Here we are, sliding into the back half of summer. Now that August is almost upon us, you know the drill: a fresh stack of shows queued up on one of your favorite streaming platforms. Before you flip the calendar to fall, check out what's new on Paramount+ this month.
Leading the charge on Aug. 2 is "Lioness" season 3, where Zoe Saldaña’s CIA officer, Joe McNamara, faces a high-stakes threat that hits uncomfortably close to home. Next up is "The Challenge: Cutthroat" on Aug. 5, marking the franchise’s bold move off MTV for the first time in nearly 30 years. Rounding out the highlights on Aug. 19, "Average Joe" season 2 sends Deon Cole’s plumber-turned-reluctant-fugitive and his crew from Pittsburgh all the way to Cape Town.
There is plenty of great television to look forward to, even if it feels like the year is barreling by at breakneck speed. Check out the full breakdown below for everything new on Paramount+ in August 2026.
New releases on Paramoun+ in August 2026: Top picks
'Lioness' season 3
Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) runs the CIA's Lioness program, which plants female operatives undercover to get close to targets in the war on terror. Season 2 ended with Joe's team pinned down in a firefight after a mission built around a kidnapped member of Congress. Season 3 puts Joe up against foreign operatives and betrayals that hit closer to home. And this time, both her husband and daughter become collateral damage.
Premieres August 2 on Paramount+
'The Challenge: Cutthroat' season 42
After nearly 30 years on MTV, "The Challenge" is leaving the network for the first time and moving to Paramount+. It's marking the occasion by reviving one of its meanest formats. Cutthroat drops 24 veterans and rookies into Thailand and splits them into three teams, where the whole team has to cross the finish line together to claim a piece of the $500,000. But here's the catch: each team's captain decides how the money gets divided, and nothing stops a captain from keeping the whole pile.
Premieres August 5 on Paramount+
'Average Joe' season 2
Season 1 of "Average Joe" turned a Pittsburgh plumber's life inside out. Joe Washington (Deon Cole) buried his father after learning the old man had stolen $10 million and a Lamborghini from the Russian mob. He then proceeded to spend ten bloody episodes trying to survive people who wanted it back. Season 2 doesn't let him off the hook. A new threat tied to the same mob puts his family in danger again, and the hunt for answers takes Joe and his crew out of Pittsburgh and all the way to Cape Town, where things aren't quite getting any better for anyone involved, but it's more of the same satisfying action if that's what you're looking for.
Premieres August 19 on Paramount+
Everything coming to Paramount+ in August 2026
ORIGINALS, EXCLUSIVES, PREMIERES & EVENTS
8/1: UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez
8/2: Lioness: Season 3 - Paramount+ Original Series
8/4: Special Ops TRUE - NEW Paramount+ Original Docuseries
8/5: The Challenge: Cutthroat: Season 42 - Paramount+ Original Series
8/8: UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld
8/8: Zuffa Boxing 10
8/11: Dana White's Contender Series: Season 10 - Paramount+ Original Series
8/15: UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry
8/19: Average Joe: Season 2 - Paramount+ Original Series
8/29: UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song
New shows
August 2
Lioness | Season 3 | Paramount+ Original Series
August 4
Special Ops TRUE | Season 1 | Paramount+ Original Docuseries
Dana White Contender Series (Seasons 1-4)
August 5
The Challenge: Cutthroat | Season 42 | Paramount+ Original Series
August 11
Dana White’s Contender Series | Season 10 | Paramount+ Original Series
August 15
Bleed For This*
August 19
Average Joe | Season 2 | Paramount+ Original Series
August 22
The Run For A Million** (CBS Special)
The Harvest*
August 23
The Cured*
August 30
Blue Valentine*
New movies
August 1
- 10 Cloverfield Lane
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- As They Made Us*
- Babel
- Basic Instinct
- Best in Show
- Blade Runner 2049
- Body Cam
- Brave the Dark*
- Cloverfield
- Clue
- Coneheads
- Congo
- Cop Land
- Crawl
- Crawlspace
- Dead Man Walking
- Disturbia
- Don Jon
- Duplex
- Equilibrium
- Escape From Alcatraz
- For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada
- Frankie & Johnny
- From Dusk Till Dawn
- From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
- From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter
- Get Hard
- Gravity
- He's Just Not That Into You
- Hustle & Flow
- Indecent Proposal
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
- Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back
- Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
- Katy Perry The Movie: Part of Me
- Labor Day
- Machine Gun Preacher
- Million Dollar Baby
- My Boss's Daughter
- On the Line
- Organ Trail
- Overlord
- Risky Business
- Sabrina
- School Ties
- Shaft
- She's the Man
- Sliver
- Some Kind of Wonderful
- The Bodyguard
- The Doors
- The Hangover
- The Hangover Part II
- The Hangover Part III
- The Heartbreak Kid
- The Hunted
- The Lego Movie
- The Lovely Bones
- The Perfect Score
- The Saint
- The Sandlot
- The Score
- The Spiderwick Chronicles
- The Time Traveler's Wife
- The Vault*
- The Yards
- Vampire in Brooklyn
- Varsity Blues
- What Women Want
- Where The Wild Things Are
- Wild Wild West
- You're Dating a Narcissist!*
- You've Got Mail
Sports
- August 1 - WNBA: Las Vegas Aces @ Chicago Sky*
- August 1 - UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez
- August 1-2 - PGA Tour: Rocket Classic (Third and Fourth Round Coverage)*
- August 3 - BIG3 Basketball*
- August 7 - PBR Team Series
- August 8 - EFL Carabao Cup: Middlesbrough vs. Wrexham
- August 8 - WNBA: Las Vegas Aces @ Minnesota Lynx*
- August 8 - UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld
- August 8 - Zuffa Boxing 10
- August 8-9 - PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship (Third and Fourth Round Coverage)*
- August 9 - BIG3 Basketball*
- August 12 - UEFA Super Cup: PSG vs. Aston Villa
- August 14 - PBR Team Series
- August 14 - EFL Championship: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Blackburn Rovers
- August 15 - BIG3 Basketball*
- August 15 - UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry
- August 15-16 - PGA Tour: FedEx St. Jude Championship (Third and Fourth Round Coverage)*
- August 16 - EFL Championship: Burnley vs. West Ham United
- August 17 - EFL Championship: Cardiff City vs. Wrexham
- August 21 - PBR Team Series
- August 22 - BIG3 Basketball*
- August 22 - Serie A: Inter vs. Monza
- August 22-23 - PGA Tour: BMW Championship (Third and Fourth Round Coverage)*
- August 23 - Serie A: Torino vs. Milan
- August 28 - NFL ON CBS Preseason: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- August 28 - Serie A: Milan vs. Venezia
- August 29 - WNBA : Chicago Sky @ New York Liberty*
- August 29 - UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song
- August 29-30 - PGA Tour: TOUR Championship (Third and Fourth Round Coverage)*
- August 30 - Major League Pickleball Finals*
- August 30 - Serie A: Napoli vs. Como
- Throughout August - English Football League competition
- Throughout August - Serie A competition
- Throughout August - Coppa Italia Frecciarossa
- Throughout August - Scottish Professional Football League competitio
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