Angarsk maniac and Lovecraft's monsters: what TV shows to watch in August

In August, Internet platforms will start showing the series of fantasy horror "Lovecraft Country" and the drama "Little Birds" based on erotic stories. Also, in the last month of summer, there will be premieres of the Mapleworth Murders detective, the Fugitive thriller, the Ted Lasso sports comedy and the biohackers, a science fiction film about genetic engineering experiments. Among the Russian novelties are the Good Man series based on the history of the Angarsk maniac and the Storyz comedy sketch.

"The Fugitive" (The Fugitive). From August 3rd on Quibi

The protagonist of Stephen Hopkins' crime thriller The Fugitive Mike Ferro (Boyd Holbrook) finds himself in the subway during an explosion and falls under suspicion of organizing a terrorist attack. He is forced to hide until the real criminal is found, which turns out to be a difficult task: the famous detective Clay Bruce (Kiefer Sutherland) is hunting for the hero.

Earlier in the United States, projects of the same name with a similar plot have already been filmed. In the 1960s, ABC aired a series, and in 1993, the film premiered, directed by Andrew Davis, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Both projects are based on the real story of Sam Sheppard, erroneously convicted of the murder of his wife.

"Little birds" (Little Birds). From 4 August on Sky Atlantic, from 5 August on More.tv

The six-part drama "Little Birds" is based on the collection of erotic stories of the same name by Anais Nin. The series is directed by Stacey Passon, who has worked on projects such as House of Cards, Lovers, American Gods and many others.

The main role was played by British actress Juno Temple (“Another Boleyn Girl,” “Atonement”). Also involved in the project are Yumna Marwan, Hugh Skinner ("Rubbish"), Raphael Aklock ("Mission Impossible: Consequences"), Rossi de Palma ("Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown") and others.

The events in the film unfold in the 1950s just before the liquidation of the Tangier international zone. This is where the main characters end up - a young traveler from America Lucy Savage and politician Cherifa Lamour from Morocco. Against the backdrop of upcoming political changes, the first will try to deal with personal problems, and the second - to change the world.

According to the creators of the project, viewers will experience "an ardent, sexy and witty melodrama that turns into a topical story about freedom and feminism."

"Stories", from August 10 on STS

The new Russian comedy sketch was shot in the “story” format, familiar to all users of social networks. Each scene is an independent story from the life of one of the many colorful characters.

The roles in the project were played by Yulia Mikhalkova, Oleg Vereshchagin, Daniil Vakhrushev, Anton Lirnik, Igor Chekhov, Olga Kuzmina and other actors. On the set, they tried on many unexpected images: an eco-activist, an elderly blogger, a doctor, an alcoholic, a judge, a prisoner and others.

According to Yulia Mikhalkova, sometimes artists had to change dozens of times in one shift.

One of the producers of the project was Vyacheslav Murugov, who worked on such television hits as "Kitchen", "Youth" and "Eighties".

Mapleworth Murders. From August 10th on Quibi

The Mapleworth Murders, a comedy detective series, were written by the popular American show Saturday Night Live, John Luts and Paula Pell. They also played the main roles. Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Haley Magnus and other actors will also appear in the series.

Paula Pell plays detective writer Abigail Mapleworth, who investigates violent deaths in her hometown. In each episode, new mysteries and sacrifices will appear. Mapleworth has to figure out why so many murders take place in this small town.

"Ted Lasso" (Ted Lasso). Starting August 14 on Apple TV +

The protagonist of the Ted Lasso series is the coach of the college football team. Despite the lack of experience and any knowledge in traditional football, he gets a job in the UK and goes to coach athletes of a professional English club.

The main role in the series was played by Jason Sudeikis ("We Are the Millers", "Once Upon a Time in Vegas"). He also worked on the development of the project together with Bill Lawrence, and also joined as one of the writers and producers. Several years ago, the actor already played this character in a series of commercials on NBC Sports.

The first season is expected to have ten episodes. The first three will appear online on the day of the premiere.

"Lovecraft Country". From August 16 on HBO, from August 17 on Amediatek

The plot of the series of fantastic horror "Lovecraft Country" is based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, published in 2016. In it, the author explores the problem of racism in the United States in the 1950s.

The series also takes place in the United States in the middle of the 20th century. The main character Atticus (Jonathan Majers), in the company of his girlfriend (Jerny Smollett) and his uncle (Courtney B. Vance), goes on a road trip. Their goal is to find Atticus' missing father. During a trip to "white America", the heroes are forced to fight for survival, facing either racism or monsters that seem to have descended from the pages of Howard Lovecraft's books.

According to showrunner and scriptwriter of the project Misha Green, Lovecraft Country is not just about the problems of American society.

The series combines many different genres: there are both adventure and mysticism, as well as elements of detective and science fiction.

Plus, Greene promises quality special effects. It was planned that a dragon would appear in the frame, but its development greatly increased the budget. However, according to the showrunner, the monster that the team managed to create looks impressive.

Biohackers. From August 20 on Netflix

According to the plot of the series "Biohackers", Mia - the heroine of Luna Vedler - becomes a medical student in Germany. She goes there to meet the professor, who, according to the girl, is involved in her family tragedy. Mia discovers the world of genetic engineering and finds out that the scientist and her colleagues are hiding a terrible secret that can affect the future of all mankind.

The sci-fi six-episode thriller was inspired by Christian Ditter, who directed films such as Love, Rosie and The Village Crocodiles. He directed the first three episodes of the series. The rest were worked on by Tim Trachte, known for the project So Close to the Horizon.

"Good man". From August 20 on the START video service

The nine-part film by Konstantin Bogomolov "The Good Man" is based on the story of Mikhail Popkov, known as the Angarsk maniac. In the center of the plot - investigators Evgenia Klyuchevskaya (Yulia Snigir) and Ivan Krutikhin (Nikita Efremov), looking for a serial killer.

The creators of the project did not set themselves the goal of documenting the hunt for Popkov. They filmed a universal story that could happen in any small Russian city.

According to producer Irina Sosnovaya, initially the team believed that all the killer's activities became possible because he worked in the police and knew how to stay uncaught. However, after a personal meeting with Popkov, it became clear that one of the reasons for what happened in Angarsk was the dehumanization of society, which gave rise to an ideology "in which a man can" judge "which woman is worthy of living and which is not."

In the series, Konstantin Bogomolov tries to find answers to global questions: how can evil be prevented at all and who really is a "good person".