August is off to a strong start among the streaming services. On Sunday, August 11, HBO and Max are premiering the third season of Industry. But if you don’t want to wait until the weekend is almost over, Netflix has the final season of The Umbrella Academy, while Peacock’s new comedy, Mr. Throwback, has dropped its first season.
Last week’s new shows, including Prime Video’s Batman: Caped Crusader and Netflix’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, are still popular choices, and likely to get renewals. But it couldn’t hurt to recommend them to your friends. It’s too soon to say if September will be able to match the number of good shows we’ve already had in August. But that’s an issue for another week. In the meantime, you can find all of the best new shows to stream below.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+ all have one thing in common: They’re more expensive than they used to be! We can live with higher rates as long as new shows keep coming, but it’s always a good idea to consider signing up for the ad-supported tiers, which are worth it if you can sit through a few commercials.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
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Industry2020 -
Mr. Throwback2024
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The Umbrella Academy2019
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Cobra Kai2018
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Max (formerly HBO and HBO Max)
Industry (2020)
76%
7.2/10HBO’s Industry is giving off some Succession vibes in its third season. It also helps that Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington and Barry’s Sarah Goldberg are both joining the cast this season. The first two seasons depicted the cutthroat world of a London investment bank, Pierpoint & Co., that separated two main characters, Harper Stern (Myha’la Herrold) and Danny Van Deventer (Alex Alomar Akpobome), from their jobs.
Harper may get a lifeline from a woman named Petra (Goldberg). Meanwhile, Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) finds himself feeling out of place as he’s assigned to work with Henry Muck (Harington), a CEO who is looking to take his green energy company public. This is a slow-burn series for adults, and fans of Succession should feel right at home.
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (2024)
71%
7.5/10Among Batman villains, Kite Man (Matt Oberg) is about as far from the A-list as it gets. But he’s a loveable loser from the Harley Quinn animated series who lost the love of his life, Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), to Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) herself. Now, Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is giving this beleaguered semi-villain a fresh start with a new girlfriend, Golden Glider (The Fall Guy‘s Stephanie Hsu).
Since Kite Man’s not particularly good at villany, he and Golden Glider have taken over the local dive bar for Gotham City’s bad guys. James Adomian’s hilarious version of Bane carries over to this series, which has the same black comedy style that made Harley Quinn so much fun to watch.
Peacock
Mr. Throwback (2024)
56%
7.1/10NBA great Steph Curry shows off his comedic chops in Peacock’s Mr. Throwback, a mockumentary series where he gets to play himself. Or at least an exaggerated version of himself. But the show really revolves around Danny Grossman (Adam Pally), a former teammate of Curry’s when they were children. Danny didn’t have Curry’s talent for the game, and he’s never achieved any big success in his life.
Because he’s drowning in debt, Danny contrives a reunion with Curry and lets him believe that his teenage daughter is terminally ill. That’s a recipe for disaster as Danny tries to repair his broken friendship with Curry, because the truth will almost inevitably come out.
The Ark (2023)
50%
5.4/10There aren’t many sci-fi originals left on Syfy, or original shows in general. But The Ark is one of the most prominent series still on the network, and streaming on Peacock. The story follows the crew of the Ark One, a generation spaceship that is meant to help humanity find a new home in the stars.
After disaster strikes, Lt. Sharon Garnet (Christie Burke) is forced to take command. Season 2 picks up with Ark One getting new crew members from a rival Ark ship. Can Garnet and her crew trust the newcomers? Or is a Trojan horse operation in play so the new crew can seize the ship for themselves? Time will tell.
Netflix
The Umbrella Academy (2019)
59%
7.9/10The Hargreeves family is back in the abbreviated final season of The Umbrella Academy. And their most immediate problem in their new timeline is that they’ve been stripped of their superpowers. Also, the world is going to end. Again.
Getting their powers back is one thing. But stopping their adoptive brother, Ben Hargreeves (Justin H. Min), from making a tragic mistake is much more difficult. This is the last chance that the Hargreeves have to save the day… and each other.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024)
66%
6.7/10Who murdered Andie (India Lillie Davies)? That’s a question that’s haunted Pippa Fitz-Amobi (Wednesday’s Emma Myers) in A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. Even with university life beckoning Pippa during her last year in high school, she can’t let go of her theory that Andi wasn’t killed by her late boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni).
To prove herself, Pippa plans to solve the murder and use it as her school project for the year. This manages to anger a lot of people in Pippa’s hometown who would rather not dig up the secrets that she’s getting uncomfortably close to. Pippa’s seen a lot of detectives on TV, and they may not have been the best role models for her as she soon finds herself in genuine danger.
Cobra Kai (2018)
71%
8.5/10Peace has come to the valley as Cobra Kai season 6 kicks off, but old rivalries dating back to The Karate Kid die hard. Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) may have defeated Cobra Kai and combined their dojos, but they’re far from being on the same page. And Johnny feels like Daniel is trying to dominate their partnership.
Even the students of their dojo still have some very significant personal issues with each other. But the world championships of karate are coming up fast, and only the very best students will make the final cut.
Amazon Prime Video
Batman: Caped Crusader (2024)
73%
7.7/10Fans who have been waiting for a more mature animated take on Batman should be very happy with Batman: Caped Crusader. The show is produced by Bruce Timm, one of the masterminds behind Batman: The Animated Series. And from the noir-ish 1940s-set story, it seems like Timm and his collaborators had a pretty free hand while re-envisioning Batman’s world.
Bruce Wayne (Hamish Linklater) hasn’t quite mastered being Batman yet, and Gotham City may pay the price for his inexperience as it slides toward an all-out gang war. There are standalone episodes throughout the season featuring classic villains like Catwoman (Christina Ricci), Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung), and Clayface (Dan Donohue). But the real joy of this series will come when viewers realize that there’s more serialization than you might expect, and the season builds toward an explosive conclusion.
Sausage Party: Foodtopia (2024)
53%
6.1/10In the 2016 R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party, Seth Rogen voiced Frank, an anthropomorphized hot dog, who learned that he and the rest of the food were meant to be eaten. Sausage Party: Foodtopia picks up after the movie as the food has won the war against humanity. Now meat products, breads, fruits, and other foods shall inherit the Earth.
But in their efforts to create a Foodtopia for all food, Fred, Brenda Bunson (Kristen Wiig), Barry (Michael Cera), and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) aren’t necessarily up to the task. They’re going to need help rebuilding their world. And much to their surprise, not all of the humans are gone.
Apple TV+
Time Bandits (2024)
65%
5.8/10The reboot of Time Bandits has a lot to live up to, because Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film of the same name is a cult classic. What We Do In Shadows’ Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi — both of whom appear in guest roles — co-created the new series with Iain Morris.
In this new retelling, Friends veteran Lisa Kudrow stars as Penelope, the leader of a small gang of thieves that moves throughout time and space. Their latest recruit is Kevin (Kal-El Tuck), an 11-year-old kid from the present who’s a history lover. But even Kevin may not have enough knowledge to see the group through to the end of their quest.
Presumed Innocent (2024)
65%
7.6/10It’s been 34 years since Harrison Ford starred in the previous adaptation of Scott Turow’s legal thriller Presumed Innocent, so it was probably overdue for a remake. Road House‘s Jake Gyllenhaal steps into Ford’s former role as Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor who gets romantically involved with one of his colleagues, Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve).
When Carolyn is found murdered, Rusty is considered a prime suspect and arrested. Even worse, the news about his affair with Carolyn threatens Rusty’s marriage and family. There’s more to Carolyn’s death than just a sordid affair. But who else had the motive to kill her and frame Rusty for the crime?
Hulu
Marvel's Hit-Monkey (2021)
57%
7.8/10Hit-Monkey is a relic of an old deal between Marvel and Hulu to create adult-oriented animated series. The title character doesn’t really speak, so Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis gets most of the lines as Bryce Fowler, a deceased hitman whose ghost is the closest thing that Hit-Monkey has to a friend and mentor.
Season 2 picks up with the duo in New York, as Bryce tries to reconnect with his daughter, Iris (Cristin Milioti), even as a rift develops between himself and Hit-Monkey. And just when they start getting things together, the new Lady Bullseye, Akiko Yokohama (Olivia Munn), shows up to get her revenge on Hit-Monkey.
The Toys That Built America (2021)
