The 9 must-see TV shows to stream this summer
Summer may be the season to be out and about, but these upcoming new TV shows more than make the case for some evenings spent indoors. From the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon to the heart-warming adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s memoir Everything I Know About Love and Danny Boyle’s ode to punk rock Pistol, the next few months look set to have plenty of binge-worthy new releases. These are the ones you won’t want to miss.
Everything I Know About Love
Since it hit the shelves in 2018, Dolly Alderton’s memoir has been a much loved book providing solace, laughs and a few tears, particularly for millennial women. Now, the heart-warming tale of friendship, dating and trying to grow up is coming to the TV screen in a seven-episode series adaptation penned by Alderton herself.
Starring Bel Powley and Emma Appleton, the series takes Alderton’s own experiences with her closest friends and reimagines them through new fictionalised characters with all the hallmark traits and relatable relationships that made the book such a hit. First and foremost a love letter to the importance of female friendships, the equally raucous and tender series traces childhood friends moving to London in the early 2010s to begin the adulthood journey. From disastrous dates to the struggle of a best friend getting in a long-term relationship while you’re still fixedly single, this series will likely inspire some nostalgia for those chaotic years.
7 June, BBC One
Wednesday
Thanks to Christina Ricci’s iconic performance, Wednesday Addams holds a special place in many TV fans’ hearts. Now, the death-obsessed, sharp-tongued teen is the subject of her own series, a coming-of-age mystery comedy that focuses on Wednesday’s high school years and her attempts to master her psychic powers.
Jenna Ortega is stepping into Ricci’s shoes (although the actress will be making a cameo appearance), and in this series Wednesday is on a mission — to stop the horrific killing spree of the town’s citizens, solve the supernatural mystery that affected her family a quarter century ago and navigate the everyday teen conundrums while studying at Nevermore Academy. Joined by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role of the deliciously glamorous Morticia Addams, this is a must-see for the The Addams Family devotees.
Coming soon, Netflix
We Own This City
It’s been 20 years since The Wire first landed on HBO and became one of the network’s most successful series of all time. Now, the show’s writer David Somon is jumping back into the Baltimore fray with this new police drama, piercing the city’s Police Department with a searing portrayal of its corruption. Based on a nonfiction book of the same name by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, the miniseries follows the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, which was the focus of corruption charges in 2018.
At the centre of the drama is Sergeant Wayne Jenkins (played by Jon Bernthal), one of the eight officers on the task force who was accused of corruption. Bernthal is joined by a number of other familiar faces, including The Wire’s Jamie Hector and The Good Wife’s Josh Charles, rounding out a powerhouse cast that drives this compulsive watch.
7 June, Sky Atlantic
The Lazarus Project
Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Paapa Essiedu, who won over audiences with his incredible performance in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You, takes the lead in this 8-part action thriller. Essiedu stars as George, who wakes up one day to find that he’s back to reliving a day that already happened months ago, with all his recent milestones — including professional achievements and marrying the love of his life, Sarah (Charly Clive) — have never happened.
Disturbed, scared and alone, George eventually meets Archie (Anjli Mohindra), who recruits George to join the Lazarus Project, a secret organisation that has found a way to turn back time whenever the world is at risk of extinction. As the organisation’s members are the only ones to remember the events that have been undone by the rewinding of time, they’re also the only ones who can save the human race from disaster. But how far can George go to save the world, and at what personal cost?
16 June, Sky Max/NOW
Loot
Comedy queen Maya Rudolph is returning to the small screen in this new workplace comedy from Emmy Award-winning show creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard. Rudolph stars as Molly Novak, a billionaire with an enviable life of private jets, endless clothes, ginormous yacht and apparently doting husband, played by Adam Scott. This is all upended when the charming husband turns out to be a cheating one, who decides to leave her for a woman young enough to be their daughter. It doesn’t take long for the tabloids to pick up the story.
Molly must restart her life — albeit, from the supreme comfort of her luxurious mansion. But when she gets a call from the no-nonsense Sofia Salinas (MJ Rodriguez), who reminds her that she runs Molly’s charity foundation, Molly finally settles on her new purpose: saving the world. How hard can it be?
24 June, Apple TV+
Pistol
It seems the perfect match — a TV series about the band that sparked the English punk movement, directed by one of the country’s most prominent directors. The two in question are the pioneering band the Sex Pistols and Danny Boyle, the director behind cult films including Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. Across the six episodes, this biopic miniseries traces the meteoric rise of the band to global notoriety, with a particular focus on the guitarist, Steve Jones.
While the band is played by fresh faces including Anson Boon and Toby Wallace, there are a number of familiar names both in the cast and characters — Maisie Williams (of Game of Thrones fame) as punk model Pamela “Jordan” Rooke, Tallulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood and rising star model Iris Law as Soo Catwoman. Raucous, energetic and suitably wild, this series is full of punk spirit.
Out now, Disney+
Irma Vep
Hot off its premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, this new thriller drama series is hitting the small screen this summer with award-winning actress Alicia Vikander in the starring role. Written and directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, based on his 1996 film of the same name, Irma Vep follows an American movie star, Mira (Vikander) who is increasingly disillusioned with her career. After a breakup, Mira heads to France to star as Irma Vep in a remake of a French silent film classic Les Vampires, desperate to try something new.
As filming gets underway, the boundaries between Mira and her character Irma Vep become increasingly blurry, which becomes even more complicated given the backdrop of a lurid crime thriller. A mind-bending watch, this will likely appeal to those looking to fill a Severance-sized gap.
6 June, Sky Atlantic
The Midwich Cuckoos
Westworld may be coming back for its fourth season this summer, but this adaptation of John Wyndham’s classic may be the sci-fi hit of the season. Written by The Night Manager screenwriter David Farr, the eerie series transports the small town drama into the 21st century. In a small, affluent suburban town outside London, the inhabitants collectively pass out one night and wake up the following day to find all of the town’s child-bearing aged women suddenly pregnant. What could be the cause of these immaculate conceptions? As it turns out, this is only the start of the town’s problems.
Once the children are born, things only start to get stranger, and child psychologist Dr Susannah Zellaby (played by Keeley Hawes) is at the forefront of having to cope with these creepy phenomena. But it doesn’t take long for the government to take note, imposing more secrecy and adding a new veil of mystery to the entire affair. You’ll be hooked.
2 June, Sky Max
The Old Man
Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow team up for this American thriller series, based on a novel by Thomas Perry. Bridges stars as Dan Chase, a former CIA operative who has been enjoying life off the grid, up until an assassin arrives to try and take him out. Forced to go on the run, this is only the beginning of Chase’s troubles.
Now pushed out of hiding, FBI’s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, Harold Harper (Lithgow), is tasked with finding him, due to his own complicated history with Chase. While Chase hides out with Zoe McDonald (played by Amy Brenneman), the woman he rents a room from who soon becomes his only ally, Harper is joined by his protégé Agent Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat) and Agent Raymond Waters (EJ Bonilla) to hunt him down. Gun fights, speed chases and nail-biting scenes are all guaranteed.
16 June, Disney+
House of the Dragon
It’s been three years since the controversial final episode of the juggernaut series Game of Thrones hit the small screen. Now, HBO is launching into its first round of spin-offs with this prequel series exploring the beginning of the end of House Targaryen. Set two hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, the 10-episode series chronicles the events leading up to the Targaryen civil war, known as the “Dance of the Dragons”, and the war itself.
The trailer indicates many of the trademark details that made GOT such a success — epic battle scenes, brilliant production and tense sexual politics. Excitingly, it’s a brand new cast and completely new dynamics at play. Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys I Targaryen, the fifth king of the Seven Kingdoms, while Matt Smith stars as his younger brother — and presumed heir to the Iron Throne — Prince Daemon Targaryen. Complicating matters is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy, who is King Viserys’ firstborn child and determined that she should be the queen regent. Bloodshed, dragons and battles are sure to ensue.
21 August, Sky Atlantic
The Sandman
Another must-see for fantasy fans is the upcoming adaptation of The Sandman, the critically acclaimed comic book series that was one of the first graphic novels ever to be on The New York Times Best Seller list. With an allstar cast featuring the likes of Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie and Charles Dance alongside Tom Sturridge, Stephen Fry, Jenna Coleman and more, this new series looks set for great success.
Blending modern myth and dark fantasy, this adaptation centres on Morpheus, the Dream King (played by Sturridge). In 1916, the powerful ruler is captured and held captive for 105, when he finally manages to escape. Now free, he is setting out to restore order to the kingdom of Dreaming, and to fix the cosmic and human mistakes that he’s made during his very, very long lifetime. But how will the other powerful beings respond, and how long can Morpheus maintain his freedom? Stay tuned…
5 August, Netflix
