For more than a week now, all eyes have been on Southern California as wildfires have raged across the greater Los Angeles area. The unpredictable and fast-moving disaster has burned through entire communities and displaced tens of thousands of Californians.  

Amid such devastation, it’s impossible not to be thinking about LA right now. So if you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, try some movies or shows inspired by Los Angeles, in all its depth and specificity. Call up a documentary about one of its greatest writers, a talk show that affectionately celebrates LA’s idiosyncratic personality, or a whole selection of stories in which the City of Angels plays its own vibrant role. These titles study the character of a truly singular place, known around the world for its creativity, its community — and its resilience. 

But first, what’s new on Netflix?

A comeback. In her first film role in more than a decade, Cameron Diaz stars alongside Jamie Foxx in Back in Action, a new comedy by Seth Gordon. The superstars play a couple of ex-superspies who are forced out of retirement after their secret identities become known. Or how about something completely different? Get your teen rom-com fix with Season 2 of XO, Kitty, which sees Kitty (Anna Cathcart) return to Seoul for another sweet semester of love and friendship. 

If you have just a night … 

Hit the freeway with an icon. The 2017 documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, directed by Didion’s nephew Griffin Dunne, examines the extraordinary life and revered work of the writer, a legendary chronicler of her native California. Known for her stylishly spare prose, relentless honesty, and, of course, her pitch-perfect observations about life in Los Angeles, Didion remains a figure of fascination for readers from coast to coast.  

If you have a whole day … 

Check in with everybody. All six episodes of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, the comedy–talk show created and hosted by Mulaney (and featuring Richard Kind as his announcer), aired live over the course of one week last spring. Each installment sees Mulaney and a variety of celebrity guests discuss their love of Los Angeles through the lens of some particular aspect of it (coyotes, palm trees, helicopters, etc.). Interspersed with pre-taped sketches, musical performances, and footage shot all around the city, the zany take on late night is a love letter to LA and all that’s weird and wonderful about it.  

If you have the entire weekend … 

Indulge in some movie magic. Los Angeles is home to the entertainment industry, and the city itself has captured the imaginations of countless artists who have gone on to tell distinctly LA stories onscreen. Start with a pair of coming-of-age classics: John Singleton’s Oscar-nominated 1991 crime drama Boyz N the Hood stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube as teenagers growing up in South Central, while John G. Avildsen’s sports drama The Karate Kid sees a teenage boy (Ralph Macchio) struggle through a move to the Valley, before he learns martial arts from a master (Pat Morita) in the precursor to Cobra Kai. If you’re looking for laughs, turn to Brett Ratner’s 1998 action buddy comedy Rush Hour, in which Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker play an odd-couple pair of cops on assignment together; or join Doug Ellin’s Entourage, the 2015 movie sequel to the decadent HBO series about an up-and-coming star (Adrian Grenier) and his rowdy hometown pals taking on Hollywood. 

While we’re on that subject, throw in a bit of classic Hollywood: David Fincher’s Oscar-winning 2020 biopic Mank dramatizes the life of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) during the development of Citizen Kane. Finally, whether we’re talking about the industry or not, Los Angeles has always been home to people chasing their dreams, so try a trio of films about women who go there looking for their futures: Greta Gerwig’s 2023 comedy smash Barbie follows the iconic doll (Margot Robbie) from Barbieland to Venice Beach on a journey of self-discovery; Tamra Davis’ 2002 road movie Crossroads stars Britney Spears alongside Zoe Saldaña and Taryn Manning as teenagers driving westward on the eve of their adulthood; and Steven Antin’s campy 2010 musical Burlesque stars Christina Aguilera as an aspiring dancer who buys a one-way ticket from Iowa to LA, where she finds a friend and mentor in the owner of a burlesque lounge (Cher). 

Don’t forget, you have one last chance … 

… for a bedtime story. The critically adored The Babadook, a 2014 indie horror film by Jennifer Kent, stars Essie Davis as a single mother of a young son whose mysterious pop-up book unleashes a disturbing presence in their home. After next week, the monster will hang up its hat. 

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