Stream These 10 TV Shows and Movies Before They Leave Netflix in August
'My Wife and Kids': Seasons 1-5 (Aug. 5)
Stream it here.
When Damon Wayans burst on the comedy scene in the early 1990s, he was such a live wire — profane, provocative, uproarious — that it would've seemed nutty to compare him to Bill Cosby. But in 2001, approaching middle age, he took a page from the Cosby playbook, creating a sitcom showcase for himself as the patriarch of an upper-class Black family. Formulaic though it may be, 'My Wife and Kids' is consistently funny, with Wayans in fine form as the beleaguered dad; the 'Martin' alum Tisha Campbell-Martin as his career-minded wife; and, for three seasons, Damon Wayans Jr. displaying his skill for the family business. (Bonus: Unlike with 'The Cosby Show,' you can watch it now without feeling nauseated.)
'Ballers': Seasons 1-5 (Aug. 15)
Stream it here.
This HBO dramedy is a smart, funny, pointed and frequently accurate portrait of the business of professional sports. Dwayne Johnson (then still billed with his wrestling moniker 'The Rock' between names) stars as Spencer, a former football player who has become a finance manager and who has made it his mission to show his fellow athletes the path to fiscal security. Johnson makes expert use of his considerable charisma while still providing the supporting cast (including Rob Corddry, Omar Miller and John David Washington) with plenty of opportunities to shine.
'Baby Mama' (Aug. 16)
Stream it here.
After their success on 'Saturday Night Live' (especially as the first two-woman desk on 'Weekend Update'), Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took their frisky byplay to the big screen in this giddy, fast-paced maternal comedy. Fey, sticking fairly close to the persona she established in '30 Rock,' stars as an uptight, career-minded single woman who can't have a biological baby. Enter Poehler as her surrogate mother, an irresponsible hell-raiser who gives our heroine more than she bargained for. The writer and director Michael McCullers wisely hews to the dynamics of classic comedy teams, with Fey as the straight woman and Poehler as the wild child; their snob vs. slob relationship specifically (and delightfully) recalls Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in 'The Odd Couple.'
'Thanksgiving' (Aug. 17)
Stream it here.
For a good long while, the best film in the rather uneven filmography of the horror director Eli Roth was a short: his winking faux-trailer for a Thanksgiving-set slasher movie, one of several fictitious coming attractions used as filler for the exploitation-style double feature 'Grindhouse.' So it was good, common sense for Roth to expand that burst of laughs and gore into this 2023 feature, in which a crazed killer in pilgrim attire hacks his way through a small Massachusetts town over the holiday. Opening with a Black Friday sale gone horribly (and hilariously) awry, Roth's film deftly mixes blood-soaked suspense with witty winks to previous holiday horror classics like 'Halloween' and 'Silent Night, Deadly Night.'
'Gangs of London': Seasons 1-2 (Aug. 19)
Stream it here.
The kinetic action movie director Gareth Evans ('The Raid: Redemption,' 'Havoc') created (with Matt Flannery) this kinetic, thrilling adaptation of the London Studio video game. And while the phrase 'video game adaptation' may not promise much, Evans — who wrote and directed several key early episodes — and a pool of talented writers and directors make 'Gangs' into a pulpy, breathless blast. And there are no slouches in the cast: Joe Cole ('Peaky Blinders') is terrific as the heir apparent to a London crime family while Colm Meaney is ferocious as his father and mentor.
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