Although summer used to be a time for TV fanatics to catch up on reading, that’s not the case these days, with new content constantly rolling out —— even during what used to be the TV off-season.
Networks and streamers continue to mine existing IP — HBO Max will bring “Harley Quinn” and “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” in July, while Prime Video has the highly anticipated adaptation of “A League of Their Own” and Netflix will debut “The Sandman.” There’s also a slew of unscripted content, as per usual.
Plus, expect buzzy, sure-to-be- trending supernatural shows battling it out. (We’re looking at you, Disney+ and Netflix.) Below, Variety takes a closer look at some of this summer’s most anticipated new and returning premieres. Mark your calendars!
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“Hacks” (HBO Max)
Following an Emmy-winning first season, Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava leave Las Vegas, hitting the road in a tour bus — with new material in the works — when Season 2 kicks off. New additions to the season include guest stars Laurie Metcalf, Ming-Na Wen, Martha Kelly, Margaret Cho, Susie Essman and Devon Sawa. (May 12)
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Disney+)
Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are returning to the “Star Wars” universe as the formerly aligned Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. Now locked in battle, ObiWan must stop Vader from hunting down other surviving Jedi knights. The show will take place 10 years after the events of “Revenge of the Sith.” While a face-off is imminent, both characters are present in “A New Hope,” so a draw is completely possible. Rupert Friend, Joel Egerton, Maya Erskine and Kumail Nanjiani also star. (May 27)
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (HBO)
This six-episode drama based on Audrey Niffenegger’s book, which was first adapted into a feature film in 2009, tells the magical story of partners Clare (Rose Leslie) and Henry (Theo James), who are madly in love but separated by time travel. Steven Moffat adapted this series, which also stars Desmin Borges, Natasha Lopez, Kate Siegel and Josh Stamberg. (May 15) “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is easily one of the biggest shows of not only the summer, but also the calendar year.
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
After three long years, Netflix’s huge hit series is back with its penultimate season, which will finally answer that Season 3 cliffhanger. The nine-episode fourth season, split into two volumes, will pick up six months after the Battle of Starcourt, with the gang navigating being separated for the first time. Additionally, they’re dealing with everyday battles of high school and a new supernatural threat. The ensemble cast, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Gaten Matarazzo, David Harbour and Winona Ryder, are back. (Vol. 1, May 27, Vol. 2, July 1)
“The Boys” (Prime Video)
The Seven are back. In addition to the main cast — Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Laz Alonso, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr and Chace Crawford — the premiere team of superheroes will have some visitors in Season 3. “Supernatural” alum Jensen Ackles joins as Soldier Boy. Three new episodes will drop on the premiere date, with the additional five released weekly. (June 3)
“Ms. Marvel” (Disney+)
The MCU’s newest superhero is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, portrayed by Iman Vellani. Besides learning to manage her superpowers, she has another big challenge: finding her place in high school and life as a Muslim American teenager in Jersey City. She’s also a superhero megafan, specifically for Captain Marvel, which could complicate things. Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah and Zenobia Shroff also star. (June 8)
“Queer as Folk” (Peacock)
In this remake of Russell T. Davies’ revolutionary LQBTQ British series from 1999-2000 — previously adapted on Showtime from 2000-05 — creator Stephen Dunn and co-showrunner Jaclyn Moore have updated the story for 2022 to be even more inclusive. Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Johnny Sibilly and Ryan O’Connell star, along with notable recurring cast members Kim Cattrall and Juliette Lewis. (June 9)
“Peaky Blinders” (Netflix)
Gangster Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) has navigated Birmingham’s criminal underground from 1919, when the series began, to 1933, after the table has been set for World War II. The show’s sixth and final season has already aired on the BBC in the U.K., so if you want to know how Steven Knight’s crime saga ends, the truth is out there. Those waiting for its premiere on Netflix, which made “Peaky Blinders” a global sensation, can also look forward to an eventual movie, which Knight announced will shoot next year. (June 10)
“Evil” (Paramount+)
Created by Robert and Michelle King, “Evil” takes on questions about the existence of God, Satan and the supernatural in the format of an entertaining thriller. But there’s also been a will-they-orwon’t-they between the show’s lead characters, David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers), as they investigate potential demonic possessions in the haze of their sexual tension. In the second season finale, they finally started making out, but the timing of this consummation certainly wasn’t ideal: David had been ordained as a priest that day, and Kristen had just confessed to him that she’d murdered someone and gotten away with it. (June 12)
“Love, Victor” (Hulu and Disney+)
The sweet story of high-schooler Victor (Michael Cimino) — and his journey of coming to terms with his sexuality as he’s also adjusting to a new school — will conclude with the third season of “Love, Victor.” Interestingly, “Love, Victor” began as a Disney+ show, but was then moved to Hulu when its first season was deemed too adult for the then kids-focused platform. Now, all seasons of “Love, Victor” will air on both Disney-owned streamers. Do say gay, Disney+! (June 15)
“God’s Favorite Idiot” (Netflix)
Series creator and star Ben Falcone plays tech support employee Clark opposite his real-life wife, Melissa McCarthy, who plays his colleague Amily. When God chooses him (and his co-workers) to save the world and battle Satan (Leslie Bibb), Clark will have his work cut out for him. Kevin Dunn, Usman Ally, Steve Mallory, Chris Sandiford, Ana Scotney and Yanic Truesdale also star in this eight-episode comedy. (June 15)
“The Old Man” (FX)
Based on Thomas Perry’s bestselling novel, this adaptation follows Jeff Bridges’ Dan Chase, a former CIA agent who has spent years living off the grid. When Dan is hunted by an assassin, he’s forced to deal with his past. Once the character’s out of hiding, things get more complicated as the FBI gets involved. John Lithgow, Alia Shawkat and Amy Brenneman also star in the seven-episode season. (June 16)
“The Umbrella Academy” (Netflix)
After its COVID-delayed third season, the Hargreeves family is back to fight another day. They thought they had fixed things in the 1963 timeline. In Season 3, the Umbrella Academy will brawl with the Sparrow Academy, who were introduced in the 2019 graphic novel “Hotel Oblivion,” from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, whose work has provided the source material for the popular Netflix show. More meaningfully, Elliot Page — who came out publicly as transgender in December 2020 — will be reintroduced on the show as Viktor Hargreeves, using male pronouns. (June 22)
“Westworld” (HBO)
It’s been two years since the Season 3 finale, so you’ll be forgiven if you forgot where the most recent installment — subtitled “The New World” — left off. Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) had escaped to real-world 2050s Los Angeles, along with a few other robot “hosts,” while Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) made her way to another world inside the park, this one based on WWII Italy. The season bounced around and morphed into a conspiracy thriller, ending with plenty of burning questions: Is the Man in Black, a.k.a., William (Ed Harris) dead? What about Dolores? Nothing can ever be for sure and showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan like to keep things close to the vest. (June 26)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
Having solved that murder in their building — and having become successful podcasters and something like “besties” in the process — Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) somehow ended Season 1 not in triumph, but in ignominy. The trio were hauled off in a police car in front of the Arconia before a crowd of smug onlookers after Mabel was found covered in blood with the dead body of their spiteful neighbor, Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell). Of course, police also found Charles and Oliver, agape in the room at her side. And the murder weapon was no less than Mabel’s knitting needle! (June 28)
“The Terminal List” (Amazon Prime Video)
In “The Terminal List,” his first television role since “Parks and Recreation,” Chris Pratt plays Navy SEAL James Reece, the lone survivor of an ambush. After returning home, James’ version of the mission doesn’t appear to match up with that his superiors’. Has he gone crazy, or is he being set up after stumbling into something he shouldn’t have? Constance Wu, Taylor Kitsch and Jeanne Tripplehorn fill out the cast in this revenge-thriller adaptation of Jack Carr’s best-selling novel . And “The Terminal List” fits in perfectly with Prime Video’s “Bosch,” “Reacher” and “Jack Ryan ,” which Joshua Alston termed “Father’s Day fiction” in his Variety review of “Reacher.” (July 1)
“Better Call Saul” (AMC) This is a little bit of a cheat, since “Better Call Saul” has already come back for its sixth and final season. But AMC split the 13-episode farewell to Jimmy McGill/ Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) into two halves — which means the final six installments promise to be explosive. We’ve already seen the death of fan favorite Nacho (Michael Mando), but there are plenty of burning questions to come. What’s the final nail in Jimmy’s coffin, as he goes full Saul? What happens to his black and white present-day alter ego, Gene, in Omaha? How will the promised appearances of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) be depicted? And, most importantly, the only question that fans really care about at this point: DOES KIM DIE? (July 11)
“Never Have I Ever” (Netflix)
Is it Paxton (Darren Barnet) or Ben (Jaren Lewison)? For Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who started last season by dating both boys — to disastrous consequences, of course — the year ended just as confusingly as it started. Paxton and Devi appear to be together at the dance, but then Ben learns that Devi had true feelings for him as well. OK, so maybe it’s too complicated for this blurb to explain, so we’ll let narrator John McEnroe handle it instead. Expect more of this love triangle and the show’s signature cringetastic takes on the teenage high school experience from Mindy Kaling and her team in Season 3. (Aug. 12)
“House of the Dragon” (HBO)
There was once a TV show that a lot of people liked. You may have heard of it: “Game of Thrones.” Now comes the prequel, set two centuries beforehand. The 10-episode series shows how the House of Targaryen fell into a brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons — presaging the beginning of the end of the ruling family of Westeros. Based on author George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the “House of the Dragon” stars include Paddy Considine, Emmy D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Olivia Cooke and Fabien Frankel. (Aug. 21)
THE SUMMER OF REALITY
Summer continues to be primetime for reality TV. It all starts with another season of Paramount+’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” (May 20), featuring guest judges including Naomi Campbell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Cameron Diaz. RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman are back as judges. Prime Video’s summer includes: “The One That Got Away,” “Forever Summer: Hamptons” and “Cosmic Love.” Peacock’s “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” (June 23) returns for Season 2 with a new cast — Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Jill Zarin, Taylor Armstrong, Phaedra Parks, Eva Marcille and Brandi Glanville. The following month, “Love Island” moves from CBS to Peacock as HBO Max brings back “FBoy Island” for a second season. And in August, Issa Rae’s “Sweet Life: Los Angeles” returns to HBO Max. This summer will also feature a new season of “Big Brother,” on CBS, as well as the debut of “The Challenge” on the network.
