Picture Credit: Focus Features
The heartbreaking drama that led the recent awards season is officially making its way to Netflix. Following its highly successful theatrical run late last year and its initial streaming debut on Peacock, the Chloé Zhao-directed cinematic masterpiece Hamnet is heading to Netflix US this summer.
The streamer has now confirmed that Hamnet (2025) will be available to stream on Netflix US starting Monday, July 6th, 2026.
How the Universal/Focus Features Deal Works
If you’re wondering why a major Oscar contender is bouncing between streaming services, it all comes down to the newly revamped Universal streaming deal.
As we reported earlier this year, the Universal Pictures live-action “first-window” agreement with Netflix actually kicked in a year early, transitioning away from Amazon’s Prime Video at the start of 2026. Because Hamnet is a Focus Features (Universal) release, it falls perfectly into this lucrative licensing pipeline.
Unlike the Sony output deal, where Netflix gets an uninterrupted 18 months, Universal parses its window into a split structure, much like how their animation titles from DreamWorks and Illumination have worked for the past few years. Hamnet spent its first four months of post-theatrical streaming exclusively on Peacock (arriving there in early March following its home video release). Now, it is making its scheduled jump to Netflix on July 6th, where it will remain exclusively for a 10-month window.
Following this 10-month run on Netflix (which will conclude in May 2027), the film will leave the platform and return to Peacock for the final four months of its Pay-1 window.
The Lowdown: What is ‘Hamnet’ About?
Directed by two-time Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao best known for Nomadland (which is actually making its way onto Netflix US on July 1st) and The Rider and co-written with author Maggie O’Farrell (based on her award-winning 2020 novel), Hamnet is a devastatingly beautiful historical drama.
The film tells the untold story of Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a free-spirited healer who marries a young, ambitious playwright named William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). As William pursues a budding theater career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The core of the film revolves around the tragic death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, in 1596. It explores how this profound loss deeply tests their once-unshakable bond, ultimately serving as the catalyst for the creation of Shakespeare’s most famous and enduring masterpiece, Hamlet.
Picture Credit: Focus Features
The film was a massive critical success, earning a Certified Fresh rating and dominating the BAFTA and Oscar conversations, driven by its powerhouse lead performances:
- Jessie Buckley (Wicked Little Letters, The Lost Daughter) as Agnes Hathaway.
- Paul Mescal (Gladiator II, Aftersun) as William Shakespeare.
- Emily Watson as Mary Shakespeare.
- Joe Alwyn as Bartholomew Hathaway.
- Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet Shakespeare.
Will you be checking out Chloé Zhao’s critically acclaimed drama during its 10-month run on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
