New on Paramount+ in August 2023: Best movies and TV from Billions to Dungeons and Dragons

Barbenheimer might be packing out the multiplexes right now, but that hasn’t stopped Paramount+ bagging its own blockbuster to headline an exciting new release slate this August. Yes, fantasy spectacular Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, one of the year’s first big critical hits (pun intended), is bound for the streamer this month.

Elsewhere, trading magical misadventures for sci-fi spelunkery, August also sees all three seasons of brilliant animated serial Star Trek: Lower Decks land co-exclusively on Paramount+. Another co-exclusive comes in the form of the Damian Lewis starring drama Billions, whose seventh and final series begins to drop weekly from August 12th.

Read more: Everything new on Prime Video in August

Read more: Everything new on Netflix in August

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More bingeable box-sets come this month in the form of Hot Yachts: Miami and Joe Pickett S2. One is a gritty drama following a Wyoming game warden as he tries to get to the bottom of a series of gruesome murders; the other is a reality show about the absurdly wealthy world of Super Yachts. We’ll let you guess which is which.

Back on the film front, Paramount+ original rom-com Love in Taipei sees Ashley Liao sent from Ohio to Taiwan to learn Mandarin - and by learn Mandarin we mean indulge in a teen free-for-all tellingly named ‘Loveboat’. Also, exclusive to the streamer, there’s Margaux, an AI-gone-wrong thriller very much in the Black Mirror-y mould.

Read more: Everything leaving Netflix in August

Here’s everything that’s heading to Paramount+ this month…

New movies coming to Paramount+ in August 2023

Margaux | 4 August

Arriving as a timely tech-based chiller, especially given current industry-wide conversations being had about ChatGPT and the rise of AI, Margaux gains its title from the name given to its antagonist - an AI-driven house. Final Destination-meets-Black Mirror thrills and spills abound as said house preys upon a group of unwitting college pals who’ve rented the homicidal homestead for a weekend of partying. Riverdale alum Vanessa Morgan and Phoebe Miu head up a sparky cast of young up-and-comers.

Love in Taipei (Original) | 11 August

Based on Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei, Paramount+ original rom-com Love in Taipei stars Ashley Liao as Ever Wong, an American teen whose supposed cultural immersion trip to Taiwan turns out to be a ticket to a summer-long romantic free-for-all. Co-starring Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Ross Butler and Moxie star Nico Hiraga, who provide both rom and com, this one is a safe bet for some summer lovin’ that'll have you a blast.

Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special | 16 August

Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special reveals what really happened behind the scenes of this mesmerising hour of television, which recently played a key part in Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-winning biopic.

Nearly half of America tuned in to watch Elvis's TV special in 1968 making it the most-watched television event of the year. Elvis Presley, clad in an iconic black leather suit, delivered some of the greatest performances of his life, reinvigorating his career and changing the pop-culture landscape forever.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves | 18 August

Having directed one of the low-key best comedies of the 21st century in the form of Game Night, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein effortlessly shift gears with blockbuster follow-up, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Based on the legendary RPG, which has recently experienced a cultural resurgence thanks to the likes of Stranger Things, this franchise-starting fantasy is an absolute blast from start to finish, a whip-smart love letter to the game made with a lightness of touch — and abundance of banter — that offers something for everyone.

Chris Pine stars as Edgin, a lute-playing thief who gathers a band of unlikely heroes - barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page), would-be sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith), and shapeshifter Doric (Sophia Lillis) - to join him on a quest to retrieve a lost relic that may bring back his dead wife. Villainous cad Forge (Hugh Grant), Red Wizard Sofina (Daisy Head), and a host of fantastic beasts however have other ideas.

New TV shows coming to Paramount+ in August 2023

Hot Yachts: Miami S1 (Original) | Boxset drops on 3 August

If the only thing you ever thought was missing from Selling Sunset was a little more aqueous action, then boy do we have a show for you! Paramount+ original reality show Hot Yachts: Miami takes us to - you guessed it! - Magic City itself, Miami, Florida. There, viewers are invited to hop aboard an array of Super Yachts and meet the grammable guys and gals who sell the sailing vessels to the rich and powerful. Expect boats. Expect drama. Expect to question your life choices at least five times an episode. And, of course, enjoy!

Billions S7 | Episode 1 drops on 11 August, then weekly

Damian Lewis’ hedge-fund king Bobby Axelrod is back to reclaim his throne in the seventh and final series of Billions, which starts on Paramount+ this month. A gripping drama about power politics in the world of New York high finance that pivots around the escalating feud between U.S Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Lewis’ ambitious Axelrod, the last series saw Corey Stoll’s Mike Prince take centre stages as Rhoades’ new nemesis. But, with Bobby back on the scene and Prince planning to run for president, it looks like we’re in for one hell of a finale.

Joe Pickett S2 | Boxset drops on 20 August

For All Mankind star Michael Dorman is back as the eponymous Wyoming game warden in the second series of neo-Western crime drama Joe Pickett. The first series saw Pickett trying to solve the murder of a local poacher while uncovering the corruption embedded in his new hometown. In this second outing, the stakes are raised as Pickett and wife Marybeth (Juliana Guill) are forced on the run when an investigation into a new series of gruesome murders sees Joe in over his head. Still carrying the Yellowstone vibes - in more ways than one - Joe Pickett is a low-key gem that’s well worth getting stuck into.

Star Trek: Lower Decks S1-3 | Boxsets drop on 29 August

Inspired by one of the best episodes in Star Trek history, one which focused on a set of junior officers as opposed to the main Enterprise crew, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been one of the minor revelations of the franchise’s recent resurgence. An irreverent take on Gene Roddenberry’s universe centred on the support crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos, voiced by the likes of Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome, Lower Decks follows the underdogs of Starfleet on their intergalactic adventures.

A spryly animated, quick-witted comedy caper, Lower Decks has been such a hit with fans that it recently earned itself a cross-over with the live-action second series of Strange New Worlds. There’s simply never been a better time to boldly go and catch up with the show than now.