SUMMER AMC Networks’ targeted streaming services are sizzling with a number of highly anticipated series debuts and sendoffs including the debut of the latest series in The Walking Dead Universe, Tales of the Walking Dead on August 14, the season finale of AMC+ OriginalMoonhaven, the series finale of celebrated Better Call Saul on August 15, as well as the return of critically-acclaimed Kevin Can F**K Himself on August 22.
This month also features exclusive new film premieres rolling out every week in June with the AMC+ Friday Night Films lineup, including the action heistStowaway (August 5), true life thriller Rogue Agent (August 12), female-led vacation comedy Spin Me Round (August 19), and Shudder Original Watcher(August 26).
The company’s targeted streamers also set to bring viewers an extensive catalogue of compelling dramas, fan-favorite franchises, highly anticipated films and timely collections on AMC+, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, IFC Films Unlimited, Shudder and Sundance Now, and the newly acquired anime-focused HIDIVE, all month long.
Highlights from across the suite of services include (in alphabetical and chronological order):
On ACORN TV:
The Brokenwood Mysteries (Acorn TV Exclusive)
Season Finale on Monday, August 1
The charred remains of a body are discovered in the burned-out remnants of a rural shed, but no one lived there, and no one was meant to be there at all. As DSS Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea, Go Girls) and DC Kristin Simms (Fern Sutherland, The Almighty Johnsons) are tasked with identifying the unidentifiable, it becomes apparent this is the third in a run of “accidental” deaths, all attended by the Brokenwood Fire Brigade. Could one of its members be Brokenwood’s first serial killer?
Darby & Joan (Acorn TV Exclusive)
New Series Premieres Monday, August 8 with Two Episodes Weekly Through August 28
In this lively road trip mystery drama, retired Australian homicide detective Jack Darby (Bryan Brown, Cocktail) has taken to the open road with his dog Diesel to flee his past, while recently widowed English nurse Joan Kirkhope (Greta Scacchi, The Player) is on a pilgrimage to find answers about her husband’s mysterious death. They couldn’t be more different: the low key, ruggedly charming Aussie and the tightly-wound, yet warm and witty Englishwoman, but when they collide in the Australian outback, and become drawn into a series of unexpected mysteries, this unlikely investigative duo soon realize the most intriguing puzzle they face is each other. The series shines a light on fascinating and often unseen areas of the continent from isolated, sweeping coastlines to lush hinterland to small communities in the Outback, and many fascinating characters moving through a world where everyone seems to be searching for something – or trying to escape it. Danger and secrets lurk for those who bother to look. The series asks: can you find yourself in the middle of nowhere?
Anne (Acorn TV Exclusive)
All Episodes Premiere Monday, August 22
This “painful, tender” (Guardian) 2022 UK drama is about Anne Williams (Maxine Peake, The Village) who lost her 15-year-old-son Kevin in the Hillsborough Disaster- he was one of 96 fans who lost their lives at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Anne refused to believe the verdict of accidental death and was determined to discover the truth of what happened in the disaster. Over the next 24 years, Anne tracked down witnesses, sought medical advice, enlisted political support and campaigned tirelessly for new inquests for Kevin and the other victims. This is the story of one mother’s quest for truth and justice.
*Full Acorn TV programming schedule for the month available HERE
On ALLBLK:
Terror Lake Drive (ALLBLK Original)
Season 2 Finale Premieres Thursday, August 4
Terror Lake Drive: Single Black Female takes place two years after the chain of events that traumatized the tenants of the Freeman Lake Apartments in season one…bringing a new and unsuspecting tenant to the mystifying lakeside apartment complex. Created and written by Jerry LaMothe (Blackout) and Kajuana S. Marie, season two follows Deja (Pascale Armand, Eclipsed), a traveling nurse, who recently completed an assignment in Austin, Texas. Amid her housing quest, she meets an awkwardly shy and eclectic Doula named Shana (Yolonda Ross, The Chi), a nursing student at the university who is seeking a roommate – single Black female preferred. Oblivious to its checkered past, Deja makes herself at home with Shana at Freeman Lake, while unknowingly becoming a target of the latest eerie coincidences to inhabit the troubled apartment complex. In the season finale…a showdown falls on the grounds formerly known as Freeman Lakes. Additional cast includes Charles Malik Whitfield (Chicago Med), Keith Arthur Bolden (Black Lightning, Cobra Kai), Denise Boutte (Meet the Browns) and Kendrick Cross (Ambitions). With Cynthia Bailey (Real Housewives of ATL) and Reginae Carter (Social Society, Pride & Prejudice ATL) in supporting roles.
Send Help (ALLBLK Original)
Season 1 Premieres Thursday August 11
Send Help is a half-hour dramedy following Fritz Jean-Baptiste (Jean Elie), a first-generation Haitian American actor who is on top of the world, since landing a starring role on fictional hit TV show, This Can’t Be Us…all while being the sole support system for his incredibly demanding Haitian family, reeling from a recent tragedy. Fritz is firing on all cylinders, until he receives a fateful call delivering the news of his shows’ cancellation. As Fritz struggles to conquer his feelings of imposter syndrome, the Hollywood community, and high maintenance family, he leans on his closest friends and confidantes…Patrick Cantave (Catfish Jean, Survivor’s Remorse), Nicole Cooper (Courtney Taylor, Insecure) and Sebastian “Simp” Gauyo (Amin Joseph, Snowfall), whose presence serves as a guide for Fritz, helping him navigate the difficult and often comical scenarios in his life. Now unemployed, will Fritz be able to keep his family afloat, while struggling to overcome the challenges of, once again, “making it” in Hollywood?
Additional cast includes Karina Bonnefil (Snowfall, David Makes Mann), Karen Obilom (Games People Play, upcoming House Party reboot) and Kimiko Singer (Emily the Criminal), and a fresh new face, Ana Bowen.
On AMC+:
Moonhaven (AMC+ Original)
Season Finale Premieres Thursday, August 4
This sci-fi thriller set 100 years into the future follows Bella Sway (Emma McDonald), a lunar cargo pilot and smuggler who finds herself accused of a crime and marooned on Moonhaven, a utopian community on a 500 square mile Garden of Eden built on the moon to find solutions to the problems that will soon end civilization on Mother Earth. A skeptic in paradise, Bella is sucked into a conspiracy to gain control of the artificial intelligence responsible for Moonhaven’s miracles and teams with a local detective, Paul Serno (Dominic Monaghan, Lost), to stop the forces that want to destroy Earth’s last hope before they are destroyed themselves. Tomm Schultz (Joe Manganiello, True Blood), an ex-military with a philosophical bent, is the right hand of the lead Earth diplomat to the moon, who finds his ambitions changed when he’s injected with a mind-altering moon drug.
Tales of the Walking Dead
Two-Episode Premiere on Sunday, August 14; Subsequent Episodes Released One Week Ahead of AMC
New episodic anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead is the latest series withing the expanding TWD Universe. With six original one-hour standalone episodes focused on both new and established characters within the walker apocalypse, each episode has its own distinct tone and point of view – but the stakes are high in each story, pushing new, indelible characters with relentless, life-threatening choices and situations. We get to see the apocalypse through different eyes, discovering more worlds, mythos, and mysteries of the Walking Dead. The series stars Olivia Munn (The Newsroom, X-Men: Apocalypse, Six), Samantha Morton (The Walking Dead, Harlots), Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Parker Posey (Lost In Space), Anthony Edwards (Inventing Anna, WeCrashed), Poppy Liu (Dead Ringers), Jillian Bell(Rough Night), Loan Chabanol (Fading Gigolo), Embeth Davidtz (Old, Ray Donovan,) Jessie T. Usher (Shaft, The Boys), Daniella Pineda (Cowboy Bebop), Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick), amongst others.
Better Call Saul
Series Finale Premieres Monday, August 15
Better Call Saul’s final season concludes the complicated journey and transformation of its compromised hero, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), into criminal lawyer Saul Goodman.
Kevin Can F**K Himself
Two-Episode Season 2 Premiere on Monday, August 22; Subsequent Episodes Released One Week Ahead of AMC
Allison (Emmy winner Annie Murphy) and Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden) must deal with Neil's (Alex Bonifer) discovery of their dark secret, pushing Allison to find a better way out of her marriage to Kevin (Eric Petersen). Allison alters her original escape plan from Kevin. Patty once again agrees to help, but this time, on her own terms.
On HIDIVE:
TOKYO MEW MEW NEW (HIDIVE EXLUSIVE)
Premiered July 5; New Episodes Weekly on Tuesdays
The classic anime series returns! TOKYO MEW MEW NEW reintroduces fans to the magical girl Ichigo as she develops special powers and learns to fight for love, justice… and endangered species!? The scientists of the μ(Mew) Project use DNA of endangered species to create a team of heroines imbued with amazing super-human abilities. Ichigo must band together with other Mew Mew girls to repel an alien incursion, all the while hiding their thrilling double lives from friends and family. The original Tokyo Mew Mew anime series (stylized for broadcast as “Mew Mew Power”) aired in the US in 2005. The reboot of the classic Tokyo Mew Mew franchise is animated with stunning, modern visuals by Yumeta Company (Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna) and Graphinica (Hellsing Ultimate); Takahiro Natori (episode director for My Hero Academia) directs the series.
MADE IN ABYSS: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (HIDIVE EXLUSIVE)
Premiered July 6; New Episodes Weekly on Wednesdays
MADE IN ABYSS: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun follows intrepid explorer Riko (Miyu Tomita, Kaguya-sama: Love is War) as she descends deeper into the mysterious Abyss, a terrifying subterranean chasm filled with vicious monsters and deadly curses. Joined by her robot companion Reg (Mariya Ise, The Promised Neverland) and their guide Nanachi (Shiori Izawa, The Asterisk War) on the search for Riko’s missing mother, the trio encounter the shocking denizens of the legendary Capital of the Unreturned, a fabled city lying in wait just past the Abyss’ dreaded point of no return. Animated by Kinema Citrus (Revue Starlight) and directed by series’ veteran Masayuki Kojima (Monster) with spectacular music from Kevin Penkin (Tower of God), the second season of MADE IN ABYSS brings audiences more of the stunning visuals, stellar writing and fascinating premise expected from this critically lauded production.
Call of the Night (HIDIVE EXLUSIVE)
Premiered July 7; New Episodes Weekly on Thursdays
The classic tale of “boy meets girl” gets a ghoulish twist in Call of the Night when protagonist Ko (Gen Sato, Dr. Stone) encounters a vampire while wandering the city after nightfall. The vampire Nazuna (Sora Amamiya, Akame ga Kill!) can grant him dark gifts and nocturnal immortality, but there are conditions Ko must meet before can sink his teeth into vampirism, and he’ll have to discover just how far he’s willing to go to satisfy his desires before he can heed the call of the night.
Adapted by studio LIDENFILMS (Blade of the Immortal) from Weekly Shonen Sunday’s hit manga series of the same name, Tomoyuki Itamura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) directs Call of the Night while Michiko Yokote (Cowboy Bebop) provides the script.
On IFC FILMS UNLIMITED:
The Wretched
Film Premieres Wednesday, August 3
A rebellious teenage boy embarks on a gutsy crusade to stop the terrifying evil he suspects has possessed his neighbor in this bone-chilling occult thriller.
The Trip to Greece
Film Premieres Wednesday, August 24
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reunite in Greece for the fourth installment of THE TRIP series in a delightful odyssey of gut-busting comedy. From director Michael Winterbottom.
On SHUDDER:
What Josiah Saw (Shudder Original)
New Film Premieres Thursday, August 4
Everyone in town knows about the haunted Graham Farm on Willow Road. You'll hear there's a bad history to it. Josiah (Robert Patrick, The Terminator) and his youngest son, Thomas (Scott Haze, Child of God), are all that remain of this estranged family. But after experiencing terrifying visions from beyond, Josiah decides they must change their ways to right a great wrong. After being away for over two decades, Eli (Nick Stahl, Sin City) and Mary (Kelli Garner, Lars and the Real Girl), Josiah's eldest children, are enticed to sell the property and reunite at the old farmhouse in hopes of closing this haunting chapter of their lives for good. Sins of the past will be paid in full. Directed by Vincent Grashaw (Coldwater).
Glorious (Shudder Exclusive)
New Film Premieres Thursday, August 18
In Glorious, Ryan Kwanten (True Blood, Kindred) plays a young man who is spiraling out of control after a bad breakup. His situation worsens after he finds himself locked inside a rest stop bathroom with a mysterious figure played by Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Being the Ricardos) speaking to him from an adjacent stall. As he tries to escape, he realizes he is an unwilling player in a situation bigger and more terrible than he could have imagined. The film is directed by Rebekah McKendry and written by Todd Rigney, Joshua Hull and David Ian McKendry.
Watcher (Shudder Original)
New Film Premieres Friday, August 26
As a serial killer stalks the city, a young actress who just moved to town with her boyfriend notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street in this terrifying thriller. Starring Maika Monroe (It Follows) and directed by Chloe Okuno (V/H/S/94).
*Full Shudder programming schedule for the month available HERE
On SUNDANCE NOW:
Good Grief (Sundance Now and IFC Original)
Season 2 Binge on Thursday, August 4
Since inheriting the Loving Tributes funeral home in Season 1, Ellie (Eve Palmer) and Gwen Goode (Grace Palmer, Adrift) have set off on very different paths. Ellie embraces her inner 'girlboss', with all the ill-fitting pantsuits, amateur TV ads, and plumber liaisons that entails. Meanwhile, Gwen spends five months DJing in Bali and reappears unexpectedly in New Zealand to discover their mother has a new boyfriend and she’s been kicked out of the family home. Gwen moves in with Ellie, takes up the job of social marketing for Loving Tributes, and embarks on a childish prank war against their mother's new partner. As family tensions escalate at work and at home, Ellie must decide whether to intervene, or let Gwen grow up all by herself.
Blinded (Sundance Now Exclusive)
Season 2 Binge on Thursday, August 18
Blinded is a series about a journalist who is investigating the man she loves. Business journalist Bea Farkas (Julia Ragnarsson, Midsommar) and businessman Peder Rooth (Martias Varela, Narcos) are two champions: ruthless but with bleeding hearts, each on opposite sides of the trench. They love and despise each other; help each other out and tear each other down. Season 2 of Blinded brings the next chapter of their love story. (Swedish Language)
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