Streaming Video Power Rankings #153

1) Netflix: A motley assortment of originals gets the headlines this week--Idris Elba is a DJ in a sitcom, a Ben Affleck heist movie, new seasons of Queer Eye and Arrested Development. Hey, remember when Arrested Development was a thing? Personally I stuck to a few scattered episodes of originals and my comfort food of classic sitcoms. My kids suddenly turning to Fuller House yet again makes me wish Netflix would use the Lori Loughlin scandal as a way to just pull the entire series.

2) Hulu: It premiered Shrill this week, added the Oscar-winning doc Free Solo, and announced a bundle deal  in conjunction with Spotify. Its live-TV service is bound to get a lot of new subscribers, too, given AT&T's apparent desire to drive everyone away from its DirectTV Now.

3) DC Universe: I always support FREE here, and DC gets credit for making first episodes of its original productions available without membership. I've been exploring some of the weirder corners of the DC world, like Wonder Woman going undercover as a singer and Superboy tangling with Gilbert Gottfried.

4) Amazon Prime: Debuts the final season of Catastrophe this weekend. I think I've added about two dozen Discovering... documentaries about movie stars in recent weeks; maybe I should start watching them. Perhaps the oddest thing added this week--and that says a lot given how much junk shows up on here--is an episode of a 1966 San Fran children's show hosted by...Anton LaVey!

5) PIX11: After months of adding nothing of interest (meaning archival footage) to its Roku channel, PIX unveiled the first two installments of its Only in New York digital series--mini documentaries about true crime subjects of interests to New Yorkers. The Goetz subway shooting was first up. This is cool free stuff. In a nice little touch, in the wake of the announcement that Tom Seaver was retiring from public life for health reasons, PIX also added a vintage clip of Tom Seaver in the Yankees broadcast booth.

6) CBS All Access: It's giving away codes for a free month again, but it also showed some momentum this week with Star Trek: Discovery ending and The Good Fight beginning.

7) HBO: It's now included in the main DirectTV Now packages, which would be good if it weren't part of a massive price hike. I watched The Darkest Hour this week, which isn't an outstanding movie but which has that compelling Gary Oldman performance as Winnie Churchill.

8) Acorn TV: Its new series Manhunt with Martin Clunes looks like a worthwhile endeavor.

9) YouTube: Does anyone else think that we'd be talking a lot more about the stupid aspects of YT if not for Facebook and Twitter?

10) Tubi TV: I'm gonna be eager for those old Universal shows, but Tubi just added the short-lived but intriguing Showtime series Roadies. That's good for people like me who don't have Showtime, but it certainly makes Showtime look small time.