Netflix has a big August coming up, with 12 new Netflix Original movies, many new series and the arrival of Karate Kid TV series Cobra Kai from its previous home on YouTube, ahead of its third season debut. Now the streaming service has confirmed what’s on the schedule for August 2020, we’ve picked out a selection of highlights below for you to potentially add to your Watch List.
This content is all Netflix exclusive, too, so you can expect everything below to land worldwide when their respective release dates come around. Here, then, are seven TV shows and movies worth checking out on Netflix in August 2020.
Project Power
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Release date: August 14
While we’ll be waiting a while for the new movies of 2020 to hit theaters again, Netflix’s vault of original movies is seemingly endless. This is probably the highest profile original film of the summer. It’s a New Orleans-set action movie about a pill that grants its taker a unique superhuman ability. Unfortunately, while this might offer a person super strength or make them bulletproof, it can also have nastier side effects.
Starring Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback, Project Power is about a cop (hmm) who forms an alliance with an ex-soldier and a teenager to bring down the group spreading the pill. Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the directors of Nerve and Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, are behind Project Power. It might be the closest you get to a new superhero movie this summer.
Lucifer season 5
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Release date: August 21
One of several series that Netflix has saved or acquired from other networks, Lucifer returns for its fifth season at the end of August. The end is in sight for fans of this loose DC Comics adaptation – one final sixth season will follow this next set of episodes, which will feature a black-and-white noir-themed chapter that takes Lucifer into LA’s history. It might be worth catching up if you’re worried about running out of shows to marathon for the rest of this year.
Selling Sunset season 3
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Release date: August 7
Selling Sunset is a reality TV show about the fancy home sellers at The Oppenheim Group, and it’s a series that firmly falls into ‘guilty pleasure’ territory. It must be a popular show, because Netflix is debuting this new season just three months after the last one. If you can tolerate or even enjoy the phoney-looking backstabbing and other nonsensical drama in the above trailer, Selling Sunset is probably worth a try.
Cobra Kai seasons 1 and 2
Release date: August 7
Once the crown jewel of YouTube’s scripted programming, Karate Kid spin-off TV series Cobra Kai lands on Netflix in full this month, with an already-filmed season 3 expected to follow later this year. It’s a fun series if you grew up watching the movies, with the very in-shape Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles, and the narrative continuing the story of the first three films.
Hoops
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Release date: August 21
Netflix gets a new adult animated comedy to join the likes of Disenchantment and F is for Family with this basketball-themed series that’s executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street). Jake Johnson voices Ben Hopkins, a misanthropic basketball coach looking to get more from his underperforming team. Bento Box animation is behind this series – which might explain why it looks so similar to the studio’s popular series Bob’s Burgers.
World’s Most Wanted
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Release date: August 5
You know how Netflix has a big new crime documentary series ready to go pretty much every month, with Fear City being the current flavor of the day? World’s Most Wanted looks like it’ll be July’s entry in the canon, focusing on five of the most wanted criminals in the world. It looks entertaining enough, based on the footage above, and unlike the recent Unsolved Mysteries reboot, it shouldn’t feature anyone talking about UFOs.
Immigration Nation
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Release date: August 3
This documentary promises a nuanced look at the deep issues with America’s immigration system. Immigration Nation was even in the news this week, with the NY Times reporting a contentious relationship between ICE and the filmmakers. Sounds like must-see viewing.
High Score
Release date: August 19
This new limited series should be an interesting entry in Netflix’s documentaries library. High Score focuses on gaming’s emergence during the so-called ‘golden era’, exploring the innovators and competitors of the time before the turn of the century. Gaming is definitely a subject that deserves more high-end documentaries from the likes of Netflix.
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Release date: August 20
This short documentary film is about an electronics expert who spends his life sending radio waves into the stars via elaborate electronics equipment, with the intention of contacting alien life. Netflix describes John Was Trying To Contact Aliens as ‘understated’ and ‘feel-good’, but mentions that its titular subject has a lonely life.