If you like your entertainment full of suspense, you’re in luck as this week’s new streaming releases are led by Noah Hawley’s creepy new Alien TV series prequel, intense new medical drama The Pitt, and horror trilogy finale MaXXXine. Plus, we have the VOD debut of Karate Kid: Legends, the new Everybody Hates Chris animated sequel, and more!
SERIES
Everybody Still Hates Chris S1
11 August 2025 – Showmax
If you were a fan of Everybody Hates Chris – and really, who wasn’t? – then I have some great news for you! The semi-autobiographical sitcom about comedian Chris Rock’s life as a kid in 1980s Brooklyn ran for four seasons and was nominated for a Golden Globe and three Emmy Awards by the time Rock himself wrapped up the story in 2009. But there was apparently still more to tell as now an animated version, Everybody Still Hates Chris, is here! With Rock, Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, and other original cast members returning to lend their voices, this new show picks up right where the original left off with new craziness for Chris and his family. Sanjay Shah, executive producer and co-showrunner of Central Park, will be writing this new show.
The Pitt S1
12 August 2025 – Showmax
Medical dramas have always had a spot on the TV marquee since ER first broke boundaries and genres back in the late 1990s. And now one of the original stars of that show is doing it again. The Pitt follows Noah Wyle’s Dr Michael “Robby” Robinavitch as he and the other medical staff around him try to make it through a grueling 15-hour shift in the emergency room of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital – aka “The Pitt”. With each episode in the series corresponding to an hour in real time in the story, it’s nerve shredding drama from start to finish. The result has been gigantic critical acclaim (The Pitt is up for 13 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, Directing, Writing, Lead Actor for Wyle, Supporting Actress for Katherine LaNasa, and Guest Actor for Shawn Hatosy) and the title of arguably the hottest new must-watch TV series this year. Don’t miss this!
Butterfly S1
13 August 2025 – Prime Video
In case you haven’t noticed, Prime Video is seemingly the place to go if you’re looking for series about espionage. Following Citadel, Honey Bunny, Diana, and most recently Countdown, we can also add Butterfly to the list. Billed as “a character-driven spy thriller that explores complex family dynamics within the treacherous world of global espionage”, the six-episode miniseries stars veteran Daniel Dae Kim as David Jung, an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea after faking his death. Years before, he stepped away from his dangerous life for the sake of his family, but when he suddenly finds himself pursued by a sinister spy organization, it forces him to reach out to the daughter who thought him dead in order to protect her.
Alien: Earth S1
13 August 2025 – Disney+
It feels like Noah Hawley’s Alien TV series has been in development forever, but it was only officially announced back in December 2020. That’s probably just because I’ve been champing at the bit to see it, especially given Hawley’s past work on amazing shows like Fargo and Legion. And the recent Alien: Romulus definitely didn’t hurt my reignited love for this franchise after Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant threatened to kill it off entirely. Mostly, I’m just intrigued by the concept of this show as it’s set two years prior to the events of the original 1979 Alien film, following a ragtag group of tactical soldiers as they investigate a mysterious deep space research vessel that has crash-landed on Earth. How does that line up with the established timeline? I have no idea! Luckily, we get to find out soon as the first two episodes premiere on Disney+ this coming Friday.
MOVIES
Summer of 69
8 August 2025 – Disney+
If you saw the title of this movie and thought it was a nice tribute to Bryan Adam’s much beloved rock ballad, well you may be in a for a very rude awakening! The feature film directing debut of fan-favourite funny actress Jillian Bell, Summer of 69 is a raunchy coming-of-age tale that follows Abby, a socially awkward high school senior hires who discovers that her secret crush Max has finally broken up with his longtime girlfriend. Hearing that Max is obsessed with the “69” sex position, the very inexperienced Abby hires financially desperate exotic dancer Santa Monica to educate her and help seduce Max before graduation, leading to unexpected friendship and lessons in self-confidence, acceptance and adulthood.
Lee
11 August 2025 – Showmax
If you’ve seen Alex Garland’s hard-hitting Civil War, you would have seen Kirsten Dunst’s veteran war photographer character was named Lee Smith. That name was not random at all as it was a tribute to Lee Miller, the very real trailblazing WWII war photographer. Initially known as a fashion model, Miller’s photographic work in war-torn Europe was mostly unknown until her son, Antony Penrose, penned a biography of his mother in the early 1980s after discovering thousands of photographs, negatives, documents, journals, cameras, love letters, and souvenirs from her younger life. Adapting that biography to the screen, Lee is the feature film directing debut of Oscar-nominated cinematographer and documentarian Ellen Kuras, and stars Oscar-winner Kate Winslett in the title role of Lee Smith (for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination). A production that took a staggering eight years to complete (at one point, due to financing issues, Winslett – who also produced – ended up personally paying the salaries of the cast and crew), this film tells of how Miller’s fashion work for Vogue magazine took a massive turn when she volunteered to work on the frontlines of the war, despite the military’s insistence that women did not belong there.
Fixed
13 August 2025 – Netflix
Genndy Tartakovsky has a made a career in creating unexpected, award-winning animated fare with the likes of Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Primal, and Star Wars: Clone Wars, but Fixed may just be his most out-there project yet. This very R-rated animated film is a raunchy yet heartwarming comedy starring the voice talent of Adam Devine as Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning! As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls! Only thing to do is declare his love for Honey (Kathryn Hahn), the beautiful show dog next door, while he still feels like a real man-dog. What could go wrong?
Babes
14 August 2025 – Showmax
If you were a fan of Ilana Glazer’s antics in Broad City, then Babes may just be the raunchy R-rated comedy for you. Written by Glazer and co-starring comedian Michelle Buteau, Babes follows lifelong friends Eden and Dawn, one single and wanting a baby, the other already a mother. When Eden decided to get pregnant from a one-night stand, it sets off a crazy series of events in their lives, challenging their bond and leading to outrageous circumstances. I intentionally posted the R-rated redband version of the trailer above, so you can know that this is no family friendly cutesy comedy.
MaXXXine
14 August 2025 – Showmax
And keeping things female-fronted and R-rated, but for very different reasons, comes MaXXXine, the final installment in filmmaker Ti West’s acclaimed trilogy. A direct sequel to original film X (second installment Pearl being a prequel), this one is set in 1985 Los Angeles, amidst the real-world Night Stalker murders, and sees Mia Goth reprising the role of adult actress Maxine Mink as she tries to pivot to mainstream movies. Unfortunately for Maxine, she soon becomes entangled in a bloody web as an obsessive killer starts targeting her. MaXXXine did not quite match the critical acclaim of X and Pearl (Goth’s utterly transformative performance in Pearl not getting at least an Oscar nomination is one of the most egregious snubs in Hollywood history), but fans of both are still in for a relatively good time here as West leans hard into the 80s slasher genre.
RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Karate Kid: Legends
Purchase: Apple TV – R170
Rental: Apple TV – R45
With Cobra Kai wrapping up its entire saga earlier this year, the story of The Karate Kid, which began all the way back in 1984 with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), finally came to an end. Well, maybe not. When a new Karate Kid movie was made in 2010 starring Jaden Smith as a young American boy being trained in China by Jackie Chan’s reluctant master Mr. Han, it was billed as a fresh reboot. But now Karate Kid: Legends asks, “What if it wasn’t a reboot?” as it finds a way to merge the original and new timelines into one new story. This time its Li Fong (Ben Wang), a young kung fu prodigy training under Mr. Han who has life uprooted when his doctor mother (Ming-Na Wen) accepts a new job in New York City. Struggling to fit in with his new surroundings, and with a promise to his mother of no more fighting after a tragic family death, Li Fong inadvertently becomes friends with Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley) and her father Victor (Joshua Jackson), the owners of the neighbourhood pizza joint. When Victor finds himself in deep trouble with a local hoodlum though, it forces Li Hong to use his martial skills to help out. Unfortunately, this puts him on a collision course with a high school rival who happens to be the unbeaten city karate champion. Out of his depth, Li Fong will have to rely on not just one, but two martial arts masters to prepare him for this challenge.