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Last Updated on July 25, 2026 by Stefanie Hutson

Acorn TV has announced their August premiere lineup, and it's great news for Chelsea Detective fans…to say nothing of the continuation of several recent favorites. Keep reading for the full schedule + descriptions.

Shows Continuing on Acorn TV in August 2026

Summertide (2024, South Africa), Season 1.5 (picking up from where they left off last autumn)

This South African drama follows the Field family across multiple generations, along with those whose lives intersect with theirs. Each character carries hidden motives and personal struggles, revealing the complex ties that bind them over time.

Episodes will continue as follows:

August 3rd:
- Episode 45 – Hannes confronts Joanna about her alcoholism. Wilma struggles with campaign pressure. Tristan attempts to win
  back Yolande. Rebecca deals with Estella’s blackmail. Emily has another health scare.
- Episode 46 – Tristan nervously rehearses a kiss scene with Yolande. Wilma deals with a smear campaign. Cheryl pressures Rebecca
  to fire Estella. Martin grapples with Charlie’s ex. Salt & Fire is trashed.
August 10th:
- Episode 47 – Yolande and Tristan’s bond strengthens leading up to opening night. Emily is rushed to the hospital. Rebecca deals
  with the aftermath of her restaurant being trashed.
- Episode 48 – Tristan supports Yolande through her recovery. Wilma and Jack organize a community event for Christmas. Emily
  and Gavin face a miscarriage. Freddy quits his security job.
August 17th:
- Episode 49 – Tristan wants to help Yolande dance again. Martin’s suspicions of Lourens grow, and he confronts Charlie. Estella
  convinces Rebecca with a plan to burn down Salt & Fire.
- Episode 50 – A major accident devastates the Field and Solomons families. The families come together to support each other in
  grief.
August 24th:
- Episode 51 – Amina finds comfort in Martin as they try to process what happened to Rebecca and seek justice. Martin and Charlie
  have a romantic reconciliation. Gavin and Martin have a heated confrontation.
- Episode 52 (FINALE) – A memorable finale. Charlie supports Martin’s efforts to track down the toxic waste. Gavin supports Cheryl’s vision
  to rebuild Salt & Fire, and the families reunite to celebrate her legacy.

Catch up on the first half of the season HERE.

The Ridge (2025)

Set between Scotland and New Zealand, this psychological thriller stars Lauren Lyle as Mia, a Scottish doctor who travels abroad for her sister’s wedding and instead arrives to find her dead. As she starts looking into what happened, she's drawn into a small community marked by secrets, suspicion, and older tensions that have not gone away.

The six-part series also stars Jay Ryan, and builds its central story around Mia’s attempt to make sense of her sister’s death while dealing with the people and suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

Episodes will premiere in August as follows:

August 3rd, Episode 2 – Mia discovers that Cassy was hiding secrets, leading to a violent confrontation between Ewan and Teddy. Little does
Mia know that Ewan’s hiding a secret of his own.
August 10th, Episode 3 – Mia questions many suspects about Cassy’s death resulting in an arson attempt on her own life. A distraught Mia is
drawn much closer to Ewan than she should be.
August 17th, Episode 4 – The town’s Whitebait Festival proves the worst possible comedown for a strung out Mia. The truth about Mia’s
deadly past is revealed yet she remains unrepentant.
August 24th, Episode 5 – Deadly events of the past seem all too familiar for Mia. Annot’s fate is sealed when she recalls far more about
Ewan than he would like.
August 31st, Episode 6 (FINALE) – A hike up the ridge reveals Mia and Ewan have more in common than either, ever expected. While addiction may be
a weakness it gives Mia strength to bring down her sister’s killer.

New Shows on Acorn TV in August 2026

August 3rd PRemieres

The Chelsea Detective returns August 3rd

The Chelsea Detective, Season 4

Adrian Scarborough (Miranda) returns as DI Max Arnold alongside Vanessa Emme as DS Layla Walsh (Dublin Murders), solving another series of four murders in the upmarket borough of Chelsea.

Episodes will premiere in August as follows:

August 3rd, Episode 1 “Death on the Aether” – Butler Lucas is found dead in the Thames. The investigation gets complicated when the team learns that Lucas wasn’t Lucas at all – he was Billy Paige, an undercover journalist investigating the household of self-made fashion mogul, Clare Curtis.
August 10th, Episode 2 “The 13th Earl” – When notorious gangster Trent Wilsher is found shot dead and the prime suspect, Rory, Earl of Davenstock, disappears, DI Arnold must launch a manhunt to find him before Trent’s brother takes revenge on the remaining Davenstocks.
August 17th, Episode 3 “Beauty Costs” – Sonia Blessing is found killed in her own salon. DI Arnold interviews an old boyfriend and scorned clients, but the truth behind Sonia’s murder appears much darker, revolving around a hidden identity and a desperate attempt to escape coercion.
August 24th, Episode 4 “The Petrov Extension” (FINALE) – Famed architect Rowan Jameson is thrown from a hotel balcony in Chelsea. Two days later a university employee is strangled in Rowan’s hometown Cambridge. Might the two murders be linked by controversial development plans at St Cuthbert’s College?

Catch up on earlier seasons HERE.

AUGUST 10th Premieres

True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here continues with season 3 in August

True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here, Season 3

Hosted by Hilarie Burton Morgan (One Tree Hill), this true crime series examines murder cases from small towns across the United States, where the people involved often know one another and the impact of the crime is felt across the whole community. The series follows the investigations as details emerge and relationships between victims, suspects, and witnesses come into focus. Six episode binge premiere.

Can't wait? You can stream it HERE right now.

August 17th Premieres

The Watchman (2016 film)

Stephen Graham (Peaky Blinders) stars as a CCTV operator whose frustration with the local police leads him to do a bit of his own crimefighting – leading him into a frightening chain of events over the course of a single night shift.

August 24th PremierES

Blue Murder Motel (2026, New Zealand)

Retired Sydney detectives Vinny (Michala Banas, Upper Middle Bogan) and Cole (Brett Tucker, Station 19) move across the Tasman to begin a quieter life running a motel on the New Zealand coast. Their retirement does not last long, however, when a questionable death draws them back into investigative work and leads to further murder cases in their new community.

Episodes will premiere in August as follows:

August 24th, Episode 1 “Party Boy” – Married and retired Sydney detectives Vinny and Cole trade in homicide cases for a seaside motel in New Zealand.
But their quiet retirement is disrupted when a boys’ weekend ends with a corpse in Unit 3.
August 31st, Episode 2 “Home is Where You Park It” – At the local camping ground, tension between guests leads to murder. Enlisted as consultants by Constable Haira, Vinny and Cole find themselves diverted from their seaside retirement dreams and back into investigating murder.

Remaining episodes will continue in September.

August 24th PremierES

The Assassin (2025)

Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, The Durrells) stars as Julie, a retired contract killer living quietly on a Greek island. Her estranged son Edward (Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor) arrives hoping to learn more about his family and the identity of his father, but their reunion is interrupted when Julie’s past catches up with her. Forced to go on the run together, mother and son must work out who is pursuing them and why. The six-part thriller also stars Gina Gershon, Jack Davenport, Richard Dormer, Shalom Brune-Franklin, and Alan Dale.

Episodes premiere as follows in August:

August 31st, Episode 1 – Retired assassin Julie (Keeley Hawes, Bodyguard) and her estranged son Edward (Freddie Highmore, The Good
Doctor) are forced to work together in a fight for survival, testing their dysfunctional relationship to its limits.

Additional episodes will air in September. Can't wait for more? You can also watch episodes HERE.