There's usually a bit of an entertainment lull in September, as the kids head back to school, awards season starts gearing up, and folks get to watching their old favorites for the upcoming holidays. But 2020 ain't your average year, and in a lot of ways, September is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing content months of the year. On Netflix, that naturally means a lot of binge-worthy shows are coming your way, and there are quite a few worth getting excited for, depending on what you like.
For one thing, you're definitely going to want to keep an eye out for Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, which offers an animated half-hour spin on everyone's rawring franchise. Elsewhere in children's programming, Kenny Ortega looks to deliver another delightful musical with a slightly spooky edge in Julie and the Phantoms. Cooking enthusiasts have plenty to look forward to, as do sitcom stans, and the very specific audience who's been dying to see Hilary Swank head into space. Check out our picks for September's new highlights on Netflix, and if you're looking for all the new series hitting the streamer this month, you can find the full list of arriving and departing titles here.
Chef's Table BBQ
Available: September 2
Creator: David Gelb
If you’ve seen Netflix’s gorgeous, contemplative docuseries Chef’s Table, you know what to expect from the new spinoff Chef’s Table BBQ. Created by Jiro Dreams of Sushi filmmaker David Gelb, Chef’s Table dedicates each episode to individual cooks, chefs, and culinary innovators from around the world. As the title would suggest, BBQ hones in the focus on masters of the grill. What becomes clear when you watch enough Chef’s Table is that great cooking seems to be some sort of alchemy in the sense that chefs are always experimenting, recombining the elements of their recipes, honing their craft until they create some transcendent dish all their own. Heck, the whole competitive cooking show industry is built on the principle that if you give different chefs the same ingredients, you’ll get wildly different results. That mystical-meets-scientific sense of invention and craft feels more present than ever in the world of barbeque, where most cooks worth a dime will tell you it isn’t about the seasoning mix (salt and pepper works just fine), it’s a feel for temperature, time, and the transformation of what they’re cooking.
Chef’s Table BBQ bookends its episodes with the highlights, the first focused on an unassuming Texas BBQ legend Tootsie Tomanetz, who spends her weekdays as a school custodian while reigning as the pitmaster at Snow’s BBQ, a favorite destination of locals who know what’s up. The finale introduces us to Rosalia Chay Chuc, an indigenous Mayan master who offers a completely different perspective, tradition, and craft. More and more, food TV has become one of the most available, informative, entertaining, and widely popular means of learning about history and culture from around the world, and while all the episodes of BBQ are insightful in their own way, it’s those two that really strike home the merit of embracing the format to explore culinary genius beyond the Michelin Star headliners.
Away
Available: September 4
Creator: Andrew Hinderaker
Cast: Hilary Swank, Josh Charles, Ato Essandoh, Talitha Eliana Bateman, Adam Irigoyen, Vivian Wu, Ray Panthaki, Mark Ivanir
Hilary Swank heads to space in Netflix’s new sci-fi drama Away. The two-time Academy Award-winning actress stars as Emma, the captain of a groundbreaking international mission to Mars. With her daughter (Talitha Eliana Bateman) and engineer husband (Josh Charles) grounded on Earth, Emma leads a tense and complicated space mission that could change the future of the human race. Part sci-fi, part domestic drama, Away splits time between the complicated emotional lives of Emma and the rest of her crew with straight sci-fi that’s more interested in the complications of leadership and semi-realistic space travel than inventing new worlds and alien races. If you prefer laser guns and light-speed escapes with your space drama, Away might be a bit dry. But if you’re a fan of a more real-world approach that mines the human victories and failings of scientific ambition for thrills and drama, Away will probably land the target.
Julie and the Phantoms
Available: September 10
Showrunners: Dan Cross, Dave Hoge
Executive Producers: Kenny Ortega, Dan Cross, Dave Hoge, George Salinas
Cast: Madison Reyes, Charlie Gillespie, Owen Patrick Joyner, Jeremy Shada, Booboo Stewart, Cheyenne Jackson, Carlos Ponce, Sonny Bustamante, Jadah Marie, Sacha Carlson, Savannah Lee May
You can always count on Kenny Ortega for a dose of feel-good fun. The filmmaker and choreographer behind beloved kids classics like Newsies, Hocus Pocus, and High School Musical flexes his always entertaining musical muscles once again with Julie and the Phantoms. Inspired by the Brazilian hit series Julie e os Fantasmas, the new Netflix Family original stars Madison Reyes as Julie and Charlie Gillespie, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Jeremy Shada as her titular trio of phantoms. Members of an up-and-coming band that had their dreams dashed when they died after eating some bad hot dogs (which should give you a sense of how the show treads lightly while dealing in the dark matters of death), the ghosts appear to Julie in her garage 25 years later, and through their shared love of music, they team up for a new and improved, if mostly ghostly band. Every episode features legit bangin' earworm songs and pop performances, tender coming-of-age drama, and that signature Ortega touch. The feel-good ghost musical is a must-watch for anyone looking for an instant mood-boost, as long as you're ok with having the songs stuck in your head.
Girlfriends, Season 1-8
Available: September 11
Creator: Mara Brock Akil
Cast: Traces Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Jill Marie Jones, Persia White, Reginald C. Hayes
Catch up with all 8 seasons of one of the best and most beloved sitcoms of all time when Girlfriends lands on Netflix in its entirety this month. The iconic early 2000s comedy stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Persia White, Golden Brooks, and Jill Marie Jones as a quartet of friends navigating professional, personal and romantic life in Los Angeles. While the laugh track and multi-cam format can make Girlfriends feel a bit dated at times,(lest we ignore the ways conversations around race and the Black experience have significantly changed over the last decade), but the performances from the powerhouse quartet of leads remain every bit as lively and entertaining as when it went on the air, and their chemistry ensures that revisiting the hit series is a lot more rewarding than your average nostalgia trip.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
Available: September 18
Showrunners: Scott Kreamer, Aaron Hammersley
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, Frank Marshall, Scott Kreamer, Aaron Hammersley and Lane Lueras
Voice Cast: Paul-Mikél Williams, Jenna Ortega, Ryan Potter, Raini Rodriguez, Sean Giambrone, Kausar Mohammed, Jameela Jamil, Glen Powell
You know when you’re a kid and you love a movie so much you make up fantasy versions in your head where you were also there, just off-camera? That’s the energy Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is bringing. The new animated series reimagines the events of Jurassic World from the perspective of a group of teenagers in the midst of an exclusive stay at a neighboring youth-oriented camp who wind up having to fend for themselves when the dinos do what Jurassic dinos always do (read: havoc and destruction) inside the main park. The 2019 surprise short Battle at Big Rock proved there’s a lot of potential in apply the short-form episodic approach to the Jurassic thrills we know and love, and Camp Cretaceous delivers on that promise with tightly-wound, energetic episodes that translate those edge-of-your-seat Jurassic thrills into a family-friendly adventure without sacrificing their bite.
The Chef Show, Season 2
Available: September 24
Presented By: Jon Favreau and Roy Choi
Two cooking shows in one month? What can I say? Netflix is undeniably killing it in foodie content. If you haven’t caught up with The Chef Show, do yourself a favor and chill the eff out with two amiable dudes who love hanging out and making good food. After working together on Jon Favreau’s equally endearing 2014 film Chef, for which star chef Roy Choi was the culinary supervisor, Choi and Favreau just couldn’t get enough of their chummy and yummy hangouts and decided to re-team for this travel/cooking show that follows them from destination to destination, where they learn new recipes and techniques, and their pure love of what they’re doing wraps you up in a big, warm hug through the screen. The series first went viral for the moment Gwyneth Paltrow realized she was in a Spider-Man movie, but the celebrity guests aren’t really what makes The Chef Show such a joy (except Sam Raimi, who is a freaking delightful pasta-maker) -- it’s the genuine camaraderie between Favreau and Choi, Favreau’s transparent admiration for Choi’s culinary gifts, and in turn, Choi’s always patient and kind willingness to share them with his friend.
The Good Place, Season 4
Available: September 26
Creator: Michael Schur
Cast: Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, D'Arcy Carden, Manny Jacinto, Ted Danson
The Good Place is one of the best, most affirming, and comforting TV comedies to come out of the 2010s, and if you missed how it all came to a close during its broadcast run, you’re definitely going to want to catch up and feel all the feels when the final season arrives on Netflix. Created by Parks and Rec and Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Michael Schur, The Good Place shares the same strengths in ensemble storytelling, tight episodic scripting, and layered laugh-out-loud gags, but it’s more philosophical, absurdist, and ultimately, impactful. Built on one of the best comedy ensemble casts in recent memory, which mixes up a potent cocktail of with a base of Disney-grade celebrity/standout generational talent (Kristen Bell), several breakout curveball castings (including Manny Jacinto, William Jackson Harper, D’Arcy Carden and Jameela Jamil, fresh off her hosting career), with a dash of sitcom legend (Ted Danson). And that’s before we get to the steady parade of cameos and recurring roles from comedy favorites.
Few shows have better captured the complicated nuances of trying to be a good person and the subtle ways in which the world’s systems seemed rigged against us to make us complicit in wrongdoing, even through our most basic decisions. But perhaps the greatest strength of The Good Place is that it’s not despairing, but hopeful and tenacious. I’m sad to see it go because I think the world needs to hone in on the value of fighting for kindness and empathy right now (and because I would have spent a million seasons hanging out with Eleanor and Chidi and the rest of the gang), but it’s always good to see a beloved series go out strong.