‘Tires,’ ‘Atlas,’ ‘Reading Rainbow’: What to watch on Netflix this weekend

The long weekend is here, and we’re going to make it even better with a fresh list of new (and newish) titles to watch on Netflix.

Shane Gillis greases his funny bone, Jennifer Lopez gets serious with artificial intelligence and LeVar Burton leans hard on our nostalgia buttons — and those are just a few reasons you’ll want to stay home and on your couch through Memorial Day. Pop some corn and have fun bingeing!

‘Tires’

A workplace sitcom that won’t feel like work, “Tires” follows the employees of an auto shop, as the heir of the business tries to revamp the customer service and spike profits, while keeping his problematic cousin in line.

The series comes from co-creator Shane Gillis, who also stars as the wreaker of havoc. Named the 2019 Stand-Up Comedian of the Year by The Interrobang, Gillis released his first live comedy special in 2021 on YouTube and his second in 2023 on Netflix. But “Tires” comes from a pilot he created in 2019 for his YouTube channel.

If the comedian’s name sounds oddly familiar, it might be because Gillis made headlines in 2019 when he was announced as a featured cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” then yanked from the lineup four days later after previous clips from his “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” proved problematic. (Gillis came back strong, however, and hosted “SNL” nearly five years after the incident.)

Stream it here

‘Atlas’

Here’s the big question: Did Jennifer Lopez’s revealing, self-financed documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” which premiered in February on Prime Video, sink the viewership of her next big-budget film … or did it just make us even more excited to see her in action again?

Time to find out, as J.Lo suits up for an intergalactic adventure set in the future. She portrays Atlas Shepherd, a “brilliant but misanthropic data analyst” (per Netflix) who wants nothing to do with artificial intelligence but finds she’s forced to trust it to save humanity.

Bonus: The cast includes solid backup in Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown and Mark Strong.

Stream it here

‘Jurassic World: Chaos Theory’

Fans of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” brace yourselves: Darius Bowman is back! “Camp Cretaceous,” which introduces young Darius, a camper who gets the dinosaur adventure of a lifetime, enjoyed five seasons, bowing in 2022.

Luckily, the dino fanatic is back with another animated series featuring even more things that can go wrong when extinct species are resurrected. In “Chaos Theory,” Darius and his camp buddies are all grown up, and they band together to unravel a conspiracy threatening both dinosaurs and their own lives.

Stream it here

‘Butterfly in the Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow’

Could there be a more heartwarming documentary? Back in 1983, before he was Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and several years after his breakout role on “Roots,” LeVar Burton hosted a groundbreaking show on PBS called “Reading Rainbow.” It ran for 26 seasons and 155 episodes before ending in 2006. (Today, Burton continues to support storytelling with his podcast, “LeVar Burton Reads.”)

In this documentary, which premiered in theaters in March, we go back to the roarin’, readin’ 1980s to discover how “Reading Rainbow” came to be — and what its long-term impact has been.

Stream it here

‘Burnt’

A 2015 drama directed by “ER” vet John Wells, “Burnt” stars Bradley Cooper as chef Adam Jones, who after self-sabotaging his career at a high-class Parisian restaurant, finds his way back into the kitchen.

It’s always a treat to see a talent who thinks a bit too much of himself eat some humble pie, then build himself up again. And Chef Adam’s journey, though not an easy one, is a delicious ride. Plus, it pairs well with “Somebody Feed Phil,” should you want seconds.

Stream it here

‘Shrek’

Who can forget the first time they fell for an ogre? He’s green, he’s mean and he just wants to be left alone. But this swamp-dwelling misanthrope gets anything but when a talkative donkey becomes his unshakeable BFF. Together, they set out to save a kidnapped princess from a fire-breathing dragon, winning over the hearts of viewers along the way.

A delightful animated film from 2001, “Shrek” pays homage to the fairy tales that came before it, while injecting clever wit and humor adults will appreciate. When the credits roll, queue up “Shrek Forever After,” the fourth and final film in the franchise.

Stream it here

This article was originally published on TODAY.com