Each month, loads of new films and TV shows are added to Netflix New Zealand‘s library. Eliza Janssen presents her picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.
Top Picks: TV
Wednesday: Season 2 (August 6)
Talk about a match made in heaven: Prince of Whimsical Gloom Tim Burton found his newest muse Jenna Ortega in the first season of this emo spin-off, and together they’ve promised a spookier, kookier, altogether ookier follow-up. We’re also apparently getting more of the Addams clan (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman as Morticia and Gomez respectively), after they played a relatively marginal role in season one.
After reluctantly saving her school Nevermore Academy, Ortega’s Wednesday is now in agony with all the positive attention she’s getting. But don’t worry, new foes and woes should crop up just in time for this next semester. So will new cast members Steve Buscemi, Billie Piper and more. Click click!
Long Story Short: Season 1 (August 22)
The fact that Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is behind this new animated dramedy should be enough of a signal for countless superfans to tune in. But for everyone else who didn’t see that doggedly tragic show about a famous horse, how about this: the show captures the trials and triumphs of one family across time, depicting hilarious and dark chapters in loveably shabby comic-strip-esque designs?
Ben Feldman, Abbie Jacobson and Dave Franco are amongst the voice cast, too. I wasn’t an immediate fan of Bojack, finding its first season a little sweaty and insincere, so hopefully Bob-Waksberg’s next effort finds its groove quickly and has us loving this dysfunctional, decade-hopping fam in no time.
Top Picks: Movies + Specials
The Iron Claw (August 10)
If you have a brother, this movie will make you cry. If you already know all about the Von Erich wrestling dynasty that dominated the 80s, this movie will make you cry. If you don’t know anything about the Von Erich wrestling dynasty that dominated the 80s, this movie will make you cry. If you grew up watching a sweet babyfaced Zac Efron in High School Musical, this movie will make you cry. If you’re currently on your period, this movie will make you cry. If watching the Olympics makes you cry with admiration and awe, this movie will make you cry. If you hate sick 1980s wigs and booty shorts, this movie will make you cry.
The Thursday Murder Club (August 28)
Based on your book club’s fave Richard Osman whodunnits, this inevitable murder mystery adaptation stars a who’s-who of older British talent: Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Ben Kingsley, whew! They’re all members of a retirement community now, but once they were nurses, psychiatrists, spies—and those skills will come in handy when a local property developer turns up dead.
The supporting cast is extremely spiffy too, featuring David Tennant, Richard E Grant, Naomi Ackie and Jonathan Pryce—all of whom have probably been hanging out for the beloved series to finally reach screens. It’ll be an absorbing combo of loveable characters and amateur sleuth tropes, capable of pleasing any generation that tunes in.
The Brutalist (August 30)
What’s it going to be like, watching Brady Corbet’s celebrated drama at home? In cinemas, the 215 minute runtime and generous intermission made an architect’s troubled construction of an American dream feel epic and incisive at once. Adrien Brody took home an Oscar for it; the score by Daniel Blumberg was unforgettable; and we got to see Guy Pearce’s dark side, as the manipulative industrialist who funds the creation of an artist’s magnum opus.
For all that grandeur, I happened to find the movie an oddly small and simplistic story at heart, gesturing at big ideas about nationalism and the Holocaust and the life of an artist without arriving at any similiarly striking conclusions on each theme. It’s a strange and larger-than-life project, with history’s devils in its details.
All titles arriving on Netflix New Zealand in August
August 1
Brand Bollywood Downunder
My Oxford Year
Perfect Match: Season 3
August 2
Beyond the Bar
August 3
WWE SummerSlam: 2025
August 5
SEC Football: Any Given Saturday
August 6
Wednesday: Season 2 Part 1
August 8
Stolen: Heist of the Century
August 10
The Iron Claw
August 12
Final Draft
Jim Jefferies: Two Limb Policy
August 13
Fixed
Love is Blind: UK: Season 2
Saare Jahan Se Accha: The Silent Guardians
Songs from the Hole
Young Millionaires
August 14
In the Mud
Miss Governor: Season 1 Part 2
Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II: The Ashes of Rage
August 15
The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies
Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser
Night Always Comes
August 18
CoComelon Lane: Season 5
August 19
America’s Team: The Gambler and His Hostage
August 20
Forgive Us All
Rivers of Fate
August 21
Death Inc.: Season 3
Fall for Me
Gold Rush Gang
Hostage
One Hit Wonder
August 22
Abandoned Man
Long Story Short
The Truth About Jussie Smollett?
August 23
The Beekeeper
August 27
Fantasy Football Ruined Our LIves
August 28
Barbie Mysteries: Beach Detectives
My Life with the Walter Boys: Season 2
The Thursday Murder Club
August 29
Two Graves
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
August 30
The Brutalist
Coming Soon
Aema
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty
Christopher: A Beautiful Real Life
Dinner Time with David Chang: Season 3
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water
Love Untangled
See also
* Best new movies and TV series Stan
* Best new movies and TV series on Amazon Prime
* Best new movies and TV series on Disney+
* All new streaming movies & series
