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[Editor’s note: This list was originally published in August 2021, and has since been updated multiple times.]

There’s no shortage of movies to stream on Netflix. Any subscriber that logs onto the platform these days will likely see a bunch of new releases, gruesome horror films, and sweet rom-coms. But with so many big, flashy studio films and Netflix originals to choose from, it can be difficult for the indie films that flood the streamer to stand out.

For sure, a place in Netflix’s library can be a great opportunity for independent cinema to find an audience it otherwise wouldn’t reach in theaters or on television. But for all the big starry auteur films that Netflix picks up and turns into major awards contenders (see “Marriage Story” or “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”), there’s an under-the-radar, overlooked pick that doesn’t have the names or prestige attached to it, and feels destined to serve as mere library filler as people look for the films they do know.

Invention Studios has launched two film and television development programs in Australia and Kenya dedicated to supporting top local writers and creators and bringing their projects to the world market.

Repped by CAA, Invention Studios was founded by CEO Nicholas Weinstock, the well-established producer of hit series such as “Severance” and “Escape at Dannemora.”

“We are thrilled to be expanding our international work to find the greatest emerging creators capable of developing wildly original and world-class movies and shows,” said Weinstock. “The talent, smarts, and ambition of writers and directors in fast-rising markets like Australia and Kenya are obvious. We’re proud and excited to be building innovative launchpads to help those creators generate game-changing films and series that can take the world by surprise — and by storm.”

In Australia, Invention is launching a comedy incubator program devoted to furthering the Australian comedy tradition of classics like “Kath & Kim,...

Ayden Mayeri has joined the cast of an upcoming Peacock comedy series led by Steph Curry and Adam Pally.

Per the official logline, the currently untitled series follows Danny (Pally), “a down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer who looks for redemption by reuniting with his sixth-grade teammate, NBA legend Steph Curry.”

Mayeri will play Samantha, Danny’s ex-wife.

Mayeri is best known for playing Beth Ann in the 2022 Showtime comedy series “I Love That For You.” She also starred in Season 1 of “The Afterparty” on Apple TV+ as Jennifer No. 2, with other TV credits including “Into the Dark” on Hulu, “Veep” on HBO, “New Girl” on Fox, “Grace and Frankie” on Netflix and “Homecoming” on Amazon.

In film, Mayeri has appeared opposite Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza in “Spin Me Round” (2022), Greg Mottola’s “Confess, Fletch” (2022), Dave Franco’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2023), Netflix’s “Alex Strangelove” (2018), Lionsgate’s “Wander Darkly...

Exclusive: Daniel Zolghadri (Y2K), Shane Paul McGhie (Poker Face), Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World) and Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus) are attached to star in Last Days of Basic Cable, a new film from renowned, rising director Max Winkler (Flower).

Written by Adam Wilson and Justin Taylor, the indie set toward the end of the 1990s watches as four twenty-somethings navigate romance and life in a small New England college town. Zolghadri will play aspiring writer Aaron, with McGhie as his roommate Jason, Barden as Jason’s girlfriend Jessica, and Imperioli as Bob, a drugged out taxi driver who befriends Aaron.

Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger will produce the film via their Bona Fide Productions banner. No word yet on when production might kick off.

Best known for his starring role in the A24 coming-of-age film Funny Pages, produced by Josh and Benny Safdie,...

The “After” movie series is an American romantic teen drama based on Anna Todd’s authored After novels. The series has captivated viewers worldwide and has become a global phenomenon.

In this series, Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin team up to tell the story of an inexperienced young woman who embarks on a passionate romance with a mysterious student in her first semester at college. The series was popular among viewers for its gripping story and romantic tension.

If you enjoyed “After,” you might want to check out these romance movies with a similar tone and focus.

Great Movies Like “After” for Young People “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018) “Love, Simon” (2018) “The Kissing Booth” (2018) “Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011) “The Notebook” (2004) “Endless Love” (2014) “Blue Lagoon: The Awakening” (2012) “Alex Strangelove” (2018) “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018)

Susan Johnson helms this delightful 2018 American teen romantic comedy, with Sofia Alvarez providing the clever script.

“Queer as Folk” and “Big Sky” star Jesse James Keitel is boarding “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” for a guest star role as a nonbinary character.

Keitel, who is a trans woman, will appear on the June 16 episode of the show’s first season, currently streaming on Paramount+. Keitel will play Dr. Aspen, who once worked as a Starfleet counselor, but whose experiences on the Federation border prompted them to shift careers and work as a humanitarian aid worker. During the episode, which was directed by trans filmmaker Sydney Freeland (“Reservation Dogs”), Dr. Aspen will develop a surprising connection with Spock (Ethan Peck).

Casting Keitel as Dr. Aspen continues recent efforts to expand LGBTQ representation on “Star Trek.” When “Star Trek: Discovery” launched in 2017, the series included the franchise’s first same-sex couple in Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz). In 2020, “Discovery” introduced Blu Del Barrio...

Ben Stiller’s former production partner Nicholas Weinstock has struck a first-look deal with Fremantle.

Weinstock’s Invention Studios, which he founded at the back end of 2021, will develop and produce TV, new media and podcasts under terms of the agreement.

Lorenzo De Maio, whose De Maio Entertainment counts Fremantle as a backer, will be a strategic advisor and partner across the Invention slate.

Fremantle will also support Weinstock’s other venture, Craft Services, an online network and support system for emerging writers and directors.

Weinstock was the creative head of Stiller’s Red Hour Films, developing and exec producing Showtime’s limited series Escape at Dannemora among other projects.

He is also producer of Hulu movie Plus One, Netflix films Alex Strangelove and The Package and Paramount+’s Queenpins and developed and executive produced Apple TV+’s series Severance and EPed its upcoming High Desert, starring Patricia Arquette.

“Nicky...

Emmy- and DGA award-winning actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller has signed with UTA for representation in all areas. Stiller was represented by the agency earlier in his career and returns from WME.

The multi-hyphenate entertainer has earned nearly $3 billion at the box office thanks to major feature franchises such as “Meet the Parents” and “Night at the Museum,” the animated “Madagascar” films, plus hit comedies like “Zoolander,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Tropic Thunder,” which he starred in, directed, co-wrote, and produced under his production company, Red Hour. Stiller has also starred in critically acclaimed arthouse hits such as “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Flirting With Disaster,” Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg,” “While We’re Young” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”

UTA will also rep Stiller’s Red Hour production banner, which he launched in 1998. The company has produced a wide range of film and television projects with major studios and networks including Netflix, Disney,...

Exclusive: Keenan Tracey (Bates Motel), Daniel Doheny (Alex Strangelove), Natalie Malaika (Fractured), newcomer Morgan Holmstrom and Kristy Dinsmore (Vikings) are set as series regulars in Syfy’s Day of the Dead, based on George A. Romero’s classic zombie film, from Abbott Street Films and Cartel Entertainment (Creepshow). Additionally, horror filmmaker Steven Kostanski is set to direct the first four episodes and executive produce. Production is currently underway on the 10-episode series in Vancouver.

Written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who also will showrun, Day of the Dead is the intense story of six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion. This ode to Romero’s famous flesh-eaters reminds us that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.

2020 Syfy Pilots & Series Orders

Tracey will play Cam McDermott, a high school senior and son...

When Alice Wu’s first film, the instant queer classic “Saving Face,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004, no one was more surprised than her. The product of five years’ work, Wu loosely based the film on her own experiences coming out as a lesbian to her traditional Chinese family. Fourteen years before Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Wu’s film was also populated almost exclusively by Chinese actors (many of whom spoke Mandarin in the film) and was deeply rooted in the immigrant experience.

“Who the hell thought that movie would get made?,” Wu said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “I thought, ‘I’ll just have to go back and get a job doing something else.'”

What unfolded instead was something far more unexpected. Wu didn’t have to give up her big-screen dreams — an all-too-common story for female directors and filmmakers of color — but...

Facebook Watch is rounding out its series regular cast for Queen America, its upcoming dark comedy series starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. Belle Shouse, Teagle F. Bougere, Rana Roy, Isabella Amara, Molly Price and Megan West are set opposite Zeta-Jones in the series, created, written, and executive produced by Meaghan Oppenheimer (Fear The Walking Dead).

Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Queen America revolves around Vicki Ellis (Zeta-Jones), the most renowned (and ruthless) pageant coach in the state, and the beautiful and kind, but clumsy, ignorant and insecure Samantha (Shouse) who hopes Vicki can mold her into a worthwhile contender. Vicki is desperately sought after by young women competing...

Lgbtq Pride Month was started to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots that launched the gay rights movement. To help celebrate the ever-increasing number of films and TV shows centered around Lgbtq themes, here are some of the best titles streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO.

Netflix

Queer as Folk

L. Pief Weyman/Showtime/Kobal/Rex

Adapted from the British series of the same name, “Queer as Folk” was the first hourlong drama in the U.S. to portray the lives of Lgbtq men and women at the forefront of the story.

The Fosters

Blazing Elm/Nitelite

After portraying Emmett on “Queer as Folk,” Peter Paige went on to create “The Fosters” for ABC Family/Freeform, which was notable for relaying a loving family drama with an interracial, lesbian couple as the matriarchs of the clan.

The L Word

Carole Segal/Showtime/Kobal/Rex

Showtime’s trailblazing series “The L Word...

Netflix has released the trailer for the upcoming original film Alex Strangelove. Written and directed by Craig Johnson, the filmmaker responsible for the fantastic Bill Hader/Kristen Wiig drama The Skeleton Twins, this film takes a sweet and honest look at life as a teenager who goes on a surprising journey of sexual exploration. Daniel Doheny plays the lead character, Alex Truelove, a well-rounded high school senior with a swell girlfriend (Madeline Weinstein) who is keen on finally having sex with Alex. But when Alex meets Elliott (Antonio Marziale), a charming gay kid from across town, he starts to …...

If you found yourself wishing “Love, Simon” had a little less love and a lot more sex, “Alex, Strangelove” might be more up your alley. The latest from Craig Johnson, the writer/director of “The Skeleton Twins” and “Wilson,” “Alex Strangelove” is a raunchy teen comedy in the vein of “Superbad,” with a coming-of-age story as sweet as the one in “Love, Simon.” Although the first trailer only teases a fraction of the gross-out humor and sex talk in the actual movie, it should be spicy enough to whet your appetite.

Starring a peppy cast of relative unknowns, the story follows high-schooler Alex (Daniel Doheny) on a classic teen comedy quest: How to lose his virginity. The problem is Alex seems totally uninterested in having sex with his girlfriend, Claire (Madeline Weinstein). When he meets curly-haired Elliott (Antonio Marziale) at a party, he thinks he might be bisexual. But his...

When “Love, Simon” hit theaters earlier this year, it was celebrated as a moving but flawed studio movie about a gay teenager. For the first time ever, Lgbtq teens across the country could go to a movie theater, stuff popcorn in their faces, and witness a version of their lives on screen. Of course, we all know that teenagers are more likely to use Netflix than buy a movie ticket these days. That’s why “Alex Strangelove,” a delightfully strange little film about a teenage boy figuring out he’s gay, is so darn refreshing.

As the debate about whether Netflix is ruining movies lingers on, “Alex Strangelove” provides a pleasant reminder of the streaming behemoth’s powers for good. In some ways, the pros and cons of Netflix versus theatrical are illustrated by the differences between “Love, Simon” and “Alex Strangelove.” Whereas “Love, Simon” has dreamy Nick Robinson in...