Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are our picks for some of July’s most promising new titles.
(Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our twice-weekly Watching newsletter here.)
New to Hulu
‘Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)’
Starts streaming: July 2
During the summer of 1969 — the same year as the Woodstock and Altamont music festivals — Harlem hosted a six week outdoor concert series featuring some of the most popular R&B, jazz and gospel acts of the day. Those shows were filmed, but the footage sat in a basement for 50 years, until the producers of the documentary “Summer of Soul” and its director, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, bought the rights and assembled a picture that can stand with the great concert movies of the era. The performances by the likes of Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King and more are electrifying. But Questlove and his team also made the smart decision to interview some of the surviving participants and audience members, who talk about the spirit in the air that summer, and are woven seamlessly and artfully into the songs.
Also arriving:
July 1
“The Mighty Ones” Season 2
“Stray”
July 2
“Bill & Ted Face the Music”
July 9
“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”
“Grown-ish” Season 4
“Moffie”
“This Way Up” Season 2
July 15
“American Horror Stories”
July 16
“McCartney 3,2,1”
July 29
“The Resort”
New to Apple TV+
‘Schmigadoon!’
Starts streaming: July 16
In this inventive sitcom, Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key play a couple on a relationship-saving retreat who wander into a mysterious enclave where everyone behaves like they’re in an old Hollywood musical. A mix of “Brigadoon” and “Groundhog Day,” “Schmigadoon!” follows these faltering lovebirds as they realize they’ll have to rediscover their passion for each other — or find true love with someone else — if they want to escape this strange land of artificial sunshine and showstoppers. In the meantime, they’ll also have to learn more about their new home’s singing, dancing inhabitants, played by bona fide Broadway stars such as Kristin Chenoweth, Ann Harada, Alan Cumming and Aaron Tveit.
‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2
Starts streaming: July 23
This unassuming and upbeat dramedy about a novice English Premiere League soccer coach was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2020, winning fans with its mix of a classic underdog sports plot and culture-clash humor — both delivered with sophistication and unexpected twists. Season 1 ended with a major setback for Ted Lasso (played by Jason Sudeikis, who originally helped create the character for a series of TV commercials). Season 2 will draw inspiration from Lasso’s own story and from the team’s troubled owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham). It’ll be a continuation of what makes the show so easy to like, since it puts a spotlight on good people who’ve been underestimated, but who start to thrive when they learn from and lean on each other.
Also arriving:
July 9
“The Snoopy Show” Season 2
July 30
“Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson”
New to HBO Max
‘The White Lotus’
Starts streaming: July 11
It’s been 10 years since the writer-director-producer Mike White debuted his terrific but too-short-lived HBO series “Enlightened,” a bracingly honest and refreshingly earnest dramedy about a middle-age woman trying to change her entire value system. There are some “Enlightened” vibes to White’s new show “The White Lotus,” which follows the staff and the guests at an high-end island resort. The ensemble cast includes Connie Britton and Steve Zahn as a well-meaning couple with self-absorbed kids, Alexandra Daddario as a sweet-natured newlywed beginning to realize her rich husband (Jake Lacy) is a brat, and Jennifer Coolidge as a grieving woman looking for a connection with a masseuse played by Natasha Rothwell (“Insecure”). Murray Bartlett (“Tales of the City”) is the hotel manager trying to keep these customers happy while ignoring the more pressing problems of his underpaid, overworked staff.
‘100 Foot Wave’
Starts streaming: July 18
Surfing has long been a popular subject for documentaries, perhaps because there are few more immediately arresting images than that of a human standing on a narrow board, riding across a wall of water. The docu-series “100 Foot Wave” is especially intense, because it follows the worldwide chase to find and to conquer a record-breaking swell. Directed by Chris Smith (best known for “American Movie,” “Fyre” and “Operation Varsity Blues”), the series features several of surfing’s biggest names, most of whom will be familiar to anyone who’s watched docs like “Riding Giants” and “Step Into Liquid.” The primary subject is Garrett McNamara, whose obsessive search for bigger water leads to him becoming an evangelist for the waves near Nazaré, Portugal.
Also arriving:
July 1
“No Sudden Move”
“Tom and Jerry in New York”
July 8
“Gossip Girl”
July 12
“Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes”
“Wellington Paranormal” Season 1
July 16
“Space Jam: A New Legacy”
July 22
“Through Our Eyes”
New to Amazon
‘The Pursuit of Love’
Starts streaming: July 30
Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel “The Pursuit of Love” is a lively depiction of England’s “bright young things” era, between the first two world wars. This three-part mini-series has Lily James and Emily Beecham playing a pair of tightly bonded upper-class cousins, commiserating over what’s expected of them as daughters and wives. The TV adaptation was written and directed by Emily Mortimer, building off the creative success of her semi-autobiographical sitcom “Doll & Em.” Like Mitford’s book, this series is, on the surface, about the frivolities of courtship and social position. But it’s also about how the women cling to each other for protection and companionship in a culture dominated by capricious and sometimes brutal men. Mortimer tells this story with style, using anachronistic pop music and theatrical poses in ways that resemble the work of Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola.
Also arriving:
July 2
“The Tomorrow War”
July 9
“Leverage: Redemption”
July 15
“El Cid” Season 2
July 16
“Making the Cut” Season 2
New to Disney+
‘Monsters at Work’ Season 1
Starts streaming: July 7
A spinoff of the charming and hilarious Pixar films “Monsters Inc.” and “Monsters University,” this new animated series follows a recent college grad named Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), who joins the staff at Monsters Inc., but is disappointed to learn the whole mission of the organization has changed from scaring kids to making them laugh. The show focuses on Tylor and his maintenance department colleagues, voiced by Henry Winkler, Mindy Kaling and Lucas Neff, among others, although John Goodman (Sully) and Billy Crystal (Mike), do reprise their roles from the movies.
Also arriving:
July 9
“Black Widow”
July 21
“Behind the Attraction”
“Turner & Hooch”
July 23
“Playing With Sharks”
“Stuntman”
July 28
“Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life”
“Turning the Tables With Robin Roberts”
“The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” Batch 2
July 30
“Jungle Cruise”
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
