Best new movies and TV series on Netflix Australia: July 2024

Each month, loads of new films and TV shows are added to Netflix Australia‘s library. Eliza Janssen presents her picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down. Also, check out Craig Mathieson’s top 50 movies on Netflix list.

Top Picks: TV

Vikings: Valhalla: Season 3 (July 11)

It’s the final chapter of this historical spin-off series! Since day dot, the creators have said they want to wrap up the franchise with 1066’s Battle of Stamford Bridge, considered the end of the Viking Age proper. So expect to see some sword-clashing and beard-bloodying atop some European bridge in the last episodes of this third season, I guess. The second season enjoyed a spiffy 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so hopefully our favourite warriors will rake in similar acclaim this time around, now that the gang has arrived in Constantinople for more pillaging and glory.

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Cobra Kai: Season 6: Part 1 (July 18)

It’s been a long time since The Karate Kid: in case you haven’t been keeping up with this wry, celebrated spin-off series, former foes Daniel and Johnny are now working pretty solidly together to lead their dojo to victory. But “old enemies and new threats stand in the way”, as Netflix’s synopsis informs us, and a few dusty Miyagi tricks and illegal leg sweeps might not be enough to save the day anymore. Cobra Kai remains a delightful show for multiple generations, with enough aspirational action to get your kids to beg you for karate lessons, and enough nostalgia to keep Gen X parents entertained.

The Decameron (July 25)

A medieval sex comedy that drags some of our Derry Girls and Sex Education faves into castle quarantine—count us in, milord. Based on an actual 14th century yarn, this raucous reimagining plonks wealthy nobles into the seeming sanctuary of an Italian villa, where they can wait out the blasted Black Death. After some bodice-ripping and a few too many barrels of mead, however, niceties wear thin, and the spoiled upper set will be forced to struggle for their survival. Perhaps it’s been long enough since the days of lockdowns for a project like this—so clearly reflective of COVID anxieties—to make us laugh.

Top Picks: Movies + Specials

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (July 3)

Back in the 1980s, nobody did rogueish cop comedy better than Eddie Murphy—and if Netflix could revive his star somewhat with that terrific performance in Dolemite Is My Name, why couldn’t it also bring back his rebellious LA transplant Axel Foley? He teams up with the ever-likeable Joseph Gordon-Levitt for this very belated sequel, in which Axel’s daughter gets threatened by a new case and old pals must be begrudgingly brought back into the fold to help him save her. Has it been three decades already? Funny, that iconic synth theme track still runs rings around our skulls.

Barbarian (July 4)

Get ready for the subterranean downward spiral of your wildest nightmares. Directed and written by Zach Cregger, Barbarian was one of my favourite scary movies of 2022, starting as a fairly conventional AirBNB horror story and then devolving into layers of comedy, nastiness, and some layered themes of white flight and women’s intuition being thwarted and ignored. Each act turn makes the film more fascinating and entertaining, with a brilliantly deployed Bill Skarsgård cast to thrown seasoned genre viewers off its scent. If you’ve avoided spoilers thus far, now might be the time for your descent.

Find Me Falling (July 19)

Piano man Harry Connick Jr. is a proven charmer, and he’ll wield his best croonin’ and swoonin’ abilities in this frothy Netflix Original rom-com. Playing a washed-up rockstar desperate for a break—and, most likely, some inspiration that’ll fuel his musical comeback—old mate Hazza arrives at a picturesque Mediterranean villa only to bump into some unlikely visitors. One being, of course, an old flame/the one that got away/etc. Expect a few ritzy tunes, heartwarming romance found later in life, and postcard views; the perfect sunny escape from this hemisphere’s coldness.