August 2024 TV preview: Only Murders, Batman, Vince Vaughn, and a return to Middle-earth

Batman adaptations can feel like a dime a dozen at this point, but at least this Prime Video series hails from trusted sources like Matt Reeves (who directed Robert Pattinson’s Batman film) and J.J. Abrams. In the animated Caped Crusader, Hamish Linklater voices Gotham’s wealthy bachelor Bruce Wayne. He dons a cape and mask, gets into his batmobile, and turns into a vigilante hero to defeat enemies like Two-Face (Diedrich Bader), Onomatopeia (Reid Scott), Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung), Clayface (Dan Donohue), and Firebug (Tom Kenny). Don’t worry, Batman has his friends around, including beloved butler Alfred (Jason Watkins), Catwoman (Christina Ricci), and James Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart). [Saloni Gajjar]

Based on the YA novel series by Holly Jackson, the whodunit A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder makes its way to Netflix after premiering on BBC Three earlier this summer. In it, true-crime-obsessed teen Pippa (Wednesday’s Emma Myers) tries to solve the killing of a local student, convinced that detectives botched the case and pinned it on the wrong guy. Zain Iqbal, Asha Banks, and Raiko Gohara help round out the cast, and half of the six episodes are helmed by Dolly Wells, of the lovely 2010s British comedy Doll & Em. [Tim Lowery]

The Hargreeves family returns for a final chance at stopping the apocalypse in The Umbrella Academy‘s fourth season. Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, David Castañeda, Robert Sheehan, Justin H. Min, and Aidan Gallagher all return to play dysfunctional superhero siblings, finding themselves in a different timeline (what’s new?) and embarking on yet another rescue mission, even if not everyone has their powers anymore. They’re met with a unique challenge because their dad, Reginald (Colm Feore), is alive in this world. This new batch also welcomes a good dose of humor, with Nick Offerman, Megan Mullaly, and David Cross joining the cast. Instead of the usual 10 episodes, the show wraps up with only six, so let’s hope that’s enough time for closure. [Saloni Gajjar]

Basketball great Steph Curry is sowing seeds in the world of scripted television with Mr. Throwback. The sports comedy stars Adam Pally as a down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer named Danny Grossman, who, desperate for redemption, reunites with his sixth-grade friend who is now a b-ball legend. So yes, Curry plays himself in this mockumentary about the shenanigans of friendship and what it takes to succeed as an athlete. Ego Nwodim, Tracy Letts, Ayden Mayeri, Tien Tran, and Rich Sommer co-star, and the series was created by Happy Endings‘ David Caspe. [Saloni Gajjar]

Of course, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are headed to streaming in an era where no one can let any IP rest peacefully for a second. Paramount+’s Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Seth Rogen. And reprising their roles from the Mutant Mayhem movie are Micah Abbey, Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., and everyone’s favorite, Ayo Edebiri. The show follows their characters after they emerge onto the streets of New York City and struggle to fit in, fighting new threats in the process. [Saloni Gajjar]

One of the best and brightest shows on TV is back. Mickey Down and Konrad Kay’s HBO series, which centers on a group of (mostly) young investment bankers in London, welcomes two beloved faces from the network for its third season: Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington and Barry’s Sarah Goldberg. Between all of the meltdowns (financial and otherwise), expect shifting power dynamics, juicy drama, character deep dives, and thoughtful explorations of power, wealth, addiction, and—perhaps especially—sex. [Tim Lowery]

Apple TV+ continues to sling out series built around big names, teaming up with Vince Vaughn for this comedic crime thriller based on Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel. Here, Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, a wise-cracking, fired detective in the Florida Keys who’s pulled back into investigating when a severed arm is discovered off the coast. Before too long, he is, to be sure, in way over his head. Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence developed the show, which also features Natalie Martinez, John Ortiz, and Jodie Turner-Smith. (On a side note, if we never hear “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing” in a trailer again, it’ll be too soon.) [Tim Lowery]

Spoiler alert: Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) is still very much in Paris when Darren Star’s series returns for the first five episodes of season four. The frothy, unserious TV show now finds Emily finally in a relationship with Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) after a long will-they-won’t-they. But don’t think they won’t have hurdles because Gabriel’s ex-fiancé is expecting his baby, and Emily has to contend with how she broke Alfie’s (Lucien Laviscount) heart. Emily In Paris is bound to feature great fashion, silly social media subplots, and Mindy Chen (Ashley Park) stealing the show. The remaining five episodes arrive in September. [Saloni Gajjar]

One of Apple TV+’s underrated gems returns at the end of August, leaving anyone who hasn’t seen it with enough time to catch up. Based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko is an intergenerational drama that weaves themes of history, culture, and legacy together, charting Sunja’s life through various critical points, from her childhood in Busan, Korea, to when she’s a grandmother living in Japan. A sweeping saga about family, Pachinko features a stellar cast and cinematography. The eight episodes of season two pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja has to decide her fate during World War II. Meanwhile, in Tokyo in 1988, her grandson Soloman gets a fresh start at work. [Saloni Gajjar]

Only Murders In The Building‘s trio expands its scope with every passing season, starting as true-crime podcast hosts before moving onto Broadway in season three. And in the show’s fourth batch, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) head to sunny L.A. because Hollywood is making a movie about them. This means a ton of cameos, including Eva Longoria, Kumail Nanjiani, Molly Shannon, and Zach Galifianakis. But don’t fret: There’s still a murder to solve because we don’t know who killed Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) in the finale. Hopefully, our sleuths return to the Arconia soon to get on the case—and bring Meryl Streep along for the ride. [Saloni Gajjar]

Off to Middle-earth we go again! The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power makes its anticipated season-two return after nearly two years off the air. The lengthy new trailer that dropped during San Diego Comic-Con reveals that Sauron (Charles Vickers) disguises himself as an elf, Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) makes his debut, and, to no one’s surprise, more danger awaits Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). This new round consists of eight episodes. [Saloni Gajjar]

Mattson Tomlin’s Terminator Zero has a pretty damn stacked voice cast: Timothy Olyphant, André Holland, Ann Dowd, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rosario Dawson, to name a few. They join the Terminator franchise with this eight-part, Japan-set sci-fi anime series, in which Malcolm Lee has developed an A.I. system to compete with Skynet. But as Judgment Day approaches, Lee and his family are pursued by an assassin who intends to destroy his work. Luckily, he gets help from a soldier who has been sent back in time from 2022 to protect him. [Saloni Gajjar]

The End Of The F***ing World‘s Charlie Covell returns to Netflix with what is sure to be another genre-bending series. KAOS gives a spin to Greek mythology, following the, yes, chaos that ensues when the all-powerful Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) notices a wrinkle on his forehead. His deterioration could lead to disaster—or so he thinks. And his paranoia soon turns into vengeance, as he seeks to destroy his lieges and three humans. David Thewlis, Janet McTeer, Killian Scott, Demi Mazar, Cliff Curtis, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Billie Piper round out the ensemble. [Saloni Gajjar]

Unstable season 2 (Netflix, August 1) 

SEAL Team season 7 (Paramount+, August 11) 

Solar Opposites season 5  (Hulu, August 12) 

Bel-Air season 3 (Peacock, August 15) 

Reasonable Doubt season 2 (Hulu, August 22)