New on Netflix: 7 movies and shows you have to watch this August

02.08.2023 - 10:25 / gamesradar.com / Florence Pugh / New

Don’t be paralysed by choice this August on Netflix. There may be dozens of new shows and movies coming to the streamer this month, but we’re here to help you zero in on what’s actually worth watching.

From a long-overdue reappraisal of a 2000s comedy hit to new episodes from a series that fans dubbed the "best in years" upon its debut in 2022, there’s plenty new on Netflix this August worth sinking your time into. 

The headline act this month is Heart of Stone. The Gal Gadot-led actioner crashes into sight in what is, traditionally, a bit of a slower month for movies. Throw in the likes of Heartstopper season 2 and a certain Peruvian bear with an appetite for marmalade sandwiches and we’re on to a winner. Here’s what you should be watching on Netflix this August.

Release date: August 1

If it was released today, Ugly Betty would probably be held up as a classic. Thankfully, Netflix is giving America Ferrera’s awkward fashion journalist the chance to shine again. All four seasons of the cringe comedy are now available to stream. With Ferrera recently stealing the show with a killer monologue in Barbie, there’s never been a better time to Be Bettyer.

Release date: August 3

Heartstopper was a heartwarming surprise hit when it debuted on Netflix last year. Season 2 should be no different as Nick and Charlie get to grips with their fledgling relationship, while Tao and Elle wrestle with their own feelings. The new season will also see the friendship group overcome exams – and a trip to France. Ooh la la!

Release date: August 3

It’s not quite Barbenheimer but, hey, you can do a Lincstopper double bill on Netflix if you feel like it. The next part of the second season will revolve around the vicious attack on Mickey and his mysterious assailants. Expect more brutal twists and turns – especially as the eponymous lawyer’s fling with Lisa still looms large in the background of this legal drama.

Release date: August 10

The opioid epidemic has already been broached in sensitive fashion earlier this year with Florence Pugh’s tender drama A Good Person. If you’re looking for a deeper history of how we got here, Painkiller will be a painful – but necessary – pill to swallow.

Based on the book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier and a separate New Yorker article, Painkiller will chart the origins of the crisis and the rise of the Sacklers. Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick and Taylor Kitsch star in the fictionalised retelling.

Release date: August 11

We know Gal Gadot has the action chops after her stint as Wonder Woman, but does she have the delicate touch required to thrive in the spy world? We’ll find out in Heart of Stone as Gadot plays Rachel Stone, a covert