Dana Feldman Senior Contributor Hollywood & Entertainment
Netflix NFLX -3.9% is bringing its 193 million paid subscribers an abundance of new content to binge in September. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for ways to escape reality via entertainment. And, due to stay-at-home orders, the ability to work from home and more free time in general, many are voraciously binge-watching content.
According to Nielsen, the current Covid-19 pandemic has “catapulted streaming to become the present, and perhaps the future, of content consumption – and perhaps creation as well.” Per the data, as of the second quarter of this year streaming comprised 25% of all television minutes viewed, with Netflix being the largest contributor to streaming share at 34%, followed by YouTube at 20%. In a short amount of time, newcomer Disney+ now accounts for over 4% of total streaming time. Per the recently released Nielsen Total Audience Report, consumers of all types are expanding their streaming habits and showing signs of keeping them permanently.
Understanding the insatiable appetites of its subscribers, Netflix adds a plethora of new content each month, yet despite having more time on our hands than we may have had pre-pandemic, there are still only so many hours in the day. So, here are five new shows coming to Netflix next month that have been vetted to be definitely worth the binge.
Young Wallander: This series is based on the bestselling Kurt Wallander novels by the late Swedish author Henning Mankell. The viewers will follow Kurt Wallander as the recently graduated police officer investigates his first case. This character appeared in 11 of Mankell’s popular books and a collection of short stories. Swedish actor Adam Pålsson stars in the English-language modern retelling of this story as the legendary detective navigates the increasingly violent environment of present-day Sweden. When he’s unable to save a teenager from a gruesome attack, Wallander must learn to cope with his guilt in order to solve the crime. This six-episode series premieres in the states September 3.
Away: The 10-episode drama series will keep you hooked from start to finish. It’s an emotional and exciting ride! Hilary Swank shines as Emma Green, an American astronaut leading an international crew on the first mission to Mars. Josh Charles plays her husband Matt, who stays at home for the three-year duration of the mission to take care of their teenage daughter, Alexis (Talitha Bateman). Rounding out the international crew are Ato Essandoh as Kwesi, Mark Ivanir as Misha, Vivian Wu as Lu and Ray Panthaki as Ram. From different corners of the globe, the team must work together under extreme stress to save themselves and the mission at hand. The series was created by Andrew Hinderaker. Showrunner Jessica Goldberg executive produces alongside Jason Katims, Matt Reeves, Andrew Hinderaker, Edward Zwick, Hilary Swank, Adam Kassan and Jeni Mulein. Away premieres globally September 4.
Get Organized with The Home Edit: This is the perfect time to get organized and Netflix is here to help with this eight-episode series. Viewers will join Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the master organizers and bestselling authors behind the innovative home organization company The Home Edit as they bring their skills to the masses. The twoconquer clutter with their unique brand of interior styling, practicality and humor, dramatically transforming the lives of their featured clients. From their home state of Tennessee, to New York and California, each episode dives into an organizational project for a celebrity and a civilian, while showcasing the influential duo’s unique form-meets-function approach providing inspiration to every aspirational organizer. Celebrity clients featured in the series include Reese Witherspoon, Rachel Zoe, Khloe Kardashian, Eva Longoria, Marietta “Retta” Sirleaf, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Jordana Brewster and Kane and Katelyn Brown. The series is executive produced by Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon, Charlotte Koh and Cynthia Stockhammer, as well as Critical Content’s Tom Forman, Jenny Daly and Jon Beyer, Molly Sims and showrunner Tess Gamboa Meyers. You can start cleaning out your closet with the show’s global premiere September 9.
The Duchess: This is Katherine Ryan’s debut scripted series. The six-episode comedy follows the powerful and problematic choices of a fashionably disruptive single mother living in London. Her world revolves around her greatest love, her daughter Olive. Life takes a turn when she debates having a second child with her greatest enemy, Olive’s father. Ryan stars, writes and executive produces the series. Also executive producing are Dave Becky and Josh Lieberman for 3Arts and Murray Ferguson, Petra Fried and Ed Macdonald for Clerkenwell Films(The End of the F***ing World). If you’re in need of a good laugh (and who isn’t these days?) this one is for you. The series premieres globally September 11.
Ratched: If you like extremely dark suspense, this one is definitely for you. Inspired by the iconic character Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (created by Evan Romansky), the small screen version is instantly addicting. The viewer is immediately entangled in the world of Mildred Ratched, played by Sarah Paulson (can you say perfect casting?). As the story unravels, the viewer follows the asylum nurse and learns about her tragic past. This new telling starts in 1947 as Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. Mildred is on a clandestine mission and to hide her true motives, she presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels in her evil mind are always turning. As she begins to infiltrate her new workplace, her perfectly poised, stylish exterior crumbles, revealing an inner monster that can no longer be contained.
Rounding out this extraordinary cast are Cynthia Nixon as Gwendolyn Briggs, Judy Davis as Nurse Betsy Bucket, Sharon Stone as Lenore Osgood, Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Richard Hanover, Finn Wittrock as Edmund Tolleson, Charlie Carver as Huck, Alice Englert as Dolly, Amanda Plummer as Louise, Corey Stoll as Charles Wainwright, Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte and Vincent D’Onofrio as Gov. George Wilburn. The series is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Sarah Paulson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Aleen Keshishian, Jacob Epstein, Jennifer Salt, Margaret Riley, Michael Douglas, Robert Mitas and Tim Minear. Ratched premieres globally September 18.
Of note, this article focuses on new original Netflix episodic series.There are also plenty of other shows, documentaries and movies coming to the streamer in September. Enjoy the binge!
