I’m a TV editor – these are the 10 best shows to watch in August

Given the heatwaves that have hit the UK in the past few weeks, you’d be forgiven for not having turned on your television since the World Cup. Then again, the coolness of a dark living room with a fan is the perfect escape from the heat – so you might as well reach for the remote. And with another heatwave on the way, thank god there’s some decent TV coming up this month. From the return of Ted Lasso and Ludwig to new series from Ricky Gervais and the DC universe, all tastes are accounted for. Here’s everything to watch in August: Ted Lasso Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, Jason Sudeikis as Ted and Tanya Reynolds as Alice (Photo: Colin Hutton/Apple) The third series of Apple TV’s sickly sweet football comedy was supposed to be its last, but thanks to star and writer Jason Sudeikis having a fresh idea for his eponymous coach, it’s back. This time, Ted is taking charge of Richmond’s second-division women’s team – other than that, details have been kept under wraps. We do know, however, that the whole gang is returning, including Hannah Waddingham’s witty Rebecca and the ultimate will-they-won’t-they couple Keeley (Juno Temple) and Roy (Brett Goldstein). Wednesday 5 August, Apple TV Big Chicken: A Fast-Food Conspiracy Mo Gilligan investigates the global fast-food chicken industry (Photo: Netflix) In the latest documentary from Louis Theroux’s production company Mindhouse, comedian Mo Gilligan investigates the ins and outs of the global fast-food chicken industry. As well as uncovering the economic and industrial reasons for the popularity of fried chicken, he also interrogates how it has developed a stereotypical association with certain ethnicities. Perhaps most interestingly, Gilligan commits himself to eating fried chicken three times a day for 28 days to find out how it can affect our bodies. Rather him than me. Wednesday 5 August, Netflix The Shards Igby Rigney as Bret and Kaia Gerber as Susan (Photo: FX/Disney+) Based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 2023 novel and made by television’s enfant terrible Ryan Murphy, The Shards is a sexy, twisty horror. Set in 1980s LA at a prestigious high school, we meet leader of the popular gang Bret (inspired by the author and played by Rigney), whose life begins to unravel with the arrival of a mysterious new student – and the growing prominence of a ruthless serial killer known as The Trawler. As his group of glamourous, privileged friends party away, they have no idea of the terror that awaits them. Thursday 6 August, Disney+ Possession Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Claudia (Photo: Des Willie/Snowed-In Productions/Sky UK Ltd) In this spooky, supernatural thriller, Bafta-nominated Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Claudia, an ambitious lawyer who travels to Jamaica to help her client, the wealthy aristocrat Oliver Connaught (Jonny Lee Miller), with an inheritance claim. A local man named Cudjoe East (Sheldon Shepherd) has been left a former plantation house in the former owner’s will – a house that Connaught believes should belong to him. As the story switches between the modern day and the past, Claudia is haunted by the house’s history, and the true horrors of British colonialism and the slave trade are laid bare. Thursday 6 August, Sky Atlantic/Now Alley Cats Ricky Gervias as Gus, Tom Basden as Ponce, David Earl as Puke, Andrew Brooke as Fang, and Diane Morgan as Olive (Photo: Netflix) Ricky Gervais’s new Netflix “slacker sitcom” boasts an impressive cast of British talent, including Diane Morgan, Kerry Godliman and Tom Basden. The twist? They’re all voicing animated feral cats. Gervais is Gus, whose gang – Olive, Fang, Ponce, and Puke – have carved out quite a nice life for themselves, scavenging for their dinners and watching TV in an abandoned house. When a lost kitten rocks up, Gus and co take her under their wing, teaching her the ways of the street. But don’t be fooled, this is no sweet family-friendly cartoon – the tagline reads: “Nine lives, zero f***s.” Friday 7 August, Netflix Mourinho Find out why José Mourinho is ‘The Special One’ (Photo: Netflix) Real Madrid manager José Mourinho is the latest star to receive the Netflix documentary treatment, following in the footsteps of David Beckham and Kylie Minogue. Over three episodes, the series will chart how the Portuguese native went from winning his first Champions League title to becoming one of the most celebrated managers in the world, earning himself the nickname “The Special One” along the way. There’s also interviews with the man himself, promising unguarded, unprecedented insight from “football’s ultimate contradiction: the winner the game can’t live without and can’t always live with.” Tuesday 11 August, Netflix Lanterns Filmmaker James Gunn continues to build on his DC universe following this summer’s rather disappointing Supergirl with a gritty take on the Green Lantern comic books. For the uninitiated, a Green Lantern is a sort of space copper who wields a powerful ring that can create anything the wearer wills it to. In this more realistic reboot, we meet experienced officer Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his fresh new partner John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who are paired up to investigate a seemingly average murder in a small Nebraskan town. But soon they discover this is no ordinary killing, and that alien involvement is a real possibility. Monday 17 August, HBO Max Trigger Point Vicky McClure as Lana Washington (HTM Productions/ITV) If I were explosives officer Lana Washington (Vicky McClure), then I would have quit my job long ago – but she’s clearly hardier than I am, as she’s back for a fourth series of defusing bombs and upending terror plots. We don’t know much about what the new instalment of ITV’s nerve-shredding drama will entail, but a teaser trailer has revealed that Lana and her team will once again be faced with a new plan to blow up London. Meanwhile, it seems as though all those years of almost being blown up – and losing some loved ones along the way – is starting to catch up with Lana and having a severe effect on her mental health. August, ITV1 Ludwig David Mitchell as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor (Photo: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Olly Courtney) The first series of the BBC’s quintessential cosy crime drama was a huge success, so no one should be surprised that the puzzle-solving detective is back for round two (and that a third has already been announced). This time, John Ludwig (David Mitchell) – who was posing as his detective twin brother James in the first series – is working with the police as a “crime scene consultant”. But while that means his murder investigations are more legit, there’s a catch – he’s not allowed to use police resources to track down his still missing brother. August, BBC One Bookish Mark Gatiss is back as Gabriel Book (Photo: UKTV) Cosy crime fans are being treated this month, as Mark Gatiss’s unlikely detective is also returning for a brand-new series. Gabriel Book (Gatiss) – aptly named for a man who runs an antique book shop – has three new mysteries to unravel, ranging from the supernatural to the very fashionable. One will even take Book and his ex-convict assistant Jack Blunt (Connor Finch) out of 1940s London to Germany – at Christmastime, no less. As ever, there’s a host of special guests appearing in the episodes, including Ruth Codd, Simon Callow, and Jason Watkins. August, U&Alibi