While British TV scrapes the barrel for views (ahem… Versailles), Netflix continues to dutifully deliver things worth watching – with no ad breaks. August offers a host of new programmes, films and documentaries to entertain your way out of this political slump. From Baz Luhrmann's hugely anticipated new show The Get Down documenting the birth of hip-hop in New York, to Oscar-nominated love in Ireland ( Brooklyn), to an opportunity to finally get into Green Wing and retrospectively get all those jokes you missed in 2005, it's a top edit.
Sit and appreciate the seminal drag performer Divine, John Waters’ muse, and go deep with Russell Brand in his documentary about drug abuse and criminalisation. Then find love in a hopeless place with the highly acclaimed black comedy, The Lobster, in which single people get turned into animals. And if you’re still game, freak yourself out even further with the thriller Child’s Play (that it is not.)
Click through for every tom, dick and harry coming to UK Netflix this month. And hear Russell Crowe roar, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?"
American Genius (2015–)
Learn about great American thinkers and how their ideas changed the world in this documentary series.
Available 1st August
Airlift (2016)
Action flick about the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August, 1990.
Available 15th August
APEX: The Story of the Hypercar (2016)
Rocket science meets the auto industry in this sports car documentary.
Available 1st August
Battlefield Recovery: Season 1 (2016)
Channel five's WWII history series. Two men explore the war zones of the Eastern Front.
Available 1st August
Brooklyn (2015)
An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn. A Best Actress Oscar nomination follows.
Available 8th August
Blackstone: Seasons 1–5 (2011–)
The Canadian TV series explores community, power and politics on a First Nation reserve from an Indigenous point of view.
Available 1st August
Child's Play (1988)
Just look at those eyes. A boy's doll is possessed by the soul of a serial killer in this horror film. Gulp.
Available 1st August
Campus: Season 1 (2009–)
A semi-improvised British sitcom set in the fictitious Kirke University, from the team behind Smack The Pony and The Green Wing.
Available 1st August
Creed (2015)
The spin-off and sequel to the legendary Rocky series. Rocky Balboa is a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
Available 16th August
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. Pure sci-fi escapism.
Available 10th August
Death in Paradise: Season 4 (2011–)
A British inspector investigates murders on fictional island Saint Marie in this British-French lighthearted crime comedy drama TV series.
Available 26th August
Cocaine: Season 1
Documentary series about how the drug – and the policies surrounding it – affect the lives of individuals, cities and entire countries.
Available 1st August
Dhanak (2015)
This Hindi film, that also goes by the name of Rainbow, is an uplifting and magical fable set in Rajasthan, India. Prepare to have your faith in humanity restored.
Available 20th August
Don't Trust the B – in Apartment 23: Season 1-2 (2012–2013)
Chloe, a New York party girl with questionable morals, bullies her naive small town roommate June in this comedy TV series.
Available 1st August
Dawn of the Croods: Season 2 (2015–)
Based on the 2013 film The Croods, this animated Netflix original series is super cute.
Available 26th August
Finding Home (2014–)
A moving documentary following the lives of three young Cambodian women who were victims of sex trafficking as young girls. A must-watch.
Available 1st August
For the Love of a Man (2015)
An Indian documentary following men from various generations who change their lives, sell their belongings, and place fandom above their families in devotion to iconic South Indian superstars.
Available 1st August
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me (2014)
Country-music star Glen Campbell embarks on his farewell tour in the US, Australia, and Europe while battling Alzheimer's disease.
Available 1st August
Good Hair (2009)
Chris Rock fronts this documentary exploring how African-American women have perceived their hair and historically styled it.
Available 3rd August
Gotham: Season 2 (2014–)
Witness Detective James Gordon's rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years leading up to Batman's arrival.
Available 14th August
Funny or Die Presents: Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie (2016)
You'll be chuckling at this satirical rendition of The Donald's 1987 best-selling business book, The Art of the Deal.
Available 1st August
Hello, I Am David! (2015)
A musical documentary following pianist David Helfgott, whose life inspired the Oscar-winning film Shine.
Available 31st August
Hatari ! (1962)
One for the animal lovers. A group of men trap wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos before a female wildlife photographer arrives with other ideas.
Available 24th August
Green Wing: Series 1 (2004–)
Hilarious British medical sitcom starring Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Watch for some early noughties nostalgia.
Available 1st August
Holding the Man (2015)
Australian romantic drama adapted from actor and writer Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir.
Available 1st August
How Clean Is Your Crime Scene: Season 1 ( 2009–)
A fly-on-the-wall documentary series following crime scene cleaners as they go about their work in the San Francisco Bay area. Gruesome stuff.
Available 1st August
Immortal Beloved (1994)
A biographical account of Ludwig van Beethoven's life, with Gary Oldman taking the lead as the composer.
Available 3rd August
I Am Divine (2013)
Documentary exploring how American actor, singer and drag performer Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, became John Waters' cinematic muse and an international icon.
Available 1st August
Interview with a Serial Killer (2014)
Chilling drama based on the real interview with serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophile Ted Bundy.
Available 1st August
Martin Clunes: Heavy Horsepower (2013)
Martin Clunes fronts this documentary about working horses and discovers various ways in which horses are put to work.
Available 1st August
Martin Clunes: Last Lemur Standing (2012)
They live only on Madagascar and they're dying out. Martin Clunes travels to the Indian Ocean to investigate.
Available 1st August
Martin Clunes: Man to Manta (2011)
Martin Clunes's dream comes true when he travels to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and swims with 40 feeding mantas.
Available 1st August
Martin Clunes: Man and Beast: Season 1 (2015)
A two-part documentary for ITV that sees Martin Clunes make an international journey to investigate the relationship between "man and beast".
Available 1st August
Martin Clunes: A Lion Called Mugie (2014)
Clunes joins a mission set to make wildlife history by returning endangered lions to a remote part of Kenya.
Available 1st August
Masha and the Bear: Season 2 (2009–)
One for the kids. A retired circus bear settles into the woods and prepares for a quiet new life – until the adventurous Masha comes along.
Available 1st August
Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
Historial drama set in 1980s Nottingham in which a social worker holds the British government accountable for child migration schemes and reunites the children – now adults living mostly in Australia – with their parents in Britain.
Available 3rd August
Mothers and Daughters (2016)
This drama about the lives of different mothers and their children stars Courtney Cox, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci, Sharon Stone and more fabulous women.
Available 5th August
Megamind (2010)
Supervillain Megamind defeats his fero nemesis, but without a hero, he loses all purpose and must find new meaning to his life. Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt do the voiceovers.
Available 15th August
Over the Hedge (2006)
Animated comedy about a scheming raccoon and a family of mismatched forest creatures.
Available 15th August
Metropolis: Season 1 (2015–)
Series exploring the surprising stories that define the growth and present day experience of great cities.
Available 15th August
Person of Interest: Season 4 (2011–)
Chilling TV crime drama. An ex-assassin and a wealthy programmer save lives via artificial intelligence that sends them the identities of civilians involved in impending crimes. Spooky.
Available 1st August
Project Nim (2011)
Fascinating documentary following a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a New York family in the 1970s.
Available 3rd August
Real Crime: Diamond Geezers (2008)
Gripping documentary on what would have been the heist of the Millennium. But then the plan was foiled.
Available 1st August
Real Crime: Supermarket Heist (Tesco Bomber)
Documentary about a man who targeted Tesco in the early 2000s.
Available 15th August
Precision: The Measure of All Things: Season 1 (2013–)
A fascinating TV mini-series presented by maths guru Professor Marcus Du Sautoy.
Available 1st August
Real Crime: Hannah's Killer (2009)
Documentary exploring the brutal murder of 17-year-old student Hannah Foster in 2003.
Available 1st August
Russell Brand: End the Drugs War (2014)
Brand investigates how non-UK countries are tackling drug abuse and how criminalisation harms the treatment of addicts.
Available 16th August
Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery (2012)
After his friend Amy Winehouse died from an overdose, Brand discusses his own past addiction and wants to show that not all addicts have the same fate.
Available 16th August
Sicario (2015)
Crime and action drama in which an FBI agent is enlisted to the government to help tackle the war against drugs at the border between the US and Mexico.
Available 1st August
Scream: Season 2 (eps available weekly)
American TV series bases on the Slasher film series. Not for the faint hearted.
Available now
Tell Spring Not to Come This Year (2015)
Moving documentary about the war in Afghanistan, through the eyes of the Afghans who live it.
Available 1st August
Small Animal Hospital: Season 1 (2014–)
John Barrowman follows vets trying to cure sick animals in Glasgow.
Available 1st August
Step Up: All In (2014)
Stars from the previous Step Up instalments come together in Las Vegas to battle for victory. Need we say more?
Available 1st August
The Eichmann Show (2015)
Drama about the team hoping to televise the trial of Adolf Eichmann, the infamous nazi responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews.
Available 1st August
The Eye (2008)
Jessica Alba receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world. Yikes.
Available 30th August
The Gods of Wheat Street: Season 1 (2013–)
Odin Freeburn is the head of the family before his time and being pulled in all directions. Can he let go of his past in time to save the future?
Available 1st August
The King's Speech (2010)
King George VI takes to the throne and his speech therapist helps the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
Steve Aoki: I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2016)
Documentary about one of the most eminent DJs working today in the lead-up to the biggest show of his career.
Available 19th August
The Little Prince ( 2015)
An animated re-telling of the much-loved classic tale.
Available 5th August
The Originals: Season 3 (2013–)
TV drama following a family of power-hungry vampires looking to take back the city they built.
Available 11th August
The Prince Who Turns Into a Frog: Season 1 (2005–)
A heart-warming Taiwanese drama. Ahhh.
Available 1st August
The Get Down (2016–)
Netflix original musical drama television series created by Baz Luhrmann. Worth watching.
Available 12th August
The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1 (2016–)
A fantasy drama TV adaptation of the Shannara series of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks.
Available 28th August
The Way He Looks (2014)
A Brazilian coming-of-age romantic drama based on the 2010 short film I Don't Want to Go Back Alone.
Available 1st August
The Way We Were ( 1973)
Two desperate people have a great romance, but their political views and convictions drive them apart.
Available 17th August
Unexpected (2015)
A high school teacher discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students and the two develop a friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.
Available 18th August
The Lobster (2015)
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Available 8th August
Wolf Hall (2015)
Henry VIII circa Anne Boleyn, The Pope and Damian Lewis star in this BBC 2 series set in the 1520s that captured the imagination of the nation when it came out in 2015.
Available 25th August
Who Took Johnny (2014)
Satisfying our new-found appetite for true crime, this is the 30 year old story of Johnny Gosch, a paperboy from Iowa whose face was printed on milk cartons in the hope it would jog someone's memory. It's been described (on imdb) as "the most spellbinding missing person's case in U.S. history."
Available 5th August
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