Latest Industry and Only Murders in the Building to Jeff Goldblum’s dark comedy Greek god drama.
1. Mr. Throwback
In this mockumentary-style sitcom, NBA champion Steph Curry plays a version of himself. Non-sports fans know him from his Subway sandwich advertisements. The middle school basketball star Danny, played by Adam Pally, was Curry’s childhood pal. “Danny was so good, I was the backup,” Curry says in the trailer. Danny returns to Steph as an eager, down-on-his-luck sports memorabilia salesman. Steph features him in a documentary to enhance him. The documentary’s producer, Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim, says, “People love redemption stories, but you know what they love even more? Train wreck.” Mr. Throwback, droll but warm like Ted Lasso, appears to be fine.
Mr. Throwback premieres on Peacock in the US on August 8.
2. Industry
Vanity Fair calls this series “the missing link between Euphoria and Succession” for good cause. One of the best shows on TV, yet underappreciated in the US, returns bolder than ever in its third season as Gen Z characters struggle to succeed in London’s fast-paced, brutal high finance. The season begins with Yasmin (Marisa Abela) on her father’s boat, named after her. That journey has season-long effects. She and Robert (Harry Lawtey) work at Pierpoint with Eric (Ken Leung), their supervisor. Harper (Myha’la), sacked last season, moves on yet remains a competitor. Kit Harington stars as Sir Henry Muck, the wealthy and charming CEO of Lumi, a Pierpoint-managed green energy business forming an IPO.
Industry launches August 11 on HBO and Max in the US.
3. Bad Monkey
Vince Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, a sarcastic, smart-mouthed Miami cop banned for hitting his girlfriend’s husband’s golf cart. Vaughn’s irreverent role fits, although the program is based on Carl Hiaasen’s clever Florida mysteries. After fishermen find a severed limb, Yancy investigates the murder and returns to work. Rob Delaney is an unethical real estate tycoon with interests in Florida and the Bahamas, where Ronald Peet (Neville) is fighting to keep his seaside hut with his monkey. Michelle Monaghan plays Yancy’s ex-girlfriend, and Jodie Turner-Smith plays the Dragon Queen, whom Neville asks for voodoo help Bill Lawrence, a Ted Lasso co-creator, devised the show, although its satirical tone is far from that series’ positivity.
Bad Monkey releases internationally on Apple TV+ on August 14.
4. Emily in Paris
The sitcom’ fourth season pokes fun at hate-watchers from its first. Although predictable, the show offers reassuring rom-com cliches, out-of-the-box clothing, and stunning Paris scenery. The past season ended on a cliff-hanger for Emily and her pals when pregnant Camille called off her wedding to Gabriel because she realized he loved Emily, who was seeing Alfie. Emily (Lily Collins), who thought Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) was off limits, must choose: him, Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), or another man? “Oh my God, Mindy,” she exclaims in the trailer. I saw what on my run? Hot males everywhere”. As the love quadrangle settles, Mindy (Ashley Park) tries to bring her band to Eurovision, while Emily ends up in Rome. The second half of the season’s 10 episodes airs on September 12.
Netflix international releases Emily in Paris season four, part one on August 15.
5. Pachinko
Min Jin Lee’s century-spanning novel about four generations of a Korean family living in Japan inspired this series’ debut season, another of the year’s best. The second season continues to effortlessly integrate intense human drama with history and cultural identity, making it equally captivating. In the 1980s and soon before and during World War Two, Sunja (Minha Kim) sells kimchi on Osaka’s streets and raises her two sons while her affluent, attractive ex-lover Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) comes and goes. Jin Ha plays Solomon, Sunja’s grandson, who is still navigating high finance. Yuh-Jung Youn (Oscar-nominated for Minari) plays Sunja. Wartime episodes of the family’s struggle are the most dramatic.
Pachinko debuts internationally on Apple TV+ on August 23.
6. City of God: Fighting Continues
Some of the season’s sequels are older than Twisters. This drama series is a sequel to City of God, a 2002 film about a crime- and drug-ridden Rio de Janeiro neighborhood that launched Fernando Meirelles’ career. The Fight Rages On follows many of the same characters from the 1970s film back to Cidade de Deus two decades later. Rocket, played by Alexandre Rodrigues, became a photographer to escape poverty and crime. He returns as the show’s star and narrator, now a professional photographer watching a young drug dealer just out of prison try to take power in the neighborhood. A bold choice, flashbacks from the movie, which is number 38 on the BBC’s list of The 21st Century’s 100 Greatest Films, show that the series has a lot to live up to.
City of God: The Fight Rages premieres on Max in the US on August 25.
7. Only Building Murders
If you lived in one of NYC’s most murder-prone buildings, you might want to leave. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, the blockbuster comedy’s murder podcasters played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, return for a fourth season. Charles’ companion and lookalike stunt double, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), was found dead on his kitchen floor at the end of season three. In Los Angeles, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria star as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in a movie about their podcast success. Best of all, Meryl Streep, so funny last season, returns as Loretta, Oliver’s love. Guest stars include Melissa McCarthy, Kumail Nanjiani, and Shannon. Lynch told People she’ll return in flashbacks and “another way” suspiciously.
Only Murders in the Building launches 27 August on Hulu and Disney+ in the US and UK.
8. KAOS
The concept of Jeff Goldblum as a god is delightfully naughty. He portrays Zeus, the Greek god of Mount Olympus, in this dark comedy. Charlie Covell, writer of Netflix’s End of the F***ing World, was inspired by the notion, “What if the king of the gods had a midlife crisis?” Zeus fights the mortals who challenge his power because he fears losing it. He is a flashy, gold-watch-wearing millionaire with terrible fashion taste who lives in a mob boss-style house. Top-notch actors play his troubled family. His wife, Hera, is Janet McTeer, and his brother Hades is David Thewlis and Poseidon is Cliff Curtis. You never know what the gods will do.
KAOS releases internationally on Netflix August 29.
9. Zero Terminator
This animated series based on the Terminator franchise has a new setting, characters, and a timely theme. The drama takes place in Japan in 1997, when Skynet threatens to take over the globe in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Andre Holland voices Malcolm Lee, a developer producing Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson), and Timothy Olyphant voices the Terminator, a time-traveling cyber-villain sent to murder Malcolm. “There are a lot of callbacks to the other films,” series creator Mattson Tomlin told EW. The show’s launch date is an Easter egg. Terminator 2’s Skynet awakened on August 29, 1997. This brave anime adaptation will not feature John and Sarah Connor, the franchise’s most renowned characters.
Terminator Zero releases internationally on Netflix August 29.
