Apple TV+'s offers a diverse range of programs this August. Subscribers can choose from an action-packed documentary, a comedy heist film, a live-action children's series, two drama series adaptations of bestselling novels: one debuting and another returning for its second season and a docuseries about the realities of becoming a K-Pop idol.
This ain't your Beyonce song
Cowboy Cartel, a four-part documentary, follows the story of a rookie FBI agent who uncovers a multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme organized by the Mexican Los Zetas cartel via the American Quarter Horse racing industry.
Scott Lawson, a rookie FBI agent from Tennessee, started an investigation that led to taking down the Treviño brothers, leaders of one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, Los Zetas. While the Treviños terrified thousands as laundered money and influence, Lawson staked his career and life on a hunch: tracking the Treviños' brother's racehorse transaction in the US. He arranged for an American rancher to help the FBI infiltrate the cartel and uncovered their international money laundering operations.
Cowboy Cartel includes first-time interviews with Lawson; IRS agent Steve Pennington; Irving, Texas police officers Steve Junker, Brian Schutt and Kim Williams; Assistant United States Attorney Doug Gardner; Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Ginger Thompson; and Joe Tone author of the 2017 book Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream.
Cowboy Cartel premieres Aug. 2.
Out of the frying pan, into… hell
The Instigators, directed by Doug Liman, is a comedic heist film starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. It follows the story of two reluctant partners, Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Affleck) whose robbery plans fall through. Rory's mortgage and unpaid child support hang over his head as he desperately tries to get in front of his mounting bills and fix his relationship with his son.
He finds himself teaming up with the ex-con Cobby to rob a corrupt politician of his ill-gotten wealth. However, their heist doesn't go the way they planned and now they're on the run for their lives. Not only are the police after them, so are the politicians from whom they stole as well as angry crime bosses. After leaping from the frying pan into all kinds of fire, they somehow convince Rory's therapist Dr. Donna Rivera (Hong Chau) to be their getaway hostage.
The movie also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, Jack Harlow and Ron Perlman. The Instigators debuts Aug. 9.
Yo Gabba
Yo Gabba Gabbaland! reimagines the Yo Gabba Gabbaland world into a new live-action children's series with Kammy Kam (Kamryn Smith) leading the program. The series is filled with music, dancing and life lessons to teach its viewers through optimistic entertainment.
Fan favorites Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Toodee and Plex are in the reboot to lead the audience through several adventures. Yo Gabba Gabbaland will also have plenty of musical guests whose faces will be familiar to the parents watching. Yo Gabba Gabbaland! debuts Aug. 9.
A temperamental monkey in Florida
Basedon Carl Hiaasen's 2013 bestseller of the same name, Bad Monkey is a drama series that follows the story of former detective turned restaurant inspector Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn). Yancy was pushed out of the Miami Police Department and now works very reluctantly as a health inspector in the Florida Keys. When a tourist accidentally discovers a severed human arm while fishing, Yancy sees this as a chance to win his job back if he solves the mystery and the murder.
He quickly finds himself in a web of corruption that threatens to engulf both Florida and Bahamian land and environment. If he wants to solve the case, he'll need to learn how to deal with Florida oddballs as well as a bad monkey, which might be the one thing he's unable to handle.
Joining the cast are Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney, Natalie Martinez, L. Scott Caldwell, Ronald Peet and John Ortiz. Bad Monkey premieres Aug. 14 on Apple TV+.
A return to the not-so-good old days
Returning for a second season on Aug. 23, Pachinko is based on Min Jin Lee's 2017 bestselling novel of the same name. It follows the story of a Korean family over four generations from 1915 to 1989. Covering multiple time periods, the series portrays one family's quest to survive and then thrive.
The journey starts with Sunja (Kim Min-ha/Academy Award-winner Youn Yuh-jung), who wants to start a new life. She leaves her family in 1931 Japanese-ruled Korea and moves to Osaka, Japan, where several Koreans have resettled. She slowly starts to build a life there while enduring unstable living conditions and discrimination against Korean immigrants from the Japanese.
The second season continues Sunja's life through World War II. Viewers will reunite with her grandson, Solomon Baek (Jin Ha), who needs to deal with a new Japanese business partner.
You wanna be a star?
K-Pop Idols gives fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the highly competitive world that is K-pop stardom, featuring artists such as Jessi, CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN. In the course of six episodes, the docuseries follows the artists go through trials and triumphs as they chase their dreams. The show aims to let viewers see that not all K-pop bands achieve the kind of success enjoyed by supergroup BTS.
Korean-American Jessi achieved mainstream fame as the runner-up in Mnet's rap competition show Unpretty Rapstar's first season. She signed with Psy's (of Gangnam Style fame) record label P Nation as its first artist in 2019. She left the label in 2022 to strike out on her own.
CRAVITY is a nine-member group formed by Starship Entertainment and debuted in 2020. The group is composed of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin.
CRAVITY were called Monster Rookies when they were launched since they were the first 2020 rookie artists to debut on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100.
BLACKSWAN's current members are Belgian-Senegalese Fatou, Brazilians Gabi and Leia (on hiatus), Indian Sriya and American NVee. The group, formed by DR Music, originally debuted as Rania in 2011. Five years later, they rebranded as BP Rania (BP for Black Pearl). They went back to using Rania in 2018 and finally settled on the name BLACKSWAN in October 2020.
K-Pop Idols premiers Aug. 30 on Apple TV+.
Check out Apple TV+'s full schedule of new and returning series for August:
August 2
- Cowboy Cartel
August 9
- The Instigators
- Yo Gabba Gabbaland (Season 1)
August 14
- Bad Monkey
August 23
- Pachinko (Season 2)
August 30
- K-Pop Idols
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