after 25 years apart and have a night of celebration. The next morning, new information comes to light.

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Full List of New Releases on Netflix This Week

As a reminder, you can find an expanded version of this list via our New on Netflix hub page, complete with trailers and more info about each title.

17 New Movies Added Today

• A Journey (2024) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Filipino – Refusing treatment for her cancer, a woman goes on a road trip across Tasmania to check off items on her bucket list with her husband and best friend.
• Amar Singh Chamkila (2023) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Hindi – A humble singer’s brash lyrics ignite fame and fury across Punjab as he grapples with soaring success and brutal criticism before his untimely death.
• Death Whisperer (2023) – TV-MA – Thai – When a bloodthirsty spirit possesses a young girl in a remote village, her older brother leads the charge to banish it before she’s consumed by evil.
• Disappear Completely (2022) – TV-MA – Spanish – After visiting a crime scene, a callous tabloid photographer falls prey to a mysterious affliction that begins depriving him of his five senses.
• GomBurZa (2023) – TV-MA – Tagalog – Embroiled in a bitter campaign against inequality, three priests suffer the fury of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. Based on historical events.
• Love, Divided (2022) Netflix Original – TV-14 – Spanish – Valentina is a young pianist starting over. Her neighbor David is an inventor who hates noise. And a paper-thin wall is about to become their matchmaker.
• Mar3y El Breemo (2023) – TV-14 – Arabic – A watermelon merchant must retrieve a fortune in diamonds that his wife unwittingly sold — unaware that he’d hidden them inside the juicy produce.
• Megan Leavey (2017) – PG-13 – English – Injured by an explosive device in Iraq, a Marine corporal fights to be reunited with the bomb-sniffing German shepherd who saved her life in combat.
• Neal Brennan: Crazy Good (2024) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English – Comedian Neal Brennan riffs in this stand-up special on crypto, social media flexes, sex compliments and the link between greatness and mental health.
• Smart Casuals (2024) – TV-MA – English – One couple just met. Another is attempting to marry –Â again. As one pair moves toward a life together, the other realizes love isn’t what they imagined.
• Stolen (2024) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Swedish – A young woman from Sweden’s Indigenous Sámi community tracks down a killer to settle a personal score in this emotional drama inspired by real events.
• Strange Way of Life (2023) – R – Spanish – To protect his son from a murder accusation, a cowboy has an intimate encounter with an ex-lover — now a sheriff — in hopes of influencing the lawman.
• The Act of Killing: Theatrical Cut (2012) – TV-MA – Indonesian – A 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature, this film follows two former Indonesian death squad leaders as they reenact war atrocities.
• The Bricklayer (2023) – R – English – To clear its name, the CIA must rely on an edgy ex-agent to root out a covert enemy who is framing it for the murders of several foreign reporters.
• The Look of Silence (2014) – PG-13 – Indonesian – In a society terrorized into silence, the brother of a 1960s Indonesian genocide victim learns the identity of his murderers and confronts them.
• What Jennifer Did (2024) Netflix Original – TV-14 – English – When Jennifer Pan calls 911 to report that her parents have been shot, she becomes the primary focus of a captivating criminal case.
• Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp (2023) Netflix Original – TV-PG – English – After getting kicked out of the forest, Woody thinks he’s found a forever home at Camp Woo Hoo — until an inspector threatens to shut down the camp.

11 New TV Series Added Today

• Anthracite (Limited Series) Netflix Original – TV-MA – French – An old case is wrenched open when a reporter goes missing, leading his web sleuth daughter to a small mountain town haunted by a sect, secrecy and death.
• As the Crow Flies (Season 3) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Turkish – A young fan maneuvers her way into a seasoned anchor’s newsroom but soon confronts the dark side of ambition, envy and the desire to be seen.
• Baby Reindeer (Limited Series) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English
• Destiny (Season 1 – New Episodes Weekly) – TV-14 – Japanese – When an estranged friend resurfaces after 12 years, a prosecutor starts connecting disjointed events to unveil the truth behind her father’s tragic death.
• Good Times (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English – In this edgy, irreverent reimagining of the TV classic, a new generation of the Evans family keeps their heads above water in a Chicago housing project.
• Heartbreak High (Season 2) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English – An incendiary mural exposes everyone’s secret hook-ups at Hartley High. Its author, Amerie, has to grapple with the messy fallouts as a total outcast.
• Meekah (Season 2) – TV-Y – English – Meekah and her best friend Blippi have exciting and educational adventures together as they explore the wonders of science and nature.
• Midsummer Night (Limited Series) Netflix Original – TV-14 – Norwegian – Carina brings her family together for a traditional Swedish midsummer, but the happy occasion goes awry when long-held secrets start to come to light.
• Spirit Rangers (Season 3) Netflix Original – TV-Y – English – Native American siblings Kodi, Summer and Eddy have a secret: They’re “Spirit Rangers” who help protect the national park they call home!
• The Hijacking of Flight 601 (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – Spanish – After a plane is hijacked, two flight attendants must outwit their assailants amid intense negotiations in the air and on the ground. Based on real events.
• Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (Season 1) Netflix Original – TV-MA – English – At an Arkansas detention facility, a sheriff implements a radical social experiment to grant men who are incarcerated more agency in this reality series.

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Most Popular Movies on Netflix This Week

Never bet against Denzel Washington. Since the crime thriller was added to Netflix on April 1st, it has consistently topped the charts and has only just shown signs of slowing down.

1. The Little Things (72 points)
2. Glass (65 points)
3. Baby Driver (39 points)
4. The Tearsmith (36 points)
5. Happy Gilmore (36 points)
6. Space Jam: A New Legacy (32 points)
7. Scoop (23 points)
8. Megan Leavey (23 points)
9. What Jennifer Did (20 points)
10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (18 points)
11. Skyscraper (18 points)
12. Hotel Transylvania (15 points)
13. Hotel Transylvania 2 (14 points)
14. Split (12 points)
15. The Bricklayer (9 points)
16. Mortal Engines (5 points)
17. The Accountant (2 points)
18. The Wages of Fear (1 point)

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Most Popular Series on Netflix This Week

Americans love a good mystery. We’ve seen Unsolved Mysteries perform well on the streamer, and that continues this week with Files of the Unexplained taking away the top spot from 3 Body Problem.

1. Files of the Unexplained (76 points)
2. 3 Body Problem (62 points)
3. Parasyte: The Grey (58 points)
4. Bad Dinosaurs (47 points)
5. Ripley (45 points)
6. The Gentlemen (29 points)
7. THE MAGIC PRANK SHOW with Justin Willman (28 points)
8. Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (20 points)
9. Testament: The Story of Moses (19 points)
10. Vikings (12 points)
11. Is It Cake? (12 points)
12. Crooks (4 points)
13. Sex and the City (3 points)
14. The Hijacking of Flight 601 (2 points)
15. Heartbreak High (1 point)

What are you watching on Netflix this weekend? Let us know in the comments down below.