What’s coming soon to Sky and NOW TV in August 2016?
David Farnor | On 28, Jul 2016
Whether you’ve got Sky, Sky Q or NOW, August easily demonstrates how well the broadcaster can compete with Netflix.
For TV customers, box sets such as Agent Carter and Penny Dreadful join new series Dice, Nashville Season 4 and Looking’s feature-length finale – part of a £6.99 monthly Entertainment Membership for NOW subscribers.
Sky Cinema users, though, are the real stars of the summer, as Sky’s recently rebranded movies channel earns its 4K and Ultra HD (available to Sky Q customers from 13th August) stripes, with a host of stunning premieres that include The Martian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and, best of all, Star Wars: Episode VII. That’s available to NOW subscribers as part of a £9.99 monthly NOW Cinema Membership.
Oh yes, The Force is strong with Sky this month.
Here’s what’s coming soon to Sky and NOW in August 2016:
TV
Agent Carter: Season 1 – 1st August
Catch up with one of Marvel’s best small-screen outings with this Captain American spin-off that sees Hayley Atwell reprise her role as Peggy Carter.
Da Vinci’s Demons: Season 1 to 3 – 1st August
Starz may not have renewed the show, but that doesn’t mean David S Goyer’s historical fantasy about the untold story of Leonardo da Vinci isn’t worth catching up with.
Looking: The Movie, Season Final Movie – 2nd August, 10.15pm (Sky Atlantic)
HBO’s series bids farewell with a feature-length finale that sees Patrick Murray (Jonathan Groff) return to San Francisco, after living in Denver for nearly a year.
Penny Dreadful: Season 1 to 3 – 4th August
When was the last time a TV show surprised you? Penny Dreadful, starring Eva Green, Timothy Dalton and Timothy Dalton’s moustache, mashes up classic horror literature, such as Frankenstein and Dorian Grey to produce a piece of pulp art that sounds trashy but rings with class. How close will it stick to the stories we all know? John Logan’s script weaves it all together with a taste for mortality – and adds a whole heap of freaky witchcraft in Season 2 (and Brian Cox in Season 3) to scare even the manliest of facial hair off. It hasn’t been renewed for a fourth season, but the three form a neat story arc about identity, darkness and monsters.
Cold Feet: Season 1 to 5 – 4th August
Cold Feet will be returning to our screens in the near future, so now’s the perfect time to watch, or re-watch, ITV’s drama from the very beginning.
Dice: Season 1 – 9th August, 10.10pm, Sky Atlantic
Andrew Dice Clay stars in this comedy series about a washed-up comedian from the 1980s truing to make it back to the big time.
The Strain: Season 2 – 10th August
The TV adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s novels continues with the second part of the fight from divorced scientist Eph (Corey Stoll) and his ragtag ensemble of vampire hunters against a rising tide of bloodsuckers. Missed it on UKTV’s Watch? You can now stream the whole lot as a box set.
Ex on the Beach Season 5 – 16th August, MTV (10pm)
Nashville: Season 4 – 25th August, Sky Living
ABC’s hit US series, produced by Lionsgate, ABC Studios and Gaylord Entertainment, was snapped up by Sky Living earlier this year. Callie Khouri’s programme stars Golden Globe award nominated actresses Connie Britton (24, The West Wing) as legendary country music superstar Rayna James and Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) as thriving younger star Juliette Barnes. The first three seasons are available to stream now.
Other TV shows coming soon to Sky and NOW:
8th August
OZ: Season 1
25th August
The Killing: Season 1 to 2
Date TBC
House of Lies: Season 5
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 1 to 3
Movies
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – 5th August
Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer (and a scene-stealing Alicia Vikander) are on super-stylish form in Guy Ritchie’s period spy thriller, based on the classic TV series. Between the slick suits, snappy editing and super-cool soundtrack, this is a cool pastiche that isn’t ashamed to simply have fun. Sometimes, it’s not just about how well you do something: it’s about how good you look while doing it.
The Good Dinosaur – 6th August
65 million years ago, a giant asteroid narrowly misses the Earth, thereby failing to wipe out its population of terrible lizards. We follow a young Apatosaurus, the son of a family of farmers, who finds himself alone and needing to grow up fast.
Pan – 12th August
Ignore the haters: Joe Wright’s origins story for J.M. Barrie’s beloved character is a fun, engaging and inventive piece of cinema.
Suffragette – 14th August
Carey Mulligan is fantastic in this moving drama about a wife and mother who gets caught up in the UK’s early feminist movement.
The Martian – 19th August
Ridley Scott’s sci-fi, starring Matt Damon as a scientist who is accidentally left stranded on Mars, is a witty, funny, inspiring tale of survival – and a rare example of blockbuster filmmaking that is happy simply to celebrate smart people being smart.
The Survivalist – 22nd August
During a food shortagem a survivalist lives off a small plot of land in the forest. When two women show up looking for food and shelter, his existence is threatened. Stephen Fingleton’s debut thriller is gripping, powerful stuff.
Time Out of Mind – 23rd August
“Shelters are like prisons. It’s like rats in a cage.” That’s Richard Gere in Time Out of Mind, Oren Moverman’s low-key drama about homelessness. Or, to be more accurate, it’s George, a man who finds himself on the streets when he’s kicked out of the home he’s squatting in. With someone of Gere’s star wattage, it’s often easy to think of them instead of the character they’re playing. In Time Out of Mind, though, the actor disappears completely into the role. The result is masterful, moving cinema.
Tokyo Tribe – 24th August
Sion Sono’s insane kung-fu musical takes place in an alternate Japan, where territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes.
Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens – 26th August
“Chewie, we’re home.”
Other new releases common soon to Sky Cinema and NOW in August 2016:
1st August
Hyena Road
2nd August
Bad Blood
3rd August
The Burning
4th August
Narcopolis
7th August
The Perfect Guy
8th August
Infini
9th August
Sixteen
10th August
Northwest
11th August
4 Minute Mile
13th August
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
15th August
Hangar 10
16th August
Kite
17th August
Deep in the Wood
18th August
Spud
20th August
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F
21st August
The Dressmaker
25th August
Spud 2: The Madness Continues
27th August
Hotel Transylvania 2
28th August
I Am Wrath
29th August
Charlie’s Farm
30th August
Honeytrap
31st August
The Hour of the Lynx