What are you going to be watching in August? With thanks to our friends at Nando‘s, we round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.
The biggies
Nine Perfect Strangers (limited series, first three episodes on Amazon Prime Video on August 20, weekly thereafter)
Is The White Lotus not stressful enough for you? Then buckle in, because here’s another show about rich people gathered in a luxury resort while trying to escape their problems. Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the book by Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies), focuses on a wellness resort run by a mysterious Russian woman (Nicole Kidman in a bewildering wig and more bewildering accent). Guests arrive for a 10-day retreat that seems less about “wellness” and more about “uncovering devastating trauma within oneself”. It sounds like tense watching, but with a cast that includes Melissa McCarthy, Regina Hall and Bobby Cannavale, this is one not to miss. / Sam Brooks
Neon’s Documentary Spotlight (on Neon from August 1)
Sick of the plights of the fictional? Want to dive back into the real world? Look no further than Neon’s documentary spotlight, which brings many of the best documentaries from the past year to the platform. The documentaries range from an in-depth look of the Covid outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the story of a small town’s fight against Elon Musk, a wide-ranging look at Obama’s rise to the presidency, and a tender reflection on the tragic life of Chyna, one-time WWF superstar and ninth wonder of the world. Read our piece detailing them all right here. / SB
The Panthers (on TVNZ on Demand from August 15, weekly on TVNZ1)
The year is 1974. Will ‘Ilolahis (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), the black sheep of his Tongan family and “The Professor” of the streets, is sick of seeing his community stuck fighting against a broken system. Inspired by the Black Panther movement in the USA, ‘Ilolahia and a group of likeminded folks form The Polynesian Panthers, becomig the revolutionaries their community needs them to be. This six part series drops in its entirety on August 15, but if you want to watch it on broadcast, it’ll be on Sunday nights at 8.30pm starting that same day. / Sam Brooks
The Chair (on Netflix from August 20)
I admit, a series about the new head of department at a small liberal arts college doesn’t exactly scream “rollicking good time”. But what if I told you it starred Sandra Oh, of Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve fame, in her first truly comedic role? And that the cast includes indie darling Mark Duplass and stone cold legend Holland Taylor? And that it was created by the multi-talented Amanda Peet, who was so good as Betty Broderick on Dirty John, and is co-produced by Game of Thrones showrunners DB Weiss and David Benioff, Peet’s husband? And that the key art for the show depicts Oh behind a nameplate that reads “F*cker in charge of you f*cking f*cks”? Now you’re interested, right? / Catherine McGregor
The notables
Kevin Can Go F**K Himself (on Amazon Prime Video from August 27)
There’s high concept TV, and then there’s whatever the hell Kevin Can F**k Himself is. The Emmy-winning Annie Murphy does a 180 from her cheery Schitt’s Creek character to play Allison, the downtrodden wife of boorish, man-child Kevin. The twist – and it’s a doozy – is that this is show of two halves: a gritty prestige TV relationship drama about a woman struggling to free herself from her domineering husband and a cheesy multi-camera sitcom (complete with laugh track) in which Allison’s marriage is depicted through a familiar oafish husband/hot wife “comedic” lens. Whatever Kevin Can F**k Himself is, it definitely won’t be boring. / CM
The Cabins (on Neon from August 23)
As the sun begins to fade on our beloved Love Island, The Cabins swoops like a chiselled bombshell ready to turn our reality-loving heads. Created by the team behind Love Island, The Cabins is a dating show with a simpler, more wholesome vibe – think cosy log cabins and fireside D&Ms, hot tubs and fairy lights, and lots of fluffy cushions. It’s basically a reality version of Virgin River, but instead of a stubbly Martin Henderson we get 12 hornbag singles who pair up and spend 24 hours together to see if they have a future. Completely bonkers, can’t wait to love it. / Tara Ward
Clickbait (on Netflix from August 25)
In a perfect world this series would earn its name by being promoted hyperbolically but delivering nothing but a bunch of tedious social media posts when you press play. In fact, the eight-part Clickbait, which is set in the US but shot in Melbourne, is billed as a “cyber-thriller”. It centres around a character played by Adrian Grenier (who made his name playing the star at the centre of the comedy Entourage), a man whose online life turns out to be a whole lot different to his wholesome family man appearance.What gives real hope for Clickbait is the pedigree of its creator-showrunner, Tony Ayres, whose back catalogue includes The Slap, one of the most impressive television programmes to be created in Australia this century. / Toby Manhire
Only Murders in the Building (on Disney+ from August 30)
Given the pace of its growth and the bloatedness of its tropes, it’s no wonder the true-crime podcast genre has quickly become a focus for pastiche. But none comes so star-studded as Only Murders in the Building, a 10-parter starring comedy colossus Steve Martin, alongside the celebrated pop star and actor Selena Gomez and Martin Short, who you’ll recognise but you probably won’t be sure where from. The plot could not be less surprising: three strangers set about investigating a crime, only to find themselves drawn deeper than they’d ever imagined. But with Martin sharing a writing credit, it could be a cracker. / TM
The films
Tig Notaro: Drawn (on Neon from August 6)
Tig Notaro’s half-hour Live set from 2012, performed only four days after she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, remains one of the highlights of 21st century standup comedy; her later special, Boyish Girl Interrupted, isn’t far off either. Now Notaro is back with a new special, but you won’t see her on screen – Drawn is entirely animated. It’s a reminder that while Notaro’s most acclaimed work is her more vulnerable, tragic stuff, she’s also a deeply accomplished absurdist and her sillier material is up there with the best of the best. If you can find a video of her simply pushing around a stool on the set of Conan, do yourself a favour and watch – it’ll be the funniest thing you see all week. Consider Drawn a must-watch, whether you’re an avid stand-up fan or not. / SB
He’s All That (on Netflix from August 27)
This is a gender-flipped remake of semi-problematic 90s teen movie She’s All That starring TikTok sensation Addison Rae as Padgett (not a name), who accepts a challenge to turn the inexplicably symmetrical yet socially noxious Cameron (Tanner Buchanan, from Cobra Kai) into the most popular boy in school. Rachael Leigh Cook returns, as a completely unrelated character to the one she played in the original, and according to Wikipedia, Kourtney Kardashian has a kameo. Thanks, I hate all of it. / SB
Coda (on Apple TV+ from August 13)
Coda, an acronym for “child of Deaf adults”, was the hit of this year’s Sundance Festival, and was purchased by Apple TV+ for a record $25 million. Emilia Jones plays Ruby, the hearing girl in a culturally Deaf family who run a fishing business on the Massachusetts coast. She joins the choir club, where she kills it, and after being encouraged to apply for music school she has to decide between helping her family and pursuing her singing dream. Grab your tissues and get ready for some red eyes, because this one is not just the hit of Sundance, but the tearjerker of the year. / SB
This post is made possible by our friends at Nando’s.
The rest
Netflix
August 1
Joker
Spy Kids
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
August 3
Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified
Pray Away
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord
August 4
Control Z: Season 2
Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 3
Cooking with Paris
76
Cocaine Cowboys
August 6
Hit and Run
Navarasa
Vivo
The Swarm
August 9
Shaman King
August 10
Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
Untold: Malice at the Palace
Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 2
August 11
Bake Squad
The Kissing Booth 3
Misha and the Wolves
August 12
AlRawabi School for Girls
Lokillo: Nothing’s the Same
Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild
August 13
Brand New Cherry Flavour
Gone for Good
The Kingdom
Valeria: Season 2
Beckett
Fast & Furious Spy Racers: South Pacific
August 17
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Go! Go! Cory Carson: Season 5
August 18
The Defeated
Out of My League
The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student
Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes
August 20
The Chair
Everything will be Fine
Sweet Girl
The Loud House Movie
August 22
Cats
August 23
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
August 24
Untold: Caitlyn Jenner
Oggy Oggy
August 25
Open Your Eyes
Clickbait
Motel Makeover
Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes
John of God: The Crimes of a Spiritual Healer
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed
August 26
Family Reunion: Part 4
Edens Zero
August 27
Titledown High
He’s All That
I Heart Arlo
August 28
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
August 31
Good Girls: Season 3
Sparking Joy
Untold; Crime and Penalties
Neon
August 1
Rescued Chimps of the Congo With Jane Goodall
Bruno
August 2
The Last Cruise
August 3
Vice Versa: Between Musk and Mars
Jane Eyre
August 4
Hooking Up
August 5
White Famous
Milk
The Legend of the Underground
August 6
Vice Versa: Chyna
Tig Notaro: Drawn
August 7
Archive
The Day Sports Stood Still
August 8
The L Word: Generation Q: Season 2
Vice Versa: HIV: The Neglected Pandemic
Bellbird
August 9
The Equalizer
August 10
Mr Inbetween: Season 3
August 11
Rockabye Island
Daisy Quokka – World’s Scariest Animal
August 12
Five Bedrooms: Season 2
The Kid Detective
August 13
Keas: New Zealand’s Witty Daredevils
The Croods: A New Age
August 14
The Lost Husband
August 15
Deceit
Honest Thief
August 16
FBI: Most Wanted: Season 2
August 17
Willy’s Wonderland
August 18
Super Why: Season 3
100% Wolf
August 19
War and Peace
August 20
The Dark Side of Football
David Attenborough’s Light on Earth
An American Pickle
August 21
Cinema Toast
Target Number One
The War with Grandpa
August 22
The Glorias
August 23
The Cabins
August 24
Doug To The Rescue
August 25
Bad Boys
Bad Boys 2
August 26
Twin Peaks: Season 1
Housesitter
August 27
Flatbush Misdemeanours
Love Island USA: Season 3
Freaky
August 28
Let Him Go
August 29
Irresistable
August 30
Assault on Precinct 13
August 30
Britannia: Season 3
August 31
The Man with the Iron Fists
TVNZ on Demand
August 1
Smother
August 2
Darwin+Newts: I’m On It
Darwin+Newts: Let’s Science It
August 9
Debris
K-Pop Academy
K-Pop Academy: Dance Lessons
August 15
The Panthers
August 17
Bachelor in Paradise: Season 7
August 23
Brave New World
The Drawing Show
August 28
Departure
August 31
Nurses
Disney+
August 4
Short Circuit
Disney Junior Muppet Babies
August 6
Hip Hop Uncovered
A Wilderness of Error
Hysterical
Criminal Minds: Season 15
Black Widow (1987)
Impact with Gal Gadot
Sharks vs. Dolphins: Blood Battle
August 11
What If…?
Spidey and His Amazing Friends
August 13
The Predator (2018)
August 18
Diary of a Future President: Season 2
Gigantosaurus: Season 2
Growing Up Animal
August 20
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Red Sparrow
Flooded Tombs of the Niles
August 25
The Empty Man
August 27
Vacation Friends
Cruella
Disney Princess Remix: An Ultimate Princess Celebration
August 31
Only Murders in the Building
Amazon Prime Video
August 2
The Craft: Legacy
August 6
Cruel Summer
S.O.Z: Soldados O Zombies
The Croods: A New Age
Let Him Go
August 12
Evangelion:1.11 You Are (Not) Alone
Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance
Evangelione 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo
Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time
August 13
Modern Love: Season 2
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 2
August 14
Priest
Grown Ups
Underworld Awakening
Takers
Legion
The Bounnty Hunter
Money Monster
August 15
Safe House
August 16
I Saw The Light
The Bronze
August 20
Nine Perfect Strangers
August 21
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
August 23
Elementary
August 26
Rosehaven
August 27
Kevin Can F**K Himself
Dawn Raid
August 30
The Pursuit of Happyness
Ghost Rider
Hitch
Fun with Dick and Jane
AppleTV+
August 6
Mr. Corman
August 13
Coda
August 27
See: Season 2
Acorn TV
August 2
Lost Letters Mysteries
August 9
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 11 + Christmas Special
The Circuit: Season 1 and 2
August 16
Harbour Lights
Emma Fielding Mysteries
August 23
Republic of Doyle
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 12
August 30
Dark Heart
The Hatton Garden Heist