Just what the world needs, another streaming service. Columnist NICK OVERALL road tests Paramount Plus.

PARAMOUNT Plus is the newest streaming platform cramming itself into the already crowded market, and now that it’s been out for a little over a week, is the $9 a month price tag worth it? Let’s take a look at some of what’s on offer.

Mark Wahlberg has certainly been made the face of the platform with a flick called “Infinite”, one of Paramount Plus’ originally produced films.

The sloppy action script tacks on a flimsy sci-fi concept that serves only to get Wahlberg doing ridiculous things such as clinging on to the side of airplanes for trailer bait.

It’s a shocker, and a lazy attempt to draw in subscribers.

Considerably better is “Two Weeks to Live”, which has “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams up front and centre in a comedy-drama series about a girl in search of her father’s murderer.

There’s some intriguing characters and concepts here that put a refreshing spin on the coming-of-age story. Fans of Netflix’s “End of the F***king World” will likely spot the heavy inspiration and enjoy it all the same. 

A few big franchises may keep some subscribers past the seven-day free trial available.

These include all eight “Harry Potter” movies as well as the “Lord of the Rings” movies, but the journeys of both Harry and Frodo can also be found on Netflix as well as some of the other platforms.

Also recognisable are the “Indiana Jones” and “Mission Impossible” movies as well as “The Godfather” trilogy, and for horror fans the “Annabelle” films are available but, unfortunately, not next to their far better “Conjuring” companions.

What about TV series though?

Fans of crime television may be able to get their fix, with shows like “NCIS” and “CSI” available. There’s also all of “Dexter”, for which Paramount has a revival in the works.

It’s also got a few comedy hits up its sleeve. 

On top of a few classics such as “Cheers” and “The King of Queens”, the hilarious skit duo “Key and Peele” finally have a platform for their show to be streamed.

The entirety of “South Park” is also available, and show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently pocketed close to a billion dollars to produce an additional 14 “South Park” films for the platform.

Some other highlights I came across, exclusive to the platform, include David Lynch’s surreal series “Twin Peaks”, both the original two seasons from the ‘90s and its 2017 revival.

The platform also has all episodes of Rod Serling’s masterpiece “The Twilight Zone”, which continues to prove as prescient today as it did throughout when it made its first cultural impact in the ‘60s.

Relying pretty heavily on the whole remake crutch, another of Paramount Plus’ original series is a modern revival of “The Twilight Zone”, which is watchable but pretty rough around the edges. 

It’s undoubtedly trying to jump on board the hype around the much more nuanced “Black Mirror” (on Netflix) that, by modern standards, captures the boldness of the original “Twilight Zone” far better. 

Kids might get a kick out of the Nickelodeon selection on offer with shows like “SpongeBob” or “Avatar: The Last Airbender” available, a show which has also proven a hit with young adults, but again, Netflix also has these available, too.

There are certainly things to watch on Paramount Plus, but what it’s really lacking at this point is a centrepiece, a stand out show to seal the deal; and it’s the reason why I didn’t renew past my seven-day free trial.

On Netflix you have the ‘80s sci-fi nostalgia trip “Stranger Things”, a show that seamlessly and brilliantly crosses all sorts of tastes in television. Disney Plus is giving viewers new, quality “Star Wars” and Marvel canon at the drop of a hat. 

Amazon Prime has “The Boys”, a show that not only turns the superhero genre on its head, but shakes it for all its worth and Binge has access to the entirety of the HBO catalogue including “Game of Thrones”.

Compared with stuff like this, Paramount Plus is going to need to serve up something more special if it wants to compete and Marky Mark hopping around an airplane isn’t going to cut it.