Each year, television’s summer season moves closer to having the same cultural significance as the fall and winter season.  This summer brought surprise hits like Netflix’s 1980s teen horror show “Stranger Things” and HBO’s crime miniseries “The Night Of.”

Popular shows such as “Mr. Robot” and “Orange is the New Black” returned for another year to good reviews. Summer television shows have recently evolved to reflect the summer movie season in tone: lots of adventurous teenage mischief, pop comedy, and of course, sequels.

This fall season welcomes the return of favorite big budget dramas like “NCISs,” “CSIs,” “Law and Order,” “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Construction,” “Chicago Cubs,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Wind,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Sky” and “Chicago Improv.” Three of the Chicago shows are actually real — no joke.

They will accompany returning comedies such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “New Girl,” “Modern Family” and “2 Broke Girls.”

Unfortunately, fans will not see some good shows due to network cancellation,  such as “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” “Black Sails,” “Maron,” “Vinyl” and “Comedy Bang! Bang!” Some of these will air their final episodes this fall.

Plus, in a few overlooked but interesting notes, “Big Brother” added an online-only fall season, and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” will have a crossover episode with “New Girl” in October.

Here’s what’s coming to Netflix this September:

“Narcos” Season 2 – September 1

One of Netflix’s biggest hits of 2015 will return with 10 more episodes. This drug crime show chronicles the rise of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar and the war on drugs in North and South America. Season 2 begins with Escobar’s famed escape from prison.

“Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills” – September 23 

This is Shlesinger’s third Netflix special (War Paint – 2013, Freezing Hot – 2015). Netflix curates its standup specials well, producing hours for Ali Wong, Bill Burr, Hannibal Buress, Anthony Jeselnik, Bo Burnham, David Cross, Aziz Ansari, John Mulaney and Mike Birbiglia. Shlesinger will take the title for most Netflix specials when this premieres, and you can expect even more standup comedy in your suggested list later this year.

Though there are no new original feature films coming to Netflix this month, at least five documentaries will become available to watch over the next few weeks, including:

“Chef’s Table” 

This docu-series from David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) follows famous chefs around their restaurants and daily lives.

“Amanda Knox” 

Almost a decade after Amanda Knox began her four years in an Italian prison for a murder she was later acquitted for, Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn interviewed Knox as well as the prosecutor of the case to retell and uncover some enlightening parts of the worldwide story from 2007.

“Audrie & Daisy” 

Netflix purchased the rights to this documentary after a strong showing at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles three cases of rape and the impact these crimes had on the lives of the young victims and the communities around them.

“White Helmets” 

This documentary seeks to enlighten outsiders about the state of the Syrian Civil Defense, their beliefs and their mission to rescue people from the attacks in their country.

“Extremis” 

This will be Netflix’s first short documentary. Directed by the Oscar and Emmy nominated Dan Krauss, the show will depict families dealing with tough decisions as loved ones near the end of their lives.

September marks the return of serialized courtroom dramas and big budget comedies, but Netflix has plenty of alternatives to the big network shows. Check back in at the end of the month for a review of the September premieres and a preview of what’s to come in October.

Kyle Stevens is a junior advertising major. His column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email him at ksteve03@syr.edu or reach him on Twitter at @kstevs_.

Published on August 30, 2016 at 10:34 pm