The ninth entry in the mainline Resident Evil series is fast approaching, but if you’re thinking that it could be the ideal point to jump in for the first time, you’ll almost certainly be left wondering what the hell is going on as you play through its opening hours. Resident Evil Requiem builds atop a three-decade legacy of survival horror, so you’re going to have to do some homework before you get started.

To help you out, we’ve put together a (very condensed) synopsis of the main Resident Evil story and everything you need to know leading into Resident Evil Requiem, presented in chronological order. As I’m sure you’ve already worked out, the following contains spoilers – lots and lots of spoilers – for the entire Resident Evil series prior to Requiem.

Resident Evil Zero
July 23, 1998

It’s July 23, 1998. The Bravo Team of Raccoon City Police’s elite S.T.A.R.S division is dispatched to investigate a number of murders in the Arklay region. The team believe evidence can be found in the area’s mountains, but their helicopter crashes before they can reach their landing zone. Survivor Rebecca Chambers makes her way towards a nearby spooky-looking mansion in an attempt to find the rest of Bravo Team.

Before she makes it to the house, Rebecca, along with her newly acquired convict companion Billy Coen, come across an abandoned training facility where they discover that its former director, Dr James Marcus, along with former partner, Oswell E. Spencer, were responsible for a new biological weapon dubbed the T-Virus: a deadly infection that turns humans into zombies and other monstrosities.

Resident Evil
July 24, 1998

The S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team is dispatched to find out what happened to the missing Bravo team. Their search leads Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, and team leader Albert Wesker to the aforementioned grand estate, the Spencer Mansion.

The gang splits up and discovers the horrible fates of the missing S.T.A.R.S. members, who have been decimated by the monstrous results of the T-virus. As he explores the mansion’s many rooms and hidden chambers, Chris finds Bravo team member Rebecca Chambers still alive.

Jill and Chris eventually discover that the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company with shady business practices, is behind the illegal experiments that led to undead horrors (and the odd oversized animal) roaming the mansion’s halls.

Eventually, once they reach a sinister laboratory hidden beneath the house, the duo discover that Wesker is not actually a loyal S.T.A.R.S. operative, but a traitor who works for Umbrella. Wesker infects himself with a strain of the T-virus as part of an elaborate plan that also involves releasing a new biological super weapon, the “Tyrant”, from containment. Unfortunately for him, the creature swiftly kills him. After managing to defeat the Tyrant, the remaining S.T.A.R.S. team members escape the lab (relatively) unscathed.

Our heroic survivors return to Raccoon City, only to learn that the corruption runs deep. They decide to go rogue, leaving the RPD to investigate the grand corporate conspiracy. Chris heads off to Europe solo, while Jill stays in the city to learn more about Umbrella.

Resident Evil 3
September 28, 1998

It’s September 1998, just a few months after the Spencer Mansion incident, and Raccoon City is overrun with zombies. Umbrella sees the outbreak as an opportunity to test its latest bioweapon, the experimental Nemesis; a hulking beast armed with a rocket launcher, tasked only with the destruction of all remaining S.T.A.R.S. members.

While Jill desperately tries to escape the outbreak with the relentless Nemesis hot on her heels, rookie R.P.D. officer Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield’s younger sister, Claire, both arrive in Raccoon City at the worst possible time.

Resident Evil 2
September 29, 1998

After being separated following a car accident, Leon and Claire agree to meet up at the nearby police station. Unfortunately for both of them, the building is already infested by the undead.

As she navigates the station’s dangerous hallways in search of information about her brother’s whereabouts, Claire runs into Sherry Birkin, a young girl pursued by a monstrous weirdo who not only turns out to be her Dad, but also Umbrella's leading scientist, William Birkin.

Turns out Billy B had planned to betray his corporate masters and sell his newly developed G-virus, but he was gunned down by Umbrella before he had the chance. As he bled out, William managed to infect himself with the G-Virus. His monstrous form massacred Umbrella’s troops and proceeded to dump both the G- and T-virus formulas into Raccoon City’s water supply, creating the enormous mess all our characters now have to deal with. Nice one, Willy.

Meanwhile, Leon runs into Ada Wong, an FBI agent seeking the G-Virus for her own investigation into Umbrella’s corruption. The two decide to form an alliance, for now…

Leon and Ada run into Birkin’s wife, Annette, who is not a big fan of the pair. They follow Annette deep underground to a secret Umbrella facility called NEST in hope of securing the G-virus sample.

Pretty much simultaneously, Claire also arrives at NEST, in search of a vaccine for the now-infected Sherry. Leon manages to obtain the G-Virus sample but runs into the hideously deformed William, who mortally wounds his wife. As she struggles to hold on, Annette reveals to Leon that Ada is not what she seems: she’s actually a mercenary looking to sell the G-Virus to the highest bidder. Ada arrives on the scene and demands the G-Virus, but before Leon can hand it over, Annette manages to shoot her, sending both Ada and the virus sample falling into the lab’s seemingly bottomless chasm.

Meanwhile, Claire finds a vaccine for Sherry. As Annette administers it to her daughter, Claire tangles with an out-of-control William. Sherry is cured, but Annette eventually dies of her injuries. The facility is set to self-destruct, and Claire, Sherry, and Leon board a train to escape.

With NEST destroyed, the crew finally manage to escape the nightmare and, on the outskirts of Racoon City, vow to continue their fight against Umbrella.

Resident Evil Outbreak
September 23 - October 1, 1998

While Jill, Leon, and Claire are dealing with their own issues amidst a zombie outbreak, eight other Raccoon City residents are also in a desperate fight for survival. Among them is a local journalist, Alyssa Ashcroft, who is trying to shine a spotlight on Umbrella’s evil ways. Remember her name, as it’ll come in handy when you start playing Resident Evil Requiem.

Alyssa manages to escape Raccoon City before the government annihilates the entire area with an evidence-destroying thermobaric missile strike, carrying information that could expose Umbrella once and for all.

Resident Evil 3 (continued)
October 1, 1998

Elsewhere in Racoon City, in the hours before the missile strike, Jill Valentine is infected with the T-Virus. Fortunately for her, Carlos Oliveria – an uncharacteristically friendly Umbrella mercenary – arrives on the scene to not only cure Jill, but also help her find the important vaccine that could save the city. Unfortunately, the government has a different “cure”; our heroes discover the plans to wipe out Raccoon City, which is publicly explained away as the only sure method to eradicate the zombie outbreak.

Carlos and Jill head to another underground lab, this time creatively called “NEST 2”. Unfortunately, the Nemesis is still alive and very much still in pursuit. Jill and Carlos manage to take out the abomination once and for all, and with the vaccine sample in hand, manage to escape the city before the missile hits. Unfortunately, Nicholai, Carlos’s former colleague/secret operative, is waiting for them and manages to destroy the vaccine vial. Jill and Carlos take down Nicholai, leaving him for dead, and escape just before government-approved thermobaric hellfire arrives to completely demolish Raccoon City for good.

And as is tradition, our hero vows to take down Umbrella before the credits roll…

Resident Evil: Code Veronica
December 27-28, 1998

Three months after escaping from Racoon City, Claire Redfield, still in search of her brother, attempts to raid a European Umbrella facility. Things go south and she’s captured, taken to an island prison ruled over by Alfred Ashford, the governor of Rockfort Island.

As is mandatory for a Resident Evil game, an outbreak occurs, and amidst the chaos Claire is freed, allowing her to get to work looking for Chris and escaping the island. Unfortunately, Mr. Redfield is nowhere to be found, so after much trouble, Claire tries to escape in a plane. Ashford, who is revealed to have a split personality disorder and often believes himself to be his twin sister, Alexia, remotely takes control of the plane and crashes it into another Umbrella facility, this time in Antarctica. Knocked unconscious, Claire has a dream that turns out to be the plot of Resident Evil Survivor 2. Weird.

Ashford, believing Claire to be a spy, pursues her in a quest for revenge. But after he’s fatally wounded, he frees the real version of his sister, Alexia, who has been cryogenically frozen this entire time, her body riddled with a new virus called T-Veronica.

Meanwhile, back on Rockford Island, none other than Chris Redfield shows up, looking for Claire. But rather than finding his sister, he runs into his old pal/mortal enemy, Albert Wesker, who’s alive, super strong, and on a mission to find the T-Veronica sample. Turns out he had actually planned to be killed by the Tyrant back in the Spencer Mansion, as that would ensure he could reach the full potential of some experimental virus he was infected with… or something.

The pair make their way to Antarctica, where Chris hopes to be finally reunited with Claire, and Wesker hopes to secure the T-Veronica sample. A restored, very powerful Alexia becomes the final boss of Chris’ latest adventure, and everyone escapes the facility before – you guessed it – it self-destructs.

Wesker claims a virus-infected corpse to experiment on. Chris and Claire vow to take down Umbrella… are you seeing a pattern here?

Resident Evil 4
Autumn, 2004

Six years have passed, and the Umbrella Corporation is now long gone due to a government suspension and stock value crash. Is this the lamest way possible for a big bad to go out? It’s certainly up there.

Leon S. Kennedy, former rookie RPD officer, is now a government agent with full permission to roundhouse kick anyone who stands in his way. He’s sent on a mission to rural Spain, where the president's daughter, Ashley, is being held by kidnappers. As he explores the area, he discovers that not only are the kidnappers part of a cult called Los Illuminados, but they’re also all infected by a brand new mind-controlling parasite: Las Plagas.

As Leon hunts for Ashley, he unexpectedly bumps into someone he thought long dead, Ada Wong, who is very much alive and is once again on the hunt for virus samples.

After rescuing Ashley, Leon confronts the cult’s leader, Saddler, and, with the help of Ada, defeats him, bringing down the parasite and all the hordes it infected. Once again showing her true colours, Ada takes a sample of Las Plagas and escapes by helicopter, but not before – you guessed it – setting the base to self-destruct.

Leon and Ashley manage to dramatically escape on a jet ski, which they appear to ride all the way from Spain back to the US. I mean, they probably just went back to the mainland and took more traditional routes, but imagining they jet-ski’d across the Atlantic is funnier, so let’s just say they did that.

Resident Evil: Revelations
2005

Shortly after the events of Resident Evil 4, our original protagonists, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, become involved in a new investigation into biological organic weapons. They discover a new strain of the T-Virus called T-Abyss, developed by evil organisation Il Veltro, which plans to use its new weapon to infect a fifth of the world’s oceans.

A lot of evil plots and betrayals unfold, involving names and organisations that mostly don’t feature in the wider series except for one: the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA. Chris and Jill are founding members, and this new organisation’s motives become the driving force for these characters going forward.

Naturally, Chris and Jill survive the events of Revelations, taking us directly into the next chapter of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil 5 - Lost in Nightmares DLC
August, 2006

Two years after Resident Evil 4, our original big bad, Wesker, is still on the loose. Chris and Jill, now operating under the banner of the BSAA, follow a thread that should lead them to Umbrella’s founder, Oswald E. Spencer. Instead, they run into Albert Wesker, who has killed Spencer.

Wesker, seemingly even more powerful than before and now dodging bullets for fun, is more than a match for Chris and Jill. To save a wounded Chris, Jill sacrifices herself, sending both her and Wesker to their deaths. Chris, understandably, is a bit sad.

Resident Evil 5
March 4-6, 2009

Almost three years after Jill’s death, Chris is tasked with apprehending terrorist Ricardo Irving, who is selling bio-organic weapons in Africa. Along with his new partner, Sheva, Chris discovers that the locals are infected by a modified Las Plagas parasite. The duo set out to solve the crisis, but Chris has another thing on his mind: the BSAA believes Jill could still be alive.

After defeating a mutated Irving, Chris and Sheva learn that Tricell, the company that funds the BSAA, has taken over Umbrella’s seedy work in conjunction with – shock, horror – Albert Wesker, who is very much still alive and has been conducting human experiments. Unfortunately, one of his victims is Jill, who is also still alive and now under Wesker’s control.

Chris and Sheva manage to subdue Jill and remove Wesker’s mind-control device before it’s too late. Wesker tries to flee on a plane, which crash-lands in a volcano. After some boulder punching, Chris and Sheva finally kill Wesker once and for all, and all is well in the world… for now.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2
January, 2011

Claire Redfield is now a member of TerraSave, an anti-bioterrorism taskforce, and once again finds herself trapped in an island prison, this time with her new partner, Moria Burton, daughter of Barry Burton. Remember him from the Spencer Mansion incident? He’s the “Jill Sandwich” guy…

Jill and Moira are directed around the prison’s labyrinth-like halls by someone known only as the Overseer, all while being stalked by mysterious monsters. After the entire playbook of typical Resident Evil hijinks involving other survivors, shady corporations, and betrayal unfold, it’s revealed that the Overseer is a woman named Alex Wesker. Although she shares the surname, she’s not actually a relative of the series’ infamous villain, but rather a child who was kidnapped for her “talents” and inducted into “The Wesker Project”, a sinister plot developed by Umbrella founder Oswell E. Spencer to try and develop a race of superior beings. Alex has been doing her own experiments on the prison island, creating a fresh batch of monstrosities.

Eventually, Claire and Moria corner Alex, and with nowhere left to run, Alex commits suicide. But not before, of course, setting the base to self-destruct. Claire manages to escape, but unfortunately, Moira is trapped under the rubble. Enter big daddy Barry.

Six months pass before Barry reaches the island, who has been desperately chasing Moria’s SOS signal. But before finding his daughter, he comes face-to-face with Alex, who’s now heavily mutated into her disgusting final form, complete with orange glowing weak points. Fortunately, both a still-alive Moria and a returning Claire armed with a rocket launcher arrive to swing the odds in Barry’s favour.

In the epilogue, Claire receives a message about Chris and his jaunt to China, where he’s off to handle another bioterror threat…

Resident Evil 6
December 2012 - June 2013

Next up is Resident Evil 6, which features three interwoven campaigns, and it all gets really, really messy. So strap yourself in….

In 2012, a new virus is developed by a company dubbed Neo-Umbrella, led by someone who appears to be Ada Wong. Mercenary Jake Muller is immune to the virus, on account of being the child of Albert Wesker (who has… let’s say “unique” DNA after all those experiments), and so is believed to be the key to creating a vaccine.

In 2013, the American president decides enough is enough with all these bioterrorism incidents, and that it’s time to reveal what really happened in Raccoon City. However, before he can spill the beans, there’s another viral attack. The president, now a zombie, must be taken down by his loyal agent, Leon Kennedy.

Ada Wong arrives on the scene to tell Leon that National Security Advisor Derek Simmons is affiliated with Neo-Umbrella, and is behind the terror attack that zombified the president. Leon heads to China in pursuit of Simmons. Chris Redfield, now wracked by post-traumatic stress and a thirst for revenge after his team was slaughtered by Ada, also heads to China. As does Jake, because, you know, plot.

It’s no secret that Resident Evil 6 is the most convoluted game in the series, so let’s just get through this quickly:

• Chris finds out Jake’s true identity, and despite an awkward moment where Chris tells Jake he killed his dad, they mostly work it out.
• Simmons dies.
• Chris’s buddy, Piers, is wounded, then grows a new arm thanks to the C-Virus, and saves Chris.
• Jake kills his boss, who’s not worth talking about.
• We discover that there are two Adas, with one being an imposter called Carla.
• Finally, all the good guys win and go their separate ways.

Basically, a lot is going on, and it’s not very good. Maybe just ignore this bit – I highly doubt anything that happens here will have any implications for the future of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
July 19-20, 2017

In 2017, Ethan Winters is looking for his missing wife, Mia. His search eventually leads him deep into Louisiana, where he finds her imprisoned by the Bakers, a very odd and very disgusting family.

Ethan is captured by the family’s patriarch, Jack Baker, and forced to join a vomit-inducing dinner with Jack’s wife, Marguerite, son Lucas, and a mysterious elderly woman. It turns out the entire family is infected by something called “mold”, a sort of parasitic, fungal virus that has the added benefit of increasing your resilience, but the downside of making you just a bit gross.

Side note: you can find a newspaper clipping written by Alyssa Ashcroft in the Baker’s house. Remember her from Resident Evil Outbreak? Turns out she’s still a journalist, now investigating the disappearances in Louisiana.

After escaping and managing to kill hideous forms of both Jack and Marguerite, Ethan reunites with his wife and develops a serum to help shake off her apparent mold infection. The couple attempt to flee on a boat, but the vessel is capsized by a mysterious creature that turns out to be a “girl” named Eveline. This child is actually a bio-weapon that Mia, who’s actually a secret agent, was tasked with escorting. Eveline is responsible for the Baker family’s mind-altering infection because she was desperate to create her own family. You know, like all bioweapons are. Classic stuff.

Ethan injects Eveline with a toxin, which causes her to revert to her true form: the mysterious old woman from the Baker’s disgusting dinner. It turns out she’s been rapidly aging. Of course, a senior is hardly an ideal final boss, so Eveline mutates into a giant blob like all classic Resident Evil big bads do, and after a climatic confrontation with Ethan (who gets a little help from a recently arrived military squad), she’s finally destroyed.

In a final twist, the leader of the military squad is revealed to be none other than Chris Redfield, who emerges from a helicopter branded with the Umbrella logo. Man, things have really changed around here.

Resident Evil 7 - Not a Hero DLC
July 20, 2017

Chris and his team pursue Lucas Baker, who had avoided Eveline’s mind control thanks to a serum provided to him by a new shadowy organisation called The Connections.

They were the ones behind Eveline’s creation, and Lucas had been gathering data on her for them. Naturally, he planned to betray his masters, because Lucas is a Resident Evil villain, and that’s apparently part of the contract.

After working his way through a series of traps, Chris manages to kill a mutated Lucas. He then returns to base to take an urgent phone call…

Resident Evil Village
February 8-10, 2021

Over three years later, Ethan and Mia have settled in Eastern Europe, but their new-found family bliss is violently interrupted by Chris Redfield, who shockingly and mercilessly guns down Mia and kidnaps Ethan and his child, Rose.

Ethan wakes to find himself in a rural village that has been besieged by a horde of marauding lycans. On a desperate quest to find Rose, Ethan works his way through the abandoned village and into a nearby castle inhabited by vampires, most notably an enormous goth mommy called Lady Dimiterscu.

Lady D, along with a wider group of oddities including a fish man and a cowboy Magneto, all belong to cult that worships Mother Miranda; a god-like, mold-infected matriarch who, in a quest to resurrect her dead daughter, Eva, became consumed by the infection and spread it to her four elevated lords and houses. Ethan discovers a crest for these four lords that looks eerily similar to Umbrella’s logo.

Ethan’s journey to rescue Rose and take down Miranda’s lords eventually leads him back to Chris Redfield, who explains that the Mia he gunned down wasn’t actually Mia at all, but rather a shape-shifting Mother Miranda. Miranda believes Ethan and Mia’s daughter, Rose, is the successor of bioweapon, Eveline, based on the fact that both her parents were infected by the mold. After Miranda finally confronts Ethan in her true form, she explains that the mold will help rebirth Rose as her own daughter. Without hesitation, Miranda rips out Ethan’s heart.

Chris and his squad launch a full assault against Mother Miranda, battling through her waves of monsters and destroying a large mold barrier that protects her. Once inside, Chris and the team discover a large mold root called the Megamycete; the source of the mold that plagued both the village and the Baker family. Turns out the Megamycete not only infects its victims, but it also absorbs their DNA and memories.

Chris plants a bomb, but before destroying the mold once and for all, he passes through Miranda’s lab for one last lore dump. He discovers the entirety of her plan to find a suitable vessel for her daughter’s consciousness to be reborn into. Miranda was also responsible for the creation of Eveline, working with The Connections.

That’s not the most shocking revelation, though: Chris discovers that Oswell E. Spencer, founder of Umbrella, was actually a student of Miranda's and began his work on the progenitor virus based on her teachings. To honour this, he designed Umbrella’s logo after Miranda’s four lords’ symbol. So not only is Miranda responsible for everything in Resident Evil 7 and Village, but she’s the inspiration that started this entire 30-year, virus-riddled affair!

After Chris exits the exposition-packed hallway, he encounters the true version of Mia, who’s very much alive and reveals that Ethan isn’t quite dead, either. It turns out that Miranda didn’t kill Ethan after all – Jack Baker did, way back at the start of Resident Evil 7. Ethan was infected by the Mold, which had kept him moving and “alive” this entire time, and explained how he could regularly reattach body parts with just a bit of healing juice.

Despite his mold infection, Ethan is falling apart, only able to muster just enough energy for one last stand against Mother Miranda. Upon defeating the big bad once and for all, he hands his daughter over to Chris and agrees to stay behind with the detonation device that will activate the bomb planted on the Megamycete, destroying the village, the mold, and himself once and for all. Ethan triggers the explosion as Chris, Mia, and Rose escape.

Resident Evil Requiem
October 2026

The upcomming adventures of Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft take place in 2026. If the trailers are to be believed, the story will take us to the bombed out remains of Raccoon City, as well as the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, which we explored in our hands-on preview. But until we play the full game, we don't know what this chapter will mean for the Resident Evil timeline.

Resident Evil Village - Shadows of Rose DLC
2037

In 2037, a teenage Rose learns about her abilities, one of which is the power to connect with a surviving piece of the mold root recovered from the incident 16 years prior. After jacking in, Rose enters a new realm filled with the memories of the Megamycete’s victims. She takes a jaunt through a version of the village her father was once trapped in, guided by the spirit “Michael”, who is actually Ethan’s remaining consciousness. As she explores, Rose is taunted by the trapped consciousness of Mother Miranda, who is desperate to escape this realm of memories. With the help of Ethan and her newfound abilities, Rose manages to defeat Mother Miranda and share one last moment with her father before she returns to the real world. In the aftermath, she visits Ethan’s grave while shadowed by a mysterious agent who calls her Eveline. After threatening him, Rose reveals she has abilities that even Chris doesn’t know about.

And there we go. That’s the entire plot of Resident Evil – well, all the stuff that actually matters. Yes, we skipped over some bits here or there, but there’s a lot to cover in the wacky world of Resident Evil, and that should be everything you need to know before diving into Resident Evil Requiem. Now, excuse me while I set my base to self-destruct and vow to get my revenge.

Dale Driver is an Associate Director of Video Programming at IGN. Be thoroughly bored by following him on Bluesky at @daledriver.bsky.social

HBO Max is top of mind these days. While Warner Bros. has now accepted Netflix’s acquisition offer, despite Paramount’s best efforts, we still don’t know what exactly that means for the future of HBO's streaming service. For now, any HBO Max subscribers can rest assured they’ll continue getting new content every month.

In February, the streamer will be picking up a wide spread of movies from across generations, including Insidious Chapter 3 and Paddington 2. While there aren’t any massive DC releases this month, there will be new episodes of the toddler-oriented Batwheels series. John Oliver will return to his talk show for a 13th season, and, perhaps most importantly, you’ll get exclusive access to this year’s Puppy Bowl.

Here’s the full lineup of what's coming to HBO Max in February.

Everything Coming to HBO Max in February

February 1

• 42
• 2073
• Aftermath
• Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
• Betrayed (1944)
• Build for Off-Road, Season 2 (Motortrend)
• Captains Courageous (1937)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
• Ferdinand
• Get Him to the Greek
• Get Him to the Greek: Unrated
• The Harvey Girls
• Honky Tonk
• Hop (2011)
• Inconceivable
• Insidious: Chapter 3
• Jezebel
• Just Mercy
• Key Largo
• King Solomon's Mines
• Kitty Foyle
• Lady Be Good
• Laughing Sinners
• The Life of Emile Zola
• Life of Pi
• Lone Star
• The Lost Husband
• Love & Basketball
• Love Happens
• MacGruber
• MacGruber: Unrated
• Malcolm X
• Marie Antoinette
• Masterminds
• Mildred Pierce (1945)
• Mister Roberts
• Mrs. Miniver
• My Blind Brother
• My Cousin Rachel
• National Velvet
• The Notebook
• Now, Voyager
• The Perfect Match
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Robin Hood (2010)
• The Search
• The Shape of Water
• Silver River
• The Spectacular Now
• Story of Louis Pasteur
• Strike Up the Band
• They Were Expendable
• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
• This Modern Age
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Vacation from Marriage
• Watch on the Rhine
• Westbound
• The Woman in Red
• Wuthering Heights (1939)
• The Yearling
• Zola

February 2

• Madam Beja, Season 1 (HBO Max Original)
• The Last Captains, Season 1 (Discovery)
• Wardens of the North, Season 6 (Animal Planet)

February 3

• 90-Day Fiancé: The Other Way: Pillow Talk, Season 7 (TLC)

February 5

• The Murder Tapes, Season 10 (ID)

February 6

• Batwheels, Season 3B
• Boys Go to Jupiter

February 7

• Ready to Love (Detroit), Season 11

February 8

• Puppy Bowl XXII Kickoff (Animal Planet)
• Puppy Bowl XXII (Animal Planet)

February 9

• East Harbor Heroes, Season 1 (Discovery)

February 10

• 90-Day Fiancé: The Single Life, Season 10 (TLC)
• The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Season 4 (CNN)

February 12

• Isadora Moon, Season 1C (Max Original)
• The Pope's Exorcist

February 13

• House Hunters: Volume 11, Season 251 (HGTV)

February 15

• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Season 13 (HBO Original)
• Like Water for Chocolate, Season 2 (HBO Original)

February 16

• Naked and Afraid, Season 19 (Discovery)
• Tournament of Champions VII: The Qualifiers (Food Network)

February 17

• Unexpected, Season 7 (TLC)

February 19

• Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Original)

February 20

• Banksters, Season 1 (HBO Original)
• Dead of Winter
• Fit for a Killer (HBO Original)
• Portobello, Season 1 (HBO Original)
• Surviving the Jehovah's Witnesses (HBO Original)

February 24

• Contraband: Seized at the Border, Season 8 (Discovery)

February 25

• Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy, Season 1 (HGTV)
• Lost Women of Alaska (ID)

February 27

• Paddington 2

HBO Max Plans and Prices

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Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles for $27.99

February is a stacked month for Paramount+ subscribers, with plenty of action hitting the service on the first day of the month, including a massive slate of movies and live coverage of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which debuted in January, continues its first season with new episodes dropping throughout the month. While several popular shows return with mid-season premieres, February's standout is the highly anticipated 50th season of Survivor.

Check out the full list below for everything coming to Paramount+ in February, details on upcoming UFC events, and subscription pricing.

Everything Coming to Paramount+ in February

February 1

• A Night At The Roxbury
• A Walk on the Moon
• Almost Famous
• American Assassin
• American Beauty
• American Gigolo
• Amistad
• Anything Else
• Ashby
• Ask The Dust
• Bad News Bears (2005)
• Bang Bang
• Becoming Jane
• Blue Eyed Girl
• Boomerang
• Bottom of the 9th
• Boudica: Queen of War
• Bounce
• Boys And Girls
• Bride & Prejudice
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
• Bridget Jones's Baby
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• Call Me By Your Name
• Changeland
• Cinema Paradiso
• Cloverfield
• Down to Earth (2001)
• Down To You
• Due Justice
• Eagle vs Shark
• Ella Enchanted
• Emma (1996)
• End of Sentence
• Face/Off
• Fear
• Forces Of Nature
• Four Letters of Love
• Frida
• Get Rich or Die Tryin'
• Grease
• Grease 2
• Hardball
• Harlem Nights
• Heatwave
• Here Comes the Boom
• Hotel Artemis
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
• I Used to Go Here
• Jane Eyre (1996)
• Jersey Girl
• Just Like Heaven
• Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
• Katy Perry The Movie: Part of Me
• Kindred
• Kiss The Girls
• Like Water for Chocolate
• Lilies Not for Me
• Losing Isaiah
• Love, Rosie
• Marshall
• Marshmallow
• Match Point
• Old Guy
• Our Friend
• Persona
• Pretty Red Dress
• Queen & Slim
• Regarding Us
• Roman Holiday
• Rugrats Go Wild
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
• Run
• Runaway Bride
• Sabrina (1995)
• Save the Last Dance
• Seaside
• Shakespeare in Love
• She's All That
• Shrink
• Sixteen Candles
• Superstar
• Team America: World Police
• The Argument
• The Beldham
• The Best of Me
• The Foreigner
• The Godfather
• The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
• The Godfather Part II
• The Golden Child
• The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
• The Hurricane
• The Longshots
• The Original Kings of Comedy
• The Outlaws
• The Prince and Me
• The Prophecy
• The Romantics
• The Rugrats Movie
• The Saint (1997)
• The Score
• The Silent Planet
• The Sons of Katie Elder
• The Stepford Wives (2004)
• The To Do List
• The Violent Heart
• The Virgin Suicides
• The Wood
• The Words
• The Yards
• Til Death Do Us Part
• To Catch a Thief
• Us
• Vampire in Brooklyn
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!

February kicks off with plenty of great movies to keep you occupied throughout the month, including The Godfather trilogy, some classic rom coms like Bridget Jones's Diary, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Runaway Bride, as well as some cult comedies and family movies to round things out.

February 2

• The Reader

February 4

• Air Disasters (Season 23)
• 68 Kill

February 11

• How Did They Fix That? (Season 4)

February 12

• Can You Keep a Secret? (US premiere)

February 13

• Coldwater (Showtime - Series Finale)

February 15

• Mother's Day

February 18

• PAW Patrol (Season 11)
• Wild Boys: Strangers in Town (New Series Premiere)

February 20

• Dreaming Whilst Black (Season 2 - US Premiere)

February 23

• CIA (New CBS Series)
• DMV (Season 1 - Mid-Season Premiere)
• FBI (Season 8 - Mid-Season Premiere)
• The Neighborhood (Season 8 - Mid-Season Premiere)

February 25

Paramount+ Premium is available for $13.99/month or $139.99/year, while Paramount+ Essential is available for $8.99/month or $89.99/year.

Since Paramount+ doesn't have a free trial anymore and there aren't any current deals outside of a generous student discount, your best bet is to shell out for the annual plan as it works out to just under $12 per month. You can also get access to a Paramount+ Essentials subscription via Walmart+, which actually does offer a free trial for new subscribers.

Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

With Sam Raimi's rambunctious, hellacious deserted island showdown Send Help arriving this weekend, it's time to officially rank the director's films. Needless to say, it's every cinephile's moral imperative to support and see Send Help in theaters, but where will it land on our Raimi list? Where does it rank among the Evil Deads, Spider-Mans, Simple Plans, and Darkmans?

Raimi is definitely an artist formed and molded by the films he loved as a child, from Universal Monster movies to the Three Stooges. His energetic efforts are a blend of dynamic slapstick, camp, and roller-coaster camera work, providing POV shots representing everything from evil forest spirits to bullets to mechanical tentacles to Wild West shot glasses.

Raimi, known also for a physically demanding directing style, has a fondness for personally (gently) abusing his stars, whether he's throwing dirt and mud into Bruce Campbell's face or tossing trash at Tobey Maguire -- the director actively gets involved off screen with the pelting of his movie's protagonists. We doubt he threw a fastball at Kevin Costner though.

We've decided to keep 1985's Crimewave off the list, despite it both being co-written by the Coen brothers and also being a schlocky cult film in the midst of Raimi's schlocky cult era. If this bugs the completionist in you, then just mentally drop it down at Number 16.

Here are Sam Raimi's films... ranked!

15. For Love of the Game (1999)

To be fair, most Raimi fans would much rather revisit Crimewave than 1999's For Love of the Game, which was not only boring and inert as a Raimi film but also dull for a Kevin Costner sports movie. Raimi took the gig, which was his highest-budgeted project at the time, because of his love of baseball, but the end result is a schmaltzy, forgettable story of a pitcher remembering his life and career during his final outing on the field.

It should also just be stated, for austerity's sake, that For Love of the Game features no Oldsmobile Delta 88 -- Sam Raimi's car from The Evil Dead that the director has featured, usually as a cameo, in every other movie. Yes, the Delta 88 scene got cut. Even The Quick and the Dead and Oz the Great and Powerful used dismantled Delta 88 parts for wagons on set. Just saying. Quite foreboding.

14. Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Wicked taking Broadway by storm opened up more avenues for exploring L. Frank Baum's world of Oz, namely the backstory of the "Wizard" himself. And on paper there was nothing notably wrong with Sam Raimi helming this Wizard of Oz prequel, with James Franco playing con-artist Oscar and Mila Kunis as Theodora. But the end result just didn't have the Raimi magic. In the end, despite performing decently at the box office, Oz the Great and Powerful just felt like a CG-heavy cash grab with a tone that never gels properly. No one's charisma pops and the project just screamed soulless franchise starter.

Read IGN's review of Oz the Great and Powerful here.

13. The Gift (2000)

Sam Raimi once again found himself in the Billy Bob Thornton business, following the acclaim of A Simple Plan (see below), with a script co-written by Thornton pre-Sling Blade. Unfortunately, The Gift is mostly a by-the-numbers Southern Gothic mystery with an easy-to-spot twist. There's some genuine Raimi flare here and there when it comes to the portrayal of the lead's psychic powers and prophetic dreams, but otherwise this was a dud -- though it did okay at the box office thanks to a great ensemble of Oscar winners/nominees like Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, and Hilary Swank. Plus it had both Keanu Reeves and Katie Holmes playing way against type, for better or worse.

The Gift was also a sort of a bridge between Raimi's A Simple Plan cast (Gary Cole, Chelcie Ross) and his future Spider-Man cast (J.K. Simmons, Rosemary Harris).

12. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

This was a rough one because there were such high hopes for the third Spider-Man film. Raimi had already made two awesome Spidey flicks, with the second one being hailed as the best super-flick of all time -- and then the teasers and trailers got everyone even more hyped! But Spider-Man 3 is a big mess, and the fingerprints of Raimi's behind-the-scene clashes with Sony are all over this one. Featuring villains he didn't want (particularly Venom) and then having the silly Raimi-ness that worked in the previous two films fit like an ill-shaped suit, this third entry was the pits. Now, to be fair, there are some moments, particularly involving Sandman (his effects and fights) that work, but overall fans didn't want to see Peter become a fat-headed jerk (and wanted even less to see him become an emo tool). It's still crazy that the same director and stars could be this far off the mark.

11. Darkman (1990)

Crimewave aside, Darkman was Sam Raimi's first non-Evil Dead flick. It was a modest hit, spawning two direct-to-video sequels (and now maybe a decades-later legacy reboot), and it got Raimi into the Hollywood machine. A mix of big real explosions and campy green screen, Darkman was Raimi's solution, and creation, when he wasn't allowed to make The Shadow, one of his favorite heroes as a kid. It's a superhero story mixed with a Universal Monster tale, starring a fresh-faced Liam Neeson in a role Raimi originally wanted for bestie Bruce Campbell (even some of the lines Neeson's Peyton Westlake yells are reminiscent of Campbell's Evil Dead scenes). You've also got future Oscar winner, and Raimi pal (through the Coen brothers), Frances McDormand trying her hand at a girlfriend/damsel in distress role. Darkman, about a scientist-turned-disfigured vigilante who can 3D print new faces to disguise himself, is a blast, and it marked big things to come for Raimi in the realm of comic book (and comic-book feeling) movies.

10. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Sam Raimi dove headlong into the MCU for one of the better post-Endgame offerings, as Doctor Strange battled a deranged, grief-stricken, post-WandaVision Wanda Maximoff. At times, Multiverse of Madness feels like just a plain neato Marvel movie, but then flashes of Raimi's horror handiwork shine through, particularly through Scarlet Witch's massacring of the Illuminati and her psycho stalking of poor Nexus being America Chavez. Bloodied, limping, almost possessed, Multiverse of Madness Wanda is not to be f***ed with. Earning just shy of a billion, this Doctor Strange sequel was not only Raimi's first movie in nine years (!), but it also wound up as his top-grossing movie, beating out all the Spideys.

Read IGN's review of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness here.

9. The Evil Dead (1981)

The one... the only... the evil... dead! Sam Raimi's shoestring gonzo gorefest cemented him, immediately, as a formidable filmmaker, and a groundbreaker in the realm of independent horror. It's the definitive "cabin in the woods" movie, creating a tumultuous template for all close-quarter scares to come. But just because it's a small cast and a single location doesn't mean it's a slog. Raimi's camera moves, crafting a chaotic carnival ride out a premise that, in less energetic hands, might make you feel like you're standing in line, waiting for said ride. The Evil Dead is one of the most important cult classics ever, and even tops some fans' favorite horror films of all time. It's a best-case scenario of a bunch of talented friends -- Raimi, Bruce Campbell, producer Rob Tapert, et al. -- getting together, scraping together what they could find, and making pure, petrifying art with shocking practical effects.

8. The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Sharon Stone was on top of Tinseltown when The Quick and the Dead was made, and many folks forget just how instrumental she was in putting this pulp Western together. She handpicked Sam Raimi to direct and then went to bat for hot-off-acclaimed-movies Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. For Raimi, this was his chance to stretch, a little, with a new genre (it's still chock-full of textbook Raimi camera tricks, montages featuring floating objects, etc.) and stretch, a lot, with A-listers Stone and Oscar-winner Gene Hackman. The Quick and the Dead was Raimi blooming into a director who could work with established veterans and/or celebrities and it would, like Darkman, push him even further into being one of Hollywood's Most Wanted. The movie itself is a fun, flamboyant revenge flick, though it never quite settles on whether Stone's "Lady" is supposed to be a badass desperado or a frightened woman who's never killed anyone before.

7. Drag Me to Hell (2009)

After three Spidey movies in a row, Raimi returned to ooey gooey Deadite form with the darkly comical Drag Me to Hell, which stars Alison Lohman as a loan officer who gets cursed by a psychotic old woman (who first tries to kill her in her car by the way!), and has three days to sort this s*** out or get -- you got it! -- dragged down into hell! In between crime dramas and superhero tales, Raimi loves to let loose, get gross, and do nasty, nefarious things to his lead performers... um, in the movies, to be clear. Drag Me to Hell is a wicked, wild ride with an unforgettable ending that, arguably, makes the movie. Goodnight, Mrs. Ganush, wherever you are!

Read IGN's review of Drag Me to Hell here.

6. Army of Darkness (1992)

The swashbuckling sequel to Evil Dead II (and third Raimi Evil Dead flick overall) transformed Final Boy/Crash Test Dummy Ash Williams into a lovably buffoonish superhero. Saddled with one of the most bizarre R-ratings ever, Army of Darkness is a slaptsick, Harryhausen-inspired delight that only further endeared Raimi to the nerdy horror community. Ash's petulant bravado, only hinted at in Evil Dead II, was on full display here, creating a dope who brings hope to the Medieval masses. And nestled within this hilarious Deadite adventure was also a much-needed subversion of the time travel genre, in which the person whisked back centuries is a stone-cold jackass with no desire to blend in or do right by the era. Army of Darkness is a joy to behold, and also stands tall as one of the few films with a reshot ending that's not only better than the original idea but one of the most crowd-pleasing sign-offs ever.

5. Spider-Man (2002)

Sam Raimi entered the big time, or at least a bigger time, with Spider-Man, a movie that honestly couldn't be made until computer effects reached a certain benchmark. Sure, James Cameron wanted to take a thwip at getting the ol' web-head onto the big screen in the '90s, but, as we found out, Raimi needed to be the one to do it, bringing his whole bag of tricks along with him. His dynamic sense of action and movement mixed perfectly with his goofy, campy whimsey for a spectacular Spidey story reminiscent of the Stan Lee-Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man run in the '60s. X-Men had given Marvel fans their first big taste of comic favorites come to life, but there were a few tweaks to the formula (Matrix-style black leather, for one). Spider-Man was Spider-Man. It was everything we wanted, right down to Peter trying his hand at pro-wrestling to earn money. And Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn was pitch-perfect. Plus, longtime Raimi collaborator Danny Elfman (Darkman, A Simple Plan, many more) provided one of his best scores. With great power came great responsibility.

4. Send Help (2026)

Sam Raimi's latest is definitely one of his greatest, with Send Help providing both edge-of-your-seat thrills and grim laughs thanks to a a story that's part Cast Away, part War of the Roses, and all demented. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien co-lead this fiendish fable about a frumpy sad-sack number cruncher and her pampered douchebag boss getting marooned on an isalnd together, where she thrives and he connives. Raimi knew McAdams was game after working with her on Multiverse of Madness, though it still feels like a surprise to see her in this particular Raimi-verse. The one filled with glop, slop, and characters getting the bejesus beaten out of them. O'Brien, too, is wonderfilly willing to get down and dirty, even at times channeling some of Bruce Campbell's old meathead machismo.

Read IGN's review of Send Help here.

3. A Simple Plan (1998)

The first big outlier in Sam Raimi's career was -- heck, still is! -- his most acclaimed film to date, winning multiple awards and landing two Oscar nominations (one of which was won by Billy Bob Thornton). A Simple Plan is far more than just "Raimi's Fargo," spinning a morose yarn about two brothers and a local yokel who find $4 million on a crashed private plane in the snowy woods. Their best intentions (about keeping the money, mind you) go miserably awry, almost from the get-go, and Raimi superbly devastates us with his first earnest attempt at genuine emotion, fear, and anxiety. Thornton and Bill Paxton are next level as a the ill-fated bros and Bridget Fonda (on the movie where she'd meet husband Danny Elfman) is searing in a Lady Macbeth-style performance. A Simple Plan is still criminally underseen, not just as a Raimi movie but as one of the best films of the '90s period.

2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

When Spider-Man 2 hit, the world of superhero movies felt a seismic change. To this day, it's still considered by many to be the best, even when Iron Man and The Dark Knight rolled around six years later and split the vote. Raimi took everything that worked in the first Spider-Man movie and dialed it up, even giving us some Evil Dead-ittude during Doc Ock's hospital tentacle attack. Let's put it this way: Spider-Man 2 is so good that fans immediately accepted the "Spider-Man's powers don't work because Peter is full of anxiety and regret" angle. That would be ripped to shred these days (as everything, sadly, is ripped to shreds). Spider-Man 2 is a cathartic watch, gifting us with Grade-A Spidey while also offering an interesting spin on Otto Octavius being controlled by myopic AI. The Spider-Man/Doc Ock battles feel like they're leaping out of the comic pages, with the subway fight still looming large as one of the best super-brawls ever. Peter dealing with his decision to live a lonely vigilante life helped bring this rollicking romp to life, leaving just enough room to set up a third movie that would for sure be as good, if not better. Little did we know.

1. Evil Dead II (1987)

This is it. The apex. The peak. Evil Dead... perfected!

Only a handful of directors have chosen to/had the opportunity to remake their own movie, but one of them was Raimi favorite Alfred Hitchcock -- an auteur whom Raimi patterned not only his camera work after, but also his suited on-set style. Evil Dead II is a zany, splattery, righteous ride that needs to be seen by everyone. We say this without fear of hyperbole. This is a devilishy camped-up Evil Dead, taking everything that worked in the first movie -- Ash and his girlfriend discover the Necronomicon in a secluded cabin and accidentally release Deadites -- and blowing it up to the Nth degree. Heavy is the slapstick, silliness, and stunt work as Bruce Campbell becomes the consummate demon-battling ragdoll. Evil Dead II is the best horror-comedy ever made and the number of filmmakers it's influenced is too many to count. Even when Raimi makes movies today -- whether it's an MCU entry or something like Send Help -- we get giddy when we see anything that harkens back to Evil Dead II. This iconic cult classic uses every cinematic trick in the book, even inventing a few new ones along the way. It's an over-the-top, brazen, self-aware "sequel" that easily stands the test of time.

What's your favorite Raimi movie? Let's talk in the comments, and of course, vote in our poll too!

For better or worse, 2026 just keeps chugging along. The one benefit of that, to me at least, is getting closer to some pretty exciting streaming releases. Next month, Disney+ will host the return of The Muppets, a new Hannah Montana stream, and the second season of The Artful Dodger. Here's a full breakdown of everything getting added to the service in February.

Everything Coming to Disney+ in February

February 4

• Ancient Aliens (S17)
• The Muppet Show
• We Call It Imagineering

The Muppet Show returns with a special produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (The Studio, Superbad). It stars Rogen, Sabrina Carpenter, and Maya Rudolph alongside, of course, the iconic Muppets themselves. The special is gauging interest in a potential revival while celebrating the series’ 50th anniversary.

For Disney theme park fans, We Call it Imagineering is a series you can also find on YouTube. Each episode dives into the people and technology behind Disney's most beloved attractions.

February 7

• Engineering Europe

This National Geographic series digs into some of the wildest feats of engineering across Europe, from massive bridges to tiny engines.

February 10

• The Artful Dodger (S2)

The Artful Dodger, an Australian TV sequel to the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist, is coming straight to Disney+ for its second season. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Maia Mitchell, and David Thewlys are all reprising their roles in the main cast.

February 13

• Incas: The Rise and Fall
• Arranged (S1)
• Cartoonified! With Phineas and Ferb - Shorts

Cartoonified! With Phineas and Ferb is essentially a revamped version of the Take Two with Phineas the Ferb shorts. The recently rebooted duo interview real-life celebrities, who in turn get the animated treatment.

We’ll also get some more Nat Geo with Incas: Rise and Fall, while Arranged is yet another Lifetime reality series.

February 14

• Chibi Tiny Tales: Shorts (S7)

The latest season of Chibi Tiny Tales is coming to Disney+ all at once. This iteration of shorts features characters from Phineas & Ferb, Kiff, Tangled, and even a chibi-fied version of A Goofy Movie.

February 17

• RoboGobo (S2) Premiere
• New 24/7 Hannah Montana Stream

The second season of RoboGobo, an animated superhero series, is landing on Disney+ after airing Disney Jr. On the same day, Disney+ will be rolling out a new 24/7 Hannah Montana stream in celebration of the series 20th anniversary. The stream will feature a marathon of Hannah Montana episodes as well as movies and concerts.

February 18

• Armorsaurs (S1)
• Dead Girl Summer
• History's Greatest Mysteries (S6)
• A Roommate to Die For
• A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush
• Storage Wars (S16)
• Trapped in Her Dorm Room

Armorsaurs takes inspiration from a South Korean series, Armor Saurus, in a blend of live-action and animated art styles. The first season will arrive on Disney+ all at once after airing on Disney XD last fall.

The streamer is also picking up a spread of Lifetime movies and series, a significant chunk of which are college-themed. (I don’t know why.)

February 26

• Inside the CIA: Secrets and Spies

Another pick-up from Nat Geo, this documentary collection offers an inside look into specific CIA operations over the past several decades.

February 27

• Ancient Autopsy: Mysteries of the Dead (S1)
• Miraculous World: Tokyo Stellar Force
• Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess

Surprisingly enough, Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess, a movie rendition of the hit Disney Jr. series from early 2010s, was never added to Disney+. Until now, at least. Along similar lines, the streamer is getting Miraculous World: Tokyo Stellar Force, a movie in the Miraculous: Tales of Lady Bug series.

And, on the less family-friendly side of things, Disney+ will stream the Nat Geo series Ancient Autopsy, investigating the lives of historical figures like Cleopatra and Genghis Khan through, well, their remains.

February 28

• Danger Decoded (S1)

A new reality docu-series coming straight to Disney+, per its title, breaking down what exactly can make a situation unexpectedly deadly.

Last Chance to Save on Disney+ and Hulu Bundle

Aside from the slate of releases coming to the service, Disney+ also has an ongoing discount on its ad-supported streaming bundle with Hulu, giving you one month of both services for $9.99. For reference, after the most recent price hikes, the bundle typically costs $12.99, while each service now costs $11.99 on its own. The offer ends on February 17.