Ten New and Returning Shows to Watch on Netflix in August 2021

More big names are joining the Netflix family in August, with Paris Hilton offering a new culinary offering, and Sandra Oh flexing her comedy skills. Plus: an array of true crime docs, supernatural thrillers, baking competitions, and romance are lined to keep you entertained as we enter the dog days of summer. Here are the new and returning series we're most looking forward to watching on the streamer this August:

Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified (NEW series)

The latest in a string of docs and specials inspired by recently unclassified information coming out of the Pentagon, this docuseries explores what this new information can tell us about those unexplained lights in the sky, and whether the truth is really out there.

Available August 3

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (NEW series)

Director Billy Corben’s 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys explored how Miami became a cocaine trade hotbed in the 1970s and 1980s. Corben’s six-part follow-up takes a look at one of the largest drug cases in U.S. history, involving Cuban exiles Augusto “Willy” Falcon and Salvador “Sal” Magluta. In the 1980s, the pair were accused of smuggling over 75 tons of cocaine into the States and were alleged to have a $2 billion empire. This true-crime saga features interviews with those closest to them, their defense teams, and the agents tasked with catching them.

Available August 4

Cooking with Paris (NEW series)

Paris Hilton isn't Top Chef material, nor is she trying to be. Developed from her viral YouTube culinary series, Hilton's reality TV return sees her trying out new recipes, ingredients, and appliances with help from some of her famous friends.

Available August 4

Hit & Run (NEW series)

This thriller from the writers of Fauda and The Killing begins with a hit and run accident in Tel Aviv. Segev Azulai (Lior Raz) is a former special forces officer whose American dancer wife is killed. When her killers flee to the U.S., the grief-stricken Segev follows, only to find a web of secrets that his wife hid from him. Ambitious journalist Naomi Hicks (Sanaa Lathan) is Segev’s ex who aides him in the dangerous off-books investigation.

Available August 6

Bake Squad (NEW series)

Apparently there's always space for more cake on the streamer’s roster, as Bake Squad tasks four experts with crafting a dessert for someone’s big day. Each baker has been selected by host and Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi to make a sweet dream into a reality.

Available August 11

Gone For Good (NEW series)

Netflix signed a deal three years ago with best-selling author Harlan Coben to adapt 14 of his novels. So far these have included The Stranger, The Woods, and The Innocent; joining the ranks this month is a five-part French-language adaptation of Gone For Good. Ten years after Guillaume Lucchesi (Finnegan Oldfield) lost his brother and first sweetheart in a terrible tragedy, his new love Judith (Nailia Harzoune) goes missing. To find her, Guillaume will have to face all the truths that were hidden from him by his family and friends, as well as those that he’s long chosen to ignore.

Available August 13

Valeria, Season 2

The Spanish language dramedy about four friends nearing their 30s begins its Madrid-set second season. There's a strong Sex and the City vibe to the series thanks to the copious amounts of dating drama, career worries, and hangouts between the four women.

Available August 13

Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, Season 5

F9 finally hit theaters in June, but if you're already looking to fill that gravity-defying fast car hole in your heart, the animated spinoff is back for more adventures with Dom’s younger cousin Tony Toretto (Tyler Posey). Now entering its fifth season, Toretto has traveled the globe running covert operations for Mrs. Nowhere (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and the squad is now heading to the South Pacific.

Available August 13

The Chair (NEW series)

Rejoice! Sandra Oh is back on TV with a new series that sees her taking on the role of college professor Ji-Yoon Kim as she navigates a new role as Chair of the English department at Pembroke University. Not only is she the first woman to chair the department but she's one of the few staff members of color at Pembroke. Jay Duplass, Holland Taylor, and Bob Balaban co-star in the comedy series from Amanda Peet.

Available August 20

Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (NEW series)

iZombie meets Santa Clarita Diet meets Six Feet Under in this new Norwegian dramedy. Live Hallangen (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) wakes up on a forensic table hours after being declared dead and she has an insatiable hunger. In the small town of Skarnes, her brother’s funeral business is suffering thanks to a non-existent death rate. Live’s dilemma centers around her appetite, but if she kills, she'll also help the family business.

Available August 25

Emma Fraser has wanted to write about TV since she first watched My So-Called Life in the mid-90s, finally getting her wish over a decade later. Follow her on Twitter at @frazbelina.