New on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Foxtel, BINGE and more in August 2021

Highlights for August include The Chair, Nine Perfect Strangers, Wentworth and more!

Did you know that the mid-year slump is a thing? Apparently, it's defined by lack of motivation and a general tendency to act more sloth-like. But just because you're sluggish doesn't mean that your watchlist has to be.

Luckily, August is shaping up to be the perfect month to spend curled up in front of the TV, with plenty to keep you distracted while you figure out how to get your mojo back outside of watching the Aussies win gold at the Olympics. Here are some of the best shows and movies scheduled to come out in the weeks ahead.

Jump straight to the list

There's some big news on the streaming front this month, as 10 All Access is becoming Paramount+ on 11 August. That means a bigger content library – including movies. If you want to check it out as soon as it's live, some of the most promising titles on the platform include the series Two Weeks to Live, Evil, Ray Donovan, Five Bedrooms, The Bite and Why Women Kill. The Mark Wahlberg action film Infinite will also debut on the service at launch.

On Netflix, we highly recommend you check out The Chair, a 6-episode series in which Sandra Oh stars as an English department chair at a major university. It looks like she'll be facing… challenges? Honestly, we don't know much about the show, but Sandra Oh never disappoints.

Then there's Clickbait, a cyber-thriller series which promises to reveal the dark side of social media. Adrian Grenier plays a family man who is abducted, there are dark secrets lurking just under the surface and a race against time to save him. Fun! If you need something to watch while mildly inebriated, Cooking With Paris seems like a solid pick. It's a new reality show in which Paris Hilton and her celebrity friends attempt to make food and then probably eat it, although we're pretty sure you won't be tempted to try many of the recipes at home.

On the movie front, Sweet Girl should appeal to action fans. It sees Jason Momoa playing a father who vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife's death while protecting his daughter. For more light-hearted stuff, August marks the premiere of The Kissing Booth 3, the final instalment in the popular rom-com trilogy, as well as the release of Vivo, an animated musical with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. He also voices the titular character, a kinkajou.

Over at Stan, this month brings us Chapelwaite, a series based on Stephen King's short story Jerusalem's Lot. It stars Adrien Brody as a father who relocates with his kids to a seemingly sleepy town but has to confront the secrets of his family's sordid history. If you've been missing Stephen Amell ever since Arrow wrapped up, you'll be happy to know that he's back on TV in Heels, a show about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of pro wrestling.

Returning series include Work in Progress, Godfather of Harlem and The L Word: Generation Q. Oh, and a whole bunch of titles from the DC Universe will be landing on Stan this month, so you might want to plan an extended marathon.

August is going to be eventful for Amazon Prime Video. It marks the release of Nine Perfect Strangers, a prestige drama about a bunch of people who go to a wellness resort hoping to improve themselves and get more than they bargained for. The cast includes Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Asher Keddie, Samara Weaving, Bobby Cannavale, Luke Evans and more.

We're also thrilled to recommend Cruel Summer, a thought-provoking teen drama that will keep you glued to the screen. The action is set over 3 summers in the 1990s, when a beautiful and popular teen goes missing. At the same time, another girl basically takes her place, only to eventually become the most despised person in America. Why? Stream the series to find out.

Val Kilmer fans will also be intrigued by his new documentary on Prime Video, Val. It turns out Kilmer has been filming large swathes of his life of his own accord, including on the set of films like Top Gun and Tombstone. Thousands of hours of footage have been knocked into shape to produce this doco.

Finally, you'll want to mark your calendars for the premiere of Kevin Can F**K Himself, a delicious blend of dark comedy and drama following a sitcom wife who is sick of her circumstances and wants to do something about it. It's fresh, unconventional and very engrossing. Romantic anthology Modern Love and animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks return with new seasons as well.

Elsewhere, Disney+ is wondering What If…?. This is a new animated show which explores different scenarios in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What if Agent Carter took the super-soldier serum? Or T'Challa joined the Guardians of the Galaxy? Enter the multiverse of unlimited possibilities! A new season of charming series Diary of a Future President will also premiere this month. Plus, Cruella will join the regular Disney+ library, so you will no longer have to pay extra to watch it from home.

BINGE is premiering Reservation Dogs, a comedy created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi about 4 Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma who are ready to go to great lengths to fulfill their dream of making it to California. The final season of The Walking Dead kicks off this month as well, which is both exciting and bittersweet. Plus, American Horror Story returns with season 10!

Meanwhile, Foxtel is exclusively premiering the final season of beloved drama Wentworth, with new episodes arriving from August 24.

For fans of British telly, BritBox is bringing new series Professor T to Australia, express from the UK. It stars Ben Miller as a neurotic criminologist at Cambridge University with a severe aversion to germs and a natural penchant for solving crimes. Season 10 of Vera will arrive on the platform too, along with a selection of Agatha Christie film classics and the first 2 Doctor Who films ever made.

Over at Acorn TV, Lucy Lawless reprises her leading role in the second season of My Life is Murder. You can also gear up for Lost Letters Mysteries, a season of 6 movies about postal detectives who track down intended recipients of undeliverable mail. And speaking of detectives, SBS On Demand is fast-tracking the final season of beloved sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine starting 13 August. Cool cool cool.

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New to streaming August 2021

Check out the full list of streaming titles below.