To quote the great Norfolk philosopher Alan Partridge, \u201cIt\u2019s hotter than the sun!\u201d Partly because of the ongoing climate crisis and the 30\u00b0C+ heatwave we\u2019ve been melting through all week. (Seriously, how many more Mini Milks must we consume to ensure our survival?) But also partly because this week\u2019s Empire Recommends<\/em> picks are seriously hot \u2014 in some cases quite literally.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In case you didn\u2019t know, Empire Recommends<\/em> is a new regular feature that sees our friendly neighbourhood film experts here at Empire HQ \u2014 namely Deputy Online Editor Ben Travis, Social Media Editor Harry Stainer, and Online Writer Jordan King \u2014 come together to deliver three handpicked, personal streaming favourites that we just have not been able to stop banging on about in the office. And to keep you entertained while you contemplate just hitting buy on a full-on aircon unit this weekend, we\u2019ve got a smokin\u2019 new sports romance series, a scorching three-hour sci-fi epic, and one of the hottest coming-of-age comedies of the last decade.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n And so, without further ado, here\u2019s what Empire Recommends this week\u2026<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Showrunner\/Creator:<\/strong> Louisa Levy | Genre:<\/strong> Romantic Drama | Streaming on:<\/strong> Prime Video<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Starring:<\/strong> Ella Bright, Belmont Cameli, Mika Abdalla, Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n You wait all your life for a sexy hockey romance series to come along and suddenly BAM!<\/em>, two arrive all at once. Who\u2019d have thunk? But while Heated Rivalry<\/em> was the groundbreaking first in the burgeoning \u2018horny hockey\u2019 microgenre, Prime Video\u2019s Off Campus<\/em> \u2014 based on Elle Kennedy\u2019s bestselling books \u2014 is, for my money, the best. Yeah, I said it. Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli are both incredibly good and<\/em> incredibly hot as the hockey-hating academic and the uni team\u2019s star centre who agree to embark on a mutually beneficial faux-mance (he\u2019s flunking philosophy; she wants to make her crush jealous), only to find themselves faking it a little too well. Come for the sex, yearning, and banging needledrops. Stay for a sensitively written, tonally well-balanced drama that dares to let its jocks have a heart, its women express their desires, and everyone to get their rocks off in a sex-positive, ultimately super wholesome way. What are you waiting for? Pucker up and stick it on! JK<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Director:<\/strong> James Cameron | Genre:<\/strong> Sci-Fi Fantasy | Streaming on:<\/strong> Disney+<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Starring:<\/strong> Oona Chaplin, Sam Worthington, Zoe Salda\u00f1a, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, David Thewlis<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Fire and ash\u2019 doesn\u2019t just describe the weather in the UK heatwave right now \u2013 it\u2019s also the name of the third Avatar<\/em> movie, which has just hit Disney+ after its mega box office haul. It\u2019s another undeniably epic outing from James Cameron in his thrillingly-realised sci-fi sandbox \u2013 and while there are a few repetitive beats from The Way Of Water<\/em>, it boasts outstanding action sequences and a killer new villain in Na\u2019vi baddie Varang. Whether or not you saw it on the big screen, it\u2019s worth a return visit to Pandora \u2013 especially now you can pause it for a wee break. BT<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Director:<\/strong> Olivia Wilde | Genre:<\/strong> Coming-of-Age Comedy | Streaming on:<\/strong> Netflix<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Starring:<\/strong> Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Skyler Gisondo, Billie Lourd, Molly Gordon, Mason Gooding<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Over the years I’ve seen Booksmart<\/em> 10, possibly even 11 times, and I think I’m finally ready to accept that this is a five-star film. Astonishingly directed for a first feature, with a soundtrack that’s perfect, from Anderson .Paak to Perfume Genius. Few films capture being young, awkward, and staring down your future this well, and even fewer capture what it’s like to wholeheartedly love your friends this much. (P.S. More films about loving your pals, please.) I implore you to seek it out, sit down with a pal, and watch Olivia Wilde’s wonderful directorial debut. Your heart will be fuller for it. HS<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Boshed our three picks for this weekend already? Do you find yourself craving even more streaming delights? Fear not: we\u2019ve got you covered. Check out our guides to The Best Netflix Movies, Shows, and Documentaries; The Best Movies And TV Shows On Disney+; and The Apple TV Shows You Must See. And if you’re a real screen fiend, then our lists of The 100 Best Movies and 100 Best TV Shows Of All Time will keep you going for a long, long time to come.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Want to make sure you never miss out on the latest movie and TV news, reviews, and Empire exclusives again?<\/em><\/strong> Click here to add Empire as your go-to source on Google Feed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To quote the great Norfolk philosopher Alan Partridge, \u201cIt\u2019s hotter than the sun!\u201d Partly because of the ongoing climate crisis and the 30\u00b0C+ heatwave we\u2019ve been melting through all week. (Seriously, how many more Mini Milks must we consume to ensure our survival?) But also partly because this week\u2019s Empire Recommends picks are seriously hot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-47"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11065,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11063\/revisions\/11065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Off Campus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Off](\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-must-see-streaming-hits-you-should-chill-with-during-the-current-heatwave.jpg\")
<\/div>\nAvatar: Fire And Ash (2025)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Avatar:](\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-must-see-streaming-hits-you-should-chill-with-during-the-current-heatwave-1.jpg\")
<\/div>\nBooksmart (2016)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Booksmart\"](\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3-must-see-streaming-hits-you-should-chill-with-during-the-current-heatwave-2.jpg\")
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