Add to Watch List: 7 New TV Shows to Stream In July
Slip into something comfy and get into some quality television this July. Whether you’re working from home or looking for something to wind down to at the end of the day, simply head to your streaming platform of choice and queue up a show.
This month brings new episodes of cult-favourite series, new dramas from leading female producers, action, thriller, and fantasy – take your pick from an eclectic mix that is sure to satisfy every mood. Here are our picks of the best in television to stream this month.
Cable Girls
Where to watch it? Netflix, from July 3
Set in late 1920s Madrid, this premium Spanish melodrama started in 2017 and its final episodes will land on Netflix this month. The critically acclaimed series is something of a sleeper hit for English-speaking audiences, and follows the lives of four women working at the national telephone company in the lead-up to the Spanish Civil War. (If you don't speak Spanish you can watch it dubbed, but going with subtitles instead means you won’t be tempted to check your phone every 30 seconds, all but guaranteeing a mindful and meaningful watching experience.)
Hamilton
Where to watch it? Disney Plus, from 3 July
It’s the musical that made millions of dollars in ticket pre-sales before it even premiered on Broadway in 2015, for which tickets were famously near-impossible to get during its initial run with creator Lin Manuel Miranda playing the titular role. Now you can watch the original Broadway cast in the live stage filming thanks to the warm heart and deep pockets of Disney, who paid $75 million for worldwide rights to the show.
Based on Ron Chernow’s 2004 written biography of Alexander Hamilton, the musical has received near-universal acclaim, although some critics have called out historical inaccuracies and oversimplifications. Treat it like a history lesson you can sing along to. If you love it, follow up with some of the incredible documentaries on American history that are available across streaming platforms. Ava DuVernay's 13th on Netflix is a great place to start.
The Other Two
Where to watch it? Hulu
This actually funny sitcom was created by former SNL co-head writers and follows the adult siblings of a Bieber-esque teen pop star. The titular “other two” are Brooke (Heléne Yorke of The Good Fight and High Maintenance) and Cary (Drew Tarver of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$). She’s a former dancer and he’s a struggling actor. It’s funny, it’s got a great cast (with Ken Marino and Molly Shannon in supporting roles) and it’s got heart. If you miss Broad City, The Other Two might just be the one for you.
Stateless
Where to watch it? Netflix from 8 July
Created and executive produced by Cate Blanchett (who also stars), this six-part drama was inspired by the true story of Cornelia Rau, a Germany-born Australian permanent resident who in 2004 was unlawfully detained under the government's mandatory detention program. In the series, four strangers forge emotional bonds while detained together at immigration centre in the Australian desert, with The Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski in the Cornelia Rau-inspired role.
One of the show’s creators Elise McCredie responded to criticism about why a series about immigration featured a mostly white cast, saying she followed Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan’s lead and used a white protagonist as a sort of “Trojan Horse”, to get the show made and get viewers in. “You’re not going to go into a network and sell a show on really fascinating tales of black women, and Latina women, and old women criminals,” she told NPR. It’s a problematic solution to a real problem (networks resisting content that is not centered on white characters), but as conversations around the colonial histories of Australia, the US, and other western countries grow louder and more urgent, this series could be worth the watch.
Run
Where to watch it? HBO
Executive-produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this comedy thriller follows a woman who walks away from her ordinary life to go on a cross-country trip with her college boyfriend. Here’s the deal: 17 years ago, college sweethearts Ruby (played by the always excellent Merritt Wever) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson of Ex Machina) made a pact that if at any point in the future either of them texted the word “RUN” and the other replied “RUN” they would drop everything and meet up to travel across America together. (Hence the title.) Like Fleabag and Killing Eve, Run plays with genre and delivers high-concept action in an unexpected and human way.
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
Where to watch it? Apple TV+
From the creators of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, this is a comedy set in the world of online gaming. It does a fine job of acknowledging the gender imbalance in gaming and critiquing the toxic masculinity that pervades the industry. The cast is led by creator Rob McElhenney and Australian actor Charlotte Nicdao, who starred in the made-for-smartphone 2019 series Content. If you liked Silicon Valley, you’ll love this (and you definitely don’t have to be a gamer to get the jokes).
The Umbrella Academy
Where to watch it? On Netflix from July 31
There are plenty of superhero stories to watch on screens nowadays, so why not seek out something outside of the Marvel and DC universes? The Umbrella Academy is based on comic books by Gerard Way (yes, the very same Gerard Way from ’00s emo band My Chemical Romance), and has amassed a massive audience since its first season landed in 2019 – 45 million account holders streamed the first season in 2019.
It’s about a family of misfit superheroes, played by an eclectic ensemble cast that includes Ellen Page and, somehow, the one and only Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. Catch up on the first season before the second lands at the end of the month.
Want more to binge? Here are 6 shows to watch if you loved ‘Normal People’
