Netflix's August lineup is generating significant buzz, with the most anticipated title being the Korean fantasy masterpiece 'Along with the Gods,' finally arriving on the platform after nine years. The film, which earned a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, will be available from August 14, giving viewers a chance to revisit its iconic scenes of afterlife judgment and heart-wrenching family drama. In addition, new and classic titles such as 'My Sweet Temptation' starring Jung Hae-in, 'Four Hands, Two Sonatas' with Song Kang, 'Doctor-X: The Final Movie,' and 'Midnight Diner: The Movie' will also premiere. This article compiles all nine must-watch films and series on Netflix in August 2026, including release dates and key plot highlights.
Netflix August Release 1: 'Love Me, Hate Me: Season 2' hosted by MEGUMI and Nagano / Streaming Date: August 4 The second season of the Japanese dating reality show 'Love Me, Hate Me' moves its stage to Okinawa, bringing together nine new participants with diverse personal histories to live together and seek true love amid sunshine, beaches, and ocean views. Though the participants appear tough—some with tattoos or rebellious pasts—they reveal unexpectedly tender sides when it comes to romance.
This season continues to be hosted by producer MEGUMI and comedian Nagano, with the addition of Okinawan rapper Awich. Beyond romantic tension and competition, the show will highlight direct confrontations, past traumas, and life choices among the members as key viewing points.
Netflix August Release 2: Jung Hae-in, Heo Young in 'My Sweet Temptation' / Streaming Date: August 7 'My Sweet Temptation' follows ambitious prosecutor Ko Eun-se, who suddenly loses her memory. Upon waking, not only has she forgotten her identity, but a man claiming to be her boyfriend—a boxing coach named Jang Tae-ha—appears by her side. With nowhere else to go, Eun-se moves into Tae-ha’s home, and the two begin a sweet yet suspicious cohabitation in a rural town.
Though Tae-ha appears gentle and caring, he is actually hiding the truth about their past, including connections to a gang and a secret mission. As Eun-se gradually recovers her memories, she begins to question whether this man is her trustworthy first love or the biggest lie that will drag her into danger.
Netflix August Release 3: Saaya, Kaji Yuki in 'Ribbon Hero' / Streaming Date: August 8 The animated film 'Ribbon Hero' is based on Osamu Tezuka’s classic manga 'Ribbon no Kishi' (Princess Knight), reimagining Sapphire, a princess born with both a male and female heart. Raised as a prince to protect the throne and nation, she must conceal her true identity and wield a sword against royal conspiracies and oppressive fate.
This new version is more than a remake—it transforms the story into a faster-paced fantasy action adventure. Sapphire must overcome loss and trauma, choosing who she wants to become beyond the life others have decided for her, while protecting her most cherished companions.
Netflix August Release 4: Mikiro Koji, Tanaka Kei in 'Doctor-X: The Final Movie' / Streaming Date: August 14 'Doctor-X: The Final Movie' is the concluding chapter of the long-running medical drama 'Doctor-X.' The brilliant surgeon Da-mon Michiko, who refuses to join factions or bow to authority, returns to the operating table with her signature confidence: 'I never fail,' facing life-threatening cases even top medical experts cannot solve.
This time, Michiko’s previously undisclosed past begins to surface, and the newly introduced doctor, Kozu Hirou, has a mysterious connection to her mentor, Jinzo Shindo. As hospital power struggles, patient lives, and Michiko’s past intertwine, she faces the most difficult surgery of her career.
Netflix August Release 5: Matsushige Yutaka, Uchida Yuki in 'Midnight Diner: The Movie' / Streaming Date: August 14 'Midnight Diner: The Movie,' written, directed, and starring Matsushige Yutaka, begins when Yonosuke Gorō receives a special request. To find the broth that reminds a client of their childhood, he leaves Japan on a cross-border journey, traveling to Paris, France; Geoje Island, South Korea; and various parts of Japan.
Originally a quest for a recipe, Gorō encounters unexpected incidents and gets entangled in troubles far beyond imagination. Even in unfamiliar cities, he remains true to his stomach, sampling local cuisines during his mission, continuing the series’ signature style of heartwarming and appetite-inducing storytelling.
Netflix August Release 6: Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun in 'Along with the Gods' / Streaming Date: August 14 'Along with the Gods' follows firefighter Kim Ja-hong, who dies during a rescue mission and meets three grim reapers. He learns that the deceased must pass seven trials—murder, laziness, deception, injustice, betrayal, violence, and familial duty—within 49 days to be reborn.
Initially seen as a rare 'noble soul,' Ja-hong’s trial reveals painful family secrets he tried to hide in life. As the three grim reapers defend him and investigate anomalies in the human world, they uncover his heartbreaking past with his mother and younger brother.
Netflix August Release 7: Kento Nakajima, Yūko Shinoki in 'S&X' / Streaming Date: August 20 'S&X,' adapted from Toda Motoo’s manga of the same name, stars Kento Nakajima as Shimoitori Hitohito, a sex therapist who helps patients deal with intimate and sexual issues they can’t discuss with friends or family. Through each consultation, the series explores desire gaps, body image anxiety, and the struggle of loving someone yet not knowing how to get closer.
Yūko Shinoki plays Yumi, a news anchor who reunites with Hitohito, and an undeniable attraction grows between them. When a therapist who usually analyzes others’ emotions faces his own desires and wounds, can he still give the rational answers he offers in his clinic?
Netflix August Release 8: Robert De Niro, Adam Scott in 'The Whisper Man' / Streaming Date: August 28 'The Whisper Man' is adapted from Alex North’s crime novel of the same name. The story begins with the mysterious disappearance of an 8-year-old boy. As police investigate, they discover the case closely resembles a series of child murders that shocked society years earlier—yet the original killer is already in prison, suggesting the real danger may never have ended.
To find his son, the boy’s father turns to a retired detective he hasn’t spoken to in years, who once worked on the old case. As two generations of fathers pursue the truth, the darkness buried in the town’s memory resurfaces, and the mysterious figure who whispers to children at night draws closer to the next victim.
Netflix August Release 9: Song Kang, Lee Jun-young in 'Four Hands, Two Sonatas' / Streaming Date: August 29 'Four Hands, Two Sonatas' is set in the music department of an arts high school, where Song Kang and Lee Jun-young play two piano prodigies with vastly different personalities, family backgrounds, and playing styles. They are each other’s fiercest rivals, yet among the few who truly understand one another on their journey toward musical dreams.
Starting from intense rivalry, they build a complex and profound bond through duets and competitions. The drama explores not only friendship and romance in an art school but also reveals the wounds each carries, showing how they find their own voices amid jealousy, failure, and youthful confusion.
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- Source: PR Times
- Category: News