Netflix Canada in September 2021: What’s new this month
A new Mike Schur-produced show, a ‘near real-time’ space documentary series and another season of Sex Education. Here’s Jaime Weinman’s rundown of everything worth checking out in September on Netflix in Canada.
COUNTDOWN: INSPIRATION4 MISSION TO SPACE (L to R) CHRIS SEMBROSKI, HAYLEY ARCENEAUX, JARED ISAACMAN and DR. SIAN PROCTOR in COUNTDOWN: INSPIRATION4 MISSION TO SPACE. Cr. JOHN KRAUS/COURTESY OF NETFLIX
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What you should watch
Q-Force (September 2):
Netflix’s latest adult animated series is notable partly for the big names attached: Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) is a co-creator and voices the lead character, while prestige-comedy machine Michael Schur is another executive producer. The show is also notable for walking a difficult line in modern comedy: the main character is a spy who, after coming out as gay, is kicked over to an all-LGBTQ team of spies, and the show will try to get laughs from stereotypes while also trying to question or subvert them. Whether the show succeeds or fails may depend on whether they can pull off that balancing act. The voice cast also includes Gary Cole (Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law) as Hayes’s boss.
Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space (September 6):
Netflix has billed this as a “near real-time” documentary series, which means that the episodes will be released shortly after the events take place. The subject is the brave new world of privately-owned space shuttle launches: the Inspiration4 mission, spearheaded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, has been hyped as the first-ever space mission where none of the crew members are working for the government. The series will premiere with two episodes about the preparations, followed by another two episodes on September 13; after the shuttle launches on Wednesday, September 15, director Jason Hehir and his crew will have to produce a final episode within the next couple of weeks. Which makes this another in the tiny but growing number of Netflix shows that don’t release all the episodes at once.
On the Verge (September 7):
Movie star Julie Delpy (the Before trilogy) co-created and co-stars in this 12-episode comedy/drama series that attempts to present a panoramic view of life in modern-day Los Angeles, focusing on four women from different walks of life (played by Delpy, Sarah Jones, Alexia Landeau and Elisabeth Shue) as they deal with work and personal problems. The show was announced in early 2020 and became one of the first series to film entirely under COVID protocols: in an interview with Variety, Delpy revealed that almost all the casting was done through Zoom, and due to travel restrictions, the cast was restricted to people who lived in California, and everyone was tested three times a day. Unlike other shows conceived before the pandemic, Delpy says that she tried to weave some hints of it into the scripts: now the title has an extra meaning because the characters are unaware that their world is “on the verge” of a very big change.
Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! (September 28):
It was only a matter of time before the popularity of TV Tropes and CinemaSins led to other media analyzing the familiar devices of mainstream entertainment in that same detail. Created by Charlie Brooker (Black Mirror) and hosted by Rob Lowe, the show will interview actors, writers and even “academics” about things we see again and again in our favourite movies, like the “meet cute” where the hero and heroine meet in a hilariously awkward way, or the stock scream that sound effects editors slip into every movie as a sort of running gag. Will this be enough to sustain an entire special as opposed to a wiki page or a 20-minute YouTube video? If not, well, “padding” (material that lengthens a work that doesn’t have enough story) and “follow the leader” (an attempt to copy a successful franchise or creation) are also familiar TV Tropes categories.
Date TBA
Baki Hanma — NETFLIX ANIME 🇯🇵
Legendary animation studio TMS produced the animation for this concluding chapter of this manga adaptation, about a man (the title character) who trains to be the best martial-arts fighter in the world, and must defeat his own father to gain that title officially.
Bangkok Breaking — NETFLIX SERIES 🇹🇭
Prabda Yoon created this suspense series about an emergency worker and a journalist who stumble across a conspiracy that will take them at least six episodes to expose.
Crime Stories: India Detectives — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
A camera crew follows Bengaluru cops on four different investigations, hoping to create a more serious and in-depth look at police work than we’re used to seeing on Cops.
Kota Factory: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇮🇳
Continuing their pursuit of a coveted IIT seat, Vaibhav and his friends try not to let academic pressure — or adolescent angst — get the best of them.
Coming to Netflix September 1, 2021
How to Be a Cowboy — NETFLIX SERIES
Dale Brisby, a self-proclaimed cowboy and bull rider, has a YouTube series called “Rodeo Times” where he rides bulls and teaches us what it means to be a cowboy. He will continue doing this in his own Netflix series, where he teaches lessons in cowboydom to his guests at “Radiator Ranch.”
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
From director Brian Knappenberger (We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists) a sadly very relevant five-part series about how the September 9/11, 2001 terrorist attacks happened and how they (and the response to them) changed the world.
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Coming to Netflix September 2, 2021
Afterlife of the Party — NETFLIX FILM
Victoria Justice plays a self-absorbed party girl who dies and comes back as an angel. Directed by Stephen Herek (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure).
Q-Force — NETFLIX SERIES
See introduction for details
Double Jeopardy
Dumb and Dumber To
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Coming to Netflix September 3, 2021
Dive Club — NETFLIX FAMILY 🇦🇺
The title of this Australian series might make it sound seamy, but it’s just about a bunch of teenagers who use their underwater diving skills to investigate a mystery which, due to the demands of modern storytelling, will take them all twelve episodes to solve.
Money Heist Part 5: Volume 1 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇪🇸
One of Netflix’s biggest hits, the crime caper series created by Álex Pina (the English title describes the premise more directly than the original Spanish title, “The House of Paper”), is preparing to wrap up. The new batch of five episodes (there will be one final batch later this year) continues the story of an attempt to rob the Bank of Spain, which has been ongoing since 2019 and still isn’t going very well for them.
Sharkdog — NETFLIX FAMILY
Jacinth Tan created this animated kids’ show about a kid named Max who owns a pet who is half-shark, half-dog, and less violent than either species.
Worth — NETFLIX FILM
Michael Keaton plays a lawyer who has to ask the question “What is life worth?” (the title of the nonfiction book this film is based on) when he fights to get compensation for victims of the September 11 attacks and their families.
Coming to Netflix September 6, 2021
Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
See introduction for details
Coming to Netflix September 7, 2021
Kid Cosmic: Season 2 — NETFLIX FAMILY
Animated series from Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls) about a kid on his friends on a quest to collect the “Stones of Power,” which are in no way related to the Infinity Stones.
Octonauts: Above & Beyond — NETFLIX FAMILY 🇬🇧
Animated kids’ show about a bunch of talking animals who are like the Paw Patrol, only they solve problems under the sea instead of on land.
On the Verge — NETFLIX SERIES
See introduction for details
Untold: Breaking Point — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
The last in the “Untold” series of five in-depth sports documentary films, focusing on the life of tennis star Mardy Fish.
Coming to Netflix September 8, 2021
The Circle: Season 3 — NETFLIX SERIES (NEW EPISODES WEEKLY)
More adventures from the reality show that premiered just before lockdown but will always be associated with it, since the premise is that contestants are trapped in their apartments and can only communicate with each other via social media.
The Guide to the Perfect Family
Into the Night: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇧🇪
A post-apocalyptic series from Belgium about what happens in a world where exposure to sunlight becomes deadly. Last year, the survivors were hiding from sunlight on a plane. This year, they’re hiding from sunlight in an underground bunker.
JJ+E — NETFLIX FILM 🇸🇪
Netflix likes its teen romantic dramas; this one is about two Swedish teenagers who fall in love even though they’re from different social classes.
Coming to Netflix September 9, 2021
Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
Marcus A. Clarke (The WIZRD) directed this documentary (co-produced by Kenya Barris) about the three-year relationship between these two legendary figures, and how their friendship fell apart through their disagreements about the Nation of Islam.
Homeland: Season 8
L.A.’s Finest: Season 2
The Women and the Murderer — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY 🇫🇷
Mona Achache and Patricia Tourancheau directed this documentary about the 1990s French serial killer Guy Georges, and how the mother of one of his victims helped bring him down.
Coming to Netflix September 10, 2021
Firedrake the Silver Dragon — NETFLIX FAMILY 🇩🇪
In a twist on the usual fantasy plot, we follow a dragon trying to escape from rampaging humans.
Kate — NETFLIX FILM
In another version of the plot of D.O.A., a professional killer discovers that she’s been given poison that will kill her in 24 hours, and sets out to find and kill the person who murdered her.
Lucifer: The Final Season — NETFLIX SERIES
The end of the series about the Prince of Darkness helping the Los Angeles Police Department solve crimes, which proved popular despite a premise that sounds like “God Cop” from 30 Rock.
Metal Shop Masters — NETFLIX SERIES
Jo Koy hosts this reality competition series where seven professional welders are asked to use their metal-shop skills to make things that their customers wouldn’t normally ask them to make.
Prey — NETFLIX FILM 🇩🇪
Five friends go out hunting in the wilderness but – and you might have seen this coming – they themselves end up being hunted by a murderous maniac. Written and directed by Thomas Sieben.
Leaving: Interstellar
Coming to Netflix September 11, 2021
Child’s Play
Coming to Netflix September 12, 2021
The Wolf of Wall Street
Coming to Netflix September 13, 2021
Code 8
Coming to Netflix September 14, 2021
A StoryBots Space Adventure — NETFLIX FAMILY
In between episodes of “Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space,” we get this joint spinoff of that show and Netflix’s educational “Storybots” show, where the characters from the latter show ask the former for information about outer space.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 5 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇬🇧
The final installment of the popular odd-couple travel series starring a comedian and his grumpy father. This year they’re traveling in the era of COVID, so they’re staying in the UK, both of which should give the elder Mr. Whitehall plenty of things to be grumpy about.
The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES
Reality travel show about the best vacation homes to rent if you can afford to rent one.
You vs. Wild: Out Cold — NETFLIX FAMILY
Adventurer Edward “Bear” Gryllis stars in this show that strains the definition of “reality TV,” where he is dropped into scary scenarios and we vote on what he should do next. This time, we have to vote on what he should do when he’s been in a plane crash (probably not really) and has amnesia (probably not really).
Leaving: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Coming to Netflix September 15, 2021
Castle and Castle: Season 2
Coming to America
Nailed It!: Season 6 — NETFLIX SERIES
Some reality competition shows are about people who are good at something. Others, like this baking competition, feature people who aren’t good at what they’re being asked to do. From the number of seasons, you can probably guess which kind of show the world loves more.
Nightbooks — NETFLIX FILM
A modern-day take on “Scheherazade” where a boy (Winslow Fegley) is captured by a witch (Krysten Ritter) who only allows him to live as long as he keeps her entertained with scary stories.
Saved by the Bell: Seasons 1-9
Schumacher — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY 🇩🇪
Biographical documentary about German race-car driving star Michael Schumacher.
Stardust
Too Hot To Handle Latino — NETFLIX SERIES 🇲🇽 (NEW EPISODES WEEKLY)
The Spanish-language version of Netflix’s reality competition format, where contestants are thrown together in a sexy location and must abstain from having sex with each other in order to win.
Coming to Netflix September 16, 2021
Final Space: Season 3 — NETFLIX SERIES
Astronaut Gary Goodspeed and his alien friend Mooncake (both voiced by series creator Olan Rogers) are on the run from the bad guy in the strange world known as Final Space, in this Adult Swim animated series.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe — NETFLIX FAMILY
Wait, didn’t Netflix already premiere this? No, that was Kevin Smith’s nostalgic continuation of the original animated series. This is Netflix’s new, redesigned CGI animated reboot. In other words, they have one He-Man cartoon for adults who watched the original show, and another for their children who didn’t watch the original.
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 14
My Heroes Were Cowboys — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
This documentary is about Robin Wiltshire, an immigrant from Australia to America who became a professional horse trainer out of love for classic American Westerns.
Zombieland: Double Tap
Coming to Netflix September 17, 2021
Ankahi Kahaniya — NETFLIX FILM 🇮🇳
Anthology film with three different stories about the difficulty of forming romantic connections in modern urban life, including one story about a person who falls for a mannequin. The directors are Abhishek Chaubey, Saket Chaudhary and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.
Chicago Party Aunt — NETFLIX SERIES
Animated series based on the Twitter account of the same name, about a hard-drinking party animal in her 40s (voiced by Lauren Ash) and her friends and family.
The Father Who Moves Mountains — NETFLIX FILM 🇷🇴
Daniel Sandu wrote and directed this inspirational drama about a man who tries to rescue his son, who is lost in the frozen mountains.
Sex Education: Season 3 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇬🇧
The continued adventures of students who run an amateur sex-therapy business at their school.
Squid Game — NETFLIX SERIES 🇰🇷
Reality competition at its simplest: a bunch of people must play a humiliating and dangerous game; whoever wins will get a lot of money.
The Stronghold — NETFLIX FILM 🇫🇷
Action thriller about cops who cross ethical boundaries while trying to catch drug dealers. Directed by Cédric Jimenez.
Coming to Netflix September 20, 2021
Crawl
Coming to Netflix September 21, 2021
Go! Go! Cory Carson: Chrissy Takes the Wheel — NETFLIX FAMILY
Yet another story from the animated franchise about talking cars, this one focusing on the little sister of the main talking car.
Love on the Spectrum: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇦🇺
Australian reality dating series about people on the autism spectrum looking for love.
Doctor Sleep
Coming to Netflix September 22, 2021
Confessions of an Invisible Girl — NETFLIX FILM 🇧🇷
Descriptions of this Brazilian film make it unclear whether the main character, a socially-awkward schoolgirl, is literally invisible or just has trouble getting people to notice her.
Dear White People: Volume 4 — NETFLIX SERIES
The final season of the show about Black students at a fictional Ivy League college (four seasons is a lot, for Netflix) will address campus life during the pandemic, and also, somehow, be a musical.
Heartland: Season 14
The Ice Road
Intrusion — NETFLIX FILM
Freida Pinto stars as a woman who is traumatized after a home invasion, and discovers that it may have been something more dangerous than just a random crime.
Jaguar — NETFLIX SERIES 🇪🇸
Blanca Suárez is the star of this 1960s period drama series, playing a Holocaust survivor who joins a team that hunts down Nazis who fled to Spain during the Franco era.
Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
Documentary about an accused rapist who made history when he pled not guilty on the basis that he had multiple personalities, and it was his other personalities that committed the crimes.
Coming to Netflix September 23, 2021
Je Suis Karl — NETFLIX FILM 🇩🇪
Maxi (Luna Wedler) joins a is influenced by a young man named Karl (Jannis Niewöhner) to join a youth movement, which unbeknownst to her is part of the same terrorist group that killed her family.
Coming to Netflix September 24, 2021
Blood & Water: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇿🇦
In the first season, Puleng (Amamkele Quamata) tried to solve mystery that involved the hidden secrets both her family and her high school. This season will feature different mysteries and secrets, but what they are – well, that’s also a mystery and a secret.
Ganglands (Braqueurs) — NETFLIX SERIES 🇫🇷
Thriller series about a gang war between a group of professional thieves and the drug lord they unwittingly angered.
Iron Man 2
Jailbirds New Orleans — NETFLIX SERIES
Reality series about life in a New Orleans’ women’s prison.
Midnight Mass — NETFLIX SERIES
Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) created this horror series about a small island where unexplained and seemingly miraculous things begin to happen after a priest (Hamish Linklater) starts to live there, but the miracles may not be as benign as they initially seem.
My Little Pony: A New Generation — NETFLIX FAMILY
This animated film from the unstoppably popular toy/animation franchise picks up the ponies where they left off in “My Little Pony: Friendship is magic,” but now they’re CGI-animated, because everything has to be.
The Starling — NETFLIX FILM
Melissa McCarthy plays a woman in a troubled marriage who starts to become obsessed with trying to kill a bird that won’t get out of her backyard. Directed by Theodore Melfi and co-starring Chris O’Dowd and Kevin Kline, the film will get its theatrical premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival early this month.
Vendetta: Truth, Lies and The Mafia — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY 🇮🇹
Ruggero di Maggio and Davide Gambino produced this true-crime series about anti-crime crusaders in Sicily who turned out to be involved in the very thing they were crusading against.
Coming to Netflix September 27, 2021
Judy
Coming to Netflix September 28, 2021
Ada Twist, Scientist — NETFLIX FAMILY
Based on Andrea Beaty’s children’s books, this edu-tainment series features the science-loving title character (“Add a twist,” get it?) as she and her friends learn about science and explain it to the viewers.
Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! — NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL
See introduction for details
Coming to Netflix September 29, 2021
The Chestnut Man — NETFLIX SERIES 🇩🇰
Based on the novel by Søren Sveistrup, this series begins with a murder where the killer leaves a calling card in the form of a doll made out of chestnuts.
Friendzone — NETFLIX FILM 🇫🇷
A movie about a nice guy who wants to win the heart of a woman who only considers him her best friend. Yes, it’s a romantic comedy, though it could easily be a horror film with the same premise.
MeatEater: Season 10 Part 1 — NETFLIX SERIES
Since 2012, Steven Rinella has been going everywhere he can to find delicious meat and eat it on camera, and he’s not going to let a pandemic stop him.
No One Gets Out Alive — NETFLIX FILM
Cristina Rodlo plays a woman who gets an unexpected break when she finds a great apartment she can afford. Unfortunately, as the title indicates, she’s in a horror story. Based on the novel by Adam Nevill.
Sounds Like Love — NETFLIX FILM 🇪🇸
Maca (María Valverde), who works for a fashion influencer in Madrid, is living a more or less happy life until her ex-boyfriend (Álex González) comes back to town. Based on a series of novels by Elísabet Benavent.
Leaving: Line of Duty, Seasons 1-4
Coming to Netflix September 30, 2021
Grey’s Anatomy: Season 17
Love 101: Season 2 — NETFLIX SERIES 🇹🇷
Romantic series (it says so right in the title) about teenagers finding love in 1990s Istanbul.
Luna Park — NETFLIX SERIES 🇮🇹
Another series with a period setting: the period is the 1960s, the place is Rome, and the main characters are Nora (Simona Tabasco), a poor girl from a carny family, and Rosa (Lia Greco), a rich girl from an aristocratic family, who find themselves connected in an unexpected way.
Leaving: Kill Bill, parts 1 & 2