As back-to-school season draws near, soothe your vague sense of discontent with the best of what Netflix has to offer. Read on to learn what the streaming service is bringing to the screen next month—as well as what to catch now, before it fades into the black hole of the Internet.
Movies
Whats arriving . . .
Black Panther (September 4)
Box-office odds are that youve seen Ryan Cooglers smart, super-fun smash hit already—but now, you can re-watch it, again and again, without paying $16 (plus popcorn). What sets Black Panther apart from the rest of the Marvel Universe is its ideas: the villain, Erik Killmonger (a brutish Michael B. Jordan), has got more than petty grievances on his mind when he sets out to put the mythical African land of Wakanda, and the leader of its people, TChalla (Chadwick Boseman), in their collective place. His is a battle steeped in black radical politics, the history of diaspora, and the mixed histories of real-life Africa and American intervention. You dont need to know any of this to enjoy the movie; trust me when I say that the stacked supporting cast, including the regal Ramonda (Angela Bassett), the fiercely intelligent Shuri (breakout star Letitia Wright), the indomitable Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the politically impassioned Nakia (Lupita Nyongo), is more than enough to keep you fixed to your couch for the movies two-plus hours. But what made black audiences, in particular, go wild for Black Panther was that it gave people something to talk about. And now, you can join us.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (September 16)
Edgar Wright may be better known for his Simon Pegg comedies—Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The Worlds End—or even for his cutesy, musically savvy gangster movie, Baby Driver, from last year. But his richest film by a mile is still his meta, colorful, clever graphic-novel adaptation, Scott Pilgrim, which stars the ever-lanky Michael Cera as Scott, a guy in love with a girl, Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), whos got a gnarly handful of ex-boyfriends with wa-a-ay too much investment in Ramonas love life. Scott is also, technically, taken, and in all honesty a bit of a creep—which is the first step in the weird, surprising emotional complications the movie unfurls in grotesquely exaggerated, video-gamey style. Its a movie about the rock gods, in a way, or at least the lush, vibrant battles Scott has with those exes—who include Brandon Routh as a superpowered vegan and the skateboarding movie star Lucas Lee (Chris Evans). Its heightened to epic proportions, while also feeling as filthily electric as a dive-bar arcade game. That classic Wright visual humor and rhythm abounds, but in a story that, for my money, has truer twists and turns than anything hes done before or since.
Whats leaving . . .
Casino (September 1)
First of all: the outfits. If you need only one reason to watch Martin Scorseses 1995 masterpiece, its to see Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) strut in her monied, layered, liberatingly colorful, perfectly tailored ensembles for 178 (you read that correctly) jittery, dramatic minutes. Come for Ginger, and stay for the rest. Casino is the eighth collaboration between Scorsese and Robert De Niro, who plays Sam Rothstein—a mob associate sent to Vegas to run the Tangiers Casino, with his childhood friend, the violently erratic Nicky Santoro (a perfectly cast Joe Pesci), at his side as the muscle. Everyones going to tell you that Casino is really just Goodfellas redux (and therefore a spiritual prequel to The Wolf of Wall Street), and its true that the movies are similar: Scorsese is, as ever, keen on letting us live the mob life vicariously through his characters, amping up the moods and rhythms of this lifestyle with unrepentant verve. But Casino is even better, because it hits an even more cynical note. Just watch that first hour: an in-depth, front-row tour of the inner life of the casino business, with nary a flesh-and-blood character onscreen—because the casino, dispassionate in its inner workings, is a character unto itself. It will outlast every many here—and dont they all know it.
The Descent (September 1)
One of the best horror movies of the new century is still Neil Marshalls creepy, crawly, emotional nail-biter The Descent, about a group of women who go caving in North Carolinas Appalachian Mountains—with a bunch of unresolved drama in tow. On their previous group outing, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) lost her husband and daughter in a car accident. The backstory doesnt end there—it expands to involve one of the other women on the trip—but thats all you really need to know to understand the films grief-stricken, quiet opening register. The movie so carefully steeps you in that mood that you dont see the horrors coming; suffice it to say, theres some weird shit living beneath those Appalachians. But rather than just being a scary, moody freakshow, The Descent manages to make its emotional complications and ghoulish horror feel mutually linked. The film becomes a perfect dose of catharsis: scary, tense, and devastating until the very end—and then, at its conclusion, overwhelmed with the utter pleasure of release.
Petes Dragon (September 14)
No movie will ever really make me want to move out into the woods, but David Lowerys instant classic Petes Dragon—which stars the perfectly named Oakes Fegley as the titular Pete—has made the best case in recent memory. At the start of the movie, Pete and his parents get into a car accident, killing his mom and dad and leaving Pete alive, alone, and lost in the forest. He falls under the care of a sometimes-invisible friend, a furry, fiery, loyal dragon. When people from the surrounding community, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley, and Karl Urban, among others, find Pete and try to bring him back into the human fold, the movie instantly becomes a conflict over their various ways of life. The usual threats are here—corporate deforestation being the biggest of all. But the real thread of the movie is adults loss of imagination. Plenty of kids movies cover this material, but Lowerys got a handle on folklore and local myth—and a way of making granular storytelling feel romantically large and all-consuming—that few other directors can muster. Even when making Disney movies.
TV
Whats arriving . . .
Call the Midwife: Series 7 (September 10)
Many of the faces might have changed, but the mostly heartwarming and occasionally devastating world of Call the Midwife remains the same. Domestic dramas unfold in this comfortable British series, which follows a small group of midwives and nuns in 1950s and 60s London tending to the poor, uneducated, and altogether unprepared residents of the Poplar district. But while the gentle, procedural quality of the show is one of its strongest selling points, Series 7 gets a bit more pointed with some of its messaging. Perhaps in response to the ongoing Brexit struggles in the U.K., the Call the Midwife writers introduced a new character in the form of Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), a Jamaican midwife who faces exactly the kind of discrimination you might expect in that time and that place. The season also centers episodes on immigrant characters from Nigeria and Pakistan, meaning that even your cozy, escapist U.K. dramas cant help but comment on the way we live now.
American Vandal: Season 2 (September 14)
The first season of this true-crime mockumentary caught most people by surprise last fall. But one Peabody Award and a ringing endorsement from prosecutor Marcia Clark later, the same can hardly be said of Season 2. This time, the show will transport its surprisingly incisive take on juvenile humor to the world of a private Catholic high school. A recent trailer revealed a subject even ruder than Season 1s dick-drawing vandal: the so-called Turd Burglar. Dont let the blue subject matter fool you; the American Vandal team seems quite aware of what made their first outing a success, and of the challenges they face in capturing that lightning in a bottle a second time. Inspired by the ongoing true-crime craze, show-runner Dan Lagana told Vulture that after watching series like The Jinx or The Staircase, “We always think, Whats the medium-stakes crime? Whats the less mature, amateur version of this?” Fans of the first season will have to get to know an entirely new crew of teenage suspects, as only our intrepid fictional detectives—Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck)—will return.
BoJack Horseman Season 5 (September 14)
Netflixs animated series BoJack Horseman continues to poke holes in the self-important men of Hollywood via its Will Arnett–voiced animated horse, who grapples with both a swollen ego and crippling depression. (The show is a lot more fun than it sounds!) But still, for all its cartoonish trappings (hybrid animal-human characters are named things like Mr. Peanut Butter and Princess Carolyn), BoJack Horseman is not afraid to go dark. In fact, its not afraid of anything. The show even stopped to wickedly parody a show on its own platform, Fuller House, without any fear of reprisal. So, where do you go after youve dabbled in suicide cliffhangers and taking down sacred cows like the Tanner family? If a short teaser is to be believed, Season 5 promises to go even deeper down the meta Hollywood well, with BoJack starring as a noir detective in a new series: Philbert. Navigating the ins and outs of a TV show within a TV show? Just a trot in the park for BoJack.
Maniac (September 21)
Die-hard Superbad fans eagerly awaiting the over-10-years-in-the-making reunion between Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, wait no longer! Their new collaboration, Maniac, comes from director Cary Joji Fukunaga and is based on a Norwegian series of the same name. In the original, the series snaps back and forth between a patient in a mental asylum and his internal, shape-shifting fantasy world. This time, Hill and Stone are participants in an experimental drug trial run by Justin Therouxs slightly ominous James Mantleray. The original series used the juxtaposition of a catatonic schlub and his deepest internal desires to skewer that male-driven fantasy world: think the “Superstar” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossed with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, with a dash of Inception, and shot through with a searing look at entitled bro culture. This version looks like more of a two-hander, with Stones inner life also potentially ripe for exploration. (She doesnt really have a counterpart in the Norwegian version.) Add a liberal amount of Fukunagas singular directorial style, and you have the perfect recipe for a wild, 10-hour ride that likely couldnt be contained to a feature film. Its one of the starriest offerings in Netflixs glut of original programming—a surge of series that explains why the service is less and less in the business of licensing shows from other sources, which is why there are no shows of note leaving the platform at the end of this month.
FULL LIST OF WHATS ARRIVING
September 1
10,000 B.C.
Another Cinderella Story
Assassins
August Rush
Bruce Almighty
Delirium
Fair Game
Groundhog Day
King Kong
La Catedral del Mar
Martian Child
Monkey Twins
Mr. Sunshine
Nacho Libre
Pearl Harbor
Scarface
Sisters
Spider-Man 3
Stephanie
Summer Catch
Sydney White
The Ant Bully
The Breakfast Club
The Cider House Rules
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
The Keeping Hours
The River Wild
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Two Weeks Notice
Unforgiven
September 2
The Emperors New Groove
Lilo & Stitch
Maynard
Quantico: Season 3
September 3
A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities
September 4
Black Panther
September 5
Van Helsing: Season 2
Wentworth: Season 6
September 6
Once Upon a Time: Season 7
September 7
Atypical: Season 2
Cable Girls: Season 3
City of Joy
Click
First and Last
Marvels Iron Fist: Season 2
Next Gen
Sierra Burgess Is a Loser
Stretch Armstrong & the Flex Fighters: Season 2
The Most Assassinated Woman in the World
September 10
Call the Midwife: Series 7
September 11
Daniel Sloss: Live Shows
The Resistance Banker
September 12
Blacklist: Season 5
Life
On My Skin
September 14
American Vandal: Season 2
Bleach
Boca Juniors Confidential
BoJack Horseman: Season 5
Car Masters: Rust to Riches
Ingobernable: Season 2
Last Hope
Norm Macdonald Has a Show
Super Monsters Monster Party: Songs
The Angel
The Dragon Prince
The Land of Steady Habits
The Worlds Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2 Part A
September 15
Inside the Freemasons: Season 1
September 16
Role Models
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
September 17
The Witch
September 18
American Horror Story: Cult
D.L. Hughley: Contrarian
September 21
Battlefish
Dragon Pilot: Hisone & Masotan
Hilda
Maniac
Nappily Ever After
Quincy
The Good Cop
September 23
The Walking Dead: Season 8
September 25
A Wrinkle in Time
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
September 26
Norsemen: Season 2
The Hurricane Heist
September 28
Chefs Table: Volume 5
El Marginal: Season 2
Forest of Piano
Hold the Dark
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 2
Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane
Lost Song
Made in Mexico
Reboot: The Guardian Code: Season 2
Skylanders Academy: Season 3
The 3rd Eye
Two Catalonias
September 30
Big Miracle
FULL LIST OF WHATS LEAVING
September 1
13 Going on 30
A Royal Night Out
Batman Begins
Casino
Dead Poets Society
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest
Exporting Raymond
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Ghostbusters
Hachi: A Dogs Tale
Hotel for Dogs
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
It Might Get Loud
Joyful Noise
Just Friends
Lockup: County Jails: Collection 1
Man on Wire
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
The Assets
The Bucket List
The Dark Knight
The Descent
The Descent: Part 2
September 2
Outsourced
Waffle Street
September 11
Rules of Engagement: Seasons 1-7
September 14
Petes Dragon
September 15
A Star Is Born
Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead
Bordertown
September 16
Are You Here
Jackass 3.5: The Unrated Movie
Moonrise Kingdom
September 24
Iris
September 28
The Imitation Game
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.
Uzo Aduba
Although she was little-known when she started on Orange Is the New Black, Aduba quickly became one of the dramas most beloved critical darlings—with good reason. Her empathetic and at times delightfully zany portrayal of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren has been one of the shows most consistent highlights. And the Emmy winner has found places to shine outside of Orange as well—including a well-received turn as Glinda the Good Witch of the South in The Wiz Live! and a voice-acting gig as Bismuth on Steven Universe.Photo: By JoJo Whilden/Netflix.
Finn Wolfhard
Millie Bobby Brown might be Stranger Things biggest breakout star, but Wolfhards doing pretty well for himself, too. He quickly landed a role in last years mega-successful It remake, and his band, Calpurnia, just released its first recorded E.P. earlier this summer. Plus, things are looking up for his character in the world of the show as well, now that hes been reunited with Eleven. You go, Mike Wheeler.Photo: By Curtis Baker/Netflix.
Claire Foy
What can we say? Shes royalty. Foy had already made a name for herself in the U.K. when she was cast as Queen Elizabeth, but it was The Crown that offered her the chance to assume the throne—and global recognition—she always deserved.Photo: By Deswillie/Netflix.
John Early
Although it may be hard to remember much from before his days on Search Party, one of Earlys earliest breakout roles was on Netflixs Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. When the series came back to Netflix for Ten Years Later, so did Earlys Logan. Now, this actor and comedian is all over the place—Difficult People, The Disaster Artist, and Animals, to name a few. Without Wet Hot, we might never have gotten Elliott Goss—and that would have been a terrible loss.Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Corey Stoll
Yes, Stoll had been around for a while before he starred as Peter Russo on the very first season of House of Cards—but it was that role that made Hollywood sit up and take notice. Since his one-season-and-done arc, hes found plenty of other prominent roles in both TV and film—including as the main villain of Ant-Man.Photo: By Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix/Everett Collection.
Asia Kate Dillon
Fun fact: Dillon actually appeared on Master of None before their breakout role as Brandy Epps on Orange Is the New Black. And now, as Showtime viewers know, theyve moved on to a starring role—as Taylor Mason on Billions. That role is an exciting development not only for Dillon but for TV history as well: its the first time a North American television series has starred a gender non-binary character.Photo: By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.
Ruby Rose
As the Internet well knows, Rose recently shared some big news: shes been cast as the CWs Batwoman—a historic decision that will give TV its first openly gay superhero. But before that, many of us knew her as Stella Carlin from Orange Is the New Black—a particularly devious inmate at Litchfield who shared a brief romance with Piper. Since then, shes gone on to star in blockbusters including Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter 2, Pitch Perfect 3, and, most recently, The Meg. Not bad for one of Pipers rejects!Photo: By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.PreviousNext
Uzo Aduba
Although she was little-known when she started on Orange Is the New Black, Aduba quickly became one of the dramas most beloved critical darlings—with good reason. Her empathetic and at times delightfully zany portrayal of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren has been one of the shows most consistent highlights. And the Emmy winner has found places to shine outside of Orange as well—including a well-received turn as Glinda the Good Witch of the South in The Wiz Live! and a voice-acting gig as Bismuth on Steven Universe.By JoJo Whilden/Netflix.
Finn Wolfhard
Millie Bobby Brown might be Stranger Things biggest breakout star, but Wolfhards doing pretty well for himself, too. He quickly landed a role in last years mega-successful It remake, and his band, Calpurnia, just released its first recorded E.P. earlier this summer. Plus, things are looking up for his character in the world of the show as well, now that hes been reunited with Eleven. You go, Mike Wheeler.By Curtis Baker/Netflix.
Claire Foy
What can we say? Shes royalty. Foy had already made a name for herself in the U.K. when she was cast as Queen Elizabeth, but it was The Crown that offered her the chance to assume the throne—and global recognition—she always deserved.By Deswillie/Netflix.
John Early
Although it may be hard to remember much from before his days on Search Party, one of Earlys earliest breakout roles was on Netflixs Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. When the series came back to Netflix for Ten Years Later, so did Earlys Logan. Now, this actor and comedian is all over the place—Difficult People, The Disaster Artist, and Animals, to name a few. Without Wet Hot, we might never have gotten Elliott Goss—and that would have been a terrible loss.Courtesy of Netflix.
Tituss Burgess
The world would be a far sadder place were it not for Titus Andromedon—and the guy who plays him is pretty delightful, too. Broadway fans likely knew of Burgess well before he landed on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but it was the Netflix role that turned Burgess into a small-screen star. Now hes got four consecutive Emmy nominations and his own wine. Its all his character ever wanted.By Erin Liebowitz/Netflix.
Millie Bobby Brown
Of all the Stranger Things kids, Millie Bobby Brown has become the most recognizable outside of Hawkins, Indiana. You might have seen her before she hit Netflix, during guest turns on series including Modern Family, NCIS, and Greys Anatomy—but it was the supernatural drama that catapulted her to fame. Now, shes found her next franchise: shes starring in next years Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2020s Godzilla vs. Kong. Given what weve seen of her on Stranger Things, were guessing those monsters wont know what hit em.Courtesy of Netflix.
Katherine Langford
13 Reasons Why catapulted some of its cast to stardom overnight—but most of all, it introduced us to Katherine Langford, whose acting career was way under the radar before her casting as Hannah Baker. Its understandable why Langfords performance caught on: despite the shows much-talked-about faults and controversial decisions, Langford consistently played Hannah with a wry tenderness that deserves recognition. Although Hannah Baker will likely not return for 13 Reasons third season, rest assured: Langford has her own Y.A. movie on the way.By Beth Dubber/Netflix.
Laverne Cox
When Orange Is the New Black first premiered, one of its most exciting characters was Sophia Burset, a trans woman actually played by a trans actress. And since then, Coxs star has risen—both as an advocate and an actress, with roles in Girlfriends Guide to Divorce and The Mindy Project, as well as her own (admittedly short-lived) series, Doubt. In addition to her continued role on Orange, she is set to appear in a new YouTube Premium series, Weird City, produced by Jordan Peele.By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.
The Queer Eye Guys
Where would we be without Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, and Bobby Berk? The new Fab Five have been winning hearts and renovating homes across America, and for good reason: theyre an undeniably lovable unit of joy. A Queer Eye remake could have wandered into some shaky territory—and while the new show still doesnt always quite stick the landing just right, it delivers a level of flair, empathy, and avocado recipes that America has clearly been craving.Courtesy of Netflix.
Lena Waithe
The Master of None star might be one of the most impressive figures whose career Netflix helped launch. (Of course, we might be a little biased. Since starring in and occasionally writing Master of None, Waithe has gone on to launch her own series, The Chi, on Showtime, and has another pilot forthcoming with TBS.By K.C. Bailey/Netflix.
Ali Wong
The comedian has said herself that she doesnt think anyone knew who she was before her special Baby Cobra premiered on Netflix. In fact, she joked about that very fact in her follow-up, Hard Knock Wife. Either way, shes got no shortage of fans now—and even more excitingly, she also has her own animated Netflix comedy on the way, starring Wong opposite none other than Tiffany Haddish.By Ken Woroner/Netflix.
Danielle Brooks
Orange Is the New Black was Brookss first real foray into TV acting, and she struck gold with it. In five seasons, Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson has developed into the shows de facto protagonist, as the series has discovered that Piper often works best when shes part of the ensemble. And Taystees struggle to find peace after her best friend, Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley), was killed was one of the seriess most emotional arcs yet. Like many of her Netflix colleagues, Brooks has since expanded to other TV roles as well—but perhaps her most impressive accomplishment outside the series was her Tony-nominated Broadway performance as Sofia in The Color Purple in 2015.By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.
Shannon Purser
Who could forget Barb? Well, Nancy did—but Stranger Things Season 2 spent a not-insignificant amount of time righting that wrong. And now, Pursers on to bigger things—with roles on series including the CWs Riverdale, as well as a movie of her own coming soon to Netflix. If you want more Barb energy in your life, you can stream Sierra Burgess Is a Loser on September 9.By Curtis Baker/Netflix.
Corey Stoll
Yes, Stoll had been around for a while before he starred as Peter Russo on the very first season of House of Cards—but it was that role that made Hollywood sit up and take notice. Since his one-season-and-done arc, hes found plenty of other prominent roles in both TV and film—including as the main villain of Ant-Man.By Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix/Everett Collection.
Asia Kate Dillon
Fun fact: Dillon actually appeared on Master of None before their breakout role as Brandy Epps on Orange Is the New Black. And now, as Showtime viewers know, theyve moved on to a starring role—as Taylor Mason on Billions. That role is an exciting development not only for Dillon but for TV history as well: its the first time a North American television series has starred a gender non-binary character.By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.
Ruby Rose
As the Internet well knows, Rose recently shared some big news: shes been cast as the CWs Batwoman—a historic decision that will give TV its first openly gay superhero. But before that, many of us knew her as Stella Carlin from Orange Is the New Black—a particularly devious inmate at Litchfield who shared a brief romance with Piper. Since then, shes gone on to star in blockbusters including Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter 2, Pitch Perfect 3, and, most recently, The Meg. Not bad for one of Pipers rejects!By JoJo Whildren/Netflix.
Joanna RobinsonJoanna Robinson is a Hollywood writer covering TV and film for VanityFair.com.
[contf] [contfnew] 
Vanity Fair
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
