Did you watch Project Power on Netflix this past weekend like we did? While Netflix doesn't have any big new movies like that to stream over the coming week, it does have a few notable new and returning TV shows debuting over the next few days. Long-running detective/horror show Lucifer returns, and Netflix is rolling out a new animated sitcom for us to enjoy.
In addition to what's new on Netflix, below we've picked out a couple of other highlights to check out this week on HBO and Disney Plus. Here, then, are our highlights of what to stream on TV this week, and how to watch them in the US and the UK.
- The best Netflix shows
- Best Netflix movies
- The Umbrella Academy season 3: what we know
Lucifer season 5 (Netflix)
The fifth (but not final) season of the Tom Ellis-starring DC Comics drama arrives this week. In this season of Lucifer, the titular devil has returned from a sojourn in hell of a few thousand years. The big installment this season is a noir-themed black-and-white episode set in Los Angeles during the '40s – long-time fans will no doubt get a kick out of it.
Lucifer might be worth adding to your watch list if you've never seen it, and you're still waiting for a few of your favorite shows to return.
Streaming on Netflix from August 21
Hoops (Netflix)
Netflix is adding another entry to its adult animated series canon this week, joining the likes of BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth, Disenchantment and F is for Family. Hoops is about failing school basketball coach and divorcee Ben Hopkins (voiced by Jake Johnson), who lives in the shadow of his far more successful father, and has to kick his team into shape to save his job.
The animation is the work of BentoBox, the studio behind Bob's Burgers and Central Park on Apple TV Plus, if you're wondering why the show shares a similar visual style. The amount of expletives in the show mean Hoops probably won't be for everyone, but the above trailer is pretty promising if you can stomach this kind of comedy.
Streaming from August 21
High Score (Netflix)
The lack of good gaming documentaries from traditional media companies probably speaks to their lack of understanding about the form – 'games are bad for you!', jokes about living in your parents' basement, and so on. Now, though, Netflix is taking a credible punt on tackling the history of games, starting with Pac-Man and the like, before getting to tastier stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog and Star Fox on SNES.
Streaming on Netflix from August 19
The One and Only Ivan (Disney Plus)
The latest Disney Plus original movie is about a gorilla who's taken from the wild and raised as part of a circus. If you're worried this is just going to be Dumbo again, only with a gorilla, The One and Only Ivan looks a little lighter than that (it has a talking dog, for example), and the live-action cast includes Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston.
In what's likely to be a slow few months on Disney Plus, given the delay of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this is worth checking out if you live with bored children.
Streaming on Disney Plus from August 21
The Vow (HBO)
HBO's latest documentary series is about the NXIVM cult, which unravelled when its founder, Keith Raniere, was jailed for a minimum of 15 years based on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Among the stranger elements of NXIVM was the involvement of Smallville actress Allison Mack (she played Chloe in the show), who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges. Here's a great New York Times piece about the whole thing – it's a wild story.
Following McMillion$ and I'll Be Gone in the Dark, this should be another unmissable HBO documentary series. It's unclear when The Vow will release in the UK, but expect to see it on Sky Documentaries at some point.
Streaming on HBO Max from August 23
