What are you going to be watching this week? We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+.
The biggies
Only Murders in the Building (season three on Disney+ from August 8)
Meryl Streep is on TV. This is not a drill: Meryl Streep is on TV. Hopefully, in a more successful capacity than her wailing matriarch in Big Little Lies. Honestly, the chill, wacky comedy vibes of Only Murders probably suits our most lauded thespian better than the prestige trappings of modern HBO. Anyway, the surprisingly winning trio of Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez return for the third season, investigating the on-stage death of a theatre actor (played by Paul Rudd!). Should be fun! / Sam Brooks
Strange Planet (on Apple TV+ from August 9)
A TV show, based on a web comic? What is this, 2015? Anyway, this new series is based on Nathan W. Pyle’s webcomic of the same name, and Pyle is onboard with co-creator Dan Harmon. Strange Planet is a surreal, sweet and wholesome thing to scroll by on your Instagram, loosely following blue aliens exploring and trying to understand the complexities of humanity. / SB
From (on TVNZ+ from August 11)
I love having lots of things to worry about, and now I can add the second season of From to my long list. Somewhere in the United States – a country I will never visit, thanks to the season two trailer – is a town where once you arrive, you can never leave. While you’re stuck there, your guts will probably be sucked out by a terrifying zombie, or you might wake up in a hole, or be haunted by some kind of Gollum-adjacent freak with a bad combover. It’s quite the vacation, and if you’re keen on some tense telly with plenty of horror and suspense, you’ll hoover this up like a zombie demolishing two innocent retirees on a broken-down bus. / Tara Ward
The notables
Painkiller (limited series on Netflix from August 10)
Have we… already had a series about the opioid crisis that did pretty well? Yeah! We have. It was called Dopesick. But in case you missed that, or really loved it and want to see another angle of the crisis dramatised, then Netflix has you sussed. This six episode series is based on two sources, journalist Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker feature ‘The Family That Built an Empire of Pain’ and Barry Meier’s book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic. Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch and Sam Anderson star. / SB
Billions (season seven on Neon from August 13)
All good things must come to an end, and so too with Billions. The series about the hectic life of obscenely wealthy man Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) enters its seventh and final season this week. It’s a little bit Succession, a little bit Suits, and although my eyes initially glazed over at the words “hedge-fund manager” and “popular philanthropist”, Billions has it all: political intrigue, egotistical power plays and an ever-shifting battle of good vs evil. It’s like Barbie, if Barbie was a ruthless United States Attorney determined to arrest rich people for their money crimes, and Ken was a wealthy man determined to get even wealthier. Look, it’s a good show. Just watch it. / TW
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (season four on Disney+ from August 9)
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series might have the most bonkers show title, but when your life is full of grapevines and jazz hands, nothing else matters. It’s the final season of the all-singing, all-dancing musical drama (the TV spinoff of the movies starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens), but there’s still time for plenty more song and dance before these lovestruck teens graduate. Will Olivia Rodrigo return for a guest appearance before the final curtain falls? High kick, mambo, spirit fingers, let’s hope so. / TW
The films
Red, White and Royal Blue (on Prime Video from August 11)
Check this summary: “Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar-Perez) is the son of Ellen Claremont, the first female President of the United States, who is running for re-election. During a royal wedding, he has a physical altercation with Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), a British prince. The incident is photographed and highly publicised with both parties forcing Alex and Henry to pretend to be friends with each other.” The twist? This is a full-on queer rom-com, based on the ridiculously successful novel of the same name. I’ve read the book, its fluffy and delightful, and this cast (also stacked with heavy hitters like Uma Thurman and Stephen Fry) seems prepped to deliver a good time. / SB
M3gan (on Neon and Prime Video from August 12)
M3GAN felt like the first big viral moment of the year. When that wiggly robot murderer girl grooved down that blood red hallway, expectations were set at an all-time high. Thankfully, when the movie actually came out, it delivered in spades. Directed by New Zealander Gerard Johnstone and featuring New Zealand dancer Amie Donald, the locally shot horror film is an incredibly fun thrill ride, while also being a cautionary tale about our increasing reliance on technology for social connection. Even if you don’t like horror, you can still watch it and see how many local hotspots you can name. Fun for the whole family! / Alex Casey
Heart of Stone (on Netflix from August 11)
Imagine there’s a Gal Gadot action vehicle on Netflix. If you can, that is. And if you can’t, you don’t have to, because one actually exists. / SB
Netflix
August 7
Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 8
August 8
Zombieverse
August 9
Ladies First A Story of Women in Hip-Hop
August 10
Painkiller
Marry My Dead Body
Mech Cadets
August 11
Heart of Stone
August 13
Behind Your Touch
Neon
August 7
Mercury Rising
August 8
Winning Time: the Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Season 2
Babylon
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Emerald Tablet
August 9
Dublin Narcos
Mr. Peabody and Sherman
August 10
Ghosts of Beirut
August 11
Rapshit: Season 2
Night School
August 12
M3gan
August 13
Billions: Season 7
Dunkirk
TVNZ+
August 7
To Kid or Not To Kid
August 8
Catching Lightning
August 9
Eagle vs Shark
Bend it like Beckham
Whiplash
Dope
Lords of Dogtown
St. Trinian’s
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
The Squid and the Whale
August 11
From
Disney+
August 8
Only Murders in the Building: Season 3
August 9
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: Season 4
Moving
Cemara’s Family
Hotel Del Luna
August 11
Jagged Mind
Barnyard Olympics
Donald’s Cousin Gus
Donald’s Nephews
Flying Jalopy
Mickey’s Steam-Roller
Prime Video
August 11
Red, White and Royal Blue
Cruel Summer: Season 2
The Killing Vote
August 12
M3GAN
Apple TV+
August 9
Strange Planet
Acorn
N/A
Shudder
August 7
Oldboy
August 11
The Communion Girl
Amigo
August 14
Amulet
America Latina
AMC+
August 8
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