I watched nothing but Tubi for a week. Here’s what I learnt

You know when Obi-Wan Kenobi called Mos Eisley a “wretched hive of scum and villainy” and then immediately went into a cool bar that played fun jazz music and honestly had a pretty good vibe?

That’s how it feels to watch Tubi.

Tubi is completely baffling but very compelling.Credit: Margaret Gordon

After my colleagues watched SBS On Demand and then ABC iview for a week, I volunteered to do Tubi. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a free streaming service that you can install as an app on your TV or watch in your browser.

Will it be home to some of the most wretched scum in television and film history? Yes. Is there also some gold to find? We’re about to find out.

What does it offer?

Thanks to being owned by Fox, it contains large collections of faith-based content from Fox Soul and what it calls “black independent cinema”. Tubi also has a solid reality TV library, lots of old movies, and a surprising number of films you’ve never heard of that inexplicably star big-name actors.

If you create an account it says it will recommend you things to watch and allow you to jump back into a show you’re halfway through watching. I didn’t bother. I wanted the full, unadulterated Tubi experience. No strings attached.

First impressions

Other streaming services might prioritise their own content but not Tubi. It launches you straight into a wild rush of every type of show and film you never knew existed. The first thing I decided to watch was a 2006 film called Lonely Hearts, with the kind of A-list cast that makes you wonder why you’d never heard of it. John Travolta and James Gandolfini play hardbitten cops in post-WWII New York, on the trail of Salma Hayek and Jared Leto’s murderous con couple. Laura Dern is there, Scott Caan, a bunch of character actors – this should work! It turns out this film was not a hit because even the big names can’t fix poor direction, editing and writing. But it did give me some insight into how hard it is to make something good.

The reality shows range from classics like The Only Way Is Essex, to something called Serena’s Dream Life, which is about a Melbourne woman who moves to LA to launch some sort of dating coaching app. Everything about the show and her was baffling to me. Who is funding this show? Who is funding her business? How did any of this happen?

I realised Tubi is the place to go to find content that makes you immediately Google it to understand what the hell happened with it. Why was Deathstalker so sexually aggressive? (Answer: It was one of Roger Corman’s films he made in Argentina, although I guess that’s not an answer). How did Blood 4 Blood, a 2023 film about a girl whose father is killed by a gangster, get made at all? (Answer: No idea, Google is not very helpful these days).

There are some gems. Ex Machina is an excellent film about AI, starring Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. It had mainstream success and it was great. How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town was unexpectedly pretty alright, as everyone’s motivations for planning the orgy came together (...no spoilers).

What I didn’t love

The lack of an algorithm does mean you have to wade through a lot of random stuff. Would I watch Pregnant By The Pastor: The Aftermath? Actually, I probably will. What about Jurassic Triangle? I’ll pass.

There are ads, although I didn’t mind that too much. They were at least a bit different to the usual ones you see during the footy. Alongside ads for Australia Post, you’ll see sex toy brand Wild Secrets, and lender Now Finance, starring Urzila Carlson talking about a dog getting diarrhoea. They got a bit repetitive, so perhaps Urzila could mix it up by talking about an incontinent cat instead? Something to consider for the boffins at Now Finance.

There was also a moment as I was watching my second episode of Serena’s Dream Life (in which she couldn’t make a business meeting with a pushy investor! But then it turns out she did make the meeting! Thrilling stuff) when my friend Shaun messaged me. “Have you seen Bottoms?” I did feel like breaking my self-imposed Tubi tunnel-vision to see a comedy that people actually enjoy. But I held strong. Because I believe in journalism and informing our readers.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely. It reminded me of the early days of Amazon Prime’s streaming service, which was filled with 70s B-movies and the occasional new hit. Tubi’s massive library means there is almost certainly something for everyone, including shows from your childhood you may have forgotten.

I’m going to keep going through Tubi because it reminds me a bit of scrolling through page after page of online forums to find the exact obscure answer you’re looking for. When you strike gold, it feels like you earned it. Will Serena DC’s dating app business ever make it big in LA? What happens in First Lady II: Maria’s Revenge? Is Chris Hemsworth good in hacker drama Blackhat?

Tubi is going to be part of the streaming mix for me in the future. Maybe not all the time, but as part of a healthy balanced diet. Given that you pay nothing for it in these inflationary times, I think it’s a real bargain.

What I watched

• Lonely Hearts
• The Only Way Is Essex season 1
• Serena’s Dream Life season 1
• The Rundown
• Blood 4 Blood
• Ex Machina
• How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town
• Deathstalker