Late August is producing an interesting U.S. streaming mix: new releases are breaking through quickly, several established franchises are showing remarkable staying power, and documentary/reality programming is competing directly with big-budget scripted entertainment.
Platforms reviewed: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV, Peacock and Paramount+.
Netflix — Facing El Chapo / Death of the Pastor’s Wife
Movie: Facing El Chapo is Netflix’s No. 1 U.S. movie today after six days on the chart. It leads another documentary, Untold: The Testimony of Vince Young, while The Last House and 72 Hours remain in the Top 10 after 20 and 32 days respectively. The ranking shows just how strongly documentary and true-crime viewing is competing with conventional movies at the end of summer.
Show: Death of the Pastor’s Wife jumped straight to No. 1 on its first chart day, pushing Outer Banks to No. 2. That makes it the freshest breakout in Netflix’s current U.S. TV lineup, although Outer Banks’ 52-day Top 10 run remains impressive.
Prime Video — The Last Sunrise / Reacher
Movie: The Last Sunrise has made an immediate impact, reaching No. 1 on Prime Video’s U.S. movie chart on its first day. It has displaced longer-running titles including The Devil’s Mouth, Good Fortune and Masters of the Universe.
Show: Reacher is now firmly back on top. Season 4 has helped the franchise claim Prime Video’s No. 1 U.S. series position, ahead of Sterling Point and Ride or Die. Amazon’s own weekly ranking for August 17–23 also placed Reacher as its most-watched Prime Original series worldwide.
Disney+ — Yellow Mirror / Dolly Parton: An American Original
Movie: Disney’s new The Simpsons: Yellow Mirror exclusive has gone directly to No. 1 in the U.S. Disney+ movie chart. Camp Rock 3 remains strong at No. 2, while The Devil Wears Prada 2 is still No. 4 after nearly a month—an unusually diverse mix of animation, music nostalgia and theatrical IP.
Show: Dolly Parton: An American Original – Special Edition of 20/20 is today’s No. 1 Disney+ show. Just behind it are Lion, Furious and The Shards, demonstrating how Disney+ is broadening beyond its traditional Marvel, Star Wars and family franchises.
Hulu — Busboys / Furious
Movie: Busboys leads Hulu’s U.S. movie chart after 12 days, ahead of The Devil Wears Prada 2. New arrivals are already challenging it, however: Greedy People has reached No. 3 after only four days, while Nosferatu entered the Top 15 on its first day.
Show: Excluding today’s just-arrived Dolly Parton special, Furious is Hulu’s strongest sustained series performer, sitting at No. 2 overall after 31 days. The Shards is also climbing, moving five places to No. 5 among Hulu shows.
HBO Max — Normal / Lanterns
Movie: The freshest available U.S. HBO Max chart has Normal at No. 1, ahead of Mother Mary, The Drama and Mortal Kombat II.
Show: Lanterns is the bigger story. The DC series held No. 1 in the latest U.S. HBO Max ranking, ahead of House of the Dragon, and Episode 2 reportedly improved on the premiere’s daily chart performance rather than falling off—a promising sign for a new franchise launch.
Apple TV — The Dink / Ted Lasso
Movie: The Dink remains No. 1 in the latest available U.S. Apple TV movie chart after 34 days, ahead of The Bourne Identity, Looper and F1.
Show: Ted Lasso continues its remarkable streaming life at No. 1, with Silo at No. 2. But today brings the biggest potential Apple chart shake-up of the week: Dark Matter Season 2 premieres August 28, continuing the multiverse sci-fi thriller starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly.
Peacock — The Super Mario Galaxy Movie / Married at First Sight
Movie: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is still Peacock’s No. 1 U.S. movie after 28 days. Its behind-the-scenes companion Next Level: Making The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has also climbed into the Top 5, illustrating how a successful franchise can pull related content up with it.
Show: Married at First Sight leads Peacock’s TV chart, ahead of Next Gen NYC and Below Deck Mediterranean. Reality television remains an unusually important driver for Peacock: four different Real Housewives properties are currently represented in its Top 10.
Paramount+ — Passenger / Lioness
Movie: Passenger holds Paramount+’s No. 1 U.S. movie position after seven days, ahead of Steel Magnolias and newly arrived Clue. Catalog viewing remains important too: The Hangover and Top Gun: Maverick are still in the Top 10.
Show: Lioness continues to dominate Paramount+, holding No. 1 after an extraordinary 170 days on the chart. South Park, Criminal Minds and NCIS remain close behind, highlighting Paramount+’s reliance on franchises with deep audience loyalty.
Weekly Trend Takeaway
This week reveals three very different paths to streaming success.
The first is instant discovery: The Last Sunrise, Death of the Pastor’s Wife and Yellow Mirror have all arrived at or near No. 1 almost immediately. The second is franchise durability: Reacher, Ted Lasso, Lioness and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie continue to command attention well beyond their initial launch.
The third—and perhaps most interesting—is the continued rise of nontraditional “movie night” viewing. Facing El Chapo leads Netflix movies, while documentary specials, true crime, reality television and factual programming are occupying prime positions elsewhere. Streaming audiences increasingly seem less concerned with whether something is technically a “movie,” “series,” “special” or “documentary” than whether it gives them a compelling reason to click.
And next week could shift again quickly. Dark Matter Season 2 arrives on Apple TV today, while Netflix is adding The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro and Adam Scott.
Methodology note: Streaming services do not publish directly comparable real-time audience figures. OTTShows uses the freshest available U.S.-specific platform charts plus official platform viewing data where available. HBO Max and Apple TV picks use the freshest U.S. chart available at collection time when an August 28 chart had not yet populated.
