Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Stan, Binge and more: Everything new to streaming in September 2020
When we say that September is going to be bonkers when it comes to new streaming content, we’re not exaggerating. It’s mad.
September is going to be an absolutely hectic month for new content on streaming. We’re both excited and already exhausted!
Here are 19 highlights, but there are hundreds more new titles detailed in the tables below.
The Comey Rule (Stan, September 27): It may feel like we’ve all just lived through the public spat between Donald Trump and former FBI director James Comey – and we’re still living through other parts of that continuing nightmare – but that didn’t stop anyone from parsing over the drama with a new miniseries. Based on Comey’s book, it stars Jeff Daniels as Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Trump.
Raised by Wolves (Binge/Foxtel Now*, September 3): This splashy sci-fi series has an impressive pedigree – it was created by Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote the 2013 Denis Villeneuve film Prisoners and backed by Ridley Scott who serves as one of the executive producers and directed the first two episodes. Set in the future on a new planet, after the destruction of Earth, androids are tasked with raising human children but a war over belief has followed them.
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PEN15 S2 Part 2 (Stan, September 19): An underappreciated gem, PEN15 is a kooky comedy created by and starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, playing versions of themselves at 13 years old with all the attendant awkwardness of puberty, school and unattainable crushes. It’s hilarious and bracing, packed with pathos and authenticity.
The Vow (Binge/Foxtel Now, September 20): HBO is banking on the fact that audiences love a cult docuseries, and NXIVM has all the right ingredients – a charismatic leader, celebrity followers and a conspiracy involving sex trafficking and racketeering. Among the people who appear in the series is former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg trying to rescue her daughter from the group’s clutches.
Mulan (Disney+, September 4): Something of an experiment for Disney, Mulan will now be released on premium video on demand through Disney+ this month, which is fancy speak for you’ll have to pay extra ($34.95) to watch it. With a $US200 million budget and some extraordinarily large-scale set pieces, hopefully it’ll still look great on your TV screen. The live-action version hews closer to the traditional Chinese legend than about a female warrior than it does to the 1990s cartoon.
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Away (Netflix, September 4): With a high-profile cast including Hilary Swank and Josh Charles and what must’ve been a significant budget, this space drama follows five astronauts who embark on the first manned mission to Mars, and the challenges of the family they left behind on Earth.
Chef’s Table BBQ (Netflix, September 2): There are people who look down on the fetishisation of food, but I’m not one of them. Give me a perfectly lit and presented shot of food any day and I start salivating. The new series of Chef’s Table docuseries will feature culinary idols who have mastered the finger-licking goodness of barbecue, including Sydney chef Lennox Hastie from Firedoor.
The Good Fight S4 (SBS On Demand, September 23): After a long delay, the truncated fourth season (damn you, coronavirus, damn you to hell!) of The Good Fight finally hits Australian screens this month. The Reddick Boseman Lockhart team find themselves in the belly of a new corporate overlord and confounded by a mysterious judicial memo. But it’s the show’s ability to connect with contemporary issues that really sets it apart. The season starts with an episode in which Diane is in a fever dream where Hillary won the 2016 election and ends with a wild examination of how Jeffrey Epstein really died.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix, September 4): This psychological horror movie stars Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as a couple who travels to his family’s farm, where they become trapped in a snowstorm. Sounds straightforward enough but when you realise this film is written and directed by Charlie Kauffman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Anomalisa), you need to be prepared for a reality-bending ride.
Get Organised with The Home Edit (Netflix, September 9): Maybe you loved Marie Kondo’s series and want more, or maybe you liked the sock-folding bits but didn’t care for the people each week. Now there’s another home organisation series – oh, those tidy pantries! – and it’s going into the homes of celebrities including Reese Witherspoon and Neil Patrick Harris, plus regular folk.
Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father S4 (Netflix, September 22): There are few things more pleasurable than watching comedian Jack Whitehall and his traditionalist father navigate new experiences in this charming travel series. The real heart of it though is watching a father-and-son with little in common find beauty in each other’s companionship.
The Boys S2 (Amazon Prime, September 4): While the prospect of another TV series with superheroes didn’t sound super enticing when the first season of The Boys came out, it soon surprised everyone with its wicked sense of humour and the violent darkness it was willing to plunge into. Our vigilante antiheroes are readying for round two against the morally bankrupt, dangerous and corporatised supers.
Enola Holmes (Netflix, September 23): We’ve been admiring the clever antics of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes for over a century but now it’s time to shift the limelight to their sister, Enola. The plucky younger sister of the Holmes brothers is out to prove her mettle in this energetic movie when she starts the search for their missing mother. Stars Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Fiona Shaw and Helena Bonham Carter.
A.P. Bio S3 (Stan, September 4): Jack Griffin isn’t what you would call a dedicated educator with his high school students’ welfare in mind. After losing his dream job to a rival, he decamps back home, using his smart students to seek revenge or provide ideas for a book. The third season of the comedy series will hit Stan as part of its new deal with NBCUniversal.
The Nineties S1 (Binge/Foxtel Now, September 10): You know you’re getting old when the ’90s is a decade to look back at through a seven-part miniseries. Apparently, the Clinton presidency, the Unabomber, Lilith Fair, Y2K and Columbine didn’t just happen last year. Ooph. Sure feels like it.
Ratched (Netflix, September 18): One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’s Nurse Ratched is one of the most sadistic characters in literature and film, a torture-happy person masquerading as a caretaker. This Ryan Murphy-produced series is a prequel focused on how a younger Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson) arrives at a psychiatric hospital, and a monster is born. Co-stars Jon Jon Briones, Cynthia Nixon, Sharon Stone and Judy Davis.
Utopia (Amazon Prime, September 25): Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn adapted this conspiracy thriller a 2013 British series about a comic book which predicted major disasters in the world, and a group of friends out to find the unpublished final chapter and the character at the centre of the stories. Along the way, it goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway, there are shadowy cabals and numerous threats. Stars Sasha Lane, John Cusack, Desmin Borges and Rainn Wilson.
Archer S11 (Foxtel Now, September 17): After three seasons of genre-hopping thanks to the narrative convenience of Archer’s coma, the super spy will be awakened for the 11th season, taking the series back to its espionage roots. After his little nap, Archer feels out of sorts, so will he still be able to pull off daring missions while quipping like a pro?
The Fight (DocPlay, September 21): Kerry Washington is one of the producers of this documentary that follows lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, fighting against injustices in David v Goliath battles during the Trump administration. Maybe you’re sick of US politics at the moment, but chances are there are just as many people for whom these dramas are like oxygen.
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