With so many options available today, choosing the best streaming services can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re into blockbuster movies, reality TV, documentaries or just want access to news channels, there’s a platform tailored to your tastes and budget. From premium subscriptions like Disney Plus, Netflix and Max to free streaming options like Tubi or Pluto TV, there’s something for everyone.
If you’re looking to cut the cord completely, you might also want to explore live TV options that offer cable-like channels without the hassle. We’ve also put together a separate guide to the best live TV streaming services if you’re after a full channel lineup that includes sports, local stations and breaking news. In this buying guide, though, we’re focusing on the top on-demand streaming services worth subscribing to right now — whether you’re binging shows solo or setting up family-friendly entertainment for the weekend.
Best streaming services for 2025
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-streaming-services-154527042.html?src=rss
The premiere of Alien: Earth is just weeks away, and FX/Hulu dropped one last trailer to pique our interest, along with a much more detailed synopsis. It's meditative and existential in tone, with a haunting tune playing over footage of mysterious alien craft, dead bodies, blood-spattered humans fleeing through futuristic corridors, and, of course, a spooky silhouette of a xenomorph in the distance.
As previously reported, the eight-episode series is set in 2120, two years before the events of the first film, Alien (1979), in a world where corporate interests are competing to unlock the key to human longevity—maybe even immortality. Showrunner Noah Hawley has said that the style and mythology will be closer to that film than Prometheus (2012) or Alien: Covenant, both of which were also prequels.
Alien: Earth is set two years before the events of 1979's Alien.
It's been a long wait for diehard fans of Ridley Scott's Alien franchise, but we finally have a fittingly sinister official trailer for the spinoff prequel series, Alien: Earth, coming this summer to FX/Hulu.
As previously reported, the official premise is short and sweet: "When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat."
The series is set in 2120, two years before the events of the first film, Alien (1979), in a world where corporate interests are competing to be the first to unlock the key to human longevity—maybe even immortality. Showrunner Noah Hawley has said that the style and mythology will be closer to that film than Prometheus (2012) or Alien: Covenant, both of which were also prequels.
Disney Plus and Hulu are both launching new Perks programs that offer subscribers discounts, digital freebies, and sweepstakes in an effort to stand out from the streaming competition.
The Disney Plus Perks program is available now in the US, with an international rollout planned later this year. Offers include a six-month DashPass membership from DoorDash, discounted stays at Walt Disney World, and savings when you shop from Adidas or Funko, along with rotating contests. Hulu is launching its own loyalty scheme on June 2nd. Details on that are still to come, but it will include offers from companies including Microsoft, Pure Green, and LG, with new perks dropping weekly over the summer.
To take advantage of the perks you simply have to be a subscriber to either streaming service, and you’ll get access to both programs if you subscribe to one of the company’s Disney Plus and Hulu bundle plans.
Disney Plus first introduced Perks last year with a handful of contests and early access ticket offers, but the new program has been expanded substantially to what Disney calls an “always-on” array of bonuses.
Hulu's reality TV show about eight Mormon mom influencers debuted in September 2024 and quickly became the most-watched unscripted season premiere on the streamer that year.
The concept for the show had its roots on TikTok, where influencer Taylor Frankie Paul confessed in 2022 that she and her then-husband, Tate Paul, were divorcing after "soft swinging" within their friend group got messy.
After sitting out season one, Miranda is ready to clear the air in season two, now streaming on Hulu.
"Taylor's a very vocal person and everybody has heard her side of the scandal. But I'm finally here to tell mine," Miranda says in the season two premiere.
Here's everything to know about her.
Miranda McWhorter shares 2 kids with her ex-husband, Chase McWhorter
Miranda and Chase met after she graduated from high school. They married in 2017 and welcomed their first child, a son named Brooks Wesley McWhorter, two years later. Their second child, a daughter named Cohen Roo McWhorter, was born in 2021.
Miranda and Chase revealed in 2024 that they had divorced after seven years of marriage.
In August of that year, during an appearance on Josie Van Dyke's podcast, "Weekly Trash," Miranda said that her and Chase's reasons for splitting stemmed from issues that arose prior to the swinging scandal.
"That might have not helped for sure, but it definitely did not play a part in the decision-making process," she said.
Chase, for his part, told Us Weekly that they got married "a little prematurely" but continue to be cordial coparents.
Miranda and Chase initially denied their involvement in the 'soft swinging' scandal
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season two star Miranda McWhorter.
Pamela Littky/Disney
Chase eventually detailed his connection to the incident two years after the scandal, during his 2024 interview with Us Weekly.
Chase said that the parties where swinging took place began during COVID-19. He said that couples they were friends with would hang out, "get trashed on alcohol," and play games like spin the bottle.
Chase said that he and Miranda participated in some of the games, but "it was never predetermined that we were going to be doing, like, swinging."
"That's what we always thought was a little bit misrepresented in Taylor's story, as she presents it," he said.
Miranda and Taylor hash out what constitutes 'swinging' in season 2
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Miranda McWhorter during season two.
Natalie Cass/Disney
Miranda's unexpected appearance at an influencer event that the start of the season surprises Taylor and the other women because she left MomTok after the scandal exploded.
Now single and at a different point in her life, Miranda says she hopes to repair her friendships and perhaps rejoin MomTok. But her version of the scandal contradicts Taylor's claims, leading to confusion. Plus, some of the women suspect Miranda may want to rejoin the group to take advantage of the lucrative brand deals that come with MomTok fame.
"The height of what I was ever involved in was playing spin the bottle and kissing other people," Miranda tells them. "And so it was very jarring for me for Taylor to come out and say everyone was hooking up with everyone, because that was simply not the case at all."
"No one had sex ever, period." Miranda says, adding, "I will go to my grave."
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" stars Miranda, Whitney, Layla, and Mikayla during season two.
Natalie Cass/Disney
In episode two, Miranda says that she lied about not being part of the swinging controversy because she wasn't ready to own up to her actions.
In the following episode, Miranda and Taylor discuss the specifics of what actually occurred in a one-on-one conversation.
While Miranda insists that she only went as far as kissing other people, Taylor says in the confessional that it was more complicated than that.
According to Taylor, they participated in other things too, like the couples having sex in the same bed at the same time. Other times, she said they were blindfolded and tried to guess which husband they were kissing. Taylor also recalls a night when she and Miranda got so drunk that they made out while people filmed it.
In a confessional, Miranda says that a lot of embarrassing things happened, and she felt out of control and wronged when Taylor spoke out on TikTok.
"I wish that I would have come out with what really happened rather than denying everything," Miranda says. "That probably did make her feel worse and look worse, and that wasn't my intention. It was very much, 'I'm terrified and I have a reputation as a Mormon to uphold.' And I regret that."
Miranda seems to be on friendly terms with the MomTokers
Season two stars Layla Taylor, Miranda McWhorter, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Taylor Frankie Paul, Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, and Demi Engemann.
Stewart Cook/Disney
Nowadays, Miranda's social media presence includes sponsored content and videos about single life.
In the lead-up to the season two premiere, she's has been posting videos that include some of the MomTokers. Members of the group have also been commenting on her TikTok videos.
In April, MomToker and fellow cast member Layla Taylor joined Miranda and her friends at the country music festival Stagecoach. That month, Miranda also posted a TikTok featuring Taylor, Layla, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, and Jessi Ngatikaura.
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