Netflix hit watched 250,000,000 times returns — and 6 more shows to binge in August

After a two-year wait, Netflix’s most-watched English-language show of all time is returning this month.

Viewed an enormous 252.1 million times, Wednesday has been described as ‘tons of fun’ and ‘captivating’ by fans on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics heaped praise on Jenna Ortega’s acting skills as the sardonic Wednesday Addams.

The series comes second only to the first season of Squid Game in Netflix’s global TV rankings, but the upcoming instalment could well steal the top spot.

The show follows Wednesday Addams, who enrols at Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts, after being expelled from her previous high school.

Season one saw the titular character adjust to her new life at Nevermore and grapple with psychic visions, all while investigating a string of supernatural murders.

Now, Wednesday is returning to the Academy, but this time with her family in tow. Her brother, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), arrives on campus, while mother Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) has accepted a role at Nevermore.

Meanwhile, the trailer revealed a ‘jaw-dropping’ twist that sees Wednesday trying to save her roommate Enid’s (Emma Myers) life, and Lady Gaga will be joining the star-studded show with a cameo.

Other new cast members include Joanna Lumley as Wednesday’s grandmother, Steve Buscemi as Principal Dort and Billie Piper as the Academy’s new head of music.

The new season of Wednesday will premiere on Netflix in two parts, with part one landing on August 6 and part two on September 3 — but it’s not the only hit series returning this month.

From reality TV to comedy, thriller and romance, viewers across the genres are getting ready for their favourite shows to return.

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins Season 7

Fourteen famous faces will be taking on the SAS selection process in this gruelling reality TV show, joined by an elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers.

This year’s line-up includes former footballers Adebayo Akinfenwa and Troy Deeney, dancer and reality star Louie Spence, Love Islanders Tasha Ghori, Chloe Burrows and Adam Collard and The Traitors winner Harry Clark to name a few.

Simon Cowell will also be making an appearance on the show, but not as a recruit.

Instead, he appears when calling former X Factor star Lucy Spraggan to help motivate her.

Lucy has revealed that Simon, who walked her down the aisle during her wedding last year, was left fuming after the directing staff hung up on him.

Where to watch: Celebrity SAS 2025 will premiere on Channel 4 on Sunday, August 3, with episodes airing every Sunday and Monday thereafter.

Platonic Season 2

Starring Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne, Apple TV Plus comedy Platonic follows a pair of former college best friends who get back in touch as they approach midlife.

The pair fell out when stay-at-home mum Sylvia (Byrne) told the now recently divorced Will (Rogan) that she didn’t think he should marry his fiancée. As they reconnect, their chaotic friendship begins to consume their lives.

The show drew a lot of comparisons to 1989’s When Harry Met Sally, but it isn’t a rom-com. In fact, it subtly subverts the genre.

Season one ended with a time jump, with Will engaged and Sylvia running her own event planning business.

In season two, the pair once again grapple with making their co-dependent friendship work, now that Will is in a committed relationship.

Where to watch: The first two episodes of Platonic Season 2 land on Apple TV Plus on August 6, followed by one episode weekly until October 1.

The Fortune Hotel Season 2

Big budget reality TV show The Fortune Hotel has been likened to The Traitors for its cat-and-mouse premise.

Hosted by Stephen Mangan, the show sees 10 pairs of players presented with 10 suitcases – eight are empty, one contains the £250,000 jackpot, and the other is the dreaded Early Checkout, which signifies that their time on the show is over.

The contestants swap cases throughout the show, and must lie and deceive their way to getting hold of the £250,000 jackpot.

The Fortune Hotel saw three pairings make it to a nail-biting final last May, and this month it’s returning for round two.

Where to watch: The Fortune Hotel returns to ITV and ITVX on August 6.

Love is Blind UK Season 2

We’ve had eight seasons of unorthodox dating show Love is Blind already, and last year a new UK version took to screens for the first time, hosted by Emma and Matt Willis.

This month, the experiment (which sees couples get engaged before meeting in person) is returning.

Following the couples over several weeks, the show sees them move in together, plan their wedding, and find out if their physical connection is as strong as the emotional one they had already developed.

Season one was full of the usual drama, with three couples saying ‘I do’ (one of which recently announced their pregnancy) and another three deciding to walk away.

Where to watch: Episodes one to four of Love is Blind UK Season 2 land on Netflix on August 13, followed by episodes five to eight on August 20 and episodes nine to 10 on August 27.

Peacemaker Season 2

Following his cameo in the recent Superman movie, which has soared at the box office this summer, John Cena is back as Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, a vigilante who fights for peace at any cost.

Originally a spin-off of The Suicide Squad film, which was released in 2021 to rave reviews, Peacemaker Season 2 will follow the vigilante hero as he discovers a parallel world where he can live out the life of his dreams — but it means he must confront his traumatic past.

The show has been a hit wth TV fans, earning an impressive 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and praised by critics for its wild action scenes, clever twists and humour.

Meanwhile, audiences have called it ‘compelling’, a ‘joyride’ and ‘pure comic-book mayhem’.

Where to watch: Peacemaker Season 2 lands on Sky Max and NOW in the UK and HBO Max in the US on August 21, with episodes airing weekly until October 9.

My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2

It’s been an almost two-year wait for the second season of this teen romance drama, which has been compared to Prime Video hit The Summer I Turned Pretty and Netflix comedy Never Have I Ever.

If you like love triangles and will-they-won’t-they romance, this one’s worth checking out.

Season one saw 15-year-old Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) move from New York to rural Colorado after losing her family in a tragic accident.

There, she meets the two Walter brothers, Cole (Noah LaLonde) and Alex (Ashby Gentry) — and you can probably take a good guess at some of the teenage drama that ensues.

After heading back to New York over the summer, season two sees Jackie return to Colorado with a big decision to make.

My Life With the Walter Boys has a disappointing 42% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers criticising its ‘generic storylines’, but audiences were much more enthused, awarding it a 71% score and hailing the series as ‘wholesome’ and ‘very bingeable’.

Where to watch: My Life with the Walter Boys Season 2 arrives on Netflix on August 28.

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