What are you going to be watching in August? We round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+.
The biggies
House of the Dragon (on Neon from August 22)
It’s finally here. A little over three years since the last, hugely disappointing episode of Game of Thrones – during which time HBO green-lit, cast and shot a whole other spinoff, abandoned after just one episode – we’re returning to Westeros, and I couldn’t be more excited. House of the Dragon is set about 300 years prior to the events covered in the original, so don’t expect any familiar faces to pop up this time around. But do get ready for a lot of CGI dragons – this was the era before they all but died out, remember – and plenty of Targaryen-blond wigs, including on stars Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and newcomer Emma D’Arcy. / Catherine McGregor
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (on Disney+ from August 17)
What if Ally McBeal had superpowers? That appears to be the question that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is answering, and I for one cannot wait. The series, the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, follows Jennifer Waters (Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany), the cousin of the Hulk who also somehow has his powers. She also happens to be an attorney, whose specialty is defending low-level superheroes who get held up in court. This promises to be a more comedic take on the MCU, but I’m dubious that like the rest of the shows it’ll end in a CGI light show showcase. / Sam Brooks
The Sandman (on Netflix from August 5)
Sadly, this is not a show about Mr Sandman the jaunty pop song with impressive harmonies, but a new dark fantasy series based on a DC comic by Neil Gaiman. After years of imprisonment, a king of dreams named Morpheus heads off on a journey to find out what has been stolen from him while he was in the sleep slammer and claim all his power back. He sounds like a lot of fun, much like a good nap. This promises to be a dark adventure across the time and space continuum, and also possibly into your nightmares? Keep the lights on, you’ll be fine. / Tara Ward
Five Days at Memorial (on Apple TV+ from August 12)
It seems we can’t get enough of “based on true events” drama at the moment, but Apple TV+’s new series Five Days at Memorial is a story you wish hadn’t happened. Set during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the series follows the doctors and nurses in a New Orleans hospital who were stranded with patients when the storm hit, and with no chance of rescue, had to make unimaginable decisions that would follow them for years. Adapted from a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sheri Fink, expect Five Days at Memorial to be both harrowing and hugely compelling. Bring nerves of steel and plenty of tissues. / TW
The notables
The Rehearsal (on Neon from August 27)
Nathan Fielder, the star and creator of cringe masterpiece Nathan for You, hires a group of artists, performers and other professionals to help him manufacture a life so he, and the complete strangers he interacts with or ropes in, can “rehearse” life’s key moments. If Nathan for You was your thing, this absolutely will be. If even say, The Office was too cringe or awkward for you, you might want to stay away. Fielder is a genius, but like many geniuses, also an acquired taste. / SB
The Bear (on Disney+ from August 31)
Come for the sandwiches, dripping in blood red beef juice and pickles and sauces. Come also for the heroic, doe-eyed lead performance from Jeremy Allen White, and the excellent supporting roles – especially rising talent Ayo Edebiri. But stay for the tension, the brutal behind-the-scenes look at what running a popular Chicago sandwich bar really is like. The Bear is hotblooded, incessant television that slices and dices everything in its path. It will leave scars. It’s also my favourite show of the year. / SB
A League of Their Own (on Amazon Prime Video from August 12)
A League of Their Own is, hands down, one of the best movies of the 90s. Penny Marshall’s brilliant comedy isn’t just a bunch of actors at their best (Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna) but a genuinely smart, funny, and heartfelt story of a women’s baseball team. This reboot stars Abbi Jacobsen, D’Arcy Carden, Chante Adams and Kate Berlant, with Nick Offerman taking on Tom Hanks’ role. I’m dubious if it can match the 1992 film, but even halfway would be good enough for me. / SB
Players (on TVNZ on Demand from August 5)
An e-sports mockumentary? Sure! Players follows a fictional League of Legends pro (no product placement) esports team as they pursue their first championship after years of coming quite close to winning and just missing out. However, to win it all, Creamcheese (Misha Brooks), the 27-year-old veteran player has to team up with Organizm (Da’Jour Jones), a prodigy. Egos will be set aside, inside jokes will be made, and it’ll probably be a skewering of a sport that could use a laugh. / SB
The movies
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (on Neon from August 16 and Amazon Prime Video on August 18)
If you’ve been iffy on the Venom movies because they look like just another comic book movie, I need to tell you to run, not walk to these films. What seems like a grimdark take on the superhero genre is actually a deeply bizarre, deeply appealing, odd couple story between Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the symbiote that lives in his body, Venom (also Tom Hardy). The movies are so silly they’re basically screwball comedies, and Let There Be Carnage just takes it deeper. / SB
Lightyear (on Disney+ from August 3)
No, it’s not based on the toy Buzz Lightyear. It’s origin story of the real man that the toy is based on. If that doesn’t sound like complete gibberish to you, you might enjoy Pixar’s latest outing, Lightyear. / SB
The rest
Netflix
August 1
Big Tree City
Top Gun
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
August 2
Ricardo Quevedo: Tomorrow Will Be Worse
August 3
Good Morning, Veronica: Season 2
Buba
Don’t Blame Karma!
Clusterf**k: Woodstock ’99
August 4
Lady Tamara
Wedding Season
Super Giant Robot Brothers
Kakegurui Twin
August 5
The Sandman
Carter
Darlings
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; The Movie
August 6
Reclaim
August 8
Code Name: Emperor
Team Zenko Go: Season 2
August 9
I Just Killed My Dad
August 10
Instant Drama Home
Iron Chef Brazil
Locke & Key: Season 3
School Tales The Series
Indian Matchmaking: Season 2
Heartsong
Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist
The Bureau of Magical Things: Season 2
Rams
August 11
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
DOTA: Dragon’s Blood: Book 3
August 12
Never Have I Ever: Season 3
A Model Family
13: The Musical
Day Shift
August 15
Deepa and Anoop
August 16
Untold: Volume 2
Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist
Untold: The Rise and Fall of AND1
Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul
Back to the Future
August 17
High Heat
Unsuspicious
Look Both Ways
Royalteen
August 18
Inside the Mind of a Cat
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season 3
Tekken: Bloodline
August 19
Echoes
Kleo
The Girl in the Mirror (Alma)
Glow Up: Season 4
The Next 365 Days
The Cuphead Show: Part
August 20
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar
August 23
Chad and JT Go Deep
August 24
Lost Ollie
Mo
Queer Eye: Brazil
Selling the OC
Under Fire
Watch Out, We’re Mad
Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfree
Superwog
August 25
That’s Amor
History 101: Season 2
Angry Birds: Summer Madness: Season 3
Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure
August 26
Drive Hard: The Maloof Way
Ludik
Loving Adults
Me Time
Seoul Time
August 29
Under Her Control
Mighty Express: Season 7
August 30
I Am A Killer: Season 3
August 31
Family Secrets
I Came By
Club America vs Club America
Neon
August 1
City on a Hill: Season 3
The Lego Movie
August 2
Industry: Season 2
August 3
Along Came Polly
August 5
Scream
August 6
Falling for Figaro
August 7
Stillwater
August 8
The Collection
August 10
Death of a Telemarketer
August 11
Take Out with Lisa Ling
Crimson Peak
August 12
The Last Son
August 13
Castle Falls
August 14
Vanquish
August 15
Everest
August 16
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
August 17
Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Johannesburg
Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Lagos
Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Philadelphia
Patriot Games
August 18
The Foreigner
August 19
Kill Chain
Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Faith
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel
August 20
Belfast
August 21
Jarhead
August 22
House of the Dragon
August 24
Death on the Beach
Reprisal
August 25
Rillington Place
No. 2
August 26
Jackass Forever
August 27
The Rehearsal
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
August 28
Cry Macho
August 30
Bonnie and Clyde
August 31
Miami Vice
TVNZ+
August 1
Zana
Love Between The Covers
Russia’s Cyber Army
Objector
Songs of War: Music as a Weapon
The Bling Ring
Disappearance in Yellowstone
Single Black Female
Line Sisters
Cocaine Godmother
Anne Rule’s A House on Fire
Anne Rule’s Circle of Deception
Nick’s Wild Ride
Diamond River Hunters
Gold Fever: Season 5
Camp Wannakiki: Season 3
GoGo for the Gold: Season 1b
The Gauntlet of Games: Season 1b
F*cking Smart: Season 1b
Baby
The Oratorio
My Darling Vivian
You Cannot Kill David Arquette
August 3
The Arrangement
August 5
Skymed
Players
August 12
Barons
August 10
Miranda: Seasons 1-3
August 13
Smiley Face Killers
August 17
The Undeclared War
August 18
Magpie Murderers
August 20
Mystery of the Man on the Moor
August 23
The King
August 25
Power: Seasons 1-6
Power Book II: Ghosts
August 28
I Just Want My Pants Back
Disney+
August 3
Lightyear
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Ms Marvel
August 5
Prey
The Lion King: Sing-a-Long Version
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride: Sing-a-Long Version
We Are Love Supreme
August 10
I Am Groot
Maggie
August 12
This Fool
August 17
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Eureka!
August 19
Beauty and the Beast: Sing-a-Long Version (1991)
Beauty and the Beast: Sing-a-Long Version (2017)
Tangled: Sing-a-Long Version
High Strung: Free Dance
August 24
Fearless: The Inside Story of the AFLW
August 25
Mike
August 26
Million Dollar Moon Rock Heist
August 31
The Bear
PJ Masks: Season 5
Andor
Amazon Prime Video
August 1
Sing
August 3
Just Go With It
August 4
All or Nothing: Arsenal S1
August 5
The Outlaws: Season 5
Thirteen Lives
August 10
Hating Game
Julie and Julia
August 12
A League of Their Own
August 15
The Bounty Hunter
The Tourist
August 16
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
August 19
Making the Cut
August 20
Belfast
August 26
Samaritan
Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby
August 31
The Da Vinci Code
The Pursuit of Happyness
Apple TV+
August 5
Luck
The Snoopy Show: Season 2
The Peanuts Classics
August 12
Five Days at Memorial
Lucy’s School
August 19
Bad Sisters
Surfside Girls
August 26
See
Acorn
August 1
The Murders
Single Handed: Season 2
August 8
Darby and Joan
Hustle: Season 3
August 15
Gourmet Detective
A Healthy Place to Die
Death Al Dente
Eat, Drink and Be Buried
August 22
Cape Town
August 29
Emma Fielding Mysteries
The Tunnel: Season 2
Shudder
August 2
First Love
Elizabeth Harvest
August 3
February (aka The Blackboat’s Daughter)
August 4
What Josiah Saw
August 9
Lizzie
Satanic Picnic
August 16
1BR
The Soul Collector
August 17
Alone With You
August 18
Glorious
August 19
Curse of Audrey Earnshaw
Bloodthirsty
August 23
So Vam
August 25
I Blame Society
August 30
All The Creatures Were Stirring
Sadistic Intentions