August is not the greatest month for original and new-to-streaming content on Max, but there are a few new and notable movies and shows coming to the platform.

The one I’m most excited about (and it’s not even close) is Chimp Crazy, an HBO original documentary about Tonia Haddix, the “Dolly Parton of chimps,” and her battle against the authorities on behalf of her chimp baby. If your tastes are more refined than “lol monkeys,” there’s a new season of white collar drama Industry to enjoy, or you could settle into an old Hollywood vibe with Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes.

Chimp Crazy

Chimp Crazy is an HBO original documentary that tells the story of nurse-turned-exotic-animal-broker Tonia Haddix, who battles law enforcement, animal rights activists, and common sense on behalf of a great ape that could rip her face off at any time because it’s a wild animal, not a baby. There are also interviews and profiles of other chimp moms.

Starts streaming August 18.

Industry, Season 3

Working in an office sure is exciting on television! Season 3 of Industry continues the story of the back-biting, scheming, and vicious politics behind the scenes at London investment banking firm Pierpoint & Co., where people I would not want to hang out with in real life fight to get ahead in the corporate finance world. According to the HBO, this season, Pierpoint “looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing,” while “Yasmin, Robert, and Eric find themselves front and center in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company led by Sir Henry Muck.”

Starts streaming August 11.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

In 1964, actress Elizabeth Taylor recorded over 40 hours of interviews; this HBO original documentary dug ’em up and is playing The Lost Tapes for the first time. These intimate recordings go deep into the vagaries and contradictions of stardom and the forces that influenced Taylor’s complicated life as an actress, an activist, and the most beautiful woman in the world.

Starts streaming August 3.

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears

The long-running HBO reality show Hard Knocks is going behind the scenes and into the locker room of the floundering Chicago Bears. Can the squad’s new, #1 draft quarterback Caleb Williams transform The Bears from a franchise with a 7 and 10 record in 2023 to a franchise with maybe an 11 and 6 record in 2024? Tune in to find out.

Starts streaming August 6.

Rick and Morty: The Anime

If you can’t get enough Rick and Morty, Max is presenting a spin-off series that puts the titular characters in an anime setting. Directed by Takashi Sano, Rick and Morty: The Anime is a 10-episode series showing Rick “relaxing in a pseudo-world between multiverses,” Summer helping Space Beth battle the Galactic Federation, and Morty falling in love with an atemporal being.

Starts streaming August 16.

Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction, Season 1

Spoiler: Fiction.

Starts streaming August 8.

Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth?

This HBO original true crime documentary tells the tragic story of the abduction and murder of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins in Evansdale, Iowa, in 2012. The cousins were last seen riding their bikes near a park when someone snatched them in broad daylight. The bodies were discovered months later, but no one knows who was responsible for their deaths. This doc digs into theories around the crime through interviews with family members and authorities.

Starts streaming August 8.

Last month’s picks

Love Lies Bleeding (2024) 

This sexy, slow-burn thriller earned a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes for its can-you-believe-this-shit? plot and nuanced performances from a talented cast including Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, and Ed Harris. Love Lies Bleeding tells the story of Lou (Stewart), a gym owner in New Mexico who falls in love with Jackie (O’Brian), a ‘roided-out new bodybuilder in town. The relationship and their lives quickly spiral out of control in unpredictable, violent ways that I won’t spoil. But see this movie if you like edgy flicks that embrace riskiness and the unexpected.

Starts streaming July 19.

Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants 

This season of Hard Knocks takes you inside the locker rooms and boardrooms of the New York Giants as they try to put together a viable squad for the franchise’s 100th season. In case you missed it, 2023 was not a good year for the Giants—they ended up with dismal six wins and 11 losses, so there’s a lot of work to do and a lot on the line for the old hands and new draftees wearing Giants colors. Even though I have feelings about the Giants, I’ll still watch this, like every football fan, because there aren’t any games on.

Starts streaming July 2.

Knox Goes Away (2024)

If you saw Michael Keaton in 1983’s Mr. Mom, you probably didn’t imagine that its seeming lightweight star would still be active in the 21st century and his thing would be making complex, dark films like Knox Goes Away. Keaton directed and stars as the title character, a hitman who’s stricken with dementia, trying to help his estranged son who’s committed a murder. So it’s weird, intriguing, and not quite like any other movie.

Starts streaming July 26. 

Kite Man: Hell Yeah! Season 1

Kite Man is an actual DC Comics supervillain who uses kites and gliders to commit super-crimes. He’s as ridiculous as he sounds, but Kite Man became a fan favorite for his ridiculous gimmick, can-do spirit, and dumb catchphrase: “Kite Man! Hell yeah!” In other words he’s the perfect subject for a comedy superhero cartoon. In Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, the title character and his lover Golden Glider open a bar near the Legion of Doom headquarters to sling drinks to Lex Luthor’s team of more successful supervillains.

Starts streaming July 18. 

Faye

Faye tells the story of difficult-but-talented actress Faye Dunaway and her tumultuous life and career. Through archival footage and interviews with Dunaway and the people close to her, Faye takes us deep inside the life and times of one of the last real movie stars. If you like old Hollywood, this documentary will be right up your alley.

Starts streaming July 13.

The Commandant’s Shadow

The Commandant’s Shadow tells the real story behind Oscar-award winning film The Zone of Interest. 87-year-old Hans Jürgen Höss’ father was Rudolf Höss, the notorious commandant of Auschwitz who was responsible for the murder of over a million Jews. In this documentary series, Höss confronts his father’s monstrous legacy and meets some of the survivors of Auschwitz.

Starts streaming July 18.

Wild Wild Space

This HBO original documentary tells the story of a wild west drama happening right now, just outside of our atmosphere, as visionaries and capitalist shoot satellites into space in a battle for control of the new frontier: low Earth orbit. Should we be around for The Future, there’s a good chance the subjects of Wild Wild Space will have a hand in what it’s like, so check this out for a sneak peak of a new age of space capitalism.

Starts streaming July 18.

Quad Gods

Richard, Blake, and Prentice met at a New York rehab center where they were being treated for quadriplegia. They were all hardcore gamers and formed the Quad Gods, the first all-quadriplegic esports gaming team, where they pwned noobs all over the world. More than just a fun hobby, gaming is part of their cutting edge neurological rehab process; Quad Gods tells their story and digs into the medical advancements that might come from their hobby.

Starts streaming July 10.

Teen Torture Inc.

In this three-episode documentary series, a band of survivors from various “troubled teen” programs (including rap star Bhad Bhabie) team up to blow the whistle on the exploitative, nightmarish industry where children are routinely subjected to cult-like conditioning and physical and sexual abuse in the name of “tough love.” These young people have a serious axe to grind, and are using social media and the court system to try to shut down their former captors. If you like a Good vs. Evil true story, don’t miss Teen Torture Inc.

Starts streaming July 11. 

Sharks, sharks, sharks!

Do you like sharks? Because HBO and Max are going shark crazy in July. Shark fanciers will gorge like a great white on a defenseless porpoise with these 20 shark-centric specials produced by the Discovery Channel, including Belly of the Beast: Bigger and Bloodier, Sydney Harbor Shark Invasion, Great White Serial Killer: Sea of Blood, something called Mothersharker: Hammertime and many, many more. 

Here’s the full list:

Starts streaming July 7

Starts streaming July 8

Starts streaming July 8

Starts streaming July 10

Starts streaming July 11

Starts streaming July 12

Starts streaming July 13