Weekend Watch: This delightful Netflix mystery will fill you with joy.

This time of year can already be an overwhelming phase of life to find yourself in.

Christmas parties are starting to fill your calendar, your family is demanding you spend time with them, and you have a mountain of work deadlines to complete before you can even start to dream about what your summer holidays will look like.

While we can't help with the life admin and family drama (apologies) we can help you wade through the sea of new movie and TV releases and decide what's actually worth your time, what will keep you company on a Friday night, and which movie tickets are worth splurging on.

Here's every new release you should watch this weekend, as recommended by Mamamia's entertainment team.

What to watch this weekend, according to Mamamia's entertainment experts.

Wicked: For Good

Recommended by Laura Brodnik, Head Of Entertainment & Host Of The Spill

Image: Universal Pictures

Wicked: For Good is in cinemas now, and it's safe to say that the most anticipated new movie of the year lives up to expectations.

Wicked: For Good picks up not long after the events of 2025's Wicked (the beloved long-running musical was divided into two films in order to fully realise director John M Chu's vision of how the story should be told). This new film begins with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) being sheltered by rogue animals in the woods and fighting to make the Ozians aware of the Wizard's (Jeff Goldblum's) true nature. While Glinda (Ariana Grande) is acting as Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and the Wizard's public puppet, gliding around in a motorised bubble and surprising Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) with news of their engagement.

Wicked: For Good is a triumph of movie-making and storytelling, and much of its success falls on the shoulders of leading ladies Erivo and Grande. Every scene between them is infused with raw emotion and perfectly crafted performances that bring the complex beauty of Elphaba and Glinda's friendship to life.

Much has been said about the duo's tearful press appearances over the last year, but when you see the films, it's always been clear that they are just embodying the life-or-death level of emotion that diehard fans of Wicked have been bringing to this story for the last twenty years.Their performances show a true reverence for the characters and the relationship they are portraying on screen.

There will be a group of moviegoers who believe Wicked: For Good falls flat after the lighter and brighter events of Wicked, viewers who simply want a retread of the catchy Popular or the might of Defying Gravity.The truth is, For Good demands more from you as a viewer, but the pay-off is so much better.

The storytelling is more complex, the emotions are heightened, and you'll find the true heart of the story in the smaller moments between songs, rather than in the louder crescendos.Despite the extended storytelling opportunity that a double feature provided, there are still some important elements of this tale that feel rushed (like Fiyero's fate), but the most important relationship in the film is given the proper depth.And the result is heart-wrenching and completely satisfying.

Read Laura Brodnik's full review of Wicked: For Good here.

Listen to The Spill Watch Party for more behind-the-scenes details about Wicked For Good. Article continues after podcast.

Wicked: For Good is in cinemas now.

A Man On The Inside, Season 2

Recommended by Tina Burke, Pop Culture & Social Editor

Image: Netflix.

My favourite show where Ted Danson basically plays himself has returned. Hallelujah!

A Man On The Inside is back with a second season on Netflix this week, after becoming a surprise smash hit in 2024. 

The wholesome series follows Charles (Danson), a retired professor who gets a new lease on life when he's hired by a private investigator to go undercover in a San Francisco retirement home. 

Having cracked the case of the stolen jewels in the first season – along with discovering new joys in life and forging some truly beautiful friendships – Charles is back to solve more PI cases. This time, on a college campus.

While the first season was delightful (if predictable) and a little too saccharine (which I still loved, but can understand why others did not), this season deepens the storylines of our central characters and brings us on a delightfully low-stakes Whodunnit journey.

Above all, this show remains a whimsical and ridiculous watch. Which is just what I need at this time of year. 

A Man On The Inside, Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

For even more new TV and movie recommendations, listen to Weekend Watch on The Spill. Article continues below.

Champagne Problems

Recommended by Tara Watson, Senior Entertainment Writer.

Image: Netflix.

Okay, imagine a movie-length Christmas episode of Emily In Paris, but switch Lily Collins with Minka Kelly, and you've basically got Champagne Problems. 

Like Collins, Kelly plays an ambitious American executive with big dreams. This character is named Sydney (although the title Sydney in Paris is quite confusing!), and she travels to France to acquire a prestigious champagne brand before Christmas. 

On her first night in Paris, she meets charming local Henri (Tom Wozniczka) at a cute little bookstore and they have a magical night together. But wait! The next day, she discovers he is the heir to the very vineyard she is trying to buy. Fancy that! The cast also includes Xavier Samuel, Thibault de Montalembert, Flula Borg and Astrid Whettnall.

This movie is a typical Netflix Christmas movie: predictable, pleasing to the eye, wholesome, and a tad too saccharine sweet. But it's the perfect Friday night watch, especially if you want to dip your toes into some festive spirit without diving too deep into Christmas just yet.

Champagne Problems is now streaming on Netflix.

He Had It Coming

Image: Stan.

Stan's new eight-episode series, He Had It Coming, hits every single note perfectly.

This show is a razor-sharp, super bingeable whodunnit that feels both universal but also quintessentially Australian. Not to mention, it's eight episodes long, but every episode is only around 20 minutes which, in my opinion, is the perfect episode length for any show.

The series follows two unlikely college students, Elise (Lydia West) and Barbara (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who are definitely not friends but find themselves united by a mutual act of protest. As part of a drunken, activist art project, they vandalise the statue of their university's revered (and highly problematic) male founder. Classic university antics, right?

Wrong. They wake up not just to massive hangovers, but to a far more serious nightmare: the university's star athlete, a prominent — and very misogynistic — figure on campus, has been brutally murdered, and his body has been dramatically displayed right there, at the foot of their freshly defaced statue.

Read our full review here.

He Had It Coming is now streaming on Stan.

Feature Image: Paramount Pictures.