This Week in Streaming (6/4)

Somewhere in Queens (Hulu): Ray Romano directs, co-wrote, and stars in this proudly regionalist domestic drama about a working-class Italian-American family in Queens trying not to put too much pressure on one of their own when the teen basketball star has the chance to become a first-generation college student. As the proud father, Romano proves himself much more than a sitcom star while Laurie Metcalf somehow turns in a performance as the family matriarch to rival her work in Lady Bird. Touching, nuanced, and fully realized, it’s the most left-field comeback of the past few years. 

Ren Faire (Max): The most prestigious of the big streamers almost makes up for that ethically dubious Nickelodeon reality TV show with this docu-series about the power struggles that plague the Texas Renaissance Festival when its legendary leader retires. While it could have gone sour thanks to exploiting its oddballs ala Tiger King, director Lance Oppenheim and producers Josh and Bennie Safdie (Uncut Gems) maintain a respectful empathy with the participants that makes it an engaging piece of Americana. 

Stopmotion (AMC+) Ella (Aisling Franciosi) spent most of her career living in the shadow of her famous stop-motion filmmaker mother who recently succumbed to illness. But when she tries to finish the project that will be her family legacy on her own terms, she descends into the madness she’s staved off since childhood in this singular melding of live action and animation that didn’t get its due during its brief theatrical run last winter.