February 05, 2026

What to stream: 'Bridgerton,' 'Roman Holiday' and 'The Favourite'

The demented Nicolas Cage and John Travolta classic 'Face/Off' is also new to Paramount+

By Kristin Hunt
PhillyVoice Staff

Liam Daniel/Netflix

In the fourth season of 'Bridgerton,' masked maid Sophie (Yerin Ha) and unrepentant bachelor Benedict (Luke Thompson) fall in love. Watch what happens on Netflix.

Queue up your favorite string quartet cover of Pitbull: "Bridgerton" is back. The steamy period piece has returned with another swoony romance – this one ripped from a familiar fairy tale.

There's only four episodes of the new season for now, so keep the costume dramas going with "The Favourite," featuring a dramatized Queen Anne instead of Queen Charlotte. The 1953 classic "Roman Holiday" offers another royal romance between a journalist and a fictional princess, played by the Old Hollywood star who most feels like a real one: Audrey Hepburn.

Need a palate cleanser after all those petticoats? "Face/Off" is hardly refined, but it is one of the great Big Dumb Action Movies™. Here's where to find them all:

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'Bridgerton'

Coming off a weak third season, "Bridgerton" has course-corrected with a delightful "Cinderella"-inspired romance. Season 4 pairs libertine Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) with a mysterious lady from a masquerade ball. Though they have a storybook evening together, she never reveals her name or drops her mask. Then, at midnight, she bolts.

Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) has good reason to keep her identity concealed. She's the maid for her high-society family; her own evil stepmother forced her into an apron after her father's death. But try as she might to keep her distance, fate keeps throwing Benedict back in her path. Their story features plenty of well-worn romance tropes – right down to a rainstorm that forces them into close quarters – but Thompson and Ha have the chemistry to sell it. The show's Regency-era costumes and sets also remain excellent eye candy. Stream the first batch of episodes on Netflix:

'Roman Holiday'

Think of "Roman Holiday" as a reverse "Bridgerton" Season 4. Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) wants out of her courtly duties, so she busts out of the embassy and onto the streets of Rome during her tour of Europe. There she meets working journalist Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), who pretends to buy her fake identity for the scoop. After a few Vespa rides around town, he's smitten.

As you might expect, watching two beautiful stars traipse around Italy is a pretty good time. Peck and Hepburn build a great slow-burn romance with an assist from the sparkling script by John Dighton and blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. The bittersweet ending, however, is what makes it a classic. Grab some gelato and watch it on Paramount+.

'The Favourite'

"The Favourite" might have the look of a period piece, but it sure doesn't sound like one. The dark comedy, now streaming on Peacock, casts the needy Queen Anne (Olivia Colman, in an Oscar-winning role) in a love triangle with two ladies of the court (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone), each vying for power by proxy. Like all of director Yorgos Lanthimos's movies, this one has a wicked sense of humor. Some of it comes from co-writer Tony McNamara, who created the similarly profane costume drama "The Great."

'Face/Off'

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta literally swap faces in this thriller that proves they really let you do anything in the '90s. "Face/Off" begins with Cage, in a priest disguise, head-banging in front of children's choir at the airport and only keeps upping the insanity. Embrace the madness on Paramount+, then spot the scenes in this compilation of Cage's best meltdowns.