What to watch on streaming in August: Netflix, Stan, Disney, Apple, Prime and Paramount highlights

PLATONIC S2 (Apple+, 6th)

It’s so nice to get a laugh-out-loud comedy where the characters are both real and relatable but also goofy and kind-of ridiculous. Platonic, starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, really know how to dial up the cackles, and it returns for an even funnier second season.

They play Will and Sylvia, old buddies who really are just that: friends. They’re not locked in the will-they-won’t-they tropes of so many TV shows and movies, but that doesn’t mean their relationship isn’t complicated, especially with the anxieties of (early) middle age being thrown in.

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (Netflix, 28th)

Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club is a literary sensation, spawning three sequels since the franchise launched in 2020. This film adaptation is definitely one of the more anticipated movies this year, especially in the “no-CGI villains” sub-category.

With a starry cast including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and David Tennant, the story follows a group of nursing home friends whose cold case sleuthing club sudden turns hot when a property developer is found dead nearby.

UPLOAD S4 (Prime, 25th)

Upload is one of those under-the-radar shows that really should’ve gotten more love and attention in the past five years. Created by Greg Daniels (The Office US, Parks & Recreation, The Simpsons), it’s a genuinely funny and wry look at how technology might extend our lives.

While it’s wildly different in tone, Upload is playing in a similar thematic sandbox as Black Mirror with its story about Nathan, a 27-year-old computer engineer whose consciousness is “uploaded” into an afterlife program when he unexpectedly dies.

Over its three seasons so far - this month is the release of its fourth and final instalment – Upload has asked questions about the ethics of the technology and how it might entrench in death the same inequalities in life.

WEDNESDAY S2.1 (Netflix, 6th)

When Wednesday premiered in 2022, Netflix probably didn’t quite know exactly how much a sensation the series would go on to be – the most watched English-language original on its platform. Fans couldn’t get enough of Jenna Ortega’s deadpan and macabre Addams family scion.

The series returns with its second season, this time broken into two parts with the second half to come in September. The student is back at her spooky and gothic school but it’s going to be an unexpected family reunion with the rest of the clan much more involved in her curricular life.

ALIEN: EARTH (Disney+, 13th)

No one can hear you scream in space but your cries of distress will certainly ring loudly on Earth. This prequel series to the terrifying space horror franchise will for the first time be set on our terrestrial home, set two years before chestbursters hunted Ridley on the Nostromo.

The series will follow a group of soldiers who are confronted with a terrifying threat when a space vessel crash lands on Earth. The series stars Sydney Chandler (daughter of Kyle), a hybrid whose human consciousness was transferred into a synthetic body, as well as Alex Lawther and Timothy Olyphant. The show was created by Noah Hawley, the writer behind the Fargo series.

CHIEF OF WAR (Apple+, 1st)

Chief of War isn’t a show that would’ve been greenlit a decade ago, but Jason Momoa’s star has risen to such a level he now has the clout to push his passion project – a historical epic about the history of Hawaii, specifically, the violent battles and political manoeuvring that led to the disparate kingdoms’ unification.

Momoa stars not as Kamehameha, the archipelago’s first king whose name and story rings loudly all through Hawaii today, but a warrior named Ka‘iana, who played a crucial role. Despite its focus, the show was filmed in Aotearoa, which means its cast is stacked with New Zealanders including Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis and Luciane Buchanan.

OUTLANDER: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD (Stan, 9th)

Don’t worry, there is still one more season left of Outlander (coming in 2026) but in the meantime, you can satiate your appetite for historical time travel drama with this prequel that follows both sets of parents of Jamie and Claire.

Hold on, you might say, weren’t those characters from different centuries? Just like their progeny’s adventures, there will be time travelling to bring together Jamie’s 18th century folks and Claire’s 20th century parents. Hope someone tells them about the grandfather paradox.

THE TWELVE: CAPE ROCK KILLER (Binge, 4th)

The Twelve is back for its third season, and this time, the courtroom action has moved to the other side of the country to Western Australia and, the case is personal for Sam Neill’s character, who is called on to defend the husband of a long-time friend.

The charge is murder, and it’s somehow connected to a 1968 cold case where two teens were killed. The supporting cast includes Danielle Cormack, Eryn Jean Norville, Ewen Leslie, Nathalie Morris and Phoenix Raei.

MARC MARON: PANICKED (HBO Max, 2nd)

There are still a few weeks left to Marc Maron’s pioneering, 16-year run in podcasting (he said he would wrap up WTF sometime in the Northern Hemisphere autumn), but it’s OK if you start pre-grieving the fact he will no longer be a regular presence in your life.

One of the coping mechanisms could be this stand-up special, Panicked, and its name should give you some idea what he’s got going on – plus, the state of his mind. It’s a cornucopia of anxieties in this modern age, from progressivism versus fascism to having only one carrier for his three cats. Whatever Maron is selling, we’re buying.

THE PICKUP (Prime, 6th)

After jumping on the Eddie Murphy bandwagon with Coming 2 America in 2021, Prime signed a three-movie deal and The Pickup is the second project from that agreement. Streamers see a lot of value in platforming big names that used to be a cinema drawcard, just ask Netflix about their relationship with Adam Sandler.

The Pickup is a heist comedy in which Murphy and Pete Davidson star as unlikely bedfellows armoured truck drivers when they’re hit by a band of criminals led by a character played by Keke Palmer. The film also features Eva Longoria and Ismael Cruz.

LONG STORY SHORT (Netflix, 22nd)

Bojack Horseman was typical of early days Netflix in that it was unusual, bold and smart, and now its creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg is back, albeit with his depressed anthropomorphic horse. Still, a Bob-Waksberg show will always be welcome.

This time, his subject is the Schwooper family, whose story we learn as we follow them around from their kid years to adulthood, and see how much people change or, in most cases, don’t. The voice cast includes Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, Ben Feldman, Abbi Jacobson and Max Greenfield.

PLAYING GRACIE DARLING (Paramount+, 14th)

Is it possible the missing Gracie Darling just followed some girl into the 1800s for a taste of colonial Australia but never found her way out? Surely the title is a nod to Ruth Park’s seminal Australian novel, Playing Beatie Bow. Either way, it’s creepy.

The Australian drama is follows a woman named Joni who, when she was 14, her friend Gracie Darling disappeared after a séance gone wrong. Quick question: how does a séance go right? Now, 27 years later, another Darling has vanished in similar circumstances (say it with us, no seances, it never ends well). The series stars Morgana O’Reilly, Harriet Walter and Celia Pacquola.

THE RAINMAKER (Stan, 16th)

In the 1997 Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of John Grisham’s novel, it was Matt Damon versus Jon Voight as the young upstart up against the experienced hand. In this TV version, it’s British actor Milo Callaghan (Rivals, The Spanish Princess) facing off against John Slattery.

The arena is the courtroom and the case involves a wrongful death lawsuit about a Black man who died while in the care of a hospital. The American healthcare system being, of course, famously, uh, competent. That’s what you’ve heard, right?

SAFE HARBOUR (SBS, 21st)

This Dutch and English crime drama comes from Ozark creator Mark Williams, so you know it’s unlikely to be sunshine and roses. It stars two Game of Thrones alums in Alfie Allen and Jack Gleeson, along with Martin Lloyd Anderson, Colm Meaney and Charlie Murphy.

The story is about hackers who get caught up with the Irish mob in a scheme to break into the security system of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, so they can move drug shipments in and out. This does not bode well.

TORNADO (AMC+, 22nd)

Scottish filmmaker Scott Maclean set his first film, a western named Slow West, in the US, the home of the genre, even though he actually filmed it in New Zealand. But we know the western is transferrable to many cultures (hey there, outback noir) and for his second feature, Maclean has gone home.

In this 18th century-set film, a young Japanese woman (Koki) with deft samurai sword skills is being hunted by a ruthless gang led by the merciless Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his bullied mentee/possible son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden).

YOGURT SHOP MURDERS (HBO Max, 4th)

If Erin Patterson and the mushroom murders taught us anything (distrust of white pant wearers aside), it’s that this true crime obsession shows no sign of abating. None. Not even a smidge.

This four-part docuseries explores the odd case from Texas where in 1991 four teenage girls were killed at a frozen yogurt establishment, completely upending the community, and which saw two boys confess to and convicted for the murders but ultimately exonerated by DNA evidence nine years later.

EYES OF WAKANDA (Disney+, 1st)

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler helped develop this animated anthology series with each of its four episodes a spin-off from the main Marvel continuity. It follows the Hatut Zaraze, Wakanda warriors throughout history on missions to retrieve or safeguard its precious metal, vibranium.

Like Marvel’s other animated offerings such as What If…?, this is more of a nice-to-have than a must-watch, a supplementary set of stories that are great to share with younger members of the family, or if you’re a MCU completist. The animation looks fab and it features voice talents including Winnie Harlow, Steve Toussaint and Anika Noni Rose.

THE ROOKIE S7 (7plus, 18th)

The Nathan Fillion-led cop drama has won a lot of fans since its debut in 2018 and while the titular newbie is now a more seasoned officer, there is always something else to learn on the job, not to mention fresh recruits to teach them to.

The series has become an easy favourite for many viewers to pop on after work without having to invest too much mental energy, and The Rookie obliges with its likeable characters and accessible storytelling.

THE TERMINAL LIST: DARK WOLF (Prime, 27th)

You just know that with the title The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, this is going to be another action thriller your dad, my dad, everyone’s dad is going to be loving, assuming they can tear themselves away from whatever new thing Taylor Sheridan has going on.

A prequel to that dreadful Chris Pratt show, this series will be centred on Taylor Kitsch’s character as he morphs from a Navy SEAL to a CIA operative as he’s confronted with all the morally dubious scenarios of warfare. On the plus-side, Pratt has only a supporting role.

STANS (Paramount+, 27th)

Leave your sceptical side at the door because this is a fan-only zone, and if you don’t like it, Eminem will tell you exactly where to go. The Detroit rapper termed Stans, a nickname for the most devoted followers, although likely even he didn’t realise the cultural significance his 2000 song would go on to have in trying to understand modern fandom.

This documentary explores the musician’s life and career through the very specific lens of his fans, and the parasocial relationships they have with Eminem. It’s billed as more of a love letter than a sociological treatise, and reactions out of its premiere at SXSW London suggests it skirts around the very real toxic elements of fandom.