As the holiday season creeps closer and studios roll out their final big swings of the year, the streaming world is delivering a little bit of everything this week, but it is a quieter week than most. We get a returning feel-good mystery led by one of TV’s most beloved icons, a surprisingly rich animated series keeping the Jurassic legacy alive, and a globe-trotting family action-comedy anchored by Mark Wahlberg. Whether you want comfort, chaos, or a quick hit of blockbuster energy, this week’s lineup has you covered.
A Man on the Inside
Ted Danson is back in private detective mode with Season 2 of A Man on the Inside, the warm, wisecracking comedy from The Good Place creator Mike Schur. Danson plays Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired professor whose late-in-life side hustle as an undercover investigator keeps pulling him deeper into other people’s secrets. This season sends Charles to a college campus, posing as a visiting professor to help the college’s president recover a stolen, ultra-valuable laptop. Naturally, what starts as a simple whodunit turns into a tangle of suspects, alumni money, and long-buried regrets. Along the way, Charles wrestles with grief, wonders if he’s ready to fall in love again, and maybe–just maybe–falls for someone who might be on the wrong side of the law. Danson’s love interest is played by his real-life wife, the ever-elegant Mary Steenburgen. If you miss the mix of heart, philosophy, and punchline-heavy dialogue that made The Good Place sing, this is an easy binge to add to your queue, and if you haven’t checked out season one, this is a good time to catch up.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
The dinosaurs aren’t done with us yet. Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is an animated spin-off set in the same universe as Jurassic World, following the now-older “Nublar Six” from Camp Cretaceous. Years after surviving Isla Nublar, the crew reunites and discovers that loose dinos are only part of a bigger problem: a globe-spanning conspiracy that weaponizes prehistoric life and puts humanity on the line. The series blends Saturday-morning adventure with surprisingly grown-up themes—trauma, friendship, guilt, and the cost of always being the only kids who can save the day. If you checked out after the movies but still love the idea of dino chaos with some emotional weight, this is the show for you.
The Family Plan 2
Mark Wahlberg returns as Dan Morgan, the ex-assassin trying to be just a normal suburban dad, in The Family Plan 2 on Apple TV. The first film took the family on a minivan road trip to Vegas; this sequel trades strip malls for cobblestone streets as Dan drags the clan to London on what’s supposed to be a wholesome holiday visit with his college-age daughter. Of course, his past life picks this exact trip to catch up with him. Kit Harington joins the fun as a charming but lethal new threat, while Michelle Monaghan is back as the wife who’s very tired of finding out about her husband’s old secrets in the worst possible way. Expect European sightseeing, chaotic set pieces, and at some over-the-top action sequences. It’s an action-comedy built for a Friday-night couch watch.