All The Cool Stuff Coming To Netflix In September 2022
Compared to the August debut of “The Sandman,” Netflix’s new September offerings feel tamer by comparison. Still, there are a few jewels to be found. The long-awaited “Bee and Puppycat” series finally debuts. The “Strangers On A Train” setup gets applied to the world of high school. And a much-delayed Marilyn Monroe biopic offers hate-watching potential.
Whether you’re catching up with “The Sandman” or trying something from the list below, here’s to finding the basis for an entertaining binge watch.
September 1
If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk–Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to his Academy Award-winner “Moonlight” is this soulful adaptation of the titular James Baldwin novel. In early 1970s Harlem, pregnant teenager Clementine “Tish” Rivers (Kiki Layne, “The Old Guard”) and artist Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) are going from friends since childhood to planning a married future together. However, when Fonny gets imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, Tish and her family struggle to prove his innocence.
Off The Hook–In this French comedy series, Lea and Manon are 30-ish roommates who realize they both have a toxic Internet addiction. So when you have a toxic addiction, you do a detox. In their case, they will have no access to Internet-connected devices for 30 days. But why are they dragging their families along with them in their efforts to get digitally clean?
September 2
Devil In Ohio–This adaptation of Daria Polatin’s best-selling thriller might be called a study in good deeds coming back to bite you hard on the posterior. When psychiatrist Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel) learns troubled teenager Mae Dodd’s on the run from a mysterious cult, she offers the young fugitive a place to stay. Mathis’ daughter Jules rightly suspects there’s much more to Mae’s story than she’s letting on. A series of mysterious incidents somehow connected to the fleeing teen proves Jules right. Mathis finds herself forced to unravel both Mae’s past and the secrets of the town the teen escaped from.
Fakes–Teens Zoe and Becca are best friends who decide to make fake IDs for a high school weekend party. However, they get so good at creating their deceptive documents that they build (by accident) the biggest fake ID criminal empire in North America. Sure, they wind up scoring a cool penthouse, matching supercars, and way too much vodka. But are these perks worth the betrayal, the underworld ultimatums, and the panda balaclavas?
September 6
Bee And Puppycat–At long last, Natasha Allegri’s long-anticipated animated series finally arrives on Netflix. (Fans of “Adventure Time” will recognize Allegri as the person who thought up doing gender-swapping for series characters Fionna and Cake.) Bee is a young woman who constantly struggles to keep a job. Into her life via a strange portal comes a creature who may be a dog or a cat. This creature is known as Puppycat, and more importantly Puppycat can access the temporary jobs computer known as Temp Bot. Follow the pair’s misadventures as they complete their Temp Bot assignments.
Bee And Puppycat
Diorama–This offbeat Swedish romantic dramedy follows the love story of Frida and Bjorn as it goes from passion to marriage to family life. What takes this familiar set-up into bizarro territory is its questioning of human coupledom via circus artists, scientific comparisons to animal world relationships, and the titular dioramas.
Untold: The Race Of The Century–Viewers who have little use for American exceptionalism claptrap should check out this sports documentary about the 1983 America’s Cup. At the time, the New York Yacht Club held the record for the world’s longest winning streak of 132 years. This is the story of the group of scrappy Australian underdogs who banded together to end the snobby Americans’ chain of victories.
September 7
Indian Predator: Diary Of A Serial Killer—In this true crime documentary, journalist Dhirendra Singh’s corpse is found cut into pieces and tossed into the river. The police nail a man named Raja Kolander for the killing. But the case turns out to be bigger and more terrifying than expected when a diary linked to Kolander mentions 14 other killings, Kolander’s delusions of being royalty, and signs of cannibalism.
September 9
Cobra Kai Season 5–Surprise, this comedy-drama sequel to “The Karate Kid” is still going strong. As the new season begins, the villainous Terry Silver has it all. He now controls Cobra Kai and has forced rival dojos Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang to shut down. His next step is having the Cobra Kai way of aggressive karate be the San Fernando Valley’s only school of karate. Who can stop him? Maybe an alliance among rival masters (and former enemies) Daniel, Johnny and Chozen.
End of the Road–In this suspense thriller, the widowed Brenda (Queen Latifah) has recently become unemployed. Hoping to start over, she sets off on a cross-country drive to Houston with her two children and her brother (Ludacris). But at a roadside motel, the family’s plans take an unexpected turn when they accidentally witness a murder. Their attempt to do the right thing gets complicated by Brenda’s brother taking a sack full of cash. Said sack belongs to the killer, who’s definitely not someone who sits back and lets people steal his money.
Narco-Saints
Narco-Saints–This new Korean crime series is loosely based on a true story. Civilian businessman Kang In Goo has come to the South American country of Suriname to establish a hopefully very prosperous business. Instead, he finds himself caught in Suriname’s world of illicit drugs, of which Jeon Yo Hwan is the biggest player. Salvation for Kang comes in the form of National Intelligence Service agent Choi Chang Ho. Choi leads the service’s Americas branch, and he has a plan to take down Jeon. But Kang’s cooperation is needed for the plan to work.
September 14
Heartbreak High Season 1–It’s a reboot of this beloved 1990s Australian teen drama series. At Hartley High, Amerie becomes the school pariah after her secret map charting all the student hookups occurring during the school year gets discovered. School officials order the hypersexual students to take Sexual Literacy classes. Meanwhile, Amerie struggles to repair her social reputation while navigating the usual teen headaches of love, sex, and heartbreak.
September 15
Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy Part 2–This is a remake of the titular 1990s anime, a blend of dark fantasy and heavy metal music. Forces for the kingdom of Metalicana have regularly had its butt kicked by the Dark Rebel Army, led by the Four Divine Kings. The Metalicanans’ only hope for victory is to resurrect the Four Kings’ former leader and all-powerful wizard Dark Schneider. The wizard was sealed away in the body of the mild-mannered Lucien Renren, but can be released by a virgin’s kiss. Hopefully, there are enough virgin women in Matalicanan to release Dark Schneider until the Dark Rebel Army is finally defeated… Expect plenty of tongue-in-cheek fourth wall breaking and trope mocking.
September 16
The Brave Ones–In this South African supernatural drama, Ntsiki Gasa may appear to be an ordinary human being. But she’s actually the reincarnation of a mystical being trying to avenge her sister’s death. Ruthless Ayanda Mbatha becomes Ntsiki’s nemesis. However, Mbatha and her equally heartless husband, land-grabbing property developer Luthando Mbatha, won’t be easy to take down. Ntsiki’s only hope in saving herself and her family lies in learning to harness her latent superpowers.
Do Revenge–What if the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Strangers On A Train” was redone as a dark high school comedy? Drea (Camila Mendes, “Riverdale”) is a popular girl at high school…until her scuzzy boyfriend leaks her sex tape. Eleanor (Maya Hawke, “Stranger Things”) is a transfer student who gets outed thanks to a rumor. When the two girls accidentally meet, their shared desire for vengeance leads to a plan for each girl to get revenge on the other girl’s bullies. But do Drea and Eleanor really occupy the moral high ground here?
Do Revenge
Drifting Home–It’s summer for sixth-graders and childhood friends Kosuke and Natsume, but the season looks to be a bittersweet one. Kosuke’s grandfather Yasutsugu has passed away and the two friends’ relationship starts fraying. One day, the two kids (accompanied by several other classmates) decide to explore the old apartment complex they grew up in. The building is scheduled for demolition, and there are rumors the place is haunted. Those rumors turn out to be true when a mysterious phenomenon transports the children and the building into a world where the decrepit apartment complex is drifting on a vast endless ocean. Can the children survive and find their way back home to their previous world?
I Used To Be Famous–Director Eddie Sternberg expands his short film of the same name with this feature debut. Vince used to be part of the hottest boy band around. But the consequences of early success and manufactured egos took its toll on him. One day, he meets the autistic teen Stevie, who displays a gift for drumming. An impromptu jam session leads to their becoming friends. Could his friendship with Stevie lead to Vince’s making a professional comeback?
September 20
Patton Oswalt: We All Scream–Oswalt’s fourth stand-up comedy special for Netflix features , material performed during his “Who’s Ready To Laugh?” tour. Topics include: what happens to your body when you get older, the Baby Boomer’s last tantrum, and what happens when the pandemic takes your wish for a month to get your life back together to absurd extremes.
September 21
Fortune Seller: A TV Scam–This Italian docuseries looks at the rise and fall of telesales queen Wanna Marchi and her daughter Stefania Nobile. Marchi may have begun as a telepresenter, but she gained incredible TV popularity by using an aggressive communications style to sell her miraculous slimming cream. When the Marchi empire started tumbling in the early 90s, the duo started selling a new product: luck. The amulets, talismans, and other items they sold became a money-making machine. Yet their scam couldn’t run forever.
September 22
Snabba Cash Season 2–This new season of this Swedish crime drama about assorted people tempted by the promise of easy (but extra-legal) money starts up one year after the end of the first series. Leya may now be a promising startup star, but she’s still haunted by her prior links to the underworld and the fate of Salim. Jamal is an elementary school manager who wants to do right by his young charges, but the higher ups prefer to continue hacking the school’s budget. Ravy’s squeezed by the cops, new competitor Zaki, and a shortage of dealers to get drugs to the street. These characters’ paths will cross again as they pursue what they think is easy money.
Athena
Thai Cave Rescue–Yes, this is yet another semi-fictionalized re-telling of the 2018 rescue of the dozen boys of the Wild Boars soccer team and their football coach from the flooded caves near Chiang Rai. What makes this re-telling different are several factors. It’s the only one of the movies where filming was done at the actual boys’ homes. This movie is the first to center its perspective on the experiences and feelings of the Wild Boars themselves. Attention is also paid to lesser known rescue heroes such as Saman “Ja Sam” Gunan.
September 23
Athena–Romain Gavras’ contemporary drama is a tale of police brutality and community rage. French soldier Abdel has been called back to Paris from the front line. His youngest brother has been killed and the police may be complicit. Tensions are rising in the Athena housing community, and Abdel gets caught in the middle. Younger brother Karim wants revenge. Older brother Moktar doesn’t want his criminal operations disrupted. Despite Abdel’s best efforts, the housing community soon becomes a fortress under siege and tragedy waits in the wings.
September 28
Blonde–Will Andrew Dominik’s heavily fictionalized portrait of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe be the month’s hatewatch pick? The film itself is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name and stars Ana de Armas (“No Time To Die”) as Monroe. Bigger hate, though, might be reserved for its NC-17 film rating thanks to its unflinching depiction of the physical abuse Monroe suffered (which included rape) while traveling through the Hollywood meat grinder.
September 29
The Empress–Need a new historical romance drama to binge? How about this German tale based on the early life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria? When rebellious Elisabeth von Wittelsbach meets Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Austria, the two of them eventually fall in love and get married, But the new Empress of the Austro-Hungarian empire soon finds that there are people at court who despise her and/or her power. Mother-in-law Sophie is power-hungry and won’t hesitate to walk all over Elisabeth. Franz Joseph’s brother Maxi wants both the throne and Elisabeth for himself. The presence of enemy troops on the Habsburg Empire’s borders soon creates a crisis where Elisabeth must prove herself to the people as the true Empress.
Entergalactic
September 30
Entergalactic–This new adult animated music series comes from Kenya Barris and rapper Kid Cudi. The series draws its music from Kid Cudi’s forthcoming album of the same name. In New York City, young artist Jabari (Kid Cudi) seeks both love and success. When he moves into his dream apartment, he discovers his new neighbor is photographer it-girl Meadow (Jessica Williams). Sparks start flying. The voice cast will include Timothee Chalamet, Vanessa Hudgens, and 070 Shake.
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