What are you going to be watching in September? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.

The biggies

Shrill (on Neon now)

It’s the superhero show we need right now: a woman who decides she’s had enough of everyone else’s crap. Based on journalist Lindy West’s memoir, Shrill centres on Annie (SNL’s Aidy Bryant), a young writer who wants to change her life without changing her size. It’s a bright, warm dramedy that highlights society’s lousy attitudes to women’s bodies, and Bryant shines as the people-pleasing Annie, as she embarks on an often funny, always empowering journey to self-acceptance. / Tara Ward

Away (on Netflix from September 4)

A long holiday from Earth sounds good right about now, so double thumbs up to Hilary Swank for taking us on a quick trip through the solar system in new space drama Away. Swank returns to the small screen to play Emma Green, an astronaut leading an international space mission to Mars that will take her away from her family for three long years. Living in a space station takes lockdown to a whole new level, but can they get the 1pm Bloomfield briefings in space? Probably not. No wonder Emma Green feels so nervous. / TW

I Hate Suzie (on Neon now)

Been missing Fleabag? Let I Hate Suzie cross the Waller-Bridge chasm that’s been in your life since 2019. The comedy is created by Lucy Prebble (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Succession) and Billie Piper (‘Honey to the Bee’, Doctor Who), who gives yet another landmark performance as a failed child star who has compromising photos leaked in a phone hack, just after she booked a gig as a Disney princess. The show follows her through the stages of grief as her life explodes, and then slowly falls back into place. Like I said, there’s more than a few shades of Fleabag here, and Piper’s performance combined with Prebble’s sabre-sharp writing brings the show up to the level of that modern classic. / Sam Brooks

Educators (season two on TVNZ on Demand from September 30)

The notables

The Sounds (on Neon from September 4)

Nothing is as it seems in The Sounds, which is good, because otherwise this new psychological thriller would be only a few minutes long. Created and written by New Zealand author Sarah-Kate Lynch, The Sounds follows Tom (Matt Whelan) and Maggie (Twilight’s Rachelle Lefevre), a Canadian couple who move to the small town of Pelorus in the Marlborough Sounds. When Tom disappears during a kayaking trip, Maggie begins to uncover a world of secrets and lies, many of which involve her husband. In fact, the only thing that is as it seems in The Sounds is the lovely New Zealand scenery. Never change, trees and sea. / TW

The Boys (season two on Amazon Prime Video from September 4)

The Boys are back in town for season two, bringing you more ultraviolence and more Karl Urban growling Cockney at suits. This time the lads are tackling anti-immigrant sentiment in America and crawling out of dead whales. They’re joined by a new member of corporate hero team The Seven: Stormfront, a master of both electricity and the public eye. The Deep gets spiritual, Homelander wants to be a dad, a mysterious new force is exploding heads, and the girls of the boys – Starlight and The Female – are still doing the most to save us from all of it. / Josie Adams

Ratched (limited series on Netflix from September 18)

Does one of the most intentionally one-dimensional villains in film/literature history need a limited series that explains their history in excruciating, technicolour detail? Probably not, but Ryan Murphy has assembled a cast of talented people to tell that history anyway. Murphy regular Sarah Paulson (American History/Crime Story) plays Nurse Ratched in this series that checks in with the character before One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, and she’s supported by a seriously stacked deck of actors here: Judy Davis, Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon, Amanda Plummer, Sophie Okonedo and Vincent D’Onofrio. If you’re a Murphy fan, I’m sure you’ll like this one too, at least until it goes off the rails, as all his shows invariably do. / SB

Fargo (season four on Neon weekly from September 29)

If you thought Fargo was mostly Frances McDormand standing in the snow saying “eh”, then hold onto your wood-chippers, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. A new season of this crime anthology series kicks off this month, with season four set in 1950s Missouri. Chris Rock stars as the leader of a crime syndicate who battles with the boss of the local Italian mafia, and in a gesture of goodwill, they agree to trade sons. Sadly there’s still no Frances McDormand, but the supporting cast of Uzo Aduba, Jason Schwartzman and Ben Whishaw guarantees this season of Fargo will be as gripping as the first three. / TW

The movies

1917 (on Neon from September 20)

War movies are a bit hit or miss for me. There are your Dunkirks and Private Ryans – exhilarating, awe-inspiring spectacles – and your Pearl Harbors – drab, boring… shit. 1917, perhaps unsurprisingly given the hype it got, fits snugly into the first category. It’s two hours of non-stop (literally, it’s meant to look like it’s filmed in one shot) adrenaline-inducing action, told with genuine heart, and featuring a who’s who of British acting royalty. Best watched on the biggest screen available (or biggest smartphone – this is 2020), 1917 is the war movie I would show to someone who told me they really hate war movies. / Stewart Sowman-Lund

Enola Holmes (on Netflix from September 23)

Stand down Sherlock Holmes, there’s a new detective in town. Enola Holmes tells the story of Sherlock’s younger and smarter sister Enola, a teenage detective who’s determined to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother. It’s 1884 and Sherlock wants to send Enola to finishing school, but Enola would rather do cool stuff like solving mysteries and hanging out with a runaway lord. Millie Bobby Brown plays Enola, a fiercely unconventional heroine who refuses to play by the rules, while Henry Cavill (Sherlock) and Helena Bonham Carter (Eudoria Holmes) round out the all-star cast. / TW

I’m Thinking of Ending Things (on Netflix from September 4)

What could make the Year of our Covid 2020 better? Why, a Charlie Kaufman film, of course. Kaufman adapts Iain Reid’s critically acclaimed novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things, about a man who takes his girlfriend to visit his parents and ends up shaking up her life irreparably. The film marks Kaufman’s first foray into horror, but based on the trailer, it appears to be another Kaufman romp into the psychological. Festival reviews (remember those!) are strong, and with a killer cast featuring Jesse Plemmons, Toni Colette, David Thewlis and newcomer Jessie Buckley, it’s no doubt this will be one to watch around Oscar time. / SB

The rest

Netflix

September 1

La Partita

Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!

True: Friendship Day

Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices

A Star is Born (1977)

We’re The Millers

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Bait

Moms’ Night Out

Dudley Do-Right

Saving Private Ryan

Chasing Liberty

Curse of Chucky

The Mask of Zorro

Bumblebee

September 2

Freaks – You’re One of Us

Chef’s Table: BBQ

Bad Boy Billionaires: India

September 3

Young Wallander

Love, Guaranteed

Afonso Padilha: Alma de Pobre

September 4

Away

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy: Part 2

The Theory of Everything

Ride Along

A Million Ways to Die int he West

Last Vegas

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

September 5

Aquaman

September 7

Record of Youth

My Octopus Teacher

September 8

StarBeam: Season 2

September 9

Get Organised with The Home Edit

Migonnes

Corazon Ioco

The Social Dilemma

La Linea: Shadow of Narco

September 10

The Gift: Season 2

The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Julie and the Phantoms

The Idhun Chronicles

September 11

The Duchess

Family Business: Season 2

Se busca papa

Pets United

September 13

Sleight

All Saints

September 14

Close Enough

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

September 15

Taco Chronicles: Volume 2

Michael McIntyre: Showman

Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice

Izzy’s Koala World

September 16

Baby: Season 3

MeatEater: Season 9

Signs: Season 2

Criminal: UK: Season 2

Sing On!

The Paramedic

The Devil All The Time

Challenger: The Final Flight

September 17

The Last Word

Dragon’s Dogma

September 18

Ratched

American Barbecue Showdown

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous

September 20

The Emoji Movie

September 21

A Love Song for Latasha

Assassination Nation

September 22

Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 4

The Playbook

Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 3

Mighty Express

September 23

Enola Holmes

September 24

Romance On The Menu

The Chef Show: Season 2

Green Book

September 25

The School Nurse Files

Sneakerheads

Country-ish

A Perfect Crime

September 27

Flatliners

September 28

Whose Vote Counts, Explained

September 29

Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupedia

September 30

American Murder: The Family Door

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Neon

September 1

Shrill

Two Minute Tales

Teletubbies: Season 6

Sesame Street: The ABCs of Cookies

Hungry Bear Recipes

The Furchester Hotel: Season 3

Sarah & Duck: Season 2

Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures

September 2

Old Boys

September 3

Absentia: Season 3

The Fantatic

The Small Hand: A Ghost Story

The Realm

September 4

The Sounds

The Young Offenders

September 5

Thunder Road

September 6

Doctor Sleep

September 7

For My Father’s Kingdom

Standing Up For Sunny

September 9

One Last Deal

September 10

Papillon

September 11

Aninals: Season 3

A Private War

September 13

Tiki Towns: Seasons 1-2

Step Up

Step Up 2 the Streets

September 14

FBI: Most Wanted

Grizzly Bear Cubs & Me

American Gangster

Samurai Marathon

September 15

The Third Day

September 16

Fisherman’s Friends

September 18

The Eulogy

September 19

PEN15

The Queen’s Corgi

September 20

1917

The Judge

Three Kings

September 21

A Walk Among The Tombstones

September 25

A Black Lady Sketch Show

September 27

Ready Or Not

September 29

Fargo

September 30

Into The Ashes

TVNZ on Demand

September 1

Lolo

Summer of ’92

New Island Home

The UK Gold

Chasing Great

Remember Me Mommy?

Tempting Fate

The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar

The Wrong Leader

Carter’s W.A.R: Season 2

Bottom Feeders

Fight to Survive

Freeall: Season 4

Jumping the Apex

Drag Fan

Slo Pitch

Trasnlation

My Name was January

Mother is Wrong

Fenix

September 3

The Deceived

September 6

Taskmaster UK

September 14

The Ring Inz

Ahikāroa

Kairākau

September 18

Upright

September 23

Between Two Words

September 30

Educators: Season 2

Amazon Prime

September 1

Law and Order: Seasons 1-7

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Seasons 1-7

South Park

Hollow Crown

September 4

The Boys: Season 2

September 10

Bohemian Rhapsody

September 11

Comicstaan (Tamil)

September 12

Wanted

September 15

Bones

September 18

All In: The Fight for Democracy

September 25

Utopia

Fernando Alonso

September 26

Widows

September 30

Sons Of The Soil

Spongebob Squarepants

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Penguins of Madagascar

The Legend of Korra

Acorn TV

September 7

Keeping Faith

Midsomer Murders: Season 13

Suspects

September 14

Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Seasons 11-12

The Crimson Petal and The White

Suspects: Season 1

September 21

Doc Martin: Season 8

Suspects: Season 2

September 28

Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Season 13

Midsomer Murders: Season 14

What To Do When Someone Dies

Apple TV+

September 18

Long Way Up

September 25

Tehran

Disney+

September 4

Mulan

September 18

Becoming

September 25

Secret of Second-Born Royals

Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom