Derek Malcolm has been covering the worlds of tech and entertainment for more than two decades.
Before coming to How-To Geek in 2025, Derek was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends, where he wrangled and wrote everything from what to watch on Netflix to reviews, explainers, and guides on the latest Bluetooth speakers, turntables, projectors, and other A/V gear.
Based in Toronto, Derek graduated from Humber College's Journalism program in 1999, after which he started covering the worlds of music, movies, TV, and celebrity for publications such as TV Guide, Hello! magazine, and Inside Entertainment. He then got the bug for covering tech and gadgets in 2006, when he served as editor-in-chief of Canadian tech magazine Connected for more than a decade.
An avid skier, when all the snow's gone Derek can be found at home spinning vinyl with his daughter or cheering on his favorite F1 team, McLaren.
And so begins the closing out of summer on Netflix. As the world's biggest streaming service basks in the month's standouts like Don't Say Good Luck and The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, there's still a bit more to squeeze out of it, including Adam Scott's horror film The Whisper Man and one topping this weekend's bingeable list: the fifth season of Outer Banks.
If you're looking for something good to watch this weekend, everything below can be knocked out to completion in just a couple of days. The lineup includes something new (the latest adventures of the Pogues, if you're all caught up), an epic history romp, a night-vision-tastic video game series, and my top pick, a season-one refresher of a show with new episodes coming next month.
Assuming you're caught up on all four seasons of Netflix's hit teen-drama-action-romance-crime-thriller series Outer Banks, then get ready to binge 10 brand-new final-season episodes that dropped yesterday—no split season, the whole shebang. The story picks up straight after the events of season 4, with the Pogues still reeling from JJ's (Rudy Pankow) murder in Morocco, and Blackbeard's fabled Blue Crown—which legend says can raise the dead—still out there.
With Kiara (Madison Bailey) leading the hunt across Europe for JJ's killer, his real dad, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), John B and a pregnant Sarah (Madelyn Cline) must carefully weigh their options. It's the definitive conclusion of the whole Outer Banks saga, putting all that closure just a weekend binge away.
As a Canadian, I am not at all versed in the history of American presidents beyond what I've learned from historical documents such as the movies JFK, Lincoln, Independence Day, and Dave. But since the American Film Institute named Death by Lightning—a Netflix limited series about the assassination of President James A. Garfield—one of 2025's best TV shows, it was an obvious knowledge binge.
The 90%-rated series is just outstanding, largely because of its formidable cast. Four hour-long episodes trace how U.S. Representative James Garfield (Michael Shannon, Boardwalk Empire) went from a reluctant nominee to the 20th president of the United States, and how delusional zealot Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen, Succession) spiraled to the point of shooting him. It's a gorgeously produced and authentic period drama with a rounded-out cast that includes Betty Gilpin (Widow's Bay) as Garfield's wife, and the fantastic Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as Vice President Chester Arthur. The Emmy-nominated series is four hours in total, and you can get through it in one night if you're ambitious.
I love animated video game-based series on Netflix—everything from Arcane and Castlevania to Devil May Cry—but Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is special because it's based on a game I actually played and loved, back when I could call myself a gamer. Ubisoft's legendary stealth espionage franchise is honored well in this 86%-rated eight-parter from John Wick writer Derek Kolstad.
From Arcane to Castlevania — can you identify these Netflix animated series
from a single clue?
This Netflix animated series follows the legendary vampire hunter Simon Belmont and
his allies as they battle Dracula across a war-torn Wallachia. Which show is it?
Set in the fictional city of Piltover and Zaun, this visually stunning Netflix
animated series is based on a popular video game and explores the origin story of two sisters with
very different destinies. What is it called?
This adult animated Netflix comedy follows a group of middle-school students
navigating puberty with the help of hormone monsters. Which series is it?
This Netflix animated series stars Will Arnett as a washed-up, self-destructive
Hollywood actor who happens to be a horse. What is the name of the show?
This Netflix anime adaptation follows a rubber-bodied pirate and his crew as they
sail the Grand Line in search of the world's greatest treasure. Which series is it?
This Netflix animated comedy is a continuation of Mike Judge's iconic MTV series and
follows two dim-witted, rock-obsessed teenagers who mock music videos and get into all sorts of
trouble. What is it?
