August might be the most blockbuster month of streaming that we’ve had yet this year. Not only will we be graced with the release of Nine Perfect Strangers – filmed up in Byron Bay last year – on Amazon Prime Video, but Netflix documentary Pray Away is set to be one of the most chilling shows to date. From thrillers to horror and romance, here’s our pick of what to binge-watch in August.

14 New Shows to Stream in August

1. Nine Perfect Strangers

It’s finally here. That’s right: Nine Perfect Strangers, the highly-anticipated adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel, from the team who bought you Big Little Lies – star Nicole Kidman and star producer Bruna Papandrea – will debut on Amazon Prime Video on 20 August.

The cast for this adaptation, which filmed last year up in Byron Bay, is legendary. Kidman will star as the head of a picture perfect wellness retreat, whose motives remain unclear, while the guests that she reels in will include characters played by Melissa McCarthy, Asher Keddie, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall and Samara Weaving. This is going to be must- watch television in August. Set the date in your calendar now.

When can I watch it? August 20 on Amazon Prime Video 

2. Pray Away

Have you ever heard of Conversion Therapy? This anti-queer movement has been practiced for decades, especially in conservative Christian parts of the US. Pray Away centres on Exodus International, an Evangelical gay conversion program that started in the '70s as a Bible study group between five gay men who wished to convert each other out of their homosexual lifestyle. The men shortly received over 25,000 letters from LGBTQIA+ people who were seeking they do the same thing for them, and the group rapidly became one of the largest gay conversion therapy programs in the world. This documentary sits down with former members of the group (who now proudly accept their LGBTQIA+ identities) and reveals what really went down behind hidden doors. Viewers be warned: Pray Away makes references to homophobia, transphobia, suicide, mental and psychological abuse, and sexual assault, so please tread with caution. 

When can I watch it? Out now on Netflix

3. Clickbait

Family man Nick (Adrien Grenier, from The Devil Wears Prada fame) is a good guy. Right? That’s what his friends and family think, but then Nick is abducted and a ransom video is posted online in which Nick admits that he is an abuser. And that when the video reaches five million views he will die. It’s a race against the clock for his sister, played by Zoe Kazan, and wife, played by Betty Gabriel, to save Nick – while also confronting some uncomfortable truths about this man they thought they knew.

When can I watch it? August 25 on Netflix 

4. Gone For Good

Harlan Coben thrillers have proven to be enormously popular on Netflix. (Were you one of the millions of people who watched The Stranger?) This is the latest adaptation of the thriller writer’s work, only this time, it’s been adapted into a French original series. The story follows a young man who, as a teen, saw both his first girlfriend and his brother die.

Now, ten years later, his world is rocked when his new girlfriend disappears in the middle of his mother’s funeral. Are all of these deaths linked? And how much bad luck can one man have?

When can I watch it? August 13 on Netflix 

5. Cooking With Paris

This show does exactly what it says on the tin: Paris Hilton. Cooks. Sometimes with celebrity guests and friends, sometimes on her own. These starry, A-list cooking shows – Selena + Chef on Binge is another example – have gained popularity recently, and Cooking With Paris is more of the same. If you enjoy Paris Hilton as a television personality, then we’re sure you’ll love this.

When can I watch it? August 4 on Netflix 

6. Cruel Summer

Did you like The Sinner? Because the producers of that – just, you know, Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple – have made Cruel Summer, an addictive thriller coming to Amazon Prime Video this month. (Plus, Biel also stars in Cruel Summer, too.)

The series has already launched in the US, where it was named one of the most popular debuts of the year, and it set over three summers in the ‘90s, when the disappearance of a popular teenager rocks a small community, while in the background, a different teenage girl slowly begins to take her place at the top of the social hierarchy. Fans of this show were hooked from the start, and you can expect this one to be a huge success when it begins streaming.

When can I watch it? August 6 on Amazon Prime Video 

7. Mr Corman

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is wearing a lot of hats on Mr Corman. The actor stars, wrote, directed and produced the AppleTV+ series, which debuts this month. It follows Josh Corman, a musician whose big creative dreams haven’t panned out, leading him to end up teaching at a school in the San Fernando Valley.

His partner has left and he’s back living with his high school best friend. Mr Corman promises to be uplifting and heartfelt, as well as bittersweet and emotional. If you’re a Ted Lasso fan – especially a fan of some of the more truthful moments in that series – then we expect you’ll find a lot to love in Mr Corman.

When can I watch it? August 6 on AppleTV+ 

8. What If?

We don’t know about you, but we’re loving all of the Marvel shows on Disney+. (Loki was so. good.) What If? is their latest release, an animated series that playfully imagines some alternative universes – and outcomes – for some of their most beloved superheroes. We’re talking, what if Peggy Carter became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers?

All your favourite actors from the series will voice their cartoon counterparts, from Hayley Atwell’s Peggy to Karen Gillan as Nebula, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane and even Michael B Jordan, returning as Killmonger, and the last voice performance from the late Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther.

When can I watch it? August 11 on Disney+ 

9. Two Weeks To Live

Maisie Williams and Sian Clifford star as a mother-daughter duo living completely off the grid in Scotland, on account of the mother’s doomsday prepper tendencies. But what will happen when daughter Kim (Williams) manages to leave her isolated, sheltered upbringing and get a taste of the real world? Will she enjoy the pub? Will she meet a nice boy? The world is literally her oyster.

There’s a lot more plot to this series, which is part action, part comedy – think the uniquely comedic blend seen in a show like Killing Eve – and features two actresses at the top of their game. It’s hilarious.

When can I watch it? August 11 on Paramount+ 

10. Anne Boleyn

Also coming to Paramount+ on the date of launch is Anne Boleyn, a highly-anticipated and much-discussed miniseries telling the story of Anne Boleyn, Tudor King Henry VIII’s second wife. Jodie Turner-Smith stars as Anne Boleyn in this period drama, and has received rave reviews for her magnificent and regal performance out of the UK, where the biopic has already been released. This is a period drama for the post-Bridgerton world, featuring inclusive casting and inspired creative choices. We’re already obsessed.

When can I watch it? August 11 on Paramount+ 

11. The Newsreader

Anna Torv and Sam Reid star in The Newsreader, an exciting new Australian television series coming to ABC in August. The year is 1986, when the world of television news was cutthroat, ambitious, glamorous and powerful.

This series will follow Helen Norville and Dale Jennings: the former, a television anchor on the rise and the former a young reporter who wants to further his career. Their budding friendship will change the newsroom, and their lives, forever.

When can I watch it? August 15 on ABC iView 

12. The Chair

Two words: Sandra Oh. The Killing Eve and Grey’s Anatomy star – and total legend – is helming this Netflix comedy about a prestigious English department at a university who brings in a woman of colour to lead the department for the first time. Created by Amanda Peet and Annie Julia Wyman, and starring Holland Taylor alongside Oh, this miniseries has been billed as offbeat, quirky and totally, totally hilarious. How could it not be, with Oh in the leading role? We cannot wait.

When can I watch it? August 20 on Netflix 

13. Chapelwaite

Horror fans, this one is for you. Based on a beloved short story by the lord of horror himself – Stephen King – Chapelwaite follows Captain Charles Boone (Adrien Brody), who moves his family to his creaky old ancestral home after the death of his wife. Naturally, that ancestral home is far from a lovely, restorative retreat. It’s fully haunted, and pretty soon Boone discovers just how many skeletons there are rattling around his family’s old closets. Spooky.

When can I watch it? August 23 on Stan 

14. Only Murders In The Building

Have you explored the Star section of your Disney+ yet? This is the brand new segment of the streaming platform where all the less family friendly content will live. So over on Disney+ you’ll still have all those great Marvel and Star Wars-related television shows you love, but Star is where you’ll get more variety. Starting with Only Murders In The Building, which will launch at the very end of the month and is set to be a new favourite.

Starring Selena Gomez, marking her return to television after a long break from screens, alongside comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short, the series follows three strangers in an apartment building in New York who share an obsession with true crime and a desire to solve the mysterious death of one of their neighbours. You can expect lots of jokes about crime podcasts and Alfred Hitchcock, as well as just a good, old-fashioned murder mystery.

When can I watch it? August 31 on Disney+ 

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