What are you going to be watching this week? We round up everything coming to streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+.
The biggies
Men in Kilts (season two on Neon from August 14)
Grab your sporran and heat up your porridge, because Men in Kilts is back for a second season. This time Outlander co-stars and BFFs Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish have travelled through the stones to New Zealand, where they’ll enjoy a jam-packed schedule of high-adrenaline antics and hectic hijinks. Get ready to see Jamie Fraser and his Uncle Dougal go Zorbing, learn the haka and climb a maunga or two – as well as the obligatory celebrity visit to Hobbiton, of course. / Tara Ward
Fifteen-Love (limited series on TVNZ+ from August 15)
No, Fifteen-Love is not a new love-based reality show. It’s a limited series about a former tennis prodigy (Ella Lily Hyland, in her debut role) who makes an allegation against her former coach (Aidan Turner, from Poldark) who guided her to reach the semi-finals at the French Open. Five years after the fact, she’s dealing with an injury, psychological scars and he’s… coaching a new prospect. Sounds bleak, sounds dramatic, sounds like competitive tennis. / SB
Waco: The Aftermath (limited series on Neon from August 17)
This limited series is ripped from the headlines… of 1993! It’s also a follow-up series to the 2018 mini-series Waco, which dramatised the 1993 standoff between the FBI (you know what that stands for), the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and the Brand Davidians (an apocalyptic cult) in Waco, Texas. This sequel series portrays the aftermath of the siege, with many of the cast from the original series reprising their roles, including Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham and John Leguizamo. / SB
The notables
Depp v Heard (on Netflix from August 16)
Were you following this trial last year? If so, there’s probably no chance you want to see a documentary about it. But just in case you weren’t, or if you were and want more, look no further than August 16. Early reports suggest that it is a pro-Depp hagiography with quotes from a former Bachelor lead (?). So, yup. Moving on. / SB
Harlan Coben’s Shelter (on Prime Video from August 18)
This series, based on the popular 2011 book of the same name, follows teenager Mickey (Jaden Michael) who has to start his life again after his father’s sudden death uproots him to a small town in New Jersey. Here, he becomes entangled in the disappearance of Ashley Kent, and he discovers a dark underworld in his new, quiet, suburban community. The original book received rave reviews, and the supporting cast of this series is solid (Constance Zimmer and Tovah Feldshuh never disappoint), so my hopes are high!/ SB
Mask Girl (on Netflix from August 18)
If you’ve ever felt the urge to watch a Korean mystery-thriller about an office worker who wears a mask to hide her looks and then becomes a murderer with three different faces, then Mask Girl is the show for you. An adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same name, Mask Girl is a little bit violent and a little bit wacky — K-pop meets horror, if you will — and will keep you guessing from the moment that first mask goes on. / TW
The films
Atomic Blonde (on Neon from August 20)
If Atomic Blonde has a million fans, I am one of them. If Atomic Blonde has one fan, I am that fan. If Atomic Blonde has no fans, I am deceased. This is all to say that I love Atomic Blonde, essentially what happens if you remake John Wick with Charlize Theron, a lot. It is, for my money, as good as any of the John Wick films, but its setting in late-80s Berlin allows it to have its own flair and verve. I could not recommend it any more highly. / SB
Captain Phillips (on TVNZ+ from August 16)
Paul Greengrass is known for two genres: the Bourne trilogy and intense movies based on terrifying real-life events. Captain Phillips is the latter, chronicling the kidnapping and rescue of Richard Phillips. There’s a much wider debate about the ethics of dramatising real-life trauma and people, but if you’re not concerned by that, Captain Phillips is a great film. While its most enduring legacy is probably the “I’m the captain now” meme, there is a scene at the end of the movie that I still consider to be some of the greatest acting we’ll ever see. / Madeleine Chapman
Grease (on Netflix from August 15)
It’s Grease. If you need to know what Grease is, you’re in for a wonderful, mildly problematic musical surprise. If you know, then get thee to Netflix, because Grease holds up way better than you remember. / SB
Netflix
August 15
Jared Freid: 37 and Single
Grease
August 16
At Home with the Furys
The Chosen One
Depp v Heard
August 17
The Upshaws: Part 4
My Dad: The Bounty Hunter: Season 2
August 18
Mask Girl
Love, Sex and 30 Candles
10 Days of a Bad Man
Neon
August 14
Men in Kilts: Season 2
Go!
August 15
Celebrity Ex on the Beach: Season 1 and 2
The Lincoln Lawyer
August 16
Brutal Lives – Mo’ui Faingata’a: Season 1-2
Eagle vs Shark
August 17
Waco: The Aftermath
August 19
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Ninjago Movie
August 20
Atomic Blonde
TVNZ+
August 14
Guns in the USA: Child’s Play
No Evidence of Disease
August 15
Fifteen-Love
August 16
The Proposition
The Patriot
Vertical Limit
Anaconda
August 17
Killing It: Season 2
August 19
Housebroken: Season 2
Disney+
August 16
Miguel Wants to Fight
What We Do in the Shadows: Season 5
The Villains of Valley View: Season 2
My Mister
August 18
When Frank Met Carlitos
LEGO Disney Princess: The Castle Quest
Prime Video
August 16
Three Mothers, Two Babies, and a Scandal
August 18
Kandahar
Harlan Coben’s Shelter
Apple TV+
August 18
Snoopy Presents One-of-a-Kind Marcie
Acorn
N/A
Shudder
August 14
Amulet
American Latina
August 18
Bad Things
AMC+
N/A