The Best TV Shows & Movies To Watch In August

If you’re anything like us, you've spent every waking moment of the past few weeks watching and thinking about the 2024 Paris Olympics. That also might mean you’re looking for something not related to your temporary athletics obsession to watch when the day’s events are over, or when the Summer Games wrap on August 11. We’ve got you covered. Two of our most anticipated movies of the summer are hitting theaters this month. First up is Trap, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller about a serial killer trying to evade law enforcement at a concert for a Taylor Swift-esque pop star. There’s also Blink Twice, the directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz that follows a cocktail waitress who must find a way to escape a billionaire’s private island. And there’s plenty to watch on the TV side, too, including new seasons from fan-favorite series Emily in Paris and Only Murders in the Building. Can we earn an Olympic medal for keeping up with it all? 

There is no global event we love more than the Olympics. The 33rd Summer Games kicked off in Paris in July and has already produced memeable moments, crowned new Olympic Champions (we see you Torri Huske!) and viral stars, and given us a rare opportunity to unite and cheer for our favorite athletes. But there’s still so much more to come until the Games wrap on August 11.

Simone Biles, who withdrew mid-competition in Tokyo 2020 due to mental health reasons, will compete in the All-Around Individual Finals along with reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee. (The pair along with the rest of the “Golden Girls” have already won gold in the Team Finals.) With 11 medals and still more events to go, Katie Ledecky continues her quest to become the most decorated woman swimmer in Olympic history. US runners Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas go toe-to-toe against a strong Jamaican contingent in the 100m and 200m sprinting events to see who is the fastest living woman on the planet, while outspoken reigning world champion Noah Lyles seeks to secure his claim as the fastest living man with his eyes on a double gold. (If you’re looking to catch up on all the narrative arcs in the sprinting events, we highly recommend watching Sprint on Netflix!)

If three billion people are watching something, then it’s definitely worth tuning in.

Where to watch: NBC, Peacock
When: Everyday until August 11
Watch if you like: The Olympics, Simone Biles Rising, Sprint

Your mileage may, admittedly, vary on M. Night Shyamalan movies. The prolific director is known for his ambitious, imaginative, twist-filled films (see: The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Old) that sometimes have less-than-satisfying endings. But sometimes the premise of a movie is *so* good, you let go of all reservations and hop on for the ride, wherever it may take you — and Shyamalan's latest flick, Trap, is one such example. 

That premise? When developing Trap, according to Empire, the filmmaker pitched the story as The Silence of the Lambs meets Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. The thriller follows Cooper (Josh Hartnett), a dad who brings his teen daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a stadium concert for pop star Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan’s daughter and IRL musician Saleka). But when they arrive, they discover that the police are using the event to set a trap to catch a local serial killer known as “The Butcher” — who is actually Cooper. It’s the kind of fun, outrageous idea that movies are made for, and what more could you ask for from a summer blockbuster? 

Where to watch: Theaters
When: August 2
Watch if you like: Any M. Night Shyamalan movie  

If Season 39 solidified the next generation of Challenge competitors, Season 40 is all about bringing together the past and present in an epic showdown to see whose era reigns supreme. Billed as the Battle Of The Eras, the milestone season for the longest running reality competition series has 40 competitors across the show’s 26-year history competing for prize money, but more importantly, bragging rights.

The roster is stacked, and I repeat stacked, with legends and fan faves, and it’s anyone’s guess on how things will play out. Seven-time champion Johnny Bananas and five-time winner CT return after brief breaks, but this time they’re on opposing teams (will we get a Bananas Backpack 2.0?). Frenemies Laurel Stucky, who most recently won The Challenge All-Stars Season 4, and feared competitor Cara Maria Sorbello are finally on the same team again after last paired for Rivals 13 years ago. And will former BFFs and proven newbies Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo be able to put aside last season’s stunning betrayal and beat out the seasoned vets?

The Challenge Dirty 30 gave us everything we needed — adrenaline-fueled eliminations and deep-seeded drama — and Season 40 promises that much and more.

Where to watch: MTV, Paramount+
When: August 14
Watch if you like: Survivor, Amazing Race, The Challenge All-Stars

Whenever someone asks me for TV recommendations, one of the shows I bring up without fail is Pachinko. Adapted from Min Jin Lee’s 2017 novel of the same name, the first season of the family drama was one of the best shows of 2022 (and it has the accolades, including a Peabody Award, to prove it), but got kind of lost in the glut of streaming content for casual TV viewers. And now that the trilingual series (Korean, Japanese, and English are spoken throughout) is set to drop its second season after a lengthy hiatus, there’s a convenient excuse to talk even more about it. 

If you aren’t already familiar, Pachinko tells the story of four generations of a Korean family across multiple timelines in the 20th century. At the heart of the tale is Sunja (played as a young woman by Minha Kim and later in life by Minari Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung), a thoughtful and resilient matriarch who leaves her small-town home in Korea to move to Osaka. During this time, Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, and, as a result, Koreans were subjected to unrelenting discrimination in both Korea and Japan — something that is felt even decades later, as the show depicts — but Sunja will stop at nothing to fight for the survival of her family. Season two will continue to explore themes of family, perseverance, love, and belonging as the timeline moves into 1945 and the impact of World War II. 

Beautifully acted, written, and shot, Pachinko is a show that manages to be both sweeping yet overwhelmingly intimate. The experiences Sunja and her family live through are so specific, yet so many people will be able to see themselves in it. And don’t be surprised if the show makes you cry frequently — not because it’s sad (though it has its moments), but because every emotion within is so deeply felt that you won’t be able to help but feel them too. 

Where to watch: Apple TV+
When: August 23
Watch if you like: Minari, This Is Us, Ramy 

It’s always intriguing when an A-List actor decides to step behind the camera — especially when they’re as cool and compelling as Zoë Kravitz. The Big Little Lies star’s directorial debut (which she also co-wrote) is Blink Twice, a stylish thriller that has a lot more going on under its sunny facade. The plot kicks off when cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum, who is also Kravitz’s partner), who then invites her along on his luxe vacation to a private island. But the all-out party takes a turn as strange, unexplained events start unfolding, leading to the eventual disappearance of Frida’s best friend, and leaving her to figure out what’s going on so she can make it off the island alive. 

Early press indicates that there was a lot on Kravitz’s mind as she worked on the film, which should lead to a movie that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking. "I think there are a lot of themes that really fit into each other, like this puzzle in a way, that I don't think I even realized at first as I was writing, which is one of the magical things about writing," Kravitz told Entertainment Weekly. "You have different layers of things that are going on, and you realize how connected everything is, and just the way that we all internalize all these different kinds of stories and societal norms." And to put it all together, the star opted for a big ensemble cast: Adria Arjona, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat also appear in the movie. 

Where to watch: Theaters
When: August 23
Watch if you like: The White Lotus, A Murder at the End of the World  

It’s always a delight when one of our fave shows returns with a new season and it’s even better when two R29 — both editors and readers alike — TV obsessions come back within days of each other. This month, that’s Emily in Paris and Only Murders in the Building, both of which are debuting their fourth seasons. 

Emily in Paris is picking up not long after the chaotic events of season three: Emily is torn between her feelings for both Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), while Gabriel has discovered his on-and-off girlfriend is pregnant. Emily is going to have to work out her feelings once and for all — while navigating her whirlwind marketing job, of course — but don’t expect immediate resolution as the second half of this season isn’t dropping until September. 

Meanwhile, the unlikely Only Murders in the Building trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez find themselves wrapped up in…another murder. If you remember, at the end of the last season, longtime actor Charles’ (Martin) stunt double Sazz (Jane Lynch) was shot and killed in his apartment. Naturally, the three friends decide it’s a case for them to solve. Meryl Streep is also returning to the show for its fourth season, while stars like Melissa McCarthy, Eugene Levy, Molly Shannon, and Eva Longoria are joining the cast. 

Where to watch: Netflix (Emily in Paris) & Hulu (Only Murders in the Building)
When: August 15 & August 27 
Watch if you like: Sex and the City, Knives Out