Imagine, if you will, a time not too long ago when the heart of summer was a pause in the TV calendar. With the sun high overhead, people would flock to pools and beaches and other places to cool off. Networks would be regrouping for the fall programming resurgence while conceding to the power of the movie blockbuster.
Looking now at the packed upcoming weeks of July, that era seems long gone. This month’s slate of new releases arrive in all manners of streaming services and networks, some appearing here for the first time or after a long absence. (And yes, for those looking to fill out their Monthly New Release Roundup Bingo Card, there are plenty of international imports rounding out this collection.)
We’ve got reboots and podcast adaptations aplenty. We’ve got animation and celebrity-led docs galore. You want a high-concept comedy based on a late-1940s Broadway musical? We’ve got… one! If you do indeed want more, below is your monthly guide to knowing what the new TV people know.
(As usual, if this collection is somehow not enough to fill your viewing calendar, check out our roundups from February, March and April, May, and June.)
On the night of their big party, a big, seemingly happy family gets upended when someone winds up dead. As they and the rest of the community in a coastal Irish town try to solve the murder, they’ll each have to reckon with decisions from their past. The show, written and created by Kate O’Riordan, stars Dervla Kirwan, Niamh Walsh, Seána Kerslake, and Gemma-Leah Devereux.
The 2001 Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” — how has it been 20 years already?! — is now the middle part of a sandwich, with this sequel series popping up across from the (underrated) 2013 prequel “Monsters University.” Billy Crystal and John Goodman are back as Mike and Sully, helping to oversee the factory’s retrofitting for laugh power. Among the rest of the new and returning cast are Ben Feldman, Mindy Kling, Henry Winkler, Aisha Tyler, Jennifer Tilly, John Ratzenberger, Bonnie Hunt, and Bob Peterson.
After lying dormant for the better part of a decade, the erstwhile CW show gets a second life with a brand new cast of upper-class Manhattanites. Kristen Bell returns as the all-knowing force narrating the series — and churning the gossip mill — but the fresh high school protagonists reflect different sides of this insular world. This adjacent rebooting comes from creator Joshua Safran, who worked on the series’ original incarnation.
Speaking of shows reappearing in dramatically different venues after a significant time off-air, here’s the return of the former TNT staple with nearly all of its original cast in tow. The supersized reboot will see 16 new episodes drop on the service, with the first eight arriving on the same day (including episodes directed by Dean Devlin, Jonathan Frakes, and cast newcomer Noah Wyle.)
This supernatural police comedy predates the American TV version of “What We Do In the Shadows,” but it takes place in the same universe of both that show and the 2014 film that shares its name. Mike Minogue, Karen O’Leary, and Maaka Pohatu play a trio of officers investigating suspicious occurrences happening in and around the title city. The CW will begin airing the first season with a back-to-back premiere of the series’ opening two episodes (both directed by Jemaine Clement).
It’s been a decade since Mike White’s last TV show, the beloved “Enlightened,” first premiered on HBO. Now he’s returned to write and direct this ensemble limited series about a group of people (played by Connie Britton, Murray Bartlett, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jake Lacy, among others) whose lives intersect over the course of a week at a tropical resort. Also, someone dies, so there’s a murder-mystery element to the show’s comic class commentary. The six-episode series was filmed on location in Hawaii late last year.
Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo headline this drama about a woman grieving the loss of her son, who works her way into the sphere of the person she thinks may have been responsible for his death. Two previous films have tackled the source material, the 1938 novel from Cecil Day-Lewis (written under the pen name Nicholas Blake). Gaby Chiappe adapted this latest version, which filmed in an isolated quarantine bubble on the Isle of Wight.
In late 2019, the “Catch and Kill” podcast dove into the process behind the Pulitzer-winning reporting of Ronan Farrow. Shifting gears to TV documentary mode, this new series takes that same spirit and builds its episodes around conversations with fellow reporters who have uncovered similar systemic crimes in various industries. Prolific directors and producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato serve in both roles here.
This eight-part series about an idyllic Australian oceanside town rocked by a mysterious disappearance tackles a different character’s perspective each episode. The show — created by some of the folks behind “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” and “Skins” and starring Sophie Wilde, Samuel Johnson Oam, BeBe Bettencourt, Christopher James Baker, and Cody Fern — debuted via Stan early last month.
Another podcast-to-TV transformation, this time on the scripted side, Peacock’s series tells the true-crime tale of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson), whose Dallas-area practice left numerous patients brutally injured after what they assumed would be fairly standard spinal procedures. Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, AnnaSophia Robb, and Grace Gummer round out the main cast, with the series’ opening two episodes directed by Maggie Kiley.
Director Andrew Haigh makes his return to television with this five-part series about a mid-19th century Arctic expedition gone wrong. Jack O’Connell stars as a surgeon who chooses to join a sea voyage north in order to escape public shame. As the journey evolves, he and another whaler on board (Colin Farrell) begin to form two sides of a psychological tug of war at the top of the world.
One of the most famous musicians in history gets a spotlight documentary series, presented in the form of a collection of interviews with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The monochrome memories span Paul McCartney’s six decades in the music business, from the early days of The Beatles to everything that’s happened since.
Drawing some significant plot points from the late-‘40s musical “Brigadoon” — Will there be a pivotal nod to “Almost Like Being In Love?” Who can say! — this six-episode series tracks a pair of backpackers (Cecily Strong and Keegan Michael-Key) as they stumble across a mystical village. The show is peppered with Broadway vets (Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit, Jane Krakowski), comes from the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, and is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who is making his way back to TV after working on “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
Tim Rozon stars in this drama series about a realtor who specializes in homes touched by the supernatural. Co-starring fellow “Schitt’s Creek” alum Sarah Levy, this Canadian production will premiere on the same night in that country as well.
A pair of married surfers try to conquer some of the world’s biggest waves in the coastal town of Nazaré, Portugal. “American Movie” and “Fyre” director Chris Smith not only charts their efforts to tackle these mammoth natural wonders, but to help make these challenges accessible to other world-class surfing enthusiasts who make the journey to Nazaré.
Frances O’Connor plays Kate, a doctor trying to make sense of not just her life but those of her mother and children. When her mother, Edie (Harriet Walter), pushes again for the possibility of ending her life on her own terms, Kate arranges for Edie to move from the UK to Australia to live in a retirement community instead. Series creator Samantha Strauss also wrote the recently released Eric Bana-starring “The Dry.”
The latest addition to the growing “Power” universe travels back before the events of the original series to follow a young Kanan (played here by Mekai Curtis, after Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson played the older version). Set in the early ‘90s, the series traces Kanan’s close relationship with his mother, which laid the foundation for everything he became. Omar Epps, Patina Miller, Hailey Kilgore, and Joey Bada$$ are also part of the Season 1 cast.
Everything Hanks is new again. The 2021 reboot of the 1989 flick finds Josh Peck picking up the mantle of law enforcement official (this time, Turner’s a U.S. Marshal) whose trusty mastiff pal helps him sniff out the truth. With a pilot directed by McG and written by “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix, this becomes one of the latest entries in the overall Disney+ plan to shift its major TV release day to Wednesdays.
Two detectives (Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jimmi Simpson) try to locate their city’s biggest businessman (Kurtwood Smith) in this stop-motion animation series. Kristen Bell, Bebe Neuwirth, Alia Shawkat, Melissa Villaseñor, and Damon Herriman also lend their voices to characters in this ongoing saga played out via children’s dolls. (And honestly, any show with a character that has mutton chops like that is always worth at least a look.)
The longtime “Good Morning America” anchor hosts this series of conversations with women from throughout the entertainment industry as they discuss their past experiences and how they came to occupy the place in the culture that they do. Participants in this opening season include Billie Jean King, Jamie Lee Curtis, Melissa Etheridge, Raven Symone, Tig Notaro, and Debbie Allen.
Emily Mortimer writes and directs this three-part adaptation of the 1945 Nancy Mitford novel. Lily James and Emily Beecham star as a pair of cousins making their way through lives as the series embraces both the riotous and painful aspects of their unconventional family. The show also co-stars Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Dolly Wells, Shazad Latif, Freddie Fox, and Mortimer herself.
