School’s out, the air conditioning is on — to perhaps environmentally unsustainable levels — and your remote is right beside you on the couch. It’s summer, and while we all encourage you to partake in some watching of sportsball, there are also plenty of engaging shows debuting and returning on networks, cable, and our favorite streaming outlets. (And it’s much safer to stay inside than going to some dodgy pagan solstice festival, or something.) Here are IndieWire’s picks for the shows that are cooler than cool to watch during the hot summer months:
Now in its third season, TNT’s “Claws” remains a summer series not to be missed. Centered around a nail crew-turned-criminal-enterprise, the show shines thanks to its loaded ensemble cast, including Judy Reyes, Carrie Preston, and anchored by the baddest bitch the Central Florida crime scene has ever seen in Niecy Nash. Come for the killer nails, stay for the soapy fun. –LH
You can now relive all of your favorite grade school snow (or sick) days, thanks to ABC’s rebooted “Press Your Luck.” Hosted by Elizabeth Banks, contestants are tasked with buzzing in to answer trivia questions and awarded with spins, that aren’t actually spins, because there’s not an actual wheel, but they are actually threatened by an animated red demon who aims to finagle all the coins away. Most importantly, there is yelling. Big money! No whammy! -LH
In its first season, “Dark” was one of Netflix’s more surprising and addictive international offerings that confounded viewers with its twisty storytelling, time-travel, hidden identities, and multigenerational secrets in a small German town. The series returns to pick up with the world-weary Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hoffman), whose very existence is a burden on his soul, and who has inadvertently traveled decades into the future. Although the Season 2 trailer doesn’t offer any clear narrative of what’s to come, viewers can certainly expect more mind-blowing revelations and an epic battle between good and evil, fate and determinism. You know, light summer fare. We can’t wait. –HN
For the second year in a row, Nat Geo is presenting a multi-day event, highlighting the natural wonders of one of America’s most iconic national parks. In addition to the carefully placed cameras capturing animal habitats of all kinds, the broadcasts will feature live commentary from zoology experts and cover territory across three different states. -SG
Over the course of its brief FX run, “Legion” has been many things: a psychedelic tour through an unconventional mind, an incomprehensible battle against a metaphysical enemy, an excuse for a dance party. So, with Noah Hawley’s singular comic book series embarking on its farewell season, there’s no telling what’s in store for David (Dan Stevens), Syd (Rachel Keller), and the rest of this mysterious, superpowered team. -SG
Detective work goes supernatural in this series based on Daniel O’Malley’s 2012 novel. Emma Greenwell, Joely Richardson, and Olivia Munn headline an ensemble playing international investigators determined to figure out the mysterious, other-worldly forces behind a strange set of homicides. -SG
It’s almost time to head back to the summer of 1985, to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where audiences will spend another season with Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Will, Max, and the rest of the crew, along with some new faces. The series was something of a surprise hit when it launched in July 2016, with its pop culture 1980s setting. Young Will Byers disappears one night, and what has followed thus far is a story that includes a secret government laboratory, a young girl with psychokinetic powers, a topsy-turvy dimension, and lots of genuine creepiness. The third season premieres on Netflix July 4. Co-creators the Duffer brothers have also confirmed that a fourth season will happen, and producer Shawn Levy has even teased a possible fifth. So fans shouldn’t fear any loose ends in the upcoming season. There’ll be plenty of time to sort it all out, including the significance of all those fleeing rats that were seen in a March teaser of the season.–TO
“Chasing the Moon,” a film by Robert Stone, rethinks the race to the moon for a new generation, invalidating much of the accepted legend surrounding the effort. The series reimagines the Space Age as a mix of scientific innovation, political maneuvering, media spectacle, and personal drama. Utilizing previously overlooked and lost archival material — much of which has never before been seen by the public — the film features a diverse cast of characters who played key roles in these historic events, including astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Frank Borman, and Bill Anders; Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier and a leading Soviet rocket engineer; Poppy Northcutt, a 25-year old “mathematics whiz” who gained global attention as the first woman to serve in the all-male NASA Mission Control and Ed Dwight, the Air Force pilot selected by the Kennedy administration to train as America’s first black astronaut. –TO
It’s been a year after their mother’s feud that was eliminated last season, and harlots Charlotte and Lucy Wells (Jessica Brown Findlay, Eloise Smyth) now have the opportunity to establish themselves in the world of brothels, one of the few ways that women could have a semblance of income or freedom in Georgian London. As always, the series finds a way to reexamine those people in history who are often erased, ranging from people of color to the LGBTQ community. Liv Tyler returns as Lady Fitz, and Alfie Allen joins the cast as the new pimp in town, Isaac Pincher. -HN
The FX drama series returns mere months after the shocking and untimely death of series co-creator John Singleton in late April. The series saw audience and critical acclaim grow last season, which means expectations for Season 3 are even higher, continuing to tell the riveting story about the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture. The ensemble cast of characters returns, led by Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), a young hustler beginning to experience the hazards of success; Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), a CIA operative who finds that his off-book drug-funded operation may be vulnerable from unexpected sources, both personal and professional; and Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios), the drug running couple who discover the potency of crack and try to exploit it despite the new dangers involved. Their stories intersect within the mosaic of Los Angeles in the early 1980s, all of them working toward ultimate goals of money, power and influence.–TO
We last saw Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) in the Season 7 series finale of “Suits,” where she was getting into a teeny tiny little legal scrape in Chicago that could only be resolved if she went to work for the mayor. Guess what? “Pearson” is the series that focuses on her work with the aforementioned Mayor Bobby Novak (played by Rahm Emanuel lookalike Morgan Spector) and all the shady dealings going down in the second city. Torres, as ever, is glorious fun to watch on screen, and three cheers that she also serves as one of the producers alongside “Suits” vets Aaron Korsh and Daniel Arkin — the duo who wrote the backdoor pilot spinoff that situated Pearson in Chicago — as well as Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein. –AD
Once the most anticipated show to hit Netflix, Jenji Kohan’s “Orange Is The New Black” enters its seventh and final season with slightly less fanfare. Set in a women’s prison with a huge ensemble cast, including Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, and Natasha Lyonne, among many others, now scattered to the winds, both on the show and off, it’s unclear what storylines will be resolved in the show’s final batch of episodes. Trust that whatever way the wind blows, it brings heartache, tears, and a ton of laughs. –LH
Once there was a little show called “Veronica Mars” on a little broadcast network called UPN for two seasons. Then, due to corporate shenanigans, it was on a little broadcast network called The CW for one season. After the smartass-teenage-girl-as-private-eye take was ignominiously canceled, a Kickstarter raised almost $6 million dollars to make a feature film, which was then released to distinctly middling reviews. So what happens when a show that was a cult favorite expands to film and then in the brave new world of Peak TV backtracks to a whole new run of eight episodes on digital streaming service Hulu? We shall see, but you can bet Kristen Bell’s inherent packed-to-the-gills charisma will bring people back to the noir skullduggery of Neptune, Calif. –AD
The adapted DC universe continues to expand, this time on the small screen in an EPIX series that follows the adventures of Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, during the years following his stint as a former British Special Air Service (SAS) soldier in his 20s. Founded in 1941, the SAS undertook covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, and hostage rescue. Who knew this about dear old Alfred’s past? Premiering this summer, the 10-episode, hour-long drama series – based on DC characters created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger – stars Jack Bannon as the title character who goes to work with a young billionaire named Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), prior to Bruce’s birth, in 1960s London. The trailer that recently premiered sets the stage for what looks to be an action-packed period drama that will likely stand on its own, with no real connection to the larger DC universe, although hints at what would become Alfred’s future can be expected. Other cast members include multi-award-winning recording artist Paloma Faith, Jason Flemyng, Ryan Fletcher, Hainsley Lloyd Bennett, Emma Paetz and Polly Walker. –TO
By his own admission, his sweet nervous turn in the 1994 film “Four Weddings and a Funeral” was the role that turned Hugh Grant from vaguely nefarious character actor into Romantic Comedy Guy To End All Romantic Comedy Guys. This Hulu adaptation turns the Richard Curtis film into an anthology series, and stars a number of actors who deserve to make a similar jump to the big time: Nathalie Emmanuel — justice for Missandei! — Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, John Paul Reynolds and Brandon Mychal Smith. Additionally promising: the showrunning team of romantic comedy vets Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton. (And yes, all signs also point to an Andie MacDowell guest appearance.) –AD
Once again, the hallowed halls of Winchester University opens its doors to viewers for Justin Simien’s series adaptation of his 2014 eponymous film that explores what it is to be black in a predominantly white Ivy League college of a “post-racial” America. This season will dig into the mysterious Order of X, of which the show’s dear narrator (Giancarlo Esposito) has been revealed to be a part, and what happens when a new hangout opens on campus. Logan Browning returns as Samantha White, who’s the voice of the black students’ conscience with her college radio program that dares to criticize the university and its supposedly progressive students. –HN
The reboot of hit ’90s teen soap “Beverly Hills, 90210” will feature many of that show’s stars, with returning talent include Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, Christine Elise, and Tori Spelling. (Luke Perry, who died in March, was never part of the reboot, citing at the time conflicts with his filming schedule on “Riverdale.”) The actors will play heightened versions of themselves instead of their original characters, and they are reuniting for a suitably meta reason:to get a “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot going. “BH90210” is produced by CBS TV Studios and Fox Entertainment. –TH
The gorgeous ladies of wrestling have taken their show on the road — specifically to Las Vegas — and the series starring Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and Marc Maron looks to dig deeper into issues of job satisfaction and relationship-building in its third season. A bang-up ensemble cast adds Geena Davis to its ranks and as “GLOW” digs into the reality that not everything that glitters in Vegas is good, much less gold. –LH
The Roy family is returning, and things are murkier than ever. After Kendall’s failed coup to seize control of the family’s media conglomerate, the one-time successor is caught between exclusion and inclusion — Will he keep fighting his father? Can he win back his father’s affections? Will his competitive siblings welcome him back into the fray? These are just some of the questions raised for the highly anticipated follow-up season, as HBO’s biting drama continues to satirize the rich as it helps the rest of us understand their motivations. Bring it on. –BT
One of last year’s oddest, most distinct delights returns with another season about finding meaning in the hidden corners of Long Beach. After last year’s tumult, Dud (Wyatt Russell) is out to help keep the Lodge open, preserve his few remaining physical reminders of his late father, and avoid any further contact with dangerous animals on land or in the ocean. -SG
This season, “The Terror” moves from the Antarctic to World War II-era America to examine one of the many horrifying chapters in U.S. history: when hundreds of thousands of people of Japanese descent were placed in concentration camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Co-created by Max Borenstein and Alexander Woo, who were inspired by Japanese horror films, the series will not only follow the hardships of these families who have been suddenly uprooted and incarcerated but also deal with an “uncanny specter” that menaces their community. The cast includes Derek Mio, Kiki Sukezane, Shingo Usami, Naoko Mori, Miki Ishikawa, and George Takei — who also serves as a consultant having lived through the internment. -HN
Created by “Moonlight’s” Tarell Alvin McCraney and produced by Oprah Winfrey and Michael B. Jordan, among others, “David Makes Man” focuses on a 14-year-old boy who’s haunted by the death of his closest friend and relied on for financial support by his poverty-stricken mother. But David is a prodigy. He’s gifted and needs to be challenged if he’s going to develop into the kind of man he wants to become — does that mean leaving behind the life he knows and the people in it? Told via McCraney’s dreamy, wistful vision, “David Makes Man” is a unique, affecting series that merits further exploration. –BT
From the creator of “Desperate Housewives” and “Devious Minds” comes CBS All Access’ next attempt at a must-see streaming series. Marc Cherry’s provocatively titled series, starring Lucy Liu and Ginnifer Goodwin, tracks three women living in three different decades: a ’60s housewife, ’80s socialite, and a 2018 attorney. The common link: Each woman discovers their partner is cheating on them, in one way or another, and, per the synopsis, “Why Women Kill” will examine “how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal… has not.”–BT
Originally developed at AMC, then slated for YouTube Premium before the streamer’s rebranding freed up this limited series for Showtime, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” marks Kirsten Dunst’s return to television, and she’s following the very weird “Fargo” Season 2 with an equally odd standalone story from showrunner Esta Spaulding. Dunst, who produces alongside George Clooney and Grant Heslov, plays Krystal Gill, a water park employee who schemes her way up the corporate pyramid scheme known as Founders American Merchandise — the same multi-billion dollar corporation that drove her family to ruin. Fictional but featuring pointed commentary, this one-hour dark comedy is sure to make a splash when it debuts later this summer. –BT
This 10-part Netflix series returns to the magical world of Jim Henson’s 1982 film, full of epic stakes, gorgeous scenery, and alien yet engaging creatures not too unlike ourselves. The prequel is set in the era when the heroic but enslaved Gelflings are inspired to rebel against the demanding Skeksis whose power stems from a horrifying secret. The series boasts a wide-ranging voice cast from Mark Hamill and Keegan-Michael Key to Taron Egerton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. -HN
