Review
Lilo & Stitch reloaded: how much love has Disney still got to show?
by Luca Fontana
These are the streaming highlights in September
1.9.2025
Translation: machine translated
New month, new streaming tips. Whether Netflix, Disney+, Sky Show, Apple TV+ or Paramount+: Here you can find out which series and films are showing on the streaming services this September.
Two toothpicks go for a walk in the forest. They are overtaken by a hedgehog. One toothpick says to the other: «I didn't realise there was a bus here!» Streaming highlights pope Luca is on holiday, the bad joke at the beginning remains. Also a small selection of what's new this month on «Glotze».
Netflix
aka Charlie Sheen (documentary series)
When I hear Charlie Sheen, the first thing I think of is «Hot Shots!». The mother of all films - the German subtitle of the film - was shown in cinemas in 1991. As a 14-year-old, I sat in the cinema and celebrated the absurd slapstick comedy to the full. I only became aware of Sheen's more serious work before that, for example in «Platoon», «Wall Street» or «Interceptor», after the film had been released.
But the sitcom «Two and a Half Men», which was celebrated by many, largely passed me by. It was just never my thing. Charlie Sheen played his alter ego, the hedonistic advertising jingle composer Charlie Harper, for eight seasons and was regarded as the highest-paid TV star - until he fell out with series creator Chuck Lorre and was kicked out.
It wasn't a sitcom that I enjoyed.
It was not the first and last misstep in Charlie Sheen's excessive life. Alcohol, hard drugs, prostitutes - since the 1990s, he has repeatedly drawn attention to himself with escapades. As recently as 2018, he appeared in the music video for «Drug Addicts» by Lil Pump. I'm still disturbed.
But that's all supposed to be history now. Charlie Sheen has been clean for seven years and is revisiting his «wild» times in a two-part documentary series. «What's the best way to present this with some class?», Sheen asks at the beginning of the trailer. «I think this train has left the station, Charlie», says the voice behind the camera. Marvellous! Among others, ex-wife Denis Richards and Hollywood's former «madam» Heidi Fleiss have their say, but also Sheen's dealer! Sounds like a ruthless reappraisal. Let's see if I can still get a place on this group therapy programme.
Start: 10 September
Black Rabbit (miniseries)
Jake (Jude Law) has built a successful life for himself as the owner of the Black Rabbit - a trendy New York nightclub. However, this beautiful world is shaken when his erratic brother Vince (Jason Bateman) suddenly turns up. Vince, who has already made many a bad decision, is hunted by bill collectors who soon set their sights on Jake. A wild ride and fight for survival begins for the two of them.
Jude Law («The Talented Mr Ripley», «The New Pope») and Jason Bateman («Arrested Development», «Ozark») as mismatched brothers, what could possibly go wrong? Incidentally, Zach Baylin played a key role in the development and production of «Black Rabbit». He made a name for himself with the screenplay for «The Order» (2024) at the latest, a dry as dust and phenomenal film (HA, another film tip smuggled in!). In the leading role: Jude Law. The film comes full circle.
Start: 18 September
Wayward (miniseries)
Ominous, mysterious, Toni Collette. I'm a simple man, my interest is already piqued. The teaser trailer for «Wayward» fully fulfils its purpose. Just like the poster.
Source: Netflix
The story: At first glance, Tall Pines is a peaceful little town. But dark secrets lurk beneath the idyllic surface. A police officer who has just moved to the town realises this when he meets two students from the local school for troubled teenagers who want to escape. What unusual events are taking place in this institution? And what role does the enigmatic headmistress (Toni Collette) play in all of this?
The series takes a critical look at the «Troubled Teen Industry», questionable re-education programmes and facilities for adolescents with behavioural problems in the USA. Exciting, I'm right there with you. Patrick J. Adams from «Suits» too, by the way. I'm looking forward to it.
Start: 25 September
Disney+
Lilo & Stitch (film)
«Lilo & Stitch» is the first film our six-year-old daughter has seen in a 4DX cinema. At first she was confused by the moving cinema seat and the water and wind effects, but then she really got into it. Oh and Stitch, the blue koala monster, she thought was stupid before the film, but now she loves him.
Just like her dad, who thinks this character is one of the best things Disney has created in recent times. Be it in the 2002 animated film or in the live-action adaptation, which has grossed over a billion US dollars worldwide in cinemas and is now guaranteed to send streaming figures soaring on Disney+.
I'm still not a fan of Disney's live-action film concept (to be honest, «Mufasa» was a bit rubbish!) It worked with «Lilo & Stitch». So well, in fact, that I shed a tear or two, mainly because of Lilo actress Maia Kealoha. Why? Because the story has worked like this before, as my colleague Luca surmises in his film review, which I agree with one-to-one:
So that we never forget the most important lesson from «Lilo & Stitch»:
«Ohana means family. Family means that no one is left behind or forgotten.»
Start: 3 September
Only Murders in the Building - Season 5 (series)
This hilarious murder mystery is now in its fifth season and continues to enjoy unbroken popularity. The positive ratings, for example on Rotten Tomatoes, bear witness to this: 97 per cent from the critics, 90 per cent from the audience - these are absolute top scores. Nevertheless, I haven't yet managed to convince myself of «Only Murders in the Building». Maybe I really need to change my priorities, what do you think?
The three true-crime fans, played by Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short, are once again at the centre of the fifth season. Their agenda this time is to solve Lester's death. Lester was a doorman at Arconia, the apartment complex in New York where all three of them live. During their investigations, they become entangled in a web of power and crime. In addition to powerful billionaires and mysterious residents of the Arconia, the Mafia is clearly also involved.
The cast of «Only Murders in the Building» is regularly joined by guest stars. Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are back, for example. Christoph Waltz and Renée Zellweger are also new additions in season 5. Sounds like another success with an announcement.
Start: 9 September
The Lowdown (series)
The self-proclaimed journalist Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) lives and works in a bookshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has set himself the goal of uncovering uncomfortable truths about corruption in his city. It goes without saying that his Recherchen sleuthing regularly leads him into the criminal underworld and gets him into trouble.
Something really big unfolds after Lee publishes an article about the wealthy Washberg family. Shortly afterwards, Dale Washberg, the black sheep of the family, dies under strange circumstances. And he has left Lee a letter that says, among other things: «Behind every great fortune is a great crime.» Such a statement is of course pure gold for a worn-out conspiracy theorist like Lee Raybon. Let the story begin!
I admit it, the trailer had me at Ethan Hawke. I love this dude, who has been with me my whole life, at least since I started consciously indulging in the moving image. Be it in «Dead Poets Society», «Gattaca», the «Before» trilogy by Richard Linklater, «Training Day» or «Black Phone», Ethan Hawke is one of my absolute favourite actors, who has been delivering consistently for decades - no, getting better and better.
In addition, the cast of «The Lowdown» shines with further star power, be it Jeanne Tripplehorn («Waterworld»), Kyle MacLachlan («Twin Peaks») or Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who will be hunting vampires in 2026 in the «Buffy» reboot alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar. Sterlin Hajo («Reservation Dogs» - highly recommended series by me!), who also directed several of the eight episodes, is responsible for the series.
All this makes «The Lowdown» an absolute no-brainer for me. The series starts on 23 September with a double episode on the US TV channel FX, which will be available the following day on the streaming service Hulu. In this country, that should be the case on Disney+, even if it hasn't been officially confirmed yet. I'm just confident for now.
Start: 24 September (hopefully)
Sky Show
Task (miniseries)
A new work by Brad Ingelsby, who we have to thank for the great miniseries «Mare of Easttown» with Kate Winslet? Bring it on!
After a tragic loss, FBI agent Tom Brandis (Brand Ruffalo) has enough to contend with and his own demons. Nevertheless, he is put in charge of a special unit tasked with solving a series of brutal robberies of drug houses in the working-class neighbourhoods of Philadelphia. Opposite him is Robbie Prendergast (Tom Pelphrey). The supposedly harmless dustman leads a double life as the head of the gang of robbers. And even though they are on opposite sides, the two probably have more in common than they and we realise.
What is to blame, who is to blame? What is good, what is evil? And how many shades of grey are there between black and white? These questions are running through my mind as I watch the trailer for «Task» again, which is accompanied by Pink Floyd's «Wish you were here». This amounts to an intense thriller with a brilliant cast, emotional contradictions and moral dilemmas. This task is so on my to-do list!
Start: 8 September
Apple TV+
Slow Horses - Season 5 (series)
This is more of a reminder to myself: Now «Slow Horses» is already in its fifth round, and I still haven't managed to finally watch this series! Even though my colleague Luca said as early as the fourth season: Make sure you catch up!
Gary Oldman - seemingly in the role of his life - leads a group of disgraced MI5 agents as Jackson Lamb, who have been relegated to the sidelines at the outpost «Slough House». But it is precisely this supposed group of failures that repeatedly finds itself at the centre of attention, uncovers conspiracies and is clearly capable of more than they thought.
«Slow Horses» is a black humour espionage thriller series based on the 2010 novel of the same name by English author Mick Herron. The book was the first in a whole series of spy novels centred around Jackson Lamb. So there may be one or two more seasons in the pipeline. Nevertheless, I should finally start watching, damn it!
Start: 24 September
The Savant (miniseries)
Oscar winner Jessica Chastain is «The Savant», an undercover investigator who infiltrates online hate groups to prevent attacks by domestic extremists. Or as she says in the trailer: «My job is to pretend to think like them. To stop these evil people from doing really bad things.»
This looks exciting, but also highly threatening and almost unpleasantly realistic. And indeed: the inspiration for the thriller series is an article by journalist Andrea Stanley, in which she portrayed and interviewed just such a covert investigator. Andrea Stanley was also involved in the series - as a consultant.
Jessica Chastain, on the other hand, is apparently so convinced by «The Savant» that she has not only taken on the lead role, but is also an executive producer. I'll definitely take a closer look at that.
Start: 26 September
Header image: «Task» / HBO
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.
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