10 of the best new shows to watch in August

Pray far away

tuesday 3 august
Directed by Kristine Stolakis, with Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum as executive producers, Pray Away takes up the disturbing subject of conversion therapy programs. It focuses on the Exodus International Project, tracing its formation back to the 1970s, when the American Evangelical group amassed a huge following offering a course that would encourage homosexual participants to “do away” their sexuality and ultimately, after a exhausting psychological process, “converting” to being heterosexual.

Featuring interviews with group organizers and former members, it exposes a catalog of abuse in these camps and the deep emotional scars left by the fanatical religious group. Conversion therapy may not be as popular as it once was, but it hasn’t completely gone away, and Pray Away details his current resurrection as a push against enlightened society. A powerful and touching look at LGBTQ + rights and what it means to be gay and religious, Pray Away is an essential viewing.

Cooking with Paris

wednesday 4 august
It looks like people have finally caught up with the glorious performance art of being Paris Hilton. The socialite has seen a resurgence, returning as an OG influencer and participating in Netflix documentary The American Meme, which tried to highlight the appeal of the social media celebrity tribe she helped create. (Her mother, Kathy, has become an endearing Ozzy Osborne-type character in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which seems like another Hilton family rehab.) What makes Paris so lovely is that she’s still on top of the joke – look no further than Sofia Coppola’s film The Bling Ring and Hilton’s willingness to do a meta-performance that plays on her image as a malleable socialite Barbie.

Her new Netflix cooking show was born out of several YouTube videos in which the star tries herself (usually tucked into a designer glove or stroking her ever-present chihuahua) cooking the family’s favorite meals, with varying degrees of success. . Paris is not Nigella: this show is not about becoming a great cook; rather, it’s about becoming a culinary ASMR, as she purrs through ingredients and hands out tasteless anecdotes. More heartwarming than the Calm app, The Heiress has improved her game since the days of baking razors using an iron on The Simple Life.

Incalculable

Tuesday August 10
This ambitious project comes from the directors of the brilliant Netflix documentary Wild, Wild Country. The Chapman brothers and Maclain Way are executive producers of this five-part documentary series that revolves around a pivotal sporting moment before digging behind the headlines for the real thing.

The episodes will cover the meteoric rise and fall of boxer Christy Martin and her eventful life outside the ring. Crystal Moselle, director of Betty and The Wolfpack, navigates the sprawling story of Caitlyn Jenner, which transcends the world of sports to celebrity and pop culture. Strange stories are uncovered, such as the UHL hockey players, known as the Trashers, who were controlled by the Mighty Ducks-obsessed teenage son of a mob boss. As with Wild, Wild Country, Untold is a cinematic affair, full of insight and pathos.

New cherry flavor

Friday August 13
With its portrayal of the seedy and underground side of Hollywood, its glamorous and alluring styles and its surreal side, Brand New Cherry Flavor is a Lynchian tribute. Set in the early 1990s, the series follows director Lisa N Nova (Rosa Salazar) as she tumbles onto the Los Angeles art scene, getting involved with a bizarre tattoo artist (played by freelance sweetheart Catherine Keener). ) who introduces her to the world of occultism. Seduced, Nova intends to use it to take revenge on enemies who have betrayed her trust. Part avant-garde horror, part brilliant thriller, Brand New Cherry Flavor is a luscious adventure through the wild side of the film industry.

Everything will be alright

Friday August 20
Created by actor Diego Luna (Narcos: Mexico), who also directs the series, this Spanish-language comedy-drama (originally called Todo Va a Estar Bien) about the ever-changing state of the modern family. Julia and Ruy are separated parents who agree to stay in the same house and try to keep the family unit for the sake of their daughter. With more than a bit of the freewheeling spirit and chaotic realism of Catastrophe, it’s a catchy show that exposes the pressures on young families, the pursuit of parental perfectionism, and bewildering marital expectations.

The chair

Friday, 20 August
Released from Netflix in August, The Chair is the first series to come out of the mega-deal signed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss. Written by Amanda Peet and starring Sandra Oh, it follows the story of Dr Ji-Yoon Kim as she becomes the first female chair of the English department at prestigious Pembroke University. Dr Kim suspects his appointment has more to do with optics than his aptitude and achievements, as the college is soon subsumed by a scandal involving his colleague and potential lover, Professor Dobson (Jay Duplass).

The six-part black comedy shows the character of Oh trying to grapple with her new leadership position, losing friends along the way and winning over opponents as she tries to make changes within the department while taking care of her aging daughter and father. Despite all of its heavy subjects, The Chair has a shattering charm that will appeal to fans of the Duplass brothers’ forgotten gem, Ensemble.

Motel makeover

Wednesday, 25 august
Motel Makeover is the addicting new home improvement show that sees best friends April Brown and Sarah Sklash pursue their dream of opening a boutique hotel in Toronto. The two gave up their office jobs to start the project, buying a less than desirable roadside motel and, with a lot of courage and determination, turning it into a posh destination. The series takes it all in, showing the couple’s struggles with construction, finances, and the pandemic as they continue their journey to create an affordable, dreamy, and, most importantly, Instagram-worthy place.

Click bait

Wednesday, 25 august
Starring Adrian Grenier and Zoe Kazan, this eight-part thriller exposes our grim relationship with the dark side of social media. With the undertones of the campy paranoia of the Netflix hit You and the dystopian musings of Black Mirror, Clickbait sees the life of supposed family man Nick Brewer destroyed as he becomes the subject of gossip. Brewer is eventually kidnapped and beaten in a social media stunt where he is held to ransom live on the internet as more of his “secrets” are revealed. As Nick’s sister and wife frantically search for him, they also begin to learn some disturbing information about the man they thought they knew and loved – then began to wonder who they should trust.

Good Girls Season 4

Tuesday August 31
This is the final season of this underrated crime adventure created by Jenna Bans of Grey’s Anatomy, a glossy revenge-comedy-drama that follows the fates of frustrated suburban sisters Beth (Christina Hendricks) and Annie (Mae Whitman). ) and their best friend, Ruby (Retta) as they stumble into the world of crime. Gone are the spontaneity of their first days robbing a supermarket; this season, the woman is graduating to design a sophisticated money laundering program – although with this new success the stakes have grown even higher, the Secret Service getting closer to the crew and trust issues. causing breakdowns in their relationships.

Sparkling joy

Tuesday August 31
Marie Kondo is back: the Japanese storage tsar is ready to declutter her subjects in a cleaner future, a future where no drawer contains many dead batteries, take-out menus and a mysterious Bovril-like substance. In this new series, she examines how we can compartmentalize our homes; with Covid everywhere transforming into an office space, she strives to separate the two and help viewers regain control of their homes and find renewed pleasure in the spaces. She also takes the concept of “triggering joy” a step further and sees how people can use it to improve other areas of their lives: it’s not just about throwing your fast fashion items into the landfill. closer ; it’s about tidying up the desk of your mind.