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What to watch this August, from the much anticipated The Bear to Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon

A man acting as a chef is shown holding cooking tools and looking at a woman facing away in a kitchen

I know I say this every month but MY GOD there is some hot streaming content coming out in the next few weeks.

Here’s what to watch in August.

The Bear (Disney+, August 31)

It feels like everyone’s been talking about The Bear lately.

The original comedy tells the story of a chef who worked in fine dining before returning home to Chicago to turn around the sandwich shop his late brother owned.

It’s the kind of simple premise that could have led to a forgettable TV show.

But the ensemble cast (led by Jeremy Allen White), paired with shots of sharp, impressively fast knives, vegetables mid-sauté, and a raucous soundtrack collide to create a realistic depiction of the chaos, tension and desperation that come with working in a restaurant kitchen that collectively knows it could be more successful than it is.

The Bear is often intense. But it’s also hilarious and it may also bring tears to your eyes for the best reasons.

For fans of: Sweetbitter, Ugly Delicious, Chef’s Table, Shameless

House of the Dragon (Binge and Foxtel, August 22)

Dragons! Matt Smith with bleached eyebrows! The vague but still somehow powerful warning that war is afoot in the Game of Thrones universe!

Set about 200 years before the original series, this prequel follows the Targaryen family as their rule of Westeros is threatened by the question of who will succeed King Viserys: his brother, Daemon, or his daughter, Rhaenyra?

Still not sold? So many people will be bingeing this series that you may as well watch it so you can keep up with the office water-cooler chat if nothing else.

For fans of: Game of Thrones (obviously), Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Tudors, Shadow and Bone

Summer Love (ABC iview, August 31)

The eight episodes of Summer Love have only one thing in common: they’re set in the same holiday house by a beach.

Over the course of a summer, that poor house sees it all. Visitors include old friends who realize they maybe shouldn’t be friends anymore, surprise instant parents, an aspiring rapper and his surgeon girlfriend grappling with his abandonment issues, and two strangers who end up being forced to stay together after a double booking.

Prepare to evil-laugh and feel glorious amounts of cringe over this anthology (which stars Miranda Tapsell I must also add — as if you needed any more reason to watch!!).

For fans of: The Letdown, PEN15, Please Like Me

Selling the OC (Netflix, August 24)

The streaming gods have blessed us with another real estate reality show to hate-watch off the back of Selling Sunset’s success.

Chrishell and Christine aren’t in this version, but it does offer just as many swanky houses only the 0.1 per cent could afford, just as many realtors teetering around in heels and bodycon dresses, and just as much drama.

And that’s the most important part really, isn’t it?

For fans of: Selling Sunset, Selling Tampa, any of the Real Housewives series, Yummy Mummies

Here Out West, (ABC iview, August 14)

Here Out West is a film featuring eight interconnected stories (written by eight new writers!) set in the ever-changing melting pot that is Western Sydney.

It’s a heartwarming — and at times, heartbreaking — depiction of family, identity, love and hope.

I have a feeling you won’t regret watching it.

For fans of: The Family Law, Ali’s Wedding, The Heights

A League of Their Own (Amazon Prime, August 12)

Sometimes you just want to curl up and watch something that makes you feel good, and A League of Their Own is that vibe exactly.

The series follows a group of women (made up of familiar faces including Chanté Adams, Abi Jacobsen and D’Arcy Carden) as they form an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and try to provide themselves as ball players at a time when the US is going through immense social transformation during WWII.

If this all sounds familiar, it could be because A League Of Their Own is based on a true story. Oh, and that real-life story was made into a movie by the same name back in 1992 (which this series was adapted from).

For fans of: Hidden Figures, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Hacks, Ted Lasso

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Technology

Disney’s New Free-To-Play Racer Wants To Be Distinct From Mario Kart With “Combat Racing”

Disney's New Free-To-Play Racer Wants To Be Distinct From Mario Kart With "Combat Racing"

Disney Speedstorm Mickey Mouse
Image: Gameloft

Gameloft’s free-to-play racing game Disney Speedstorm has already been compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe numerous times. With its character-focused racing and themed tracks, it was inevitable — especially on the Switch! But, in an interview with Nintendo Everything, the developer is keen to set out what makes this title stand out from Nintendo’s juggernaut kart racer.

While Mario Kart 8 has different types of karts, stats, and even racer weights, Disney Speedstorm will have four different classes. When asked about what makes this game “stand out”, Gameloft Barcelona’s game manager — Aska Suzuki — put forward this unique element first:

“In Disney Speedstorm, characters aren’t just broken up by general types. We’ve given them one of four classes: Speedster, Brawler, Trickster, and Defender to support the strong combat racing element to this game. Boost management is really important , and each class builds extra boost in different ways, such as a brawler gaining more boost through stunning other racers, or a speedster gaining extra boost by going across boost pads.This provides the opportunity for very strategic racing if players wish to race that way .”

The class doesn’t just change how the character races, but it also affects how you get extra boosts, which adds an extra layer of strategy to the game! It sounds like a really interesting difference, especially with the focus on “combat” and confrontation. So we’ll be racing against all of our least-favorite Disney characters so we can justify ramming into them on the race track, then!

But that’s not the only unique element. Suzuki went on to explain what other differences classes bring to the table:

“Additionally, individual characters don’t just have special abilities, but they are pre-loaded with specific power-ups, so a trickster character will be more inclined to get items that negatively impact other racers, or a defender might get more defensive items On top of that, each power-up can be charged in order to perform a different action! More than any other racing game I can think of, character choice in Disney Speedstorm is closer to picking a character in a MOBA game.”

This element of the game is similar to Mario Kart Double Dash!!, but instead of just having unique abilities, they’re also more likely to get items that fit their playstyles. What items and skills these are, we don’t know yet, but it looks like character selection will be going beyond simply picking your favorite Disney and Pixar character.

Of course, Disney Speedstorm is a live service game with seasonal content, and Suzuki outlined a few things that will be added to the game once it’s out:

“…players will have access to regular new content via updates and season passes. New Disney and Pixar racers will be added regularly to Disney Speedstorm, bringing special skills for you to master (or overcome) and unique tracks to pump fresh strategy into the mix. Support crew characters, environments, customization options, and collectibles will also drop in regularly, so there’s always more to experience.”

This is certainly something that sets the game apart from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which many might be worried about. However, despite there being special events and Season Passes, Suzuki reiterated that “all characters can be unlocked through gameplay”, while also finding items to help level up their chosen character.

There will be specific events focused on a single Disney or Pixar film, or other ones focused on certain characters. So Gameloft is planning to go all out on the game.

Disney Speedstorm is due out sometime this summer. We’ll let you know as soon as we have an official release date. Have you decided on whether you’ll be downloading the game? Do you think the combat racing elements will make this one stand out? Let us know down below!

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