“Star Wars: Ahsoka”
Disney and Lucasfilm continue to churn out “Star Wars” series with the latest, highly anticipated “Star Wars: Ahsoka.” Rosario Dawson plays the fan favorite, a former Jedi knight who is tasked with investigating an emerging threat in an increasingly vulnerable galaxy. Developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, in some ways as a sequel to the beloved animated series, “Star Wars: Rebels,” the series also stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lars Mikkelsen, and Ray Stevenson, many of whom reprise those characters in live-action for the first time ever.
Premiere Date: Season 1 premieres August 23 on Disney +.
“Invasion”
From Academy Award-nominated and two-time Emmy Award-nominated producer Simon Kinberg (“X-Men” films, “Deadpool” films, “The Martian”) and David Weil (“Citadel”), “Invasion” is a sweeping, character-driven science fiction drama series that follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world. Featuring an international cast (though Sam Neil was killed in season one), “Invasion” features Golshifteh Farahani, Shamier Anderson, Shioli Kutsuna, Firas Nassar, Billy Barratt, Azhy Robertson, Tara Moayedi and more. Beloved composer Max Richter does the score too.
Premiere Date: Season 2 premieres August 23 on Apple TV+.
“One Piece”
With over 1000 manga chapters and episodes of the original anime, “One Piece” is one of the longest-running series in history and the longest-running manga, period. It’s more surprising that there hasn’t already been an attempt to make a live-action version of the saga. Based on the story by Eiichiro Oda, the series follows Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew explore as they explore their fantastical world in search of becoming the next Pirate King. The adaptation was developed by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda and stars Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar as the main crew.
Premiere Date: Season 1 premieres August 31 on Netflix.
Also in August:
“The Chi,” season 6 (Showtime), “Strange Planet” (AppleTV+), “Solar Opposites” season 4 (Hulu), “Depp v. Heard” (Netflix), “Harlan Coben’s Shelter” (PrimeVideo), and “Archer” Season 14 (FXX).
