We’re back to hook you up with the best Netflix viewing this August. Instead of compulsively refreshing Instagram and brooding over everyone you know drinking umbrella cocktails in some tropical paradise, tune in and veg out with TN2, with our list of thoroughly tested TV shows and films.
TV Shows
Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later (4th August)
The Wet Hot American Summer premise is a gift for fans that just keeps on giving as writer David Hain brings a third installment to Netflix this August. Following the 2001 parody film Wet Hot American Summer and the 2015 Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, the third instalment in the series keeps its all-American style and knock-out cast, including Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Kristen Wiig, as well as bringing us some new characters played by Adam Scott and Dax Shephard. An eight part series provides us with the campers now in the mid 90s and career savvy, as a decade has passed since Camp Firewood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6lo3v-IcPE
Atypical (11th August)
Self-confessed “weirdo” Sam is eighteen years old and facing his final year of high school. Pitched in the vein of recently successful high school dramas from Netflix (namely Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why), Atypical will hopefully provide a more compelling protagonist in Sam. His being on the autism spectrum is a central theme which will need a careful, researched portrayal. We can at least hope for some narratively diverse content, particularly given the recent reliance on stereotyped teenagers and gruesome high school experiences (… Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why).
Disjointed (25th August)
Kathy Bates is Ruth Whitefeather Weldman, a Los Angeles-based advocate of the legalisation of marijuana. Assisted by three budtenders (medical marijuana dispensary workers) and her son (played by Aaron Moten), Ruth decides to run a cannabis dispensary. This is a highly anticipated new drama which brings together two major TV producers: Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) and David Javerbaum (head writer for The Daily Show). The two-minute teaser trailer is simply Bates looking like a wild hippie with a joint in one hand and Misery-reminiscent look in her eye, but it should be all you need to stir your interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO_WHpp8kuA
The Mist (25th August)
This ten-part series takes place in a small town engulfed by a mysterious mist which contains dark visions and unearthly creatures. It is based on Stephen King’s eponymous novella, published in 1980, so for fans of King’s screen adaptations such as Carrie, The Dark Tower or It, this ought to be on your radar. Starring Viking’s Alyssia Sutherland alongside Spun Out’s Holly Deveaux, it won’t be short of beautiful characters to be influenced by the mist, nor psychologically scarring narratives as is the quintessential King style.
Film:
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Finally this great classic is now available at the touch of a button. When five American high school students are faced which a long stint of detention, they have little else to do but get to know each other. The characters consist of the typical jock, popular girl, nerd, troublemaker, and loner and despite their lives being worlds apart in the rigid school status quo, they find that they have much more in common than they previously could have imagined.
In the stifling, rugby-obsessed and macho environment of a private south Dublin boarding school, Conor and Ned strike an unusual friendship. Despite their struggles they find solace in music and guidance from their English teacher, Mr. Sherry. It is thoroughly engaging from start to finish with lots of Irish humour at the same time as skilfully tackling issues of homophobia and identity. Handsome Devil is one of the best features from Irish film this year.
The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Jessica James (Jessica Williams) is an aspiring playwright in New York who is on the mend after a painful break-up. She is hilarious and forthright and watching her do pretty much anything makes for great comedy. Even better is having Chris O’Dowd thrown into the mix as Boone, a recent divorcee. Together they navigate their newly single lives. Their vow to be fully honest with each other makes for a refreshing and humorous relationship.
Ted 2 (2015)
Our inappropriate and ridiculous furry friend is back for a second round of mischief in New York City. Ted, a teddy bear who is alive and has grown up with John (Mark Wahlberg), is on a mission to become legally recognised as a person rather than property in order to have a child with his girlfriend. With similar antics to Ted, Ted 2 brings two very funny characters back to our screens as they find themselves in profoundly silly situations.