The dog days of August are ending, and with them the summer streaming doldrums. Netflix is preparing to debut a September slate packed with intriguing new series and original films featuring top-tier talent, and in order to help you sort through the morass—and in recognition of These Times—I’m highlighting a few of the streamer’s most noteworthy exclusives and ranking them on the scale of Pandemic Stress Induction.
Love, Guaranteed (Netflix Film, Sept. 3): Desperate to save her struggling private firm, lawyer Susan (Rachael Leigh Cook) takes on a flashy case from Nick (Damon Wayans Jr.), who wants to establish a dating site that guarantees it will find its clients true love… “But as the case heats up, so do Susan and Nick’s feelings for each other.” Pandemic Stress Induction Level: Hallmark movie.
Away (Netflix Original Series, Sept. 4): Hillary Swank stars in this original series from executive producers Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights) and Matt Reeves (The Batman) about a woman astronaut who chooses to leave her family behind and embark on a lonely, three-year mission to Mars. As The Martian taught us, nothing ever goes wrong on Mars. Pandemic Stress Induction Level: Growing potatoes in your own poop.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix Film, Sept. 4): Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) debuts his first live-action film since 2008’s Synecdoche, New York. Based on the haunting thriller by Ian Reid, it follows a woman (Jessie Buckley) who accompanies her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) on a trip to visit his parents (Toni Collette, David Thewlis) in their remote home amid a snowstorm and falls into some sort of dimensional rift, as people start to blend into one another and time begins to circle in upon itself. Pandemic Stress Induction Level: Malkovich, Malkovich?!
The Social Dilemma (Netflix Documentary, Sept. 9): This documentary explores what spending all of our lives on Facebook and Twitter is doing to our brains and the fabric of our society. Pandemic Stress Induction Level: Presidential tweets.
Sing On! (Netflix Original Series, Sept. 16): The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s incomparable Titus Burgess hosts a new reality series in which contestants’ karaoke skills are judged by a computer as they compete for a prize pool that only grows larger with each passing episode. Pandemic Stress Induction Level: Peeno Noir.
Ratched (Netflix Original Series, September 18): Trash TV impresario Ryan Murphy is behind this wholly unnecessary but delightfully wicked-looking prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest delving into the life and psyche of that classic novel’s fearsome institutional villain, Nurse Ratched (Sarah Paulson, obviously). If it looks like a redux of American Horror Story: Asylum, well… that is the best season of that show, so. Pandemic Stress Induction Level: A lobotomy, but played for laughs.
Here’s the full list of Netflix’s comings and goings for September 2020.
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What’s coming to Netflix in September 2020
Available September 1
- Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices — Netflix Family
- The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! — Netflix Family
- Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions — Netflix Comedy Special
- La Partita / The Match —Netflix Film
- True: Friendship Day — Netflix Family
- Adrift
- Anaconda
- Back to the Future
- Back to the Future Part II
- Back to the Future Part III
- Barbershop
- Barbie Princess Adventure
- Borgen: Season 1-3
- Children of the Sea
- Coneheads
- Glory
- Grease
- Magic Mike
- The Muppets
- Muppets Most Wanted
- Not Another Teen Movie
- Pineapple Express
- Possession
- The Producers (2005)
- The Promised Neverland: Season 1
- Puss in Boots
- Red Dragon
- Residue
- Sex Drive
- Sister, Sister: Season 1-6
- The Smurfs
- Wildlife
- Zathura
Available September 2
Available September 3
Available September 4
Available September 7
- Midnight Special
- My Octopus Teacher — Netflix Documentary
- Record of Youth — Netflix Original
- Waiting for “Superman”
Available September 8
Available September 9
Available September 10
Available September 11
Available September 15
- America’s Book of Secrets: Season 2
- Ancient Aliens: Season 3
- Cold Case Files Classic: Season 1
- The Curse of Oak Island: Season 4
- Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice — Netflix Documentary
- Izzy’s Koala World — Netflix Family
- Michael McIntyre: Showman — Netflix Comedy Special
- Pawn Stars: Season 2
- The Rap Game: Season 2
- The Smurfs 2
- Taco Chronicles: Volume 2 — Netflix Original
Available September 16
Available September 17
Available September 18
Available September 21
- A Love Song for Latasha — Netflix Documentary
Available September 22
Available September 23
Available September 24
Available September 25
Available September 26
Available September 27
- Bad Teacher
- Van Helsing: Season 4
Available September 28
- Whose Vote Counts, Explained — Netflix Original
Available September 29
Available September 30
- American Murder: The Family Next Door — Netflix Documentary
- Wentworth: Season 8
What’s leaving Netflix in September 2020
Leaving September 4
Leaving September 5
- Once Upon a Time: Seasons 1-7
Leaving September 8
- Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure
Leaving September 10
Leaving September 14
- Cold Case Files: Season 1
Leaving September 15
- Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made
Leaving September 16
Leaving September 17
Leaving September 20
Leaving September 21
- Person of Interest: Seasons 1-5
- SMOSH: The Movie
Leaving September 22
Leaving September 26
Leaving September 28
Leaving September 30
- 2012
- 40 Days and 40 Nights
- A Knight’s Tale
- Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke
- Dear John
- Despicable Me
- Donnie Brasco
- Frances Ha
- House of the Witch
- Inside Man
- Insidious
- Jurassic Park
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Jurassic Park III
- Menace II Society
- Million Dollar Baby
- Mortal Kombat
- Mud
- Resident Evil: Afterlife
- Schindler’s List
- Seabiscuit
- Sinister
- Starship Troopers
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- Terminator Salvation
- The Devil’s Advocate
- The Social Network
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno