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Who dares to compete with the Olympics?
Compared to the splashy titles that have dominated the calendar for the past few months (House of the Dragon! Bridgerton! Interview with the Vampire!), this July is downright calm. But in the weeks before this summer's biggest spectacle — the Olympics — kicks off on July 26, there are a few strong contenders in the battle for your attention. Most of this month's highlights are new shows, like Apple TV+'s Sunny, Peacock's Those About to Die, and Netflix's The Decameron, with a few exciting docuseries, like Hulu's Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer and Netflix's Simone Biles Rising, thrown in for good measure.
Our guide to the best TV in July is divided into three sections: the best shows and movies to watch this month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it below.
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It appears that someone took the plot of Black Mirror's stunning Season 2 episode "Be Right Back" (or maybe Season 5's Miley Cyrus-starring "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too") and made a whole series out of it, adding some conspiratorial mystery to the question of whether technology can replace lost loved ones. Rashida Jones stars as Suzie Sakamoto, an American expat living in Japan, who is gifted a state-of-the-art robot after her roboticist husband and young son die in a plane crash, but she freaks out when her bot starts acting strange. (The occasional flashes of an out-of-control robot murdering humans probably don't help, either.) The A24-produced sci-fi dark comedy — which stylistically pulls from the monolithic corporate vibes of Severance, Apple's best sci-fi show — sends Suzie searching for answers about what her husband was really working on and how far these robot glitches reach. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
We can't offer you any new seasons of Netflix's Mindhunter, but at least we can offer you this docuseries about the woman who inspired Anna Torv's character in Mindhunter. Mastermind — from executive producers Dakota and Elle Fanning, showrunner Dani Sloane, and director Abby Fuller — turns the spotlight on Dr. Ann Burgess, the trailblazing psychiatric nurse and professor who developed modern serial-killer profiling, reshaping the FBI in the process. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
Just in time for Simone Biles' return to the Olympic stage, Netflix is going behind the scenes of her gymnastics comeback. The four-part docuseries Simone Biles Rising follows Biles both outside the gym and in it, as she opens up about mental health, withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics, and preparing for Paris. As Biles says in the trailer, "I get to write my own ending." -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
In what is either an act of self-awareness or an extreme lack of self-awareness, Hollywood loves a good gladiator story. Next up in the ring is Those About to Die, which arrives on Peacock right before the Olympics just to maximize the cognitive dissonance of being alive. Saving Private Ryan screenwriter Robert Roldat, who developed the series, summed up its relevance to Entertainment Weekly, saying, "You have a whole society that is becoming trivialized by entertainment and degraded by goofy, trivial pursuits at the expense of basic virtues and providing for the material needs of the society." But this show's entertainment credentials are nothing to scoff at: Roland Emmerich directs half of the episodes, and Anthony Hopkins stars as Roman emperor Vespasian. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]
Everything's getting adapted now, including The Decameron, Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio's 14th century short story collection. Why not! Plague literature never goes out of style. Netflix's version is described as a "wine-soaked sex romp" that turns into a survival story: Nobles in 1348 Florence take their servants to a grand villa to wait out the Black Death, and what begins as a lavish party gets dicey. Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, and Saoirse-Monica Jackson star in the dark comedy series, which was created by Teenage Bounty Hunters' Kathleen Jordan and executive produced by Orange Is the New Black's Jenji Kohan. -Kelly Connolly [Teaser]
Everyone's getting into the Olympic spirit this July, including Netflix. The streamer is gearing up for the Paris Olympics with the four-part docuseries Simone Biles Rising, which follows the record-breaking gymnast as she also gears up for the Paris Olympics. For more athletic feats, you can watch some of the NFL's top receivers in Receiver, reunite with the karate kids of Cobra Kai, and enjoy Eddie Murphy's stunt driving (and helicopter flying) in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Plus, the new dark comedy The Decameron sets out to make plagues fun. And for those of you who only got halfway through Lost the last time it was on Netflix, all six seasons of the mind-bending sci-fi mystery finally return to the streamer on July 1. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in July, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in July.
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July on Max is a mixed bag. From the Kristen Stewart-starring A24 crime romance Love Lies Bleeding to a new season of Hard Knocks focusing on the New York Giants to Faye, a documentary about Faye Dunaway, it's a "choose your adventure" kind of month. Other than that, there are some promising-sounding documentaries, like The Commandant's Shadow, about the son of the Auschwitz camp commandant whose life was dramatized in Jonathan Glazer's Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, and Wild Wild Space, about the rivalry between two rocket companies who are in competition to secure real estate in low Earth orbit. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and Max in July, plus everything coming to HBO and Max in July.
More on HBO and Max:
It's summertime, which means it's time to pack up the camping trailer and hit the road, and it seems like Hulu has already done that. Like most streamers this July, Hulu has a light schedule, which is always typical in the summer but especially in a summer with the Olympics, which is expected to dominate everyone's attention when it starts late in the month. But we'll always have time for Futurama, which returns for its twelfth season at the end of July. And if the Olympics have you thirsting for competition, why not watch the ultimate thirst competition, aka The Bachelorette? This season features Jenn Tran as its lead, and she makes history as the first Asian American Bachelorette in franchise history. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in July, plus everything coming to Hulu in July.
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July is looking awfully bare for quality new movie and TV show releases on Prime Video, but the streamer does have two new original films that might pass the time: Space Cadet, starring Emma Roberts as a party girl who lies her way into NASA's astronaut program, and My Spy: The Eternal City, the sequel to the family-friendly action movie that was a hit during the pandemic. But we might be being overly optimistic here. Also out this month is Sausage Party: Foodtopia, the TV series follow-up to the 2016 animated film Sausage Party, and Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in July, plus everything coming to Prime Video in July.
More on Amazon:
This July is all about the Olympics, and why not prep for the Olympics with more athletic spectacles? That's Peacock's strategy. The streamer's gladiator drama Those About to Die steps into the arena on July 18, shortly before NBC and Peacock's Olympics coverage kicks off at the end of the month. (Head here for more on how to watch the Paris Olympics.) But if you're in the mood to shake things up, Apple TV+ has a trio of exciting new series: the new dark comedy Sunny (July 10), starring Rashida Jones; the limited series Lady in the Lake (July 19), starring Natalie Portman; and the adventure series Time Bandits (July 24), created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, and starring Lisa Kudrow. If all that seems too smart, why not try the hilariously stupid parody The Real Bros of Simi Valley: High School Reunion on Roku Channel?
More on Apple TV+, Peacock, Disney+, and Paramount+:
Monday, July 1
30 for 30: No Scope: The Story of FaZe Clan (Docuseries, ESPN)
Star Trek: Prodigy (Season 2, Netflix)
Tuesday, July 2
Hard Knocks: Offseason With the New York Giants (Docuseries, HBO)
Sprint: The World's Fastest Humans (Season 1, Netflix)
Wednesday, July 3
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Film, Netflix)
Bluey (Minisodes, Disney+)
The Man With 1000 Kids (Docuseries, Netflix)
Thursday, July 4
Barbecue Showdown (Season 3, Netflix)
A Capitol Fourth (Special Event, PBS)
Land of Tanabata (Season 1, Hulu)
Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks (Special Event, NBC/Peacock)
Rhythm + Flow France (Season 3, Netflix)
Space Cadet (Film, Prime Video)
Friday, July 5
Down in the Valley (Docuseries, Starz)
The Imaginary (Film, Netflix)
The Real Bros of Simi Valley: High School Reunion (Film, The Roku Channel)
Monday, July 8
All American: Homecoming (Season 3, The CW)
The Bachelorette (Season 21, ABC)
Tuesday, July 9
Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken (Docuseries, Paramount+)
Wednesday, July 10
Claim to Fame (Season 3, ABC)
Quad Gods (Documentary, HBO)
Receiver (Docuseries, Netflix)
Sunny (Season 1, Apple TV+)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Season 3, ABC)
Thursday, July 11
2024 Espy Awards (Special Event, ABC)
Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (Docuseries, Hulu)
The Real Housewives of Orange County (Season 18, Bravo)
The Responder (Season 2, BritBox)
Sausage Party: Foodtopia (Season 1, Prime Video)
Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black (Film, Prime Video)
Vikings: Valhalla (Season 3, Netflix)
Friday, July 12
Descendants: The Rise of Red (Film, Disney+)
Exploding Kittens (Season 1, Netflix)
Me (Season 1, Apple TV+)
The Serpent Queen (Season 2, Starz)
Saturday, July 13
Mammals (Docuseries, BBC America)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2024 (Special Event, Nickelodeon)
Sunday, July 14
Emperor of Ocean Park (Season 1, MGM+)
Tulsa King (Season 1 Broadcast Debut, CBS)
Monday, July 15
Hit-Monkey (Season 2, Hulu)
Tuesday, July 16
The Fortress (Season 1, Viaplay)
Homicide: Los Angeles (Season 1, Netflix)
Mafia Spies (Docuseries, Paramount+)
Wednesday, July 17
The Ark (Season 2, Syfy)
Big Brother (Season 26, CBS)
Simone Biles Rising (Docuseries, Netflix)
UnPrisoned (Season 2, Hulu)
Thursday, July 18
Cobra Kai (Season 6 Part 1, Netflix)
The Commandant's Shadow (Documentary, HBO)
How I Caught My Killer (Season 2, Hulu)
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (Season 1, Max)
Lucky 13 (Season 1, ABC)
My Spy: The Eternal City (Film, Prime Video)
Those About to Die (Season 1, Peacock)
UNINTERRUPTED's Top Class Tennis (Season 1, Prime Video)
Friday, July 19
Find Me Falling (Film, Netflix)
Lady in the Lake (Limited Series, Apple TV+)
Omnivore (Season 1, Apple TV+)
Skywalkers: A Love Story (Documentary, Netflix)
Sweet Home (Season 3, Netflix)
Too Hot to Handle (Season 6, Netflix)
Sunday, July 21
Snowpiercer (Season 4, AMC)
Monday, July 22
61st Street (Season 2, The CW)
Tuesday, July 23
Dress My Tour (Season 1, Hulu)
Wednesday, July 24
Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose (Docuseries, HBO)
Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (Docuseries, Netflix)
Resurrected Rides (Season 1, Netflix)
Time Bandits (Season 1, Apple TV+)
Wayne Brady: The Family Remix (Season 1, Freeform)
Thursday, July 25
The Decameron (Season 1, Netflix)
Troppo (Season 2, Prime Video/Freevee)
Friday, July 26
Elite (Season 8, Netflix)
2024 Paris Olympic Games: Opening Ceremony (Special Event, NBC/Peacock)
Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson (Limited Series, Peacock)
Monday, July 29
30 for 30: American Son (Docuseries, ESPN)
Futurama (Season 12, Hulu)
Wednesday, July 31
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (Documentary, Netflix)
Unsolved Mysteries (Season 4, Netflix)
Women in Blue (Season 1, Apple TV+)