Need to know every last movie and TV series that’s new on Max this month? Lucky you: I’ve assembled the entire list in the cleverly-titled post Everything New on Max August 2023. Let’s see AI out-creative that.
This week’s What to Watch picks include a new season of Craig Robinson’s Killing It, Max throwbacks The O.C. and Wild Wild West, the return of Solar Opposites, the premiere of The Winter King, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. Put some new batteries in the clicker!
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What’s premiering this week
Killing It | Peacock | Comedy
Season 2 premiere, Thursday, August 17: Is the Florida Python Challenge, wherein competitors kill non-native snakes in the name of ecosystem conservation in the Everglades, a real thing? Sure is: The 2023 edition just wrapped on Sunday. In season 1 of Killing It, broke amateur Craig (Craig Robinson) signed up for the challenge and soon found himself in the craziest company of characters this side of The Righteous Gemstones. Season 2 looks even wilder, with all eight episodes dropping on August 17.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Final | FOX | Sports, soccer
Coverage begins Sunday, August 20, 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT: Yes, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team was knocked out of the FIFA running early on, but there’s still plenty of action to be had leading up to the World Cup Final on Sunday, August 20. We don’t know which teams will be in the Final as of today, but we can tell you all the ways you can watch the FIFA World Cup games on FOX, Hulu + Live TV, Peacock, Tubi, and FIFA+ in our How To Watch the Women’s World Cup 2023 guide—some of it is even free.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Depp v. Heard | Netflix | Documentary
Series premiere, Wednesday, August 16: Think you already know everything about the sensationalized and televised 2022 courtroom showdown between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard? The three-part docuseries Depp v. Heard presents some new angles on the six-week trial, presenting side-by-side testimonies, news coverage, and social media reactions for a “neutral” overview of the ensuing public circus. Next up: A Gwyneth Paltrow ski-accident legal docuseries from Discovery+ (yes, really).
Suits | Netflix | Drama
Series, now streaming: The most popular Netflix binge-watch of summer 2023 is the 2011–2019 USA Network legal drama Suits—the streamer spent all that money on FUBAR, and you’re watching reheated cable leftovers? (OK, FUBAR wasn’t great, but still.) Suits comes from the days of lightweight USA originals like Monk, Psych, and White Collar, which I’d swear is the same show as Suits, just minus future Duchess Meghan Markle. There are 134 Suits episodes, plenty to help you ride out the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike.
What to watch on Max this week
The O.C. | Max | Drama
Series, now streaming: Teen drama The O.C. premiered 20 years ago this month on FOX, introducing the world to Ryan (Ben McKenzie), Marissa (Mischa Barton), Seth (Adam Brody), Summer (Rachel Bilson), and Peter Gallagher’s luscious eyebrows. The Punk Chino Kid vs. Newport Beach Richey Riches tale lasted four seasons, creating a pop-cultural splash dramatically and musically with a soundtrack that launched the generations-spanning careers of artists like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Catch up, townie.
Wild Wild West | Max | Drama, sci-fi
Movie, now streaming: Infamous 1999 Will Smith bomb Wild Wild West isn’t really as bad as cinema history remembers. Sure, the script is nonsense and the jokes fall flatter than the New Mexico desert, but check out the steampunk gadgetry, the giant mechanical spider, and the gravity-defying physics of Salma Hayek’s corset—truly impressive. The soundtrack is also a banger, a mashup of spaghetti western atmospherics and Smith’s cover of Kool Mo Dee’s “Wild Wild West.” Come on, relive the summer of ‘99.
What to watch on Prime Video this week
Encounter | Prime Video | Drama, sci-fi
Movie, now streaming: After a meteorite hits Earth and weaponizes the insect population, it’s a Man vs. Bugs battle for the planet—and there are far more of them than us in 2021’s Encounter. Meanwhile, former Marine Malik (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal) and his two young sons embark on a road trip to stay one step ahead of the alien-induced threat, only to realize that the real danger is—wait for it—other people (shades of The Walking Dead). “Folks look normal, but they’re not,” warns Malik. Yikes!
S.O.Z. Soldiers or Zombies | Prime Video | Drama, horror
Series, now streaming: Netflix doesn’t have a lock on cheesy horror imports, as proven by the 2021 Mexican action series S.O.Z. Soldiers or Zombies (no question mark—it’s a statement). When a U.S. Army experiment in creating super soldiers goes wrong, a Mexican drug lord on the run gets caught in the crossfire between soldiers and the newly created super (and super-fast) zombies. Yes, the ostensible “hero” of this eight-part series is a drug lord, which tells you how gnarly these zippy zombies are.
W2W wildcards of the week
Solar Opposites | Hulu | Animation, comedy
Season 4 premiere, Monday, August 14: Series co-creator and main voice Justin Roiland has been pushed out of Solar Opposites, but the show must go on: Dan Stephens (Downton Abbey) takes over as the oddly now-British voice of alien Korvo in season 4, which promises more stranded-on-Earth antics from the green extraterrestrials that humans apparently don’t even notice. Guest voices this season include Randall Park, Josh Gad, Daveed Diggs, and Jerry O’Connell as Jerry O’Connell (play what you know, Jer).
The Winter King | MGM+ | Drama
Series premiere, Sunday, August 20: Producer/director Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders, His Dark Materials) takes on the origin story of King Arthur in 5th century Britain, back when he was just Arthur Pendragon (Iain De Caestecker, a.k.a. Fitz from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). The 10-episode The Winter King is based on the first third of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles book trilogy, which means there could be more seasons coming. While you’re here, do yourself a solid and also check out the MGM+ supernatural series From.
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