September welcomes with it an illustrious lineup of soon-to-be screen hits, all laid out for your ultimate viewing pleasure. Adaptations and spin-off narratives take the forefront yet again—a welcome move for those who have been willing a return of their favourite tales. Feeling spoilt for choice? Vogue Singapore has you covered with a careful curation of shows to hit play on—all made available on popular streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this month.
First things first, The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power takes a good slice of the screen buzz pie—one simply needs to recall the original trilogy’s impact on the genre of epic fables and fantasy to understand why. Morfydd Clark has huge shoes to fill coming in after the much-adored depiction of Galadriel by Cate Blanchett. However, from the first few episodes alone, it seems like the effortless grace and fearlessness Blanchett had once embodied are here to stay. Whilst the narrative brings Tolkien’s readers back into the much-obscured past of Galadriel and Elrond as young elves, the title is evidence of the series’s main focus—the creation of the precious rings in the mysterious Second Age. But with the screen technology of today, it is perhaps the elaborate landscapes of Middle-Earth that we can expect to have us all on the edge of our seats.
Next up: Little Women. Indeed, the South Korean drama presents itself as an episodic adaptation of the titular novel by Louisa May Alcott. In the original book, the March sisters take centre stage for their effortless gentility against all odds, and their familial love. Yet in the upcoming Netflix K-drama adaptation, the backdrop is already one strung by tragedy; endless hurdles of fraud, death and addiction point to how deeply they’re buried under South Korea’s poverty line—and they’re acutely aware of it all. In some sense, it takes on the modern day nature of a desperation to survive, in the cutthroat world of corruption and excess. And as they find themselves entrenched in the midst of a spiralling conspiracy plot, the imposing nature of the rich and influential becomes only more apparent. How then, do they push ahead against all odds? It’s a question we might only hope to have the answer to at the end of the riveting 12 episodes.
For other options to consider watching this month? Look to the narrative return of Game of Thrones in the vein of House of The Dragon, or perhaps find yourself intrigued as you take on Blonde: the fictional retelling of what might have been Marilyn Monroe’s scintillating life. An animated favourite makes a comeback, with the live-action remake of Pinocchio, where you might expect to be transported into the magical world of childhood nostalgia.
Below, the full list of our top streaming picks this September.
1 / 8
Blonde
Blonde welcomes a buzzy premiere; first at the 79th Venice Film Festival, and next on Netflix come month’s end. Ana De Armas is the iconic Marilyn Monroe or Norma Jean in Blonde, which positions itself as a loose retelling of the celebrity’s life. Notions of psychological thrill and the horrifying realities of stardom are hinted at in the trailers, with a single scene portraying Norma putting on her ‘game face’ before facing the throngs of paparazzi just outside the doors. Directed by Andrew Dominik, the adaptation is actually based on Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional Blonde—meant to portray a more tragic outlook at the formative experiences the actress had to continuously face all through her supposedly sparkling life.
Watch Blonde on Netflix from 28 September.
2 / 8
Andor
The Star Wars verse is one that has notably taken on its own slew of varying adaptations and spin-off series—filling in the narrative gaps where it can. Harking back to the central plot of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the 12-episode series titled Andor focuses its lens on one Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) before the events of the film. The overarching mood of the series is already notably dark considering its place on the Star Wars timeline, but it is quite possibly a tale fans might want to witness—for the core of it points to one of remarkable solidarity, borne out of a desperation to survive the times. As Cassian embarks on his journey through the times of the legendary rebellion, Andor is expected to display what it is that makes him a rebel hero.
Watch Andor on Disney+ from 21 September.
3 / 8
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power
The buzz surrounding The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power hardly comes as a surprise considering the love Peter Jackson’s original trilogy received back in the day. The episodic drama takes us back thousands of years before the actual happenings of J.R.R. Tolkien’s prose for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—to the times that had only been sung of like a myth in the original films. The show brings us back to the youth of familiar names, amongst them elven royalty Galadriel and Elrond. Played by Morfydd Clark, Galadriel is portrayed as the ferocious warrior she had always been hinted to be—hunting down the elusive Sauron who plagues the lands of Middle Earth. But it is the rest of the narrative that fans should be left most fascinated by, as it wouldn’t be a Lord of the Rings screen picture without the spectacular visuals of landmarked landscapes and fantastical races.
Watch Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video now.
4 / 8
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Based on the book The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty and War, the film adaptation makes way for a coming-of-age tale circling around the bonds of brotherhood, loyalty and sacrifice. Zac Efron plays Chickie Donohue, a US Marine Corps veteran who embarks on a journey out to the frontlines of the Vietnam War to bring his friends a slice of familiarity from home: a can of their favourite American beer. Yet the heavy backdrop of war and strife is one that cannot go unmissed during his adventures, and Chickie is faced with the complexities and realities of adulthood. Other stars in the film’s line-up include Russell Crowe who plays a character named Coates and Bill Murray, the bartender at the local pub.
Watch The Greatest Beer Run Ever on Apple TV+ from 30 September.
5 / 8
House of The Dragon
The anticipation was clear with the release of HBO’s House of The Dragon. For many, the series poses a narrative return of the seminal show of the decade—none other than Game of Thrones, the seasonal series based on George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy books. The prequel goes back 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and witnesses the reign of House Targaryen, the main plot of Martin’s Fire & Blood. We trace the Targaryen’s active conquest of the Seven Kingdoms: where Matt Smith stars as the rogue Prince Daemon at the heart of the thrill. Emma D’Arcy, Paddy Considine, Steve Touissant, Rhys Ifans and Olivia Cooke join the Doctor Who actor on screen. We’re expecting only more royal feuds, mystifying plots and just more dragon danger to come our way.
Watch House of The Dragon on HBO and HBO Max now.
6 / 8
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott’s novel undeniably hangs over the premise of South Korea’s latest thrill ride: Little Women. Yet there is a clear distinction that sets the drama apart from its source material—the girls are at their wit’s end with the dire state of poverty that their family has left them with, much unlike the original March sisters. Starring the charismatic Kim Go-Eun as the Oh family’s eldest In-Joo, Nam Ji-Hyun as the middle sister In-Kyung and Park Ji-hu as In-Hye, the youngest darling, it’s clear that the drama is already readily set up for the wondrous ensemble cast to blow its audiences away. Finding themselves in the midst of a loaded conspiracy case, the girls are led to the fight of their life against the typical chaebol family of Korean dramas; they’re rich, powerful and utterly menacing.
Watch Little Women on Netflix now.
7 / 8
Do Revenge
A dark teenager narrative sits on the horizon: in the vein of Do Revenge. Starring Riverdale’s Camila Mendes as Drea and Stranger Things’s Maya Hawke who plays Eleanor, the two become fast friends after finding that they have a common objective of taking down their enemies. Drea, once the ‘It girl’, has become the victim of her ex-boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams) sex tape fantasies. Eleanor is the school’s social outcast, after a girl spreads a salacious rumour of her. Whilst the film’s plot might read to be one that’s filled with your anytime dose of teenage drama, director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson simply wants to present the ‘colours of adolescence’ as they are: formative, filled with emotion and undeniably turbulent.
Watch Do Revenge on Netflix from 16 September.
8 / 8
Pinocchio
Of all the childhood tales we grew up with, Pinocchio remains iconic for its basic morals. But what was once a cartoon surrounding a wooden boy puppet who wanted to become a real boy, is now receiving its live action remake with Disney+’s Pinocchio. The trailer welcomes us into the magical world of the “boy with the borrowed soul”—and ultimately takes us through a tender tale of discovery, self-belonging and familial love. There is almost no one better than Tom Hanks to play Geppetto, the lonely woodworker who creates Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), treating him lovingly as if he were his own son. Jiminy Cricket—the wise guide, companion and conscience of our dearest titular puppet—is voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, while Cynthia Erivo switches on her melodic voice for the Blue Fairy.
Watch Pinocchio on Disney+ from 8 September.
