Dazed & Confused, True Crime, & Animated Comedy Come to Netflix in August
Netflix shows this August will not be a dumping ground for bottom of the barrel stuff. Adult animated comedy fans will want to see new works by the creators of Samurai Jack and BoJack Horseman. True crime fans will want to keep an eye out for the recounting of a spectacular diamond robbery and catfishing harassment of a high school teen and her boyfriend. There are new seasons of a popular Addams Family spinoff and an Australian legal comedy. Finally, one of the leads of the new Fantastic Four stars as a working-class woman stuck in an economically desperate situation.
Yes, a hot summer month is a great time to chill with this streaming service and a mai tai or some ribs. Just save some time to try something offbeat such as a World War II action and romance film set in Thailand.
August 1
Clueless–Amy Heckerling hit comedy gold with this very loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. Impeccably dressed and naively positive Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) dedicates herself to performing good deeds after engineering a romance between two teachers at her high school. She thinks her next good deed is helping clueless Bronson Alcott High transfer student Tai Frasier remake herself so she can land a beau. But what Cher doesn’t realize yet is just how clueless she is herself regarding the ways of the heart.
Dazed And Confused—Richard Linklater’s classic ensemble film takes viewers to 1976 Austin, Texas. A loose group of small town high school students mark the last day of classes by engaging in various misadventures over the course of the night. Some upper class students look for new high school students to paddle. Others drink beer and hang out. Still others experiment with sex. But all of them want to find significance in their stepping into adulthood.
Fire Country Season 2–Convict Bode Donovan volunteers for a prison-release program where his sentence gets reduced if he pairs with an elite firefighter to extinguish unpredictable Northern California blazes. The riskiness of his decision increases when the former golden boy gets assigned to Station 42 in Edgewater, the rural hometown he fled five years ago. Is it possible for Donovan to find redemption?
Wet Hot American Summer–David Wain’s cult ensemble parody of summer teen movies takes place at the end of the 1981 season at Maine’s Camp Firewood. It follows the antics of the camp’s counselors and staff over the course of this last day. This is a day that will have a talking can of vegetables, a guy who can create storms with his mind, and a falling chunk of Skylab. Among the actors appearing in the film are Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper.
August 2
Beyond The Bar–Yullim Law Firm partner Yun Seok Un heads the firm’s litigation team. He’s brilliant at his job but not terribly sociable. His new associate Kang Hyo Min may be a rookie lawyer, but she’s very righteous and confident. The two attorneys may frequently clash, but will the veteran help the newbie become a real lawyer?
August 4
Closet Battle Season 1–In this reality show, Jung Jae-hyung and Kim Na-young are fashion experts with varying tastes. Their job is to help their clients gain more confidence using the clients’ own clothes. But with their different approaches to style, which expert will win their battle?
August 5
Love Life (Both Seasons)–In each season of this series executive produced by Anna Kendrick, the romantic misadventures of one central character get followed to see how their relationships influence who that character becomes as a person. It’s a mixed bag, but the second season is the one to definitely catch. William Jackson Harper stars as 30-something married book editor Marcus Watkins. A semi-flirtatious conversation between the editor and the attractive Mia Hines eventually winds up unraveling his entire life.
August 6
Wednesday Season 2 (Part One)–The new season of this “Addams Family” spinoff begins with the title character’s vision of her responsibility for her roommate Enid’s death. Wednesday’s mother Morticia might know more about the vision than she’s telling. And what role will Wednesday’s Grandmama (new series addition Joanna Lumley) play in the story?
August 8
Stolen: Heist Of The Century–This true crime docuseries tells the story of 2003’s audacious Antwerp Diamond Center robbery. The thieves successfully made off with somewhere between $100 million to $500 million in diamonds. The achievement of the responsible parties (known as The School Of Turin) was even more remarkable given that they had to get around such security measures as infrared heat detectors, seismic sensors, and a vault door protected by a lock with almost 100 million possible combinations.
August 12
Final Draft Season 1—In this Japanese reality show, the contestants are 25 former professional athletes who left their sports career either involuntarily or by choice. Now they compete in a series of physical and psychological challenges, each hoping to become the last man standing and the winner of a 30 million yen prize to help them start a new career. However, winning that prize will also require displaying adaptability and the will to reinvent oneself.
August 13
Fixed–Genndy Tarkovsky (“Samurai Jack”) helms this adult animated comedy. When randy bull terrier Bull (Adam DeVine) learns he’s going to be neutered in the morning, he realizes he needs a final adventure before he loses his balls. So his pack of best friends decide to take Bull out for one last big night of partying. What could possibly go wrong?
Saare Jahan Se Accha: The Silent Guardians–Vishnu Shankar is an intelligence officer in 1970s India. His newest mission involves sabotaging a looming nuclear threat. The aim is to ensure India stays one step ahead of its adversaries. But doing so requires Shankar to navigate a treacherous landscape where not sending critical information in time will have national security repercussions.
Songs From The Hole–In this documentary/visual album, subject James “JJ ‘88” Jones struggles with being both the perpetrator of violent harm (killing someone at 15) and the recipient of violent harm (his brother gets murdered three days later). Jones’ original music, a mix of hip hop and soul, provides a soundtrack to this depiction of inner struggles told via memories, dreams, and spiritual dialogue.
Young Millionaires Season 1—What happens when your dreams come true but you can’t cash in on them? Samia, Leo, David, and Jess are four friends from Marseilles who have struck it rich by winning the French lottery’s 17 million Euros jackpot. However, because all four of them are 17-year-old high schoolers, they legally can’t claim the jackpot. Their solution: rely on 18-year-old Victoire, who is old enough to claim the money and who did pick one of the winning numbers. However, Victoire isn’t part of their group. Can they trust him to not run off with the winnings? And how can they concentrate on such things as final exams when the prospect of great wealth dangles in their faces?
August 14
In The Mud Season 1–Gladys “La Borges” Guerra and four newbie female prisoners are being transported to La Quebrada Prison. On the way, a difficult situation occurs whose aftermath will bind these women together. They’re going to need that unity in the face of oppression from the prison authorities and the various prisoner “tribes” of La Quebrada. Without intending to, these five women will become known as The Muddied Ones.
Mononoke The Movie: The Ashes Of Rage–This movie trilogy follows the wanderings of a Medicine Seller who encounters, combats, and eventually destroys mononoke in the time between the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji period. Mononoke, for the newbies, are supernatural beings who hang around the human world by binding themselves to negative human emotions. In this film, the Medicine Seller makes a return visit to the imperial harem. There’s a conflict brewing between new harem director Otomo Botan and veteran courtesan Fuki. Matters are worsened by conspiracies spun against Fuki by elder councilor Ootomo and others…as well as a rash of spontaneous combustions caused by the children of the Fire Rat.
Quantum Leap (the 2022 reboot)–It’s 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett disappeared after stepping into the experimental Quantum Leap accelerator. Now Dr. Ben Song, leader of the team trying to re-start the Quantum Leap project, makes an unauthorized leap and finds himself stuck inside a host body with only fragments of his memory available to him. Present day colleague Addison appears to the physicist as a hologram only he can see and hear. For Song to leap again,he needs to correct something in his host’s life. Meanwhile, the rest of Song’s team try to figure out how to bring their boss back home…and why he leaped in the first place.
August 15
Fit For TV: The Reality Of The Biggest Loser–This docuseries looks back at the making of the hit reality tv competition focused on weight loss. With its emphasis on finding contestants who were overweight and unhappy, did this show really transform people for the better? Or did it exploit its contestants for the sake of “creating good TV?” This docuseries argues the verdict is mixed.
Night Always Comes–Lynette (Vanessa Kirby, “Fantastic Four: First Steps”) is a 30-something working-class woman living in a rapidly gentrifying Portland. She’s saddled with debt and barely hangs on by juggling jobs. An opportunity opens up to secure her family’s future by buying the now decrepit family home. The goal seems within reach…until Lynette’s mother bails on paying the rest of the asking price. Now she has two days and two nights to raise $25,000 by calling in old favors. But what happens when Lynette’s pleas for financial help go unanswered and she’s pushed to extra-legal means to get the money?
August 19
America’s Team: The Gambler And His Cowboys–This sports docuseries recounts Jerry Jones’ 1990s ownership of the Dallas Cowboys. From Jones’ 1989 purchase of the team for an eye popping $140 million (in 1989 dollars) to the team’s three Super Bowl appearances in the following decade, viewers will get to relive both the team’s glory days in the 1990s and the controversies that would roil the team. Besides Jones himself, interviewees will include coach Jimmy Johnson and players Troy Aikman and Deion Sanders.
August 20
Fisk Season 3–It’s the return of this Australian comedy series starring and written by Kitty Flanagan. Lawyer Helena Tudor-Fisk’s (Flanagan) existence has changed dramatically after she moved to Melbourne to rebuild her life following the collapse of both her marriage and her career. Gruber & Gruber, the small probate solicitor firm Fisk landed at, has now rebranded itself as Gruber & Fisk. But the new firm partner might now wonder if her title is meaningful, given that the firm’s significant personnel are engaged in personal pursuits ranging from meditation to the proverbial side hustle.
Rivers Of Fate Season 1–This Brazilian series partly directed by Fernando Meirelles (“City Of God”) takes viewers to the Amazon’s Para region, where three women’s lives collide thanks to their desperate situations. Janalice is a teen who’s been kidnapped by sex traffickers. River pirate Prea has become a reluctant gang leader. Mariangel is a desperate mother seeking revenge for her family’s murder. These three strangers are also trying to break a curse they believe has been placed on them.
August 21
Gold Rush Gang—Director Wisit Sasanatieng (“Tears Of The Black Tiger”) returns with a historic actioner set near the end of World War II. Legendary Robin Hood-like bandit Ko-Wah Thungsong and his orphan gang plot to rob a Japanese army train filled with golden treasures and drive the Japanese invaders out of Thailand. The caper’s also personal for Thungsong as he expects to encounter Luang Arun, a former ally whose betrayal led to the bandit’s imprisonment. However, gunslinger Jong Lansaka’s romance with Chompen may compromise Thungsong’s plans, as Chompen’s father happens to be Arun. Your Sleeper of the Month.
August 22
Long Story Short Season 1–Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of “BoJack Horseman,” returns with his follow-up animated series. The show follows the Schwooper family across multiple generations via time-jumping. In one episode, the viewer sees the Schwooper siblings as kids. In the following episode, the Schwooper siblings are adults with kids of their own. See how childhood moments echo in different ways into adulthood.
The Truth About Jussie Smollett?–In 2019, actor Jussie Smollett’s career went up in smoke thanks to his claim of being a hate crime victim. Chicago police and prosecutors treated the actor’s claims as a hoax. This new documentary from the producers of the recent “Trainwreck” series reconsiders that conclusion via an interview with Smollett himself as well as investigators with supposed new information about the case.
August 23
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty–After talented chef Yeong Ji Yeong wins a prestigious cooking competition, she declares herself the best chef in France. Thanks to a mysterious timeslip, the chef suddenly finds herself in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty period. She winds up working in the royal kitchens of the tyrannical King Lee Hoon, whose saving grace is that he’s an incredible gourmet.
August 27
Fantasy Football Ruined Our Lives–The Mai Una Gioia Fantasy Football League is a close knit group of long-time friends bound by their obsession with fantasy football. But the day of the final game of their fantasy season gets ruined when reigning champ Gianni is mysteriously absent. (Gianni also never shows up for his wedding day, but whatever.) Judge Giudice comes in to investigate the remaining league members. Could the rage-filled messages and other hot words found in the members’ group chats be a harbinger of foul play?
August 29
Love Untangled–It’s 1998 and high school student Park Se-ri has a crush on popular student Kim Hyun. What stops Park from confessing her feelings is her self-consciousness about her unruly curly hair. She feels if she can conquer and straighten her hair, she’ll have the confidence to approach Kim. Transfer student Han Yoon-Seok winds up getting involved in Park’s project.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish–Skye Borgman’s (“The Girl In The Picture”) new true crime documentary recounts the nightmarish story of a Michigan teen girl and her boyfriend, who were both subjected to months of relentless cyberbullying. Yet the only identifying information for this bully was an anonymous phone number. As the authorities dig into this case, they discover a secret that upends their ideas about the situation.
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