I’m a TV Editor – here are 6 TV shows I’m most excited to watch in August
Here are six TV series I’ll be tuning into on Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV and more in August, from returning favourites to swoonworthy period dramas
© Courtesy of PrimeThe summer months are well and truly upon us. If you’re anything like me and prefer seeking shelter from the heat with a gripping TV binge-watch, you’re in for a real treat next month.
August is jam-packed with a brilliant line-up of shows guaranteed to keep you glued to your sofas.
From returning favourites to swoonworthy period dramas and pulse-pounding police dramas, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. To save you precious TV-watching time aimlessly scrolling through streaming platforms, I’ve rounded up a list of six shows I can’t wait to tune into in August.
© FX/Disney+The Shards is Ryan Murphy’s latest project
The Shards
It’s been a seriously busy year for Ryan Murphy. Hot on the heels of Love Story and The Beauty comes another project from the acclaimed writer and producer.
Based on the bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis, this ten-part thriller follows a group of teenagers at an elite LA prep school in 1980s Los Angeles whose privileged lives are thrown into chaos when a serial killer begins stalking the city.
Ryan has assembled a seriously stacked cast for his upcoming show, including Evan Rachel Wood, Wes Bentley and Kaia Gerber. The TV producer is no stranger to bringing twisty, suspense-filled thrillers to our screens. I’ve got high hopes for this one!
The Shards comes to Hulu in the US on 5 August and Disney+ in the UK on 6 August.
© Courtesy of PrimeThe Summer I Turned Pretty will love Prime Video’s new release
Sterling Point
Still missing The Summer I Turned Pretty? Me too. Thankfully, Prime Video is bringing another YA romance to our TV screens this summer with Sterling Point.
The eight-part series follows twin siblings Annie and Connor, who inherit a cottage in Canada from their estranged grandfather Gordon. Annie, whose mother died when she and Connor were young, decides to check out the property in search of answers about her family history. She soon discovers that her grandfather owned more than just the cottage; he owned the entire island. To her shock, she also learns that another girl, Annie’s age, is already living and claims the island belongs to her family.
With a blend of blossoming friendships, swoon-worthy romances, and buried family secrets, it sounds like a must-watch for any TSITP fan.
© Apple TVTed Lasso returns to Apple TV on 5 August
Ted Lasso
More than three years after its third season, Apple TV’s hit comedy Ted Lasso is back for a final outing.
While it was widely believed that the feel-good sports comedy would end with its third season, fans were delighted when Apple TV announced one more chapter.
Jason Sudeikis stars as the optimistic, fish-out-of-water American football coach, the titular Ted Lasso, as he moves to England to manage a British football team, AFC Richmond.
In season four, Ted is back in Richmond – but this time, he’s coaching a second division women’s football team.
The synopsis continues: “Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would.”
Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds has joined the cast as a member of the coaching staff, while viewers can also expect to see the return of original cast members Juno Tempo, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt.
Ted Lasso returns to Apple TV on 5 August.
© Ian Routledge/NetflixPeriod drama fans will love this one
My Brilliant Career
After a spring jam-packed with brilliant period dramas like Bridgerton, A Woman of Substance and The Forsytes, I’ve been suffering from some serious withdrawal symptoms this summer thanks to the sudden drought of sweeping costume dramas.
Thankfully, Netflix is coming to the rescue with its new adaptation of the coming-of-age classic, My Brilliant Career.
Based on Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel, the six-part series transports audiences to the early 20th century, where the sharp-witted Sybylla’s dreams of becoming a writer clash with societal expectations.
While her family is determined to see her married off, headstrong Sybylla refuses to conform to the conventions of her rural Australian town, determined to write her own future.
The series boasts a cast of familiar faces, led by Australian actress Philippa Northeast as Sybylla.
She’s joined by Slow Horses actor Christopher Chung as Harry, Anna Chancellor (Spooks, The Crown) as Mrs Bossier, Jake Dunn (Renegade Nell) as Frank and more.
My Brilliant Career arrives on Netflix on 13 August.
© BBC/Big Talk Studios /Olly CourtneyDavid Mitchell stars in the BBC detective series
Ludwig
I defy anyone to watch the BBC’s detective drama Ludwig and not love it. David Mitchell is excellent as puzzle setter John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, whose quiet life is suddenly upended when his identical twin brother, DCI James Taylor, mysteriously vanishes.
This show returns to screens this August, picking up from the end of season one, when John was offered a job as a Crime Scene Consultant for the Cambridge Police Authority after impersonating his brother.
The synopsis continues: “But John’s identical twin brother, James, is still missing, and now that he’s an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating.
“Of course, John won’t stop and neither will Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), John’s sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James – a puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home. One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun.”
Series two introduces some familiar names, including Shetland‘s Mark Bonnar and Fleabag star Sian Clifford, while Anna Maxwell Martin reprises her role as Lucy Betts-Taylor.
Ludwig will premiere in August on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
© Urban Myth Films/JOSS BARRATTHit Point promises “edge-of-your-seat action”
Hit Point
If, like me, you’re counting down the days until AC-12 are back on our screens in the anticipated seventh season of Line of Duty, and need a high-stakes police drama to tide you over – look no further.
This six-part drama, starring Nick Blood (Day of the Jackal) and Saffron Hocking (Top Boy), promises “edge-of-your-seat action” as thirtysomething officers, Leo and Bella, face a complex case that threatens to blur the boundaries between their personal and professional lives.
Viewers can also anticipate a “sizzling” romance, as the duo discover that love “might just be the most dangerous game of all.”
Pulse-pounding police action AND a romance? Sign me up!
Hit Point comes to U and U&Dave on 13 August.