35 best new Netflix movies and shows coming in August 2020
By Reed Gaudens
35 best new Netflix movies and TV shows coming in August 2020
After a jam-packed introduction to summer on Netflix, the number of original series premieres is beginning to slow down. Although August features a lighter lineup of new Netflix movies and shows, there’s still plenty of binge-worthy content coming our way this month to keep us occupied during the summer doldrums.
From a handful of new documentaries to the highly anticipated season of a fan-favorite series, Netflix will keep us entertained in August.
Obviously, the month’s marquee new release is Lucifer season 5, part 1, which fans have been waiting for since last spring. The first half of the super-sized fifth season precedes the forthcoming final season, but it’s too soon to dwell on endings when there are so many beginnings coming to Netflix. Teenage Bounty Hunters and Hoops are two of the month’s biggest original series premieres, along with original movies All Together Now, Work It and Project Power.
Find your next lineup of movies to marathon this summer with our comprehensive list of the 35 best movies and TV shows coming to Netflix in August, and comment below with your favorite picks!
New Netflix movies and shows coming in August: No. 35-31
35. Quantum of Solace
Release Year: 2008
Directed By: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Anatole Taubman, David Harbour, Joaquín Cosío, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Jesper Christensen, Rory Kinnear
Release Date: Monday, Aug. 31
The second James Bond film to star Daniel Craig and the sequel to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace picks up in the aftermath of the previous film’s events. James Bond tracks down those who blackmailed his lover, which brings him into the crosshairs of Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a merciless businessman who orchestrated the coercion of Vesper. Along the way, Bond must step into defeat Greene’s plan to claim control of an important natural resource.
Quantum of Solace comes from director Marc Forster, who Monster’s Ball, Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner and Christopher Robin. The film received middling reception from critics but still made a decent dent at the box office with a worldwide gross of over $589 million. Quantum of Solace was followed by Skyfall and Spectre, and the Daniel Craig era will come to an end later this year with No Time To Die. Watch both Casino Royale and its sequel when both movies begin streaming on Netflix at the end of August.
34. High Seas
Season: 3
Created By: Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Alejandra Onieva, Jon Kortajarena, Eloy Azorín, Chiqui Fernández, Tamar Novas, Daniel Lundh, Natalia Rodríguez, Laura Prats, Matthew Modine, Ignacio Montes, Begoña Vargas, Manuela Vellés
Release Date: Friday, Aug. 7
Also known as Alta Mar, Netflix’s original Spanish mystery series High Seas returns this summer for its third season of twists and turns. The series takes place on a transatlantic ship transporting a group of different passengers from Europe to South America as a murder mystery rocks the ship. When a passenger who wasn’t listed on the roster and isn’t remembered by any other passenger turns up dead, dark secrets emerge from each cabin as the hunt for the killer takes off. Season 3 of High Seas continues the intrigue and premieres eight more episodes on Aug. 7.
33. Scary Movie 5
Release Year: 2013
Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: Ashley Tisdale, Simon Rex, Erica Ash, Katrina Bowden, Terry Crews, Heather Locklear, J. P. Manoux, Mac Miller, Jerry O’Connell, Molly Shannon, Snoop Dogg, Kate Walsh, Katt Wiliams
Release Date: Wednesday, Aug. 5
Today in “Does anyone even remember this movie?,” the fifth and seemingly final entry in the Scary Movie franchise arrives for streaming on Netflix this August. Scary Movie 5 was the first in the series not to star Anna Faris and Regina Hall, instead starring Ashley Tisdale and Simon Rex as a married couple experiencing paranormal activity when they bring their newborn baby home. The film, which parodies a number of popular movies, was panned by critics and a minor impact at the box office. If you missed it the first time, check it out for some laughs on Aug. 12.
32. Mad Max
Release Year: 1979
Directed By: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward
Release Date: Saturday, Aug. 1
These days, most moviegoers might be most familiar with 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was a reboot and revisiting of the 1979 original starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. However, this August, fans of Fury Road can see how it all began in Mad Max, which stars Mel Gibson in a post-apocalyptic world who pursues a personal vendetta against the gang that murdered his wife and son. The film holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and was a box office success, producing two middling sequels in the 1980s. Before the next entry, watch the original on Netflix on Aug. 1.
31. Rising Phoenix
Release Year: 2020
Directed By: Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Starring: Bebe Vio, Ellie Cole, Jean-Baptiste Alaize, Matt Stutzman, Jonnie Peacock, Cui Zhe, Ryley Batt, Ntando Mahlangu, Tatyana McFadden
Release Date: Wednesday, Aug. 26
If you’re into documentaries and docuseries, you’re in luck. As you’ll come to see, docu-style content makes up the bulk of Netflix’s original new releases in August, and the titles run the gamut in subject matter. Rising Phoenix centers in the world of the Paralympic Games and tracks the history of the global movement that helped bring visibility to disability and diversity. The documentary features a group of global athletes telling their stories, which should make for an inspiring watch when the film premieres on Aug. 26.