Here at Sneak Peak, we don’t just write about the shows, movies, and sports you can stream on Paramount+, we watch the shows, movies, and sports you can stream on Paramount+. We find that this M.O. not only makes our jobs easier, it makes our lives richer. Literally! We get paid to watch PAW Patrol! It is indeed a sweet gig. And with this privilege comes responsibility – a responsibility to give back, to tell you, our dear readers, about all the coof stuff we’re watching. In this way, we hope we’ll make your lives richer, too – albeit, not literally.
So, what is it we’re watching this January? Oh, what aren’t we watching? New movies. Classic sitcoms. True-crime tales. Ink-stained reality-competition drama. After reading our list, featuring recommendations from your humble Sneak Peak writers and editors, you’ll wonder how we have time to do anything besides watch Paramount+. We wonder that, too. But it’s a good problem to have. On with the picks!
Dexter®: Resurrection Season 1
The most common refrain I hear in response to my recommendation of this SHOWTIME® original series is, “But I’m not up on my Dexter®s …” Sure, technically, Dexter®: Resurrection is a continuation of the 2021 miniseries, Dexter®: New Blood, not to mention the OG Dexter®. But I promise: Even if you’ve never heard of Dexter Morgan, you will follow Dexter®: Resurrection just fine. And not only that, if you’re like me, you’ll love it. The show is about everyone’s favorite serial killer and his son, Harrison, who relocate to Manhattan, and quickly run afoul of the law. The strained relationship between father and son is played affectingly by Michael C. Hall and Jack Alcott. But what truly thrills is the cast of characters that makes up the secret murderers’ society Dexter finds himself at the center of. Let me count the stars who play these cats: Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, Krysten Ritter, David Dastmalchian, Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet. All these actors, together in one place, playing unhinged killers? Christmas has come early for me. – Joan Kubicek, Staff Writer
WATCH NOW: Dexter®: Resurrection (Premium plan only)
The Naked Gun
Legacy sequels to blockbuster comedies rarely work. So, surely, by that logic, The Naked Gun shouldn’t work. But logic doesn’t apply to the Naked Gun/Police Squad! franchise. (And, also, please don’t call us Shirley.) In this 2025 box-office hit, director Akiva Schaffer finds in Liam Neeson the perfect actor to follow in the gumshoe footsteps of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic Lt. Frank Drebin. As Drebin Jr., Neeson deploys a taciturn delivery honed from years of starring in the same kind of action vehicles he spoofs here. An unexpectedly hilarious Pamela Anderson, as Neeson’s romantic foil, is the cherry on this laugh-filled sundae. And a surreal mid-film interlude involving a snowman must be seen to be believed. – Joe McCabe, Staff Writer
WATCH NOW: The Naked Gun
Ink Master Season 17
I’m as much a sucker as the next gal for desert-island drama (Survivor), Houseguest hijinks (Big Brother), and global roving (The Amazing Race). But there’s something extra compelling about a reality-competition show in which a contestant’s weekly task – their ticket to the next round … or the exit door – is etched permanently on a stranger’s body. Yep, Ink Master finds tattooers paired with so-called human canvases for challenges meant to highlight different ink styles. Despite nitpicky canvases (i.e., humans), time constraints, and work surfaces that slope, sag, and wiggle (i.e., said humans’ skin), Ink Master competitors display artistry and skill that’s mind-blowing to behold. And the less-successful inkers? Well, their work might be even more entertaining … Season 17 recently dropped. I highly suggest you drop in. (And then go back, and watch all the other seasons, too!) – Joan Kubicek
WATCH NOW: Ink Master
I’m Dying Up Here
I’ve always believed that people become funny as a way to cope with darkness. I’m Dying Up Here helps prove my theory. The SHOWTIME® original series, with two seasons produced from 2017-2018, dives into the grit, ego, and heartbreak of stand-up comedy in the 1970s. It’s billed as a drama – not a comedy – for a reason: It shows how every laugh comes with a cost. You can feel the desperation and hope in every set, every smoky green room. And the cast is stacked. Melissa Leo absolutely owns every scene as the ruthless comedy-club owner who makes or breaks careers. – Gordon Holmes, Staff Writer
WATCH NOW: I’m Dying Up Here (Premium plan only)
Ghosts
Great characters, diverse cast, all the players get a chance to shine. Just a great comfort watch. – Scott Franciso, Senior Designer
[Editor’s note: New episodes of Ghosts air on CBS, and stream on Paramount+. All episodes – from all seasons – stream on Paramount+.]
WATCH NOW: Ghosts
Halo
Some friends recently discovered Halo, so we’re rewatching, and digging it even more the second time. Totally a sucker for any sci-fi world that looks this real and complete, this full of orbiting assault fleets and energy swords. Also, can’t get enough of how massive, lived-in, and cinematic everything feels. Pablo Schreiber in that Master Chief armor brings the intensity, but the Paramount+ original can also be subtle: Halo sneaks under your skin, and proves there’s heart under those helmets, as in the bond between Chief and his AI buddy, Cortana (Jen Taylor). If you’re new to the Halo universe, stick with it. Season 2 goes bigger, with maybe three jaw-dropping moments we won’t spoil here. – Glenn Gaslin, Editor
WATCH NOW: Halo
The Road Season 1
There are plenty of singing competitions out there. Good ones, too. What there aren’t are shows that give a platform to pros who have played countless shows, and even heard their work recorded by big-name artists, but haven’t yet hit the big time. The Road changes all that. The CBS Original show from executive producers Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Taylor Sheridan, and more, sees 12 on-the-cusp singer-songwriters compete for a record contract, a slot at the famed Stagecoach music festival, and a $250,000 prize. To get the brass ring, they have to win over audiences as part of the opening act for country superstar Urban. Musicians are eliminated at each tour stop until only one remains. With no amateurs on the roster, you get a neck-and-neck competition on your hands from the very beginning. – Joan Kubicek
[Editor’s note: All episodes of The Road Season 1 are now streaming on Paramount+.]
WATCH NOW: The Road
Kids & Family shows
Need some great content for your kiddos to watch? Paramount+ is the answer for me! My toddlers learn STEM from Blaze and the Monster Machines, Spanish from the great explorer DORA, and problem-solving from Blue’s Clues. And did I mention the team-building skills gleaned from my son’s favorite show, PAW Patrol? And Paramount+ has so much PAW Patrol! In addition to the flagship Nickelodeon series, there’s PAW Patrol: The Movie, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, the spinoff series Rubble & Crew, and … Oh, just check out the PAWsome Collection for all the PAW Patrol shows and movies you can stream now. Whew! Seriously, Paramount+ has the entertainment you need for a pint-sized viewer. — Stephanie Hartsell, Staff Writer
BROWSE NOW: Kids & Family shows
“Nothing in the Dark,” The Twilight Zone
Look. you can – and probably should – watch all episodes of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. After, you’ll be ready to swear off space travel, airplane travel, and baby dolls, but you’ll also be satisfied, having experienced one of TV’s finest works in full. But I’m not here to talk up a Twilight Zone binge-watch; I’m here to issue a targeted shout-out on behalf of “Nothing in the Dark.” Robert Redford’s passing last year prompted me to rewatch this poignant gem from 1962, a (mostly) two-character tale about an elderly woman (Gladys Cooper) who’s wary of death knocking on her door. But when the young Redford comes a-calling, there’s no resisting his mysterious character’s golden charm. – Joal Ryan
WATCH NOW: The Twilight Zone, Season 3, Episode 16, “Nothing in the Dark”
Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders
Tragic. Awful. Eye-opening. I thought I knew the story of the maliciously poisoned Tylenol capsules that killed a string of people in 1982, but this five-part, Paramount+ original docuseries showed me I didn’t know much at all. Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders excels at outlining the unsolved case, and, most effectively, in telling the stories of its victims, and of the generational trauma left in their wake. – Joal Ryan
WATCH NOW: Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders
Cheers
I love Frasier, but never bothered to watch more than a smattering of Cheers. Then I got an assignment to write about the Season 5 classic, “Thanksgiving Orphans,” and giggle-snorting through it, I realized I’d made a massive error, and needed to remedy it immediately. The landmark comedy about the employees and customers of a Boston bar has the kind of writing that makes you guffaw first, and then lean back and admire just how skillfully the lines are crafted. Oh, and then there’s that cast – actors who know just how to take the aforementioned dialogue, and volley it back and forth like they’re the Williams sisters of 1980s sitcoms. During the show’s run, nearly every member of the ensemble was nominated for, or won an Emmy® (or multiple Emmy®s), and though I’ve reached only the third season (Dr. Frasier Crane’s debut!), I can see why. Better late than never. – Joan Kubicek
WATCH NOW: Cheers
The Curse
I’ve been a huge fan of Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone for a while now, so when I found out Fielder was co-creating his first scripted series with Benny Safdie for SHOWTIME®, I was immediately on board. I feel like I can’t say too much about The Curse without spoiling, or giving too much of the plot away, so I’ll just say the show is the perfect balance of funny, absurd, awkward, and weird. So, yeah, it’s pretty much everything you’d expect from Fielder, and it’s a must-watch if his style of comedy is your jam. In the end, The Curse is a fun and unexpected show that is bound to get you talking long after it’s finished. (And at 10 episodes, it makes for a perfect, perfectly absurd weekend binge-watch.) — Saleah Blancaflor, Staff Writer
WATCH NOW: The Curse (Premium plan only)
