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
Heartstopper (season two on Netflix from August 3)
This series was an unqualified success for Netflix last year: a very sweet, very queer, coming-of-age show that told the story of Charlie (Joe Locke) falling in love with fellow classmate Nick (Kit Connor), and their stumbles toward each other. It was wholesome, it was lovely, it brought the slightest vestige of a tear to my jaded old gay eye. The second season seems to follow them as they work out what being in a relationship like, and look, I anticipate more tears onscreen than off, but even I’m not made of stone. / Sam Brooks
Mrs. Davis (limited series on Neon from August 2)
Betty Gilpin stars as a nun who takes on the concept of AI in this new series from Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost). If that’s not enough to get you there, let me repeat: Betty Gilpin, of Glow fame. As a nun! On a crusade against AI! The series flew a bit under the radar when it dropped around the rest of the world, but Lindelof has been one of the best TV creators recently, so I’d recommend checking this out, sight unseen. / SB
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (limited series on Prime Video from August 4)
Based on the novel by Holly Kingsland, this Australian drama follows the life of Alice Hart, a young girl who goes to live with her grandmother after her parents die in a mysterious fire. Alice’s new home is a flower farm that’s run by a community of troubled women, and having been raised in a violent home, Alice must adapt to her new life while uncovering the secrets of her past. Made by the producers of Big Little Lies and featuring a stellar cast (Sigourney Weaver, Asher Keddie and New Zealand’s own Frankie Adams), The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart will pull on every one of your heartstrings – and make you want to plant a flower garden ASAP. / Tara Ward
The notables
The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge (on Netflix from August 4)
It’s more Nailed It! What more do you need to know? This limited run series finds regular hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres (thank god!) following 10 inexperienced but driven bakers competing against each other with guidance from well-known pastry chefs (by a certain metric, can you name a pastry chef?). The winner gets a cash prize and bragging rights. But who cares about the format? I’ll watch anything with Nailed It! in the title, and this is no exception. / SB
The Family Stallone (on TVNZ+ from August 1)
Look, nobody asked for a reality show about the guy who ran up some steps, but it’s here and maybe watching an elderly Rocky brush his cat’s tail is exactly what we deserve in 2023. Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is enjoying a second wind of fame after last year’s enjoyable TV drama Tulsa Sun, and this series reveals the Hollywood star is also a dedicated family man. The Family Stallone follows the lives of old mate Sly, his wife Jennifer Flavin (whomst? Please travel back in time and read every copy of Woman’s Day between 1994–1997 to learn more) and their podcasting daughters Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet. Why hasn’t Jennifer changed her name to Sennifer? Hopefully that mystery will be cleared up in episode one./ TW
The Hollow Crown and The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses (on Neon from August 3)
This series won’t be for everyone, but if it’s for you it’ll be for you in a big way. Both series of The Hollow Crown are based on Shakespeare’s histories, the first being based on the Henriad (Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V) and the second being based on his War of the Roses plays (Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, Richard III). The casts of both are stacked – Ben Whishaw, Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston – so there’s no risk there. Again, if this is your thing, you’ll be running to Neon. If it’s not, may I suggest The Family Stallone? / SB
The films
The Lost King (on Neon from August 1)
Speaking of Richard III, do you want to see a jolly comedy loosely related to that guy? Look no further than The Lost King. Sally Hawkins stars as Philippa Langley, the woman who initiated the search to find the king’s remains under a car park in Leicester, and how the university treated her while fighting over credit for the discovery (spoiler: they did not treat her very well!). Steve Coogan stars as her estranged husband, and Harry Lloyd as… a role that I will not spoil. / SB
All the Resident Evil films (on Neon from August 4)
While I myself am not into zombie films, I have heard from people who are in the know that the Resident Evil movies, while being poor adaptations of the wild Resident Evil canon, are excellent zombie movies. All of them star Milla Jovovich as Alice, who is sometimes a clone and sometimes not, fighting against the Umbrella Corporation and also potentially staving off a global apocalypse. / SB
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (on Disney+ from August 2)
Once upon a time, I wasn’t sure who is watching these Marvel films on streaming, when they are clearly meant to be communal experiences. Then I saw Thor: Love and Thunder and realised that I could’ve missed that. Then I missed a few more of them in the cinemas, and realised that’s who these streaming releases are for: people who are tired of making the effort to see middling movies. Apparently this one is actually really good, and a really lovely ending to the Guardians trilogy! / SB
Netflix
August 1
Untold: Volume 3
Cut the Rope Daily
Call Me By Your Name
Fisk: Season 1
August 2
Soulcatcher
Mark Cavendish: Never Enough
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food
Scream
August 3
The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 2: Part 2
Heartstopper: Season 2
Head to Head
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
The Last Hours of Mario Biondo
August 4
Fatal Seduction: Volume 2
The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge
Neon
August 1
The Lost King
Metal Monsters: The Righteous Redeemer
August 2
Mrs. Davis
47 Ronin
August 3
The Hollow Crown
The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses
A Simple Favour
August 4
Last Call
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Resident Evil: Retribution
August 5
Peter Rabbit
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
August 6
A Quiet Place
TVNZ+
August 1
The Family Stallone
Get Carter
Gothika
Bad Teacher
Slalom
The Night
Cyborgs Among Us
Will a Robot Steal My Job?
Giving Hope: The Ni’Cola Mitchell Story
Framed by My Husband
Hider in my House
Paris Can Wait
Hard Truths of Conservation
Mega Transports
Adventure All Stars: Season 3
Da Fuq?: Season 3
Sew Fierce
Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story
In the Shadow of 9/11
The Man Putin Couldn’t Kill
This is Joan Collins
August 2
Passengers
August 6
Negotiator
Disney+
August 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Minnie’s Bow-Toons: Camp Minnie: Season 1
August 4
The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing and Vanderpump
Prime Video
August 1
Breath of Life
August 4
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Apple TV+
August 2
Physical: Season 3
August 4
Eva the Owlet
Acorn
N/A
Shudder
August 1
Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break
Hellraiser (1987)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellraiser: Hell on Earth
AMC+
August 3
Wrongly Accused