You best start believing in a new season of Ted Lasso
It doesn’t feel right to say, but summer is coming to an end, so let’s all drown our sorrows in some new TV shows. Returning for new seasons this month are Ted Lasso, which comes back after a three-year hiatus; Reacher, which is back for Season 4; and Outer Banks, which is finally dropping its final season. As for new shows, the Ryan Murphy-produced series The Shards is coming to Hulu at the beginning of the month, while the latest TV addition to the DCU, Lanterns, hits HBO mid-month.
Our guide to the best TV and streaming movies in August is divided into three sections: the best shows to watch this month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it below.
The best shows to watch in August
Ted Lasso Season 4 (Aug. 5, Hulu)
Well, here we go again. After a very mixed reception to Ted Lasso‘s third season and a lot of caginess from Apple about whether that would truly be the show’s final season, the Jason Sudeikis sports comedy is officially back for Season 4. Though the Season 3 finale saw Ted (Sudeikis) moving back to America, these new episodes see him heading back to England to coach AFC Richmond’s new second-division women’s team, which Keeley (Juno Temple) convinced Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) to start at the end of last season. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]
The Shards (Aug. 5, FX and Hulu)
Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 semi-autobiographical novel about hypersexualized teens and a serial killer gets adapted by — who else? — Ryan Murphy. The drama tags along as a group of privileged prep school seniors in 1980s Los Angeles explore all the things those kinds of teens are wont to do. But things get heavier when Bret (Igby Rigney) suspects the mysterious new transfer (Homer Gere) is a serial killer targeting teens. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Sterling Point (Aug. 5, Prime Video)
Everybody loves an island with secrets. In Sterling Point, a coming-of-age series from My Old Ass writer-director Megan Park, 17-year-old Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin) uproots her life in New York when she inherits an island in Canada from her mysterious grandfather. The island promises new friends and, obviously, new romance, but it also leads Annie to unexpected revelations about her family. Jay Duplass plays her adoptive father, alongside a cast that also includes Keen Ruffalo, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Missi Pyle. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
Reacher Season 4 (Aug. 12, Prime Video)
I don’t want to get punched in the face, but I want to be honest: Reacher wasn’t as good in Seasons 2 and 3 as it was in its breakout first season. But Season 4, based on the 13th Jack Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow, is being touted as its most action-packed outing yet, as it moves its setting to New York City, which hasn’t seen something as big as destructive as Reacher since King Kong. On the business side, Reacher Season 4 will be an interesting experiment. As a former MP who crisscrosses the country dispensing his own brand of vigilante justice with his fists, Reacher (Alan Ritchson) has become a bit of a folk hero for right wingers. But the star famously has different views, and in a recent interview on a podcast, an unfiltered Ritchson went off on Donald Trump, calling him a pedophile and a rapist. Will Reacher still make Amazon great again with boffo ratings? –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Lanterns (Aug. 16, HBO)
What’s better than one Green Lantern? Two Green Lanterns. The latest entry in the DCU will be this series from Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, which follows an elder Green Lantern — Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan — as he trains a younger Green Lantern — Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart — in the ways of the Lantern ring. The show is set in Rushville, Nebraska, where the pair are tasked with investigating a murder that may or may not have an extraterrestrial connection. –Allison Picurro[Trailer] [Everything to know about Lanterns]
Outer Banks Season 5 (Aug. 20, Netflix)
It’s been real, Outer Banks. The sun is setting on the treasure-hunting drama after one last season, which finds the Pogues out for revenge after JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) sudden death in Morocco. Now, Groff (J. Anthony Crane) is on the run with the priceless Blue Crown, leaving a grieving Kiara (Madison Bailey), John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) to hunt him down before they can make it home. Will these teens and/or young adults ever catch a break? –Kelly Connolly [Teaser]
Adults Season 2 (Aug. 27, FXX and Hulu)
Gen Z gets things done. FX’s new hangout comedy about young people entering their post-college years is back for Season 2 just barely over a year after Season 1 ended. Expect more messiness, especially with the growing love triangle between Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), Issa (Amita Rao), and Anton (Owen Thiele). The full season drops all at once on Hulu and will also air weekly on FXX; a special standalone prequel episode centered on Paul Baker premieres on July 31. –Tim Surette
What’s on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video, and more in August
Netflix’s best new shows and movies in August
The amount of treasure hunts on TV is about to take a swan dive: Outer Banks is signing off with its fifth and final season. There are always more Netflix teen dramas waiting in the wings — just look at My Life With the Walter Boys, which returns for Season 3 this August and has already been renewed for Season 4 — but not all of them have this much gold at stake. If that scale isn’t epic enough for you, you can also check out the second and final season of Netflix’s adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude. On the reality TV front, Love Is Blind: UK is back for Season 3, and Let’s Marry Harry premieres, following Harry Jowsey from Too Hot to Handle and Perfect Match as his friends try to help him find love. But the real stars are in the movies. Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan lead crime thriller The Whisper Man, while the musical dramedy Don’t Say Good Luck, starring Sunny Sandler, features a supporting cast that includes Melanie Lynskey, Bebe Neuwirth, and Steve Buscemi. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in August, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in August.
- The best shows on Netflix right now
- The best movies on Netflix right now
HBO Max’s best new shows and movies in August
On HBO Max, August belongs to Lanterns. The new DC series follows a pair of Green Lanterns, seasoned veteran Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), as they investigate a murder in a small Nebraska town. For something a little lighter, Conan O’Brien’s travel comedy series, Conan O’Brien Must Go, returns for its third season this month. On the movies end, the Anne Hathaway-Michaela Coel psychological thriller Mother Mary hits HBO Max this month, as do the horror sequel The Strangers: Chapter 2 and the Bob Odenkirk-starring action comedy Normal. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on HBO Max in August, plus everything coming to HBO Max in August.
- The best movies on HBO Max right now
- The best shows on HBO Max right now
- HBO Max review: Everything to know about the streaming service
Hulu’s best new shows and movies in August
Non-supernatural shows about young people mostly fall into two camps: witty, good-looking people hooking up and realizing that adulting is hard, or witty, good-looking people hooking up and running from psychopaths. In August, Hulu’s release schedule has both of those. The FX comedy Adults returns for its second season of trying to figure out how to be a grown-up, and the new thriller The Shards, created by Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis, follows a group of teens in 1980s Los Angeles who might have a serial killer among their social circle. And if you want a show that combines both, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for Season 18. For a more poetic viewing experience, do check out the documentary Time and Water, which comes from the director of the Oscar-nominated Fire of Love. And for a more paranormal viewing experience, the anticipated director’s cut of 2008’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe hits Hulu in the middle of the month. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in August, plus everything coming to Hulu in August.
- The best TV shows on Hulu right now
- The best movies on Hulu right now
- How much does Hulu cost? Plans, pricing, channels, and more
Amazon Prime Video’s best new shows and movies in August
Prime Video is known for two things: dad shows and teen romances. Both are front and center in Prime Video’s new releases for August, and both are prime examples of the genres done right. First up is Sterling Point, a YA drama created by My Old Ass writer and director Megan Park about a New York City teen who heads up to a Canadian lakeside town to learn more about her mother, who died when she was young. Secrets are unearthed! Romances are forged! Parties are had! Later in the month comes Season 4 of Reacher, which sees the big guy rampage around Philadelphia and New York City after witnessing a woman take her own life on the subway. Conspiracies are unraveled! Tibias are shattered! Justice is served! Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in August, plus everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in August.
- The best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video right now
- The best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now
- Amazon Prime Video pricing, channels, and deals
Peacock’s new shows and movies in August
Peacock isn’t exactly screaming “Look at me!” in August, with a very light new release schedule for both TV shows and movies. The biggest debut is the streaming premiere of Will Packer’s You, Me & Tuscany, a romantic comedy starring Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page and The Little Mermaid‘s Halle Bailey. There’s also Season 2 of the British thriller series The Undeclared War, which follows a counter-cyberterrorist unit in the U.K. after a Russian malware attack. To me, the biggest news for the streaming service in August is the acquisition of the Canadian comfort comedy Kim’s Convenience — which has a new home after many years on Netflix. It’s the perfect watch when you need to some low-stress laughs. Here’s our list of everything coming to Peacock in August.
- The best movies on Peacock right now
- The best shows on Peacock right now
Paramount+’s new shows and movies in August
Conflict and people punching each other in the face are the recurring themes of the new releases on Paramount+ in August, headlined by Season 3 of Taylor Sheridan’s military drama Lioness. Lioness is one of five active Sheridan-created shows original to Paramount+ and stars Zoe Saldaña, Michael Kelly, and Nicole Kidman as CIA agents operating top-secret counterterrorism missions. UFC is also big this month, with multiple matches and a new season of Dana White’s Contender Series, which looks for new talent to enter the Octagon. Also new this month is Season 2 of Average Joe — Deon Cole’s crime dramedy that moved over to Paramount+ after BET+ was shuttered. Here’s our list of everything coming to Paramount+ in August.
- The best shows on Paramount+ right now
- How to get a Paramount+ free trial and deals
August TV calendar highlights
Aug. 2
Lioness (Season 3, Paramount+)
Aug. 3
Futurama (Season 14, Hulu)
Aug. 5
Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy (Reality, Netflix)
The Challenge: Cutthroat (Season 42, Paramount+)
Let’s Marry Harry (Reality, Netflix)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Season 2, Netflix)
The Shards (Season 1, FX/Hulu)
Sterling Point (Season 1, Prime Video)
Ted Lasso (Season 4, Apple TV)
Aug. 6
Monsters of God (Docuseries, HBO)
Aug. 7
Alley Cats (Season 1, Netflix)
The Last House (Film, Netflix)
Aug. 9
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th (Reality, Bravo)
Aug. 12
Reacher (Season 4, Prime Video)
Aug. 14
Don’t Say Good Luck (Film, Netflix)
Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes (Comedy Special, HBO)
Aug. 16
Lanterns (Season 1, HBO)
Aug. 17
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 18, FX/FXX/Hulu)
Aug. 19
Average Joe (Season 2, Paramount+)
Aug. 20
Outer Banks (Season 5, Netflix)
Aug. 21
Conan O’Brien Must Go (Season 3, HBO Max)
Aug. 23
The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only (Special, AMC+)
Aug. 26
The Last Sunrise (Film, Prime Video)
Aug. 27
Adults (Season 2, FXX/Hulu)
Aug. 28
The Whisper Man (Film, Netflix)
