Several notable television shows are departing Netflix in the United States this month, including sitcoms, action drama and a meta-textual examination of the medium itself. Also leaving the service in August: a Cannes-winning drama, a zany buddy comedy and an inspired slice of slasher horror. (Dates reflect the first day titles are unavailable and are subject to change.)
‘My Wife and Kids’: Seasons 1-5 (Aug. 5)
When Damon Wayans burst on the comedy scene in the early 1990s, he was such a live wire — profane, provocative, uproarious — that it would’ve seemed nutty to compare him to Bill Cosby. But in 2001, approaching middle age, he took a page from the Cosby playbook, creating a sitcom showcase for himself as the patriarch of an upper-class Black family. Formulaic though it may be, “My Wife and Kids” is consistently funny, with Wayans in fine form as the beleaguered dad; the “Martin” alum Tisha Campbell-Martin as his career-minded wife; and, for three seasons, Damon Wayans Jr. displaying his skill for the family business. (Bonus: Unlike with “The Cosby Show,” you can watch it now without feeling nauseated.)
‘Ballers’: Seasons 1-5 (Aug. 15)
This HBO dramedy is a smart, funny, pointed and frequently accurate portrait of the business of professional sports. Dwayne Johnson (then still billed with his wrestling moniker “The Rock” between names) stars as Spencer, a former football player who has become a finance manager and who has made it his mission to show his fellow athletes the path to fiscal security. Johnson makes expert use of his considerable charisma while still providing the supporting cast (including Rob Corddry, Omar Miller and John David Washington) with plenty of opportunities to shine.
‘Baby Mama’ (Aug. 16)
After their success on “Saturday Night Live” (especially as the first two-woman desk on “Weekend Update”), Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took their frisky byplay to the big screen in this giddy, fast-paced maternal comedy. Fey, sticking fairly close to the persona she established in “30 Rock,” stars as an uptight, career-minded single woman who can’t have a biological baby. Enter Poehler as her surrogate mother, an irresponsible hell-raiser who gives our heroine more than she bargained for. The writer and director Michael McCullers wisely hews to the dynamics of classic comedy teams, with Fey as the straight woman and Poehler as the wild child; their snob vs. slob relationship specifically (and delightfully) recalls Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in “The Odd Couple.”
‘Thanksgiving’ (Aug. 17)
For a good long while, the best film in the rather uneven filmography of the horror director Eli Roth was a short: his winking faux-trailer for a Thanksgiving-set slasher movie, one of several fictitious coming attractions used as filler for the exploitation-style double feature “Grindhouse.” So it was good, common sense for Roth to expand that burst of laughs and gore into this 2023 feature, in which a crazed killer in pilgrim attire hacks his way through a small Massachusetts town over the holiday. Opening with a Black Friday sale gone horribly (and hilariously) awry, Roth’s film deftly mixes blood-soaked suspense with witty winks to previous holiday horror classics like “Halloween” and “Silent Night, Deadly Night.”
‘Gangs of London’: Seasons 1-2 (Aug. 19)
The kinetic action movie director Gareth Evans (“The Raid: Redemption,” “Havoc”) created (with Matt Flannery) this kinetic, thrilling adaptation of the London Studio video game. And while the phrase “video game adaptation” may not promise much, Evans — who wrote and directed several key early episodes — and a pool of talented writers and directors make “Gangs” into a pulpy, breathless blast. And there are no slouches in the cast: Joe Cole (“Peaky Blinders”) is terrific as the heir apparent to a London crime family while Colm Meaney is ferocious as his father and mentor.
‘Into the Badlands’: Seasons 1-3 (Aug. 19)
Martial arts fans will find much to love in this cleverly constructed and viscerally thrilling series from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who previously developed “Smallville” and went on to be showrunners for “Wednesday.” Set in a post-dystopian future, the show concerns a feudal society run by wealthy barons who control their “cogs” (slaves) with armies of warriors called “clippers.” It’s an excellent setup for both social commentary and bone-crunching action sequences, and “Badlands” offers up plenty of both, adroitly juggling the aesthetics of wuxia, kung fu, steampunk and comic books.
‘Kevin Can ____ Himself’: Seasons 1-2 (Aug. 19)
This deliciously self-aware mixture of multicamera sitcom and gritty crime drama tackles one of the most egregiously obnoxious clichés in television: the schlubby, overgrown man-child husband and his impossibly attractive and endlessly patient wife. That’s the dynamic in which we’re first introduced to Allison (the “Schitt’s Creek” marvel Annie Murphy), the put-upon spouse of Kevin (Eric Petersen), whose every wisecrack and pratfall is greeted with cackles by an overworked laugh track. But in her moments alone, those hoots and cheers disappear, and her misery — and, ultimately, thirst for revenge — take center stage. The back-and-forth between the show’s halves (which is like channel-surfing between “The King of Queens” and “Breaking Bad”) could make for jarring viewing. But the perceptive writing of the creator, Valerie Armstrong, and the versatility of Murphy make for a smooth and thought-provoking ride.
‘Preacher’: Seasons 1-4 (Aug. 19)
Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s popular but difficult-to-adapt DC Comics series came to AMC in 2016 via two unexpected auteurs: the actor Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg, best known for creating such broad comedies as “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” and “Sausage Party.” And although “Preacher” has its amusing moments, they resisted the urge to bring the property into their wheelhouse, sticking instead with the book’s tone of apocalyptic action and offhand cool (with occasional quiet moments for contemplation of faith and doubt). Dominic Cooper is superb in the title role, while the Oscar nominee Ruth Negga leads a standout supporting cast.
‘Un-Real’: Seasons 1-4 (Aug. 19)
Like “Kevin Can ____ Himself,” this witty, knowing series is as much about television itself as it is about the conflicts of its characters. Developed by Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and the indie filmmaker Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, the show was inspired by Shapiro’s time in the trenches of reality television, which allowed her to create a portrait of the (often dysfunctional) inner workings of that industry with an insider’s knowledge and a cynic’s perspective.
‘Melancholia’ (Aug. 25)
Kirsten Dunst is a revelation (winning a well-deserved best actress prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival) in this stunning and unnerving end-of-the-world drama with science fiction undertones. She stars as Justine, whom we first meet on the day of her marriage to the handsome Michael (Alexander Skarsgard). What appears to be a storybook wedding — they exchange vows in a literal castle — is upended quickly by Justine’s debilitating depression, which is only exacerbated by the subsequent approach of a rogue planet. The back half is essentially a two-hander between Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg as her sister, in which the two great actresses create an indelible and convincing portrait of toxic codependence and familial support.
ALSO LEAVING: “Conan the Destroyer,” “The Birds,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Dunkirk,” “Everest,” “Field of Dreams,” “Hitchcock,” “The Lego Movie,” “Lucy,” “Matlida,” “Mid90s,” “Psycho,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Smokey and the Bandit II,” “Spanglish,” “The Town,” “Ugly Betty”: Seasons 1-4, “Uncle Buck” (Aug. 1); “Ouija: Origin of Evil” (Aug. 16); “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” Season 1 (Aug. 19); “Kung Fu Panda 4” (Aug. 21).
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