As we approach 18 months since the process of making TV fundamentally changed, the last projects from pre-early 2020 are starting to trickle out. That’s certainly applied to shows produced internationally, which are now finally finding a home on US-based networks and streaming services — a practice that’s been utilized for months now.
But as Summer 2021 starts to wind down, shows made in a bubble are starting to become the norm. A few are curious experiments, made almost entirely because their story constraints meshed nicely with production restrictions. Others are long-gestating projects that got the last big “now or never” push due to the impending need for a lot more original shows.
Another growing trend is having unscripted series fill in some of those gaps. From more traditional documentary series to shows that take a hybrid conversation approach to how they illuminate a particular person or topic, those too find unexpected ways to work around audience expectations and the realities of how they came to exist in the first place.
With fall (and plenty more uncertainty) on the horizon, these TV norms will probably shift again. Until then, we’ve got a baker’s dozen more series that might just potentially catch your eye. And that’s not even counting all the Netflix goodies August has in store, too.
(As usual, if this collection is somehow not enough to fill your viewing calendar, check out our roundups from February, March and April, May, June, and July.)
KPVM is an independent TV news station serving the rural Nevada town of Pahrump. In six half-hour installments, directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato look at the reporters keeping their city informed and the various other people keeping the station functionally and financially afloat.
The life and legacy of the 44th president gets a three-part examination, airing over back-to-back-to-back nights. In addition to archival conversations with President Obama, this project features new interviews with former staffers, contemporary analysts, and civil rights icons, each commenting on the man’s place in history — presidential and otherwise.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt pulls triple duty as creator, director, and star of his Apple TV+ series that follows a former aspiring musician who’s settling into life as a public school teacher. Joining him in the cast are Juno Temple, Arturo Castro, Debra Winger, Jamie Chung, and Shannon Woodward. The series is part of the gradually expanding roster of shows produced by arthouse powerhouse A24.
Enthusiasm for tales of mysterious objects in the sky have never really dwindled since the term “unidentified flying object” was coined in the 1950s. With renewed interest in potential visitors to Earth following recent reporting over the last few years, this four-part series from directors Mark Monroe and Paul Crowder (produced by J.J. Abrams and Glen Zipper) traces the history of a decades-long phenomenon and tries to separate some truths from tantalizing fiction.
Four Oklahoman teens try to scrape together enough money — by means legal and illegal — to make their way to California. Co-created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, the series is shot on location and features an entirely Indigenous regular cast and creative team. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, and Lane Factor make up the show’s main on-screen quartet.
The second reboot of the classic TV show in as many years, this new Fox series flips its central character: The Roarke guiding visitors to live out their wildest fantasies is Elena (Roselyn Sanchez), a descendent of the man who used to run the island decades ago. As before, the show features a rotating array of guest stars playing the people seeking their deepest desires at a faraway locale.
Marvel’s first all-out animated effort takes a number of hypothetical MCU scenarios and follows them through any number of imaginary circumstances. Agent Carter wields a shield, there’s team-ups of Killmonger/Stark and T’Challa/Yondu, and Jeffrey Wright takes center stage for the first time as The Watcher. The new series is based on a long-running anthology that has existed in the Marvel comics since 1977.
Andy Cohen hosts this Peacock unscripted series that reunites former partners to have them talk about why their relationships didn’t last. Some pairings were closer to random hookups, while others were together for years. Their conversations touch on personal tendencies, bedroom performance, and the lessons that each might take into any future relationships.
“Loki” head writer Michael Waldron completes a 2021 summer double-up as the creator of this drama following pro wrestlers living and working in a Georgia town. Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig star as brothers looking for answers inside and outside the ring. The rest of the show’s ensemble includes Mary McCormack, Alison Luff, Kelli Berglund, Allen Maldonado, James Harrison, and Chris Bauer.
Hulu’s “interlopers interact at a luxury resort before something unexpected turns all their world upside down” summer pairing to HBO’s “The White Lotus,” this all-star book adaptation reunites star Nicole Kidman with “Big Little Lies” author Liane Moriarty. The rest of the “Strangers” et al. include Melissa McCarthy, Regina Hall, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Manny Jacinto, Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg, Asher Keddie, Tiffany Boone, and Grace Van Patten.
Based on a Stephen King story (a prequel of sorts to “‘Salem’s Lot”), this 10-episode season focuses on a sea captain (Adrien Brody) mourning the unexpected death of his wife. Set in Maine (it’s King! where else!) in the mid 19th century, Charles Boone finds out more about the members of his family than he ever bargained for. Emily Hampshire co-stars, with “Charlie St. Cloud” and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” director Burr Steers behind the camera.
Cindy Adams, longtime mainstay of the New York Post Page Six set, gets her turn in the spotlight in this four-part series. Jenny Carchman directs a look into the rise of a new generation of gossip columnists, the stars they cultivated, and the legacy they left in those who took up their mantle in their wake.
Recent stage pals Steve Martin and Martin Short take their pairing to TV in this mystery comedy. Joined by Selena Gomez, the trio play three friends and true-crime aficionados whose enthusiasm gets put to the test when a fellow resident of their apartment winds up dead. With the motive and killer still unknown, they’ll have to work together to unravel the truth.
