July 16, 2026

Will Ferrell's first TV comedy The Hawk leads today's five-title Thursday, and the early reviews are rough

Five titles landed on Netflix US this Thursday: Will Ferrell's first scripted TV comedy series, an Indonesian teen drama, a Philippine MMFF rom-com, a TV-movie thriller, and a Japanese mystery drama. The eight-film Saw franchise leaves this weekend.

The pick of the day: The Hawk

The Hawk arrives on Netflix today carrying more baggage than most comedies. Will Ferrell stars as Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, the world's number-one golfer in 2004, now chasing one final major to complete golf's Grand Slam despite a failing body and a family that wants him to retire. It is Ferrell's first time leading a scripted TV comedy, created with Harper Steele and Chris Henchy, with David Gordon Green (Eastbound & Down) directing the first two episodes.

• The cast is deep with SNL veterans and comedy pros: Molly Shannon as Lonnie's estranged ex-wife Stacy, Jimmy Tatro as his rising-star son and on-course rival Lance, Fortune Feimster as a new caddie who knows nothing about golf, Chris Parnell as a PGA board member who despises him, and Luke Wilson as a slick rival pro named Golden Fisk. All 10 episodes drop at once, each about 30 minutes, rated TV-MA.
• The show was first pitched in 2023 as a thinly veiled satire of the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour, with comedian Ramy Youssef co-creating. Youssef exited in 2025 over what were called creative differences, and the final version barely engages with LIV, settling into a father-son golf rivalry instead. Variety's Alison Herman calls it a "major disappointment" that lacks both the bite of satire and narrative momentum, unfavorably comparing it to Apple TV+'s Owen Wilson golf series Stick. GolfPass says it "falls well short" of delivering another Kenny Powers. ScreenRant calls it "a weak addition to the genre." Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have no consensus score yet, but the first three published reviews are all negative.
• For Ferrell completists only, on this evidence. The premise evokes Talladega Nights, but the execution does not. The cast is the draw, especially Luke Wilson's scene-stealing rival, if you can get past a lead character that two of three critics found more obnoxious than charming.

Also arriving today

Me Before Me (Netflix Original, Indonesian) is a two-hour-seven-minute teen drama about a high-achieving student whose crippling panic attacks force a reckoning with his demanding father, triggered by a school project on family history. Original title Aku Sebelum Aku. No critic reviews yet. For anyone who has exhausted Netflix's Korean and Japanese drama shelves and wants something from a less-served film market.

Love You So Bad (2025, Philippine) is a romance from last December's Metro Manila Film Festival, directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar and starring Will Ashley, Bianca de Vera, and Dustin Yu. A confident college senior torn between a bad boy and an ambitious rival, loosely inspired by the 1998 Filipino hit Dahil Mahal Na Mahal Kita. It earned ₱22 million at the Philippine box office. No RT critic score. (Some trackers mislabel this one as Thai; it is Philippine, a co-production of Star Cinema, GMA Pictures, and Regal Entertainment.)

The Body in the Locker (2025) is a TV-movie thriller from director Sean Cisterna, starring Kirsten Comerford as a charity CEO who discovers a woman's body hidden in her late father's storage locker and realizes the killer may still be after her. Originally released as a TV movie in November 2025, rated 5.8 on IMDb. A catalog add in the TV-thriller mold, the kind of title that fills out a release day but rarely earns a recommendation. Listed on Netflix Tudum's July calendar.

Until the T-Shirt Dries (Season 1, Japanese) is a TBS drama starring Aoi Yu as a 40-year-old editor whose comfortable marriage unravels after a summer accident exposes her husband's hidden secrets. Ten episodes total, with Netflix posting new episodes weekly starting today (it premiered on TBS in Japan on July 10). From writer Ubukata Miku, it blends romance, mystery, and infidelity into a tidy J-drama package. Aoi Yu is a major draw for Japanese-cinema fans.

New episodes of ongoing shows

Love Is Blind: Argentina Season 2 wraps up today with its finale batch (the weddings at the altar) plus a reunion special, hosted by Wanda Nara and Darío Barassi. If you have been following the Argentine pods, this is the payoff drop. Lock Upp (Indian reality) also posts a new episode today.

Leaving soon

The eight-film Saw franchise (Saw I through VI, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, and Jigsaw) departs Netflix this weekend, with Netflix Tudum listing the departure as July 19. Your last full day to binge is Saturday, July 18. This has been tracked for a week and the window is closing fast. Land of Bad (2024, Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe) leaves tomorrow, July 17. The Cursed (2021, horror) leaves July 18.