Summer didn’t turn out exactly as planned this year for humanity, but fortunately there’s plenty of programming relief to distract us, so we can happily avoid crowding with the masses. To be certain, Netflix knows how to complete the assignment and offer something for everyone. This week, kids will be thrilled, and parents will be equally happy to park their progeny in front of the TV to enjoy the latest Lin-Manuel Miranda animated offering. There’s also some rough stuff on the way about some drug kingpins and a non-cooking show from Paris Hilton that promises to take your mind off everything while wondering what the heck is going on. Here are the most bingeworthy selections of early August, so that you can chill out and never need to step out your front door for some entertainment.
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.
Vivo (Netflix film streaming 8/6)
Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation paired up with a dream-team of filmmakers for a musical adventure that would be amiss if it didn’t star and feature new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. He portrays a one-of-kind kinkajou (a “honey bear” of the rainforest), who dreams of delivering a heart-shattering song to the long-lost love of his owner. Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) is in the director’s seat with a co-directing assist from Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). The film also features the voices of Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, and more. Ultimately, it’s a story about the universal languages of love and music and finding family in unexpected places.
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Netflix series streaming 8/4)
There’s so much blow in this trailer, which gives the documentary treatment to the excess-filled life of two childhood pals who transformed into powerful Miami drug kingpins over the course of decades. There’s a tiger and bullfighting and speedboats and money flying everywhere, it’s no wonder why “Los Muchachos” were so darn popular. They were also slippery fellows, due to their world-champ powerboat-racing status. A $2 billion empire eventually came crumbling down, but not without a valiant fight from the duo and their prosecuting opponents.
Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified: Season 1 (Netflix docuseries streaming 8/3)
UFOs are so hot right now, and Netflix is taking a crack at a docuseries ahead of J.J. Abrams’ Showtime series. Things might be coming to a head (as far as public interest goes) after the U.S. government’s so-called comprehensive report on Unidentified Flying Objects revealed zilch. This Netflix original series promises a “factual” approach to dig into the latest information and possible proof that would expose government projects that may have covered up extraterrestrial visits to Earth. The trailer looks fascinating, so here’s to hoping that the show delivers some fresh insight.
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord (Netflix film streaming 8/3)
You’ve probably heard of Netflix’s German series, How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and here’s a documentary that delivers the inspiration. A German teenager, Maximilian Schmidt (who went by the “Shiny Flakes” nickhame) got busted in 2015 running several million euros worth of illicit substances out of his family home. This turned out to be an international drug empire, and most of the money’s still missing.
Cooking With Paris: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 8/4)
If you wanted to watch a cooking show (that follows YouTubing in the same vein from the leading lady) with not-so-wonderful cooking, then you’re in luck. Paris Hilton can’t cook too well, and she doesn’t pretend otherwise, but she has friends who can cook, so she’s aiming to brave the kitchen to screw everything up. Also, she’ll go grocery shopping, so that’s gonna be strange.
Outer Banks: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/30)
This is not your typical teen drama. Last season delivered loads of intrigue and flat-out woo-woo revelations following a hurricane and buried treasure and class warfare between different factions in an overall well-to-do community. There are Kooks and Pogues, and the power’s gone for the entirety of the summer, which sounds miserable, but the mysteries won’t stop, including the whereabouts of John B.’s dad. And oh yes, there’s so much soapiness to the characters’ dynamics that you might lose your footing while slipping towards that sunken treasure. This show is bonkers!
Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:
Avail. 8/1
30 Rock: Seasons 1-7
Beethoven
Beethoven’s 2nd
Beowulf
Catch Me If You Can
Darwin’s Game
Deep Blue Sea
The Edge of Seventeen
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Five Feet Apart
Friday Night Lights: Seasons 1-5
Good Luck Chuck
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Hunter X Hunter: Seasons 5-6
Inception
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Losers
The Machinist
Magnolia
Major Payne
My Girl
My Girl 2
The Net
The Original Kings of Comedy
Pineapple Express
Poms
Seabiscuit
Space Cowboys
Team America: World Police
Avail. 8/3
Pray Away
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord
Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified
Avail. 8/4
Aftermath
American Masters: Inventing David Geffen
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Control Z: Season 2
Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 3
Cooking With Paris
Avail. 8/6
Hit & Run
Navarasa
The Swarm
Vivo
And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:
Leaving 8/15
Jericho: Seasons 1-2
Wish I Was Here
Leaving 8/20
Kill the Irishman
Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom
The Founder
Leaving 8/22
1BR