What to expect for August, streaming-wise: Netflix is pulling back the curtain on some major releases, including the latest cartoon from Simpsons mastermind Matt Groening and a half-hour comedy that’s already attracted controversy weeks ahead of its premiere; Amazon makes a bid for a blockbuster series with the launch of John Krasinski as stubble-faced man-of-action Jack Ryan; and Hulu puts their stamp on one of the year’s most socially resonant documentaries. Boom! Here’s your click-and-watch TV guide for the month. (For your network and cable viewing must-sees, go here.)
All About the Washingtons (Netflix, Aug. 10th)
After an extended reality-TV stay at Run’s House (who’s house? Run’s house!), the man born Joseph Simmons is getting some new digs. The hip-hop legend can now add “sitcom sensation” to his résumé, courtesy of this new multi-camera comedy that turns his life into a modern-day rework of Father Knows Best. (Father Knows Beats?) Run takes top billing as Joey Washington, a titan of the old school ready to hang up his mic and let his ambitious entrepreneur wife (also played by his real-world spouse Justine Simmons) bring home the bacon for a while. But being a full-time father to a house full of kids turns out to be tougher than leather. There will be life lessons and hard-earned paternal wisdom, hopefully spit out 16 bars at a time.
Disenchantment (Netflix, Aug. 17th)
“Simpsons meets Game of Thrones” would be enough to put a certain species of TV fan into a coma quicker than a roll of 20-sided dice for dexterity points. Still, even though Matt Groening’s latest series in set in Dreamland, a medieval kingdom bursting with knaves, dragons and warlocks, he says that there’s more to this animated fantasy-comedy than that pithy, SEO-friendly description. The animation legend has already promised that this series will plumb darker emotional depths than his past work; the arc-based structure marks a departure from the usual modus operandi as well. The liquor-slugging Princess Bean (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) embarks on a perilous odyssey with her elf pal Elfo (Nat Faxon) and her literalized personal demon Luci (Eric Andre) to find some independence beyond her castle. All manner of threats await her. Just don’t mistake her for a damsel in distress.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Netflix, Aug. 10th)
The year is 1946: As England pulls itself back together following World War II, novelist Juliet Ashton (Lily James, a.k.a. Young Meryl from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) looks for her next subject. Thankfully, it finds her in the form of a letter from Dawsey (Game of Thrones‘ Michiel Huisman), the new owner of a poetry book she pawned years earlier — he’s also the founder of a covert book club established as a cover during the Nazi occupation. She soon attends herself, bonding with the handsome bibliophile in the process over their shared love for writing. But what of her moneyed American beau (Glen Powell) who wants to bring her back to the States? Pour yourself a cup of tea, break into a fresh tin of biscuits and settle in for a swoonworthy love story from across the pond.
The Innocents (Netflix, Aug. 24th)
From the algorithm that brought you Stranger Things and The OA comes this new sci-fi series, where the supernatural once again throws youngsters into a mystery laced with danger. Lovers-on-the-run June (Sorcha Groundsell) and Harry (Percelle Ascott) flee their families to start a new life together. It’ll be tough, since money is tight and the couple will be on their own. Oh, and also, June’s a shape-shifter and there’s an unsettlingly driven professor (Guy Pearce) intent on tracking her down. (Guess we kind of buried the lede there.) He holds the secret to where her powers come from and how they fit into a grander clandestine scheme. Bingers, at your ready!
Insatiable (Netflix, Aug. 10th)
Already the subject of a heated controversy online, Netflix is banking that this comedy will win the public over once they can actually watch it. Debby Ryan dons a fat suit to portray Patty, the object of mockery for everyone at her high school and the survivor of a grisly car crash right at the beginning of summer vacation. When she returns to class in the fall, however, a few months of a wired-shut jaw have turned “Fatty Patty” into the svelte envy of her grade. Guess who goes about wreaking her revenge on all those who wronged her, from the queen-bee bullies to the boys that wouldn’t give her the time of day? The show’s opponents have already imagined the worst-case scenario — it could be streaming-service Hindenburg or a Heathers for the era of body positivity.
Jack Ryan (Amazon, Aug. 31st)
From Dunder Mifflin’s resident smart-aleck to indie filmmaker to the director of horror sleeper hit A Quiet Place — John Krasinski now career-pivots once again, going full action hero in this serialized take on Tom Clancy’s espionage paperbacks. He’s now the fifth actor to portray the CIA analyst, with the small-screen Ryan unraveling an international conspiracy involving falsified bank statements, a terrorist cell and an impending attack on American soil. The actor has stated that he plans on drawing from Harrison Ford’s interpretation of the oft-adapted character in his own performance, showing the vulnerable everyman beneath the seemingly superhuman feats of courage.