We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+.
Lanterns (HBO Max, August 17)
Co-created by Lost and Watchmen maestro Damon Lindelof, Lanterns is the third TV show in the DC Universe, and sees Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre star as the experienced Lantern Hal Jordan and the new recruit John Stewart. Rather than coming from the DC Universe mould of Wonder Woman or The Suicide Squad, this gritty sci-fi cop drama feels more like True Detective or Slow Horses, and follows the intergalactic mentor and mentee as they investigate a brutal murder in the depths of Nebraska. With “all the superhero slop that has hit streamers over the past half-decade,” Lanterns looks to be the real deal.
Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara (MĀORI+, August 17)
Formed in 2010 and taking their name from the sci-fi film District 9, heavy metal band Alien Weaponry was the first in the genre to sing in te reo Māori. Their music introduced Māori language and culture to metal fans around world, and in this intimate behind-the-scenes documentary, director Kent Belcher charts their rise to fame, from their humble origins in Waipu to Smokefree Rockquest, European metal festivals and international headlining (and head-banging) concerts. Described by The Spinoff as an “intimate, cheeky, charming portrait of a Northland family making their way in the universe,” Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara is an electrifying watch.
Hamnet (Netflix, August 22)
Helmed by Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, the heartwrenching film Hamnet is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel of the same name, which dramatises the lives of Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they grapple with the tragic loss of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet. Gen Z heartthrob Paul Mescal plays Shakespeare, but it’s Jessie Buckley whose riveting “all-in performance” as Agnes steals the show, and landed the powerhouse Irish actor and singer a Best Actress Oscar. Described as a “nuclear-grade tear-jerker,” Hamnet is bound to knock you for six.
People Places Things (Neon, August 19)
In this “ceaselessly entertaining, witty, and sentimental” film, Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement is Will Henry, a depressed graphic novelist, professor, and single father of two. In the midst of trying to piece his life back together after an abrupt and traumatic divorce, one of his students sets him up with their literature professor mother (Regina Hall). What follows is not your typical rom-com fare, but a humane and wryly messy rendering of the trials and tribulations of love. The off-kilter People Places Things is an “absolute delight.”
Conan O’Brien Must Go (HBO Max, August 22)
Labelled as “side-splitting evidence of life beyond late night TV,” former The Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien is back for a globe-trotting third season of the hilarious Conan O’Brien Must Go. This time, the legendary comedian travels to India, the Netherlands, Morocco, and the Philippines, once again setting off to surprise his devoted fans and partake in the cultures and cuisines of his epic destinations. The “smartly stupid” Conan O’Brien Must Go is a freakishly fun wild ride.
Pick of the Flicks: Men (MĀORI+, August 23)
Helmed by Ex Machina and Annihilation’s Alex Garland, this “twisted country-house horror” follows Jessie Buckley as Harper. In the wake of a torturous tragedy, she retreats to an idyllic English village, but her rural retreat is turned on its head by the startling character actor Rory Kinnear. From the caretaker and the bartender to the policeman and the naked stalker, he plays the village’s leering and uncannily similar men. A “haunting exploration of grief,” Men is not for the faint of heart.
The rest
Netflix
Take a Hike! (August 18)
Kelsey Cook: Happy Hour (August 18)
Endeavour S1-S9 (August 19)
Love Is Blind: UK S3 (August 19)
Here the Whole Time (August 19)
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing (August 19)
Ugly Betty S1-S4 (August 20)
Outer Banks S5 (August 20)
Blood Sacrifice (August 20)
S&X (August 20)
Chompoo: Lost & Forgotten (August 20)
Bear Grylls Is Running Wild S9 (August 21)
Facing El Chapo (August 21)
The Pink Panther (August 21)
Hamnet (August 22)
TVNZ+
The Crow Girl S2 (August 18)
This Is Us S1-S6 (August 20)
MĀORI+
Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara (August 17)
Mavka: The Forest Song (August 21)
Corsage (August 21)
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (August 22)
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (August 22)
Men (August 23)
Neon
Pompo: The Cinephile (August 17)
Anaconda (August 18)
Anaconda (1997) (August 18)
People Places Things (August 19)
Thieves Highway (August 19)
The Last Gunfight (August 21)
The Smurfs (2011) (August 22)
The Smurfs 2 (August 22)
Smurfs: The Lost Village (August 22)
Whistle (August 22)
The Colours Within (August 23)
Prime Video
Just Go with It (August 17)
Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter (August 20)
Fuze (August 21)
Protector (August 21)
Disney+
FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S18 (August 18)
Lion (August 20)
Big City Greens S5 (August 22)
Apple TV
The Dynasty: UConn Huskies (August 21)
Stillwater S5 (August 21)
DocPlay
My Name is Alfred Hitchcock (August 17)
AroVision
Jackass: Best and Last (August 17)
The Invite (August 18)
HBO Max
Lanterns (August 17)
Ultimate Shark Dive (August 17)
Alien Sharks: Untamed America (August 17)
Jurassic Sharks (August 17)
How to Train a Great White (August 18)
Invasion of the Mega Sharks (August 18)
My Strange Shark Addiction (August 18)
Zillow Gone Wild S3 (August 18)
The Scheme (August 18)
Let Them All Talk (August 19)
Expedition Unknown: Shark Secrets (August 19)
Expedition X: Atomic Sharks (August 19)
Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty (August 19)
Chum Island: Catching a Killer (August 19)
House of Sharks (August 20)
Jaws vs. Orca (August 20)
Deadwood (August 20)
Secrets of the Great White Kill (August 20)
DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast S2 (August 21)
What Shark Attacked? (August 21)
Biggest Mako on Earth (August 21)
Sometimes in April (August 21)
The Laramie Project (August 21)
Conan O’Brien Must Go S3 (August 22)
Bull Shark Dinner Bell (August 22)
Thresher Shark: Stun to Kill (August 22)
Lizzo: Live in Concert (August 23)
Love, Lizzo (August 23)
Naked and Afraid: Shipwrecked (August 23)
