It is the tail end of winter, the footy is on three nights a week, and every streamer has decided this is the month to unload the good stuff. Here is what is new to streaming in August 2026: the six releases worth the argument, with the Australian service and date for each. You will not get through all of them. You will absolutely tell your workmates you did.
Six new to streaming in August, sorted
One rule for the list: only releases big enough that someone in the house will bring them up unprompted. Two returning heavyweights, a new DC mystery, the year's best Australian comedy, and a homegrown classic reborn. Dates are the Australian arrivals as announced. If the plan was saving money this winter, look away now.
Lanterns
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as two Green Lanterns investigating a murder in nowhere Nebraska, played as a slow-burn mystery rather than a cape parade. Mid-August on HBO Max, and easily the most interesting thing DC has done in years. Yes, you will need the app. No, you will not regret it.
Colin from Accounts
Season three is rolling out weekly on Binge right now, and it is still the best Australian comedy going: two chaotic adults, one dog, zero lessons learned. If you are behind, the catch-up is the easiest sell on this list. Nobody needs convincing after one episode.
Ted Lasso
Season four from 5 August, weekly. The whole country claimed to be over it, and the whole country will be watching by episode two. Believe, mate.
Reacher
Season four on 12 August, three episodes up front then weekly. Gone Tomorrow is the source novel, a subway encounter is the trigger, and enormous men get thrown through things on schedule. Reliable as a ute.
My Brilliant Career
The Miles Franklin classic gets a six-part Netflix retelling from 13 August, with Philippa Northeast as Sybylla and Anna Chancellor in support. An Australian story done properly at scale, and after the month this country spent farewelling Sam Neill, the timing lands just right.
The Drama
Honourable mention
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in A24's romantic dramedy, straight from cinemas to HBO Max this month. The honourable mention because the five above earned their spots first, and this one is the date-night wildcard. Fair warning: it is heavier on charm than plot, and entirely fine with that.
The rest of the month, briefly
Beyond the six, Binge's August line-up adds The Great Australian Bake Off on 11 August and the AFLW season from 9 August, Stan drops the Bridey Drake docuseries on the 10th, Binge adds the boxset drop Two Weeks in August on the 12th for something nobody at work has opinions on yet, De Niro's crime thriller The Whisper Man rounds out Netflix's month on the 28th. ABC iview and SBS On Demand keep their usual quiet excellence running underneath it all, free as ever, for the nights the wallet says no.
Plan the month before the scroll eats it
A pacing tip before you overcommit. Ted Lasso and Reacher run weekly, so that is two school nights handled deep into spring, while My Brilliant Career drops in one go on the 13th and the De Niro thriller closes the month for proper couch weekends. Slot Lanterns in mid-month, keep Colin from Accounts for the nights nobody can think anymore, and the whole month basically schedules itself. Bake Off can have Sundays. You still will not get through it all. That was never really the point. The footy can have the other nights; fair is fair.
That is a lot of television, and the couch weeks are numbered before spring shows up. Add the ones you rate now, match with the household, and skip the Friday stand-off entirely. For tonight's answer, the what to watch tonight guide does the heavy lifting, and this week's picks stay fresh all month. That is everything new to streaming in August worth your evenings. Available in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the United States.