There's plenty of good TV on the streamers in August, says RNZ's Perlina Lau.
She casts her eye over five shows to put on your favourites list this month.
The White Lotus - Neon
You may have been hearing these two words and the hype around HBO's latest show.
I spent a lot of the first episode thinking "what IS this!?" (in a good way). The series is a hybrid, kooky comedy, satire and drama rolled into six episodes.
Named after the resort at which the show is set, The White Lotus follows the various groups of guests staying at the hotel.
You've got the newlyweds on their honeymoon where cracks are already starting to show, the CEO mother (Connie Britton), her husband and her two stroppy, privileged teenage kids, the consistently drunk woman (Jennifer Coolidge) who's brought her mother's ashes with her to the resort, and the hotel's manager, played by Australian actor, Murray Bartlett (donning an impressive moustache, may I add), trying to keep it all together while trying to remain sober.
There are some great one-liners and I'm not sure about you, but watching rich people deal with their rich-people problems is always a great source of escapism.
The show features many faces you'll probably recognise but you've never known the names of. It's a quirky and pacey watch and the show sets the scene with the opening of a coffin being loaded onto a plane. It's only six episodes and you'll probably find yourself clicking "next ep" when each episode is done. It's a fun watch and has just been renewed for a second season.
Dr Death - TVNZ on Demand
I'll never be able to see Joshua Jackson as anyone but Pacey Witter (cue Dawson's Creek opening credits song) but he plays a pretty convincing and charming Christopher Duntsch in Dr Death.
Based on a true story and podcast of the same name, it's about a US doctor who maimed or killed almost all of his 40 patients over the course of a few years.
Whether he's an incompetent neurosurgeon who should have stuck with research or whether he's a sociopath, harming his patients on purpose, it's ultimately a doctor being bad and doing exactly the opposite of what he's supposed to.
The show doesn't try to be particularly clever with tone or style - plays it relatively straight and earnest but a good watch if you want to switch off. A small warning to those who get squirmy with operation-related noises ie: drills and hammer sounds.
Jamie Dornan (The Fall) was originally supposed to play Christopher Duntsch but due to Covid-19 filming problems, the part was re-cast.
If you've seen The Fall, where Dornan plays a sociopathic murderer, you can see why they would have wanted him for the part.
Dr Death has nabbed a notable cast, including Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater as two surgeons who try to take Duntsch down and get him struck off the medical register.
Baldwin plays a more considered, quiet surgeon while Slater plays a more impulsive, energetic but well-meaning doctor looking for justice.
This is the second true-crime series in which I've seen Christian Slater in the last couple of years. The other being Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, where he plays the husband of Amanda Peet's character whom I think gives a career-best performance as a woman scorned. Her '80s wardrobe is also (cue: chef's kiss).
Nine Perfect Strangers - Amazon Prime
Adapted from Lianne Moriarty's 2018 book and created by David E Kelly (Big Little Lies), this mini-series centres around a group of nine strangers who take part in a 10-day wellness retreat that promises to heal and transform those who attend. But the retreat is not what it appears to be and soon secrets are unveiled.
It features an all-star ensemble cast including Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, Michael Shannon, Bobby Cannavale and Nicole Kidman as the linen-clad, ethereal, host of the retreat.
The show certainly jumps on the current trend of wellness scepticism and that one-remedy-for-all factor but if you're suffering White Lotus withdrawals, then perhaps this is your next show.
Ted Lasso - Season 2 - Apple TV
This feel-good comedy became a lockdown hit when the first season was released last year and it's back.
Ted Lasso become an awards darling with 20 Emmy nominations. Jason Sudeikis won a Golden Globe for his performance as Ted Lasso, an American football coach recruited to take charge of an elite British football team - despite having almost no knowledge of the game. The show follows the players, coaches and owners.
Lasso is a fish out of water with the British football team but his gung-ho attitude, relentless positive attitude and empathy are what makes him the underdog.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and player-turned-TV-commentator Gary Lineker are apparently fans of the show (just in case that's the encouragement you needed) and Season 2 was already mapped out before the release of the first season so it's unlikely the unexpected success or the awards have suddenly given the creators a big head.
The Chair - Netflix
Sandra Oh is back with another TV series and personally, I'm quite excited about this one. The six-part comedy series sees Oh playing Dr Ji-Yoon Kim, a professor appointed to a flailing English department of Pembroke University and is written by the aforementioned Amanda Peet.
Dr Kim is thrilled to be offered the position but faces overwhelming pressure as the first woman of colour to be sitting in the top spot dealing with the politics of academia; under-enrolled classes and under-funded departments.
She encounters racism and sexism from her older white colleagues while the administration uses her appointment to tout their progressivism.
At the heart of the story is her developing relationship with her colleague and fellow faculty member played by Jay Duplass.
But the romance is complicated by their positions and a social media scandal that puts both their careers in jeopardy.
The Chair premieres on Netflix on 20 August.