When it’s just too hot out to maximize the summer weather, there are a few shows you need to check out indoors. From comedies like Matt Groening’s latest, Disenchantment (Netflix), to fascinating new documentaries looking at the landscape of youth today (America to Me, Minding the Gap), there are series for every mood this August.
Disenchantment (Netflix, premiering August 17)
From The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening, Disenchantment is about a young, spunky princess on a journey to take control of her own destiny. The animated series stars Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) as Princess Bean; Eric Andre (The Eric Andre Show) and Nat Faxon (The Way, Way Back) play her sassy sidekicks. The show embraces the medieval setting of Game of Thrones (there are sure to be some funny allusions to the HBO series) with the classic Simpsons animation style and quippy jokes. If you’re looking for lighter comedy that still has substance, try Disenchantment.
Minding the Gap (Hulu, premiering August 17)
“I could seriously be on the verge of having a mental breakdown, but as long as I’m able to go skate, I’m completely fine.” That’s the attitude of one of (and really all the) protagonists of this documentary, set in Rockford, Illinois, a pull-yourself-up-your-bootstraps, blue collar kind of town. All the individuals profiled in this documentary are outcasts with tough home life situations who use skating as an outlet (and the community is a de facto family.) I’ve always been fascinating by the art of skateboarding, what draws people to it and how mentally and physically tough you have to be to get back on the board day after day. Minding the Gap explores the medium through the prisms of race and politics, while still evoking the freedom of the “Kick Push” way of life.
America to Me (Starz, premiering August 26)
America to Me is a documentary series focusing on today’s youth and the social and socioeconomic situations they’re facing. The first season of this show is about the students of Oak Park and River Forest High School, an institution just west of Chicago that boasts a diverse student body (in the trailer, one attendee even calls the school “a social experiment”). The doc profiles young adults from different backgrounds as they talk about their experiences and interactions in the school. A big point of focus for many students and administrators interviewed is that in spite of its diversity, OPRFHS still encounters racial divides and stereotypical thinking. One of the goals of the series is to shed light on the fact that even in a school with the resources that OPRF has, there are still fewer opportunities for students of color. I am curious to watch the season in its entirety and learn more about these students’ experiences.
Ozark (Netflix, returning August 31)
Netflix’s dark and murky drama is returning for its second season. It stars Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) as a husband and father who puts his family in danger with some unsavory business dealings. He moves his wife (Laura Linney, The Big C) and two children from the Chicago suburbs to the Ozarks in Missouri, where they try to hide and start a new life. But trouble finds them almost immediately, where they get tangled up with dangerous characters, drugs and murder. That was the season one and the summertime; the next shows take place in the vacation destination’s “off-season.” Things are even more eerie this go around, with the trailer being set to a cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” sung in the style of the famous Nirvana cover. The lyrics fit perfectly with the circumstances, “Oh no, not me, we never lost control” as Bateman’s character is helping route drugs from a Mexican cartel, while also trying to escape the feds. If you like dark and cool-toned streaming dramas, binge on season one of Ozark before the second season is released on Aug. 31.
