The days are longer, the nights (much) warmer: yes, summer is upon us at last. It’s the perfect time, you might think, for spending outside with a cold glass and some good company. But the streamers have other ideas.
Some of the most exciting television of the year is set to debut in the next few months and they’re well worth making the time for. With new releases and highly-anticipated sequels fighting for your attention, here’s what we’re most excited to watch over the summer.
Black Mirror Season 6
The twisted mind of Charlie Brooker has been hard at work cooking up a new series of futuristic nightmares. Featuring an all-star cast (including Aaron Paul, Salma Hayek, Michael Cera and Rob Delaney), the series’ episodes sound as chilling as ever: a normal woman finds her own life fictionalised on the series’ Netflix equivalent (very meta); a meek sales assistant is told she must commit terrible acts to avoid disaster; a starlet is hunted by paparazzi.
Netflix, June 15
And Just Like That Season 2
Carrie and the girls are back for a second season of the infinitely memefied Sex and the City spinoff show. Last season saw Big have a heart attack on his Peloton and Carrie listen in on Miranda having passionate sex with her non-binary lover Che – this season sees the longed-for return of Kim Cattrall as the ever-delightful Samantha (on the phone – we await developments) and Carrie’s former flame Aidan Shaw, played by John Corbett. Expect sparks to fly.
Sky and NOW, June 22
Hijack
Idris Elba takes the wheel in this Apple TV+ thriller that’s about as preposterous as you could hope for. Told in real time, the show “follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight”. Elba plays the Luther-ish Sam Nelson, a negotiator who needs to try and save the lives of the passengers, but of course his high-risk approach is set to ruffle some feathers.
Apple TV+, June 28
Champion
Candice Carty-Williams is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she currently in the middle of filming the TV adaptation of her bestselling book Queenie, but she’s also found the time to create a whole new drama. Champion tells the story of rap legend Bosco Champion, who leaves prison ready to restart his rap career. Unfortunately, in his absence, his younger sister Vita has been busy nurturing a career of her own – it’s a love letter to South London’s rap scene and looks set to be epic.
BBC One and iPlayer, coming soon
The Great Season 3
The sumptuous costumes, the quippy one-liners, the off-beat humour: yes, The Great is back again. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult reprise their roles as Catherine the Great and her hapless husband Peter III, once against scheming against each other for the throne of Russia even as they navigate starting a family. This time around (after multiple assassination attempts) they’re attempting to make their marriage work… good luck with that.
Lionsgate+, July 14
The Bear Season 2
It was by far the most stressful watching experience of 2022: a Michelin star chef returns to his hometown and attempts to transform the sandwich shop left to him by his dead brother. Now The Bear is back for a second season, which hints at a restaurant redesign, the possible return of an ex-girlfriend and also staff training. We hope your nails have grown back: you’ll need something to gnaw on anxiously when the mess hits the fan once more.
Disney+, July 19
Fifteen-Love
If Aidan Turner manages to make tennis sexy in this flashy Prime Video show, it’ll be a terrible indictment of society. He plays Glenn Lapthorn, the coach to tennis prodigy Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland), a rising star. A brutal injury cuts short her career – and five years on, she makes an explosive allegation against Lapthorn that rocks the tennis world. It’s set to be a juicy watch, raising questions about the questionable power dynamics in sport.
Prime Video, July 21
Good Omens Season 2
Your favourite oddball couple is back once more to save the world from impending annihilation. David Tennant and Michael Sheen are demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale, who stopped the apocalypse in season one, and have to deal with more supernatural nasties (including the belligerent forces of good and evil) in season two. Written by Neil Gaiman again, this time there’s no book to base it on, so we’re excited to see where the author takes these much-loved characters.
Prime Video, July 28
Then You Run
How long can a group of girls go on the run for? Sky’s upcoming series attempts to answer that question. Rye Lane’s Vivian Oparah stars as one of a group of four friends whose trip to Europe takes a dark turn when they find Tara’s (Leah McNamara) estranged father dead. Soon they’re on the run with three kilos of heroin and some of Europe’s most wanted hunting them down. Is there travel insurance for that?
Sky, July
Wolf
Yes, it’s yet another crime thriller from the BBC. But Wolf looks like it’s going to be a good one: based on the series of books by Mo Hayder, it follows DI Jack Caffery (Ukweli Roach), who is obsessed with the neighbour he believes murdered his 10 year old brother in the 1990s. Caffery has devoted his life to helping others and finding the truth, and the wealthy Anchor-Ferrers family are in need of help: trapped in an isolated Welsh house, they’re being held hostage by a psychopath.
BBC, late July
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
The legend that is Sigourney Weaver returns to the small screen for a limited Prime Video series set in Australia. Based on the novel of the same name by Holly Ringland, Weaver will play June Hart, the grandmother of 9-year-old Alice, who takes her in when Alice loses her parents in a mysterious fire. As Alice grows up, she realises that June is hiding secrets about her and her family’s past – of course, there is danger lurking just around the corner.
Prime Video, August
Ahsoka
Ahsoka was one of the best things about the original Star Wars show The Clone Wars: a fearless former Jedi Padawan who becomes a notorious freedom fighter and warrior in her own fight. Now she’s getting her very own live action Disney+ show, with the fabulous Rosario Dawson in the title role. Though not much is known yet about the plot, the synopsis teases that Ahsoka is set to investigate “an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.”
Disney+, August
Heartstopper Season 2
Of all the sequels to be released over the summer, this has to be one of the most highly anticipated: the follow-up to the smash-hit TV series that won hearts all around the world. The show is a coming of age love story about teenagers Nick and Charlie (Kit Connor and Joe Locke) – with an equally endearing subplot following their friend Elle (a scene-stealing Yasmin Finney). Season one offered feel-good vibes and ‘aww’ moments galore; season two looks set to offer much of the same.
