Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Wondering what your favorite streaming services are adding to their offerings each month? Decider’s got you covered. Stay tuned for our reports on everything coming to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Sundance Now, and more, plus a look at the top titles from all of them.
With hundreds of titles heading to your favorite platforms, it’s easy for August to feel like Christmas came early – it’s just too exciting to have so many options at your finger tips! The downside? Knowing where to start. With all of the award-winning, critically-acclaimed movies and shows heading to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO, there’s bound to be a few passable titles in the mix. That’s where we come in – we want to make sure you’re spending your time watching things that are totally worthy.
Netflix is truly bringing their A-game with original content this month; between dark comedy Atypical, cult revival Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, and the highly-anticipated The Defenders, they truly have found a way to occupy all of your time this August. Looking to break the mold and head over to another platform? Good – Hulu’s ridiculously good original series Difficult People is returning for third season this month, and Amazon’s got their superhero spin The Tick on the way. There’s truly a show or movie for every mood this month, and we rounded up the highest-rated, most-anticipated titles heading to the platforms. Here are August 2017’s top shows and movies.
NETFLIX
The Founder (2017)
Michael Keaton‘s been experiencing something of a winning streak lately, and it’s a damn shame that this biopic was such a flop at the box office. The flick chronicles the rise of McDonald’s via the smarts and strategies of businessman Ray Kroc (Keaton), who took matters into his own hands from founders Richard and Maurice McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch) and turned the fast food chain into the international phenomenon we know it as today. Despite its lack of box office success, it was something of a critical darling, and Keaton’s performance is not to be missed.
[Stream The Founder on Netflix August 2]
Icarus *Netflix Original Film
This insanely timely documentary from Bryan Fogel exposes the dark, doping underbelly of international sports – particularly in Russian Olympic athletes – and it does not disappoint. Icarus received rave reviews at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and follows Fogel as he interviews a slew of different high-profile figures within the scandal and discovers the terrifying truth behind these illegal methods. Netflix themselves calls the documentary an “international game of cat and mouse where a miscalculation can cost you your life,” so it’s bound to be thrilling in more ways than one.
[Stream Icarus on Netflix August 4]
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later *Netflix Original
Come on back to Camp Firewood for an uproarious 10 year reunion – we know you want to. A slew of your faves like Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black, Christopher Meloni, and a TON more will return for this 1991-set sequel to the completely kooky cult classic that introduced us to Michael Showalter and David Wain’s wild world of Camp Firewood. Just as shamelessly goofy as its previous installments, 10 Years Later will undoubtedly please Wet Hot‘s biggest fans.
[Stream Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later on Netflix August 4]
Atypical: Season 1 *Netflix Original
This darkly funny, moving original series stars Keir Gilchrist (It Follows, United States of Tara) as Sam, an 18-year-old on the autism spectrum who yearns for the independence and love he watches the rest of his peers experience. While he struggles with what the concept of “normal” really is, his mother (played by the extraordinary Jennifer Jason Leigh) embarks on her own journey of self-discovery as she navigates this wild world and her beloved son’s place in it.
[Stream Atypical: Season 1 on Netflix August 11]
Marvel’s The Defenders: Season 1 *Netflix Original
Our favorite Netflix/Marvel heroes – Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) finally come together in this highly-anticipated series to save New York City from a fearsome foe and kick some major ass in the process. As Decider’s own Brett White says in his spoiler-free review of the first four episodes, the series “feels like a true hybrid, the sum being impossibly more enthralling than its charismatic parts. You can practically see the sparks flying as soon as these rock solid characters strike against each other.” If that doesn’t get you excited, we don’t know what will.
[Stream Marvel’s The Defenders: Season 1 on Netflix August 18]
HULU
Spider-Man 2
Before Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland filled the iconic suit, Tobey Maguire was slaying the game in Sam Raimi’s shamelessly campy trilogy. The second installment finds our hero up against the difficult world of dating as a secret superhero and Alfred Molina‘s crazed-yet-sympathetic villain Doctor Octavius as Spidey is once again tasked with saving the Big Apple.
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Perhaps the first flick that really pushed us to take Anne Hathaway seriously as an actress (and earn her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), Jonathan Demme‘s dark drama follows frequent rehab-goer Kym (Hathaway) as she returns home for a weekend to see her sister get married. As she deals with the judgment of a plethora of prying eyes, Kym begins to unravel – all while her sister Rachel develops her own resentment for Kym stealing the spotlight for her big day.
[Stream Rachel Getting Married on Hulu]
The Big Chill (1983)
Was there ever a more perfect cast that that of The Big Chill? Starring Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, and more, this iconic 1983 dramedy chronicles a weekend as seven former college friends reunite in one house after one of their friends passes away. Emotional, funny, and armed with a killer soundtrack, this nostalgia-fueled film is essential viewing.
[Stream The Big Chill on Hulu]
Difficult People: Season 3 *Hulu Original
Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner are back and more difficult than ever in the third season of their sharp comedy, and they’re holding nothing back. The duo star as two incredibly self-involved performers on a journey to the show biz spotlight, but if you think they’re going to be nice about it, think again. Crass, quick, and totally addicting, this smart series is one of Hulu’s best.
[Stream Difficult People: Season 3 on Hulu August 8]
Sabrina (1995)
Despite the inevitable comparisons with its Audrey Hepburn-starring predecessor, this 1995 remake really holds up. Julia Ormond is Sabrina Fairchild, the mousy daughter of the Larrabee family chauffeur – and she’s been in love with David Larrabee (an ultra-dreamy Greg Kinnear) her entire life. After she goes to Paris and returns a whole new lady, she winds up in the center of a Larrabee love triangle, as David’s older brother Linus (Harrison Ford at prime 90s babe-dom) has been tasked by the family to drive her and David apart to protect a family business deal. Classically romantic, unexpectedly funny, and armed with a gorgeous score by John Williams, this modern-day fairytale is the perfect companion for gal pals and a glass (or bottle) of wine.
[Stream Sabrina on Hulu August 15]
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
The directorial debut of actress-turned-director Kasi Lemmons, Eve’s Bayou stars Samuel L. Jackson as a doctor who is witnessed having an affair by his young daughter. Set in the summer of 1962 in rural Louisiana, the film takes you on a series of twists and turns that prove just how dangerous misunderstood emotions can be. It’s a beautiful, haunting drama that maintains a dreamy, tragic quality over the course of its runtime.
[Stream Eve’s Bayou on Prime Video]
Valkyrie (2008)
This World War II flick reunites Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, the award-winning duo behind The Usual Suspects, and this film is a big departure from the small-time crime team that gained them notoriety. Starring Tom Cruise as German army Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the historical thriller depicts the 1944 plot devised by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take control of the country.
[Stream Valkyrie on Prime Video August 2]
Superbad (Unrated)
Another in the long line of Judd Apatow successes, this ridiculously funny teen sex comedy somehow manages to simultaneously pack a crude punch and keep its heart. Starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Academy Award winner Emma Stone in her breakthrough role, the flick follows two co-dependent teenagers on a mission to get their party on, get it on, and get on with their lives as they make the ever-tumultuous transition from high school to college.
[Stream Superbad on Prime Video August 4]
The Tick: Season 1 *Amazon Original
Amazon’s latest original series puts a fresh spin on the superhero tale, which is totally welcome in the overcrowded genre. Starring Peter Serafinowicz in the title role, The Tick depicts a world where superheroes have been an established presence for decades. When a powerless accountant realizes his city is owned by a super-villain, he joins forces with the strange Tick to uncover this big, bizarre secret and save their city.
[Stream The Tick: Season 1 on Prime Video August 25]
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
Meryl Streep continues to be her magical self in this biopic that tells the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress harboring big dreams of becoming an opera singer with one major problem – her voice is terrible. Played with grace, humor, and sensitivity by Streep, the character quickly steals your heart alongside co-stars Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg in this delightful film.
[Stream Florence Foster Jenkins on Prime Video August 27]
HBO
Love Liza (2002)
Featuring the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his best performances, this painful drama follows a man who turns to gasoline fumes and a feigned obsession with remote control airplanes to hide his addiction after his wife inexplicably commits suicide. Also starring Kathy Bates, this strangely comic tragedy is elevated by the quality of its performances – there’s just no beating the emotional depth of Hoffman in every scene.
The Ring (2002)
This modern horror classic made us scared of VHS and phone calls forever, because who wants to die in 7 days for popping in the wrong Blockbuster selection? Starring Naomi Watts as a journalist determined to discover the truth behind this terrifying tape, The Ring gifted us with a horrifying, black-haired villain who crawled right out of the TV to haunt our dreams forever.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Harry Potter fans ’round the world rejoiced when they discovered that their beloved universe would not be meeting its end with Deathly Hallows, and this magical spin-off does not disappoint. Set 70 years before Harry’s adventures, Fantastic Beasts stars Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston and follows Newt Scamander as he navigates the secret community of witches and wizards in Manhattan and tries to keep his beasts from escaping and wreaking havoc on the wild city streets – all while combating something much more sinister awaiting him underneath it all.
[Stream Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on HBO August 12]
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
This strange, dark thriller from Tom Ford sees a wealthy, stylish art gallery owner (Amy Adams) receive a draft of her ex-husband’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) novel and the emotional turmoil she experiences when she finds herself unable to put it down. As the novel becomes more and more disturbing and the lines between reality and fiction are blurred, this chilling story-within-a-story exposes dark truths about its protagonists with each development.
[Stream Nocturnal Animals on HBO August 19]
Jackie (2016)
Featuring an Academy Award-nominated turn from Natalie Portman, this beautiful, stirring biopic tells the story of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as she grieves the death of her husband in the aftermath of his assassination. Jackie offers a little-seen glimpse into her side of the story and the incredibly difficult journey she embarked on to learn how to pick herself up, raise her children, and keep JFK’s legacy alive.
