Its no secret that the pandemic forced a new normal on everybody, flipping established routines upside down and forcing businesses to reevaluate their ways of doing things. The ones poised to benefit from all of this are streaming companies whose libraries are stock full of shows to entertain those forced to spend more time at home than usual. The month of August in particular has been kind to Netflix, which landed three shows in a top-10 list among most watched streaming shows.
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The two biggest news threads in streaming that influenced August involveNetflix and Peacock. Despite COVID-19 delaying movie and television shows throughout this year, Netflix hasn’t been short on original content in August. The streaming giant released 100 different movies and series in August with 60 of them being different original releases. Among the headliners was the original super hero movieProject Powerstarring Jamie Foxx. NBC-backed Peacock is the newcomer to streaming world launching in mid July. It’s gained a steady following despite eschewing the typical strategy of trying to fund individual creators for exclusive content. Instead, it’s been a strategy of bringing the studio’s stable of shows and movies to generate interest. That is not to say some its original content hasn’t been intriguing with a the television adaptation of Aldeous Huxley’s novelA Brave New Worldstriking a chord with audiences.
HBO Max might not have the volume of titles that Netflix has nor the intrigue of being new to the game like Peacock, butit definitely hits the spotin terms of quality and intrigue.Rick and Mortyis an adult cartoon with a certain bingeable quality that makes it perfect for whittling away the hours on a lazy day. Then there isLovecraft Country, a horror show set in segregated 1950’s that draws upon the ideas and settings of writer H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a show that talks about the monster of racism and the literal monsters lurking in darkness.
A worthy mention among this listis the lone title on Amazon PrimeThe Boys. With comic book super heroes a large part of the current zeitgeist,a show about heroesthat are owned by large corporations and the acerbic band of misfits opposing them hits just the right spot. With the the second season finally out, August marked the perfect time for a binge.
Despite the boom of titles Netflix released this month, the thing to look out for is whether pandemic-related delays finally catch up with the company. Most of Netflix’s 2020 lineup was set before the pandemic struck and the fall could be a thin time for new streaming content.
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