What to watch on Netflix in August

The surfeit of streaming options today can often overwhelm those looking to settle in front of the TV for an evening, from the casual viewer to the aficionado of the arthouse. So, with time being precious, after all, especially in an age in which attention spans are being buffeted by the day, we’ve done the bulk of the research for you by focusing specifically on Netflix and creating a tightly considered selection of the best films, series and documentaries that will be added to the platform in the month ahead…

This August, Jenna Ortega returns to our screens as Wednesday Addams – and she’s as deadpan and darkly witty as ever. As she begins her second year at Nevermore Academy, she’s not alone – unfortunately for Wednesday, her family – brother Pugsley and parents Morticia and Gomez – are in tow, making for some particularly prickly dynamics. The second part of Season 2 will arrive a month later on 3 September, giving you plenty of time to binge it all before Halloween.

At 15, James “JJ’88” Jacobs took a life – only to lose his brother three days later. As the perpetrator and victim of violence, the incarcerated rapper uses music as a path to redemption and healing in this poetic visual album, conceived from behind bars and directed by Contessa Gayles.

Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson, The Iron Claw tells the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers as they make history in the fiercely competitive world of 1980s professional wrestling.

This new political thriller centres around a state visit that doesn’t exactly go to plan. When the British prime minister’s husband is kidnapped and the visiting French president is blackmailed, the two political leaders face an impossible choice. There’s not much else that we know at this point so keep an eye out for more!

The Thursday Murder Club is a Netflix film adaptation of Richard Osman’s wildly popular novel of the same name. It features a star-studded cast including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie, who portray the elderly members of the Thursday Murder Club. The film follows the members, who get together to solve cold case murders, as they become embroiled in a real-life murder investigation.

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