July is off to a very slow start among the streamers. The good news is that more new scripted dramas are arriving next week. In the interim, this week is unofficially a celebration of TV-MA animated series. On Netflix, the new comedy Exploding Kittens brings God and the Devil to Earth as cats, with all of the chaos that comes with that. Meanwhile, Prime Video’s Sausage Party: Foodtopia brings back the anthropomorphic food with carnal desires from the Sausage Party movie.
If you’re looking for more drama this week, House of the Dragon, The Boys, and The Acolyte all have new episodes to enjoy. But The Boys and The Acolyte will be wrapping up their respective seasons next week. For now, these are the best new shows to stream.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+ all have one thing in common: They’re more expensive than they used to be! We can live with higher rates as long as new shows keep coming, but it’s always a good idea to consider signing up for the ad-supported tiers, which are worth it if you can sit through a few commercials.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
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Exploding Kittens2024 - Supacell2024
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- My Lady Jane2024
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Netflix
Exploding Kittens (2024)
6.2/10If you’ve ever owned a cat, you may have noticed that some of them act as if they are divine beings who are above you. In Exploding Kittens, Godcat (Tom Ellis) really is above everyone else because he is the Almighty who has manifested on Earth in the form of a fat cat. Similarly, the Devil has taken on the form of a Devilcat (Sasheer Zamata), and she’s always down to make trouble for Godcat … or just to hang around.
Godcat adopts his own dysfunctional family of humans, the Higgins, while Devilcat moves next door. Just because Godcat and Devilcat are felines now, it doesn’t mean they don’t play some games with the humans in their lives. And getting those people to do what they want is a real challenge in their current forms.
Supacell (2024)
71% 5.5/10There are plenty of superhero stories about ordinary people who are given extraordinary powers… even if they have no intention of being heroes. Supacell doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does flip the script by making all five of its main characters Black men and women who live in South London.
On the surface, Michael (Tosin Cole), Sabrina (Nadine Mills), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), and Tazer (Josh Tedeku) practically exist in different worlds despite their close proximity to each other. Yet it’s on Michael to bring this disparate souls together for the common good, because the life of his fiancée, Dionne (Adelayo Adedayo), depends on it. And Michael is quickly running out of time to change a dark future.
Amazon Prime Video
Sausage Party: Foodtopia (2024)
53% 6.1/10In the 2016 R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party, Seth Rogen voiced Frank, an anthropomorphized hot dog, who learned that he and the rest of the food were meant to be eaten. Sausage Party: Foodtopia picks up after the movie as the food has won the war against humanity. Now meat products, breads, fruits, and other foods shall inherit the Earth.
But in their efforts to create a Foodtopia for all food, Fred, Brenda Bunson (Kristen Wiig), Barry (Michael Cera), and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) aren’t necessarily up to the task. They’re going to need help rebuilding their world. And much to their surprise, not all of the humans are gone.
My Lady Jane (2024)
70% 6.0/10If you’ve never heard of Lady Jane Grey, the former queen of England in the 16th century, it’s probably because she only sat on the throne for nine days before she was eventually unjustly executed for treason. Don’t worry about spoilers, because My Lady Jane quickly divorces itself from the actual history by making Lady Jane (Emily Bader) an assertive young woman who won’t go down without a fight.
Although Jane is forced to wed Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), the two share an attraction that may lead to some genuine romantic feelings. Guildford is also hiding a secret that shakes this series out of the historical realm and shifts it into something more like a fantasy. Jane may like her new husband, but if she wants to avoid a date with the executioner, then she’ll have to save herself.
Max (formerly HBO and HBO Max)
Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants (2024)
8.3/10For the first time, HBO’s NFL docuseries Hard Knocks is chronicling the offseason of one the league’s teams. Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants finds the storied franchise heading into their historic 100th season. But after a dismal 6-11 finish in 2023, the team’s success is far from assured.
One of the storylines in this five-part series is whether quarterback Daniel Jones can fully recover from his ACL injury that prematurely ended his season in 2023. Liev Schrieber will provide the narration as the series offers football fans a behind-the-scenes look at the Giants’ decisions at the NFL Scouting Combine, the free agency rush, and the NFL draft before heading into the team’s annual minicamp.
House of the Dragon (2022)
73% 8.4/10War has come to Westeros in the second season of HBO and Max’s Game of Thrones prequel series. House of the Dragon season 2 begins with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) trying to reclaim her throne from her half-brother, King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). But how can Rhaenyra rule the seven kingdoms when she can’t even control her husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith)?
Although Aegon is quickly resembling a precursor to GOT’s Joffrey, the real power behind the throne is mother, Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Once, Alicent and Rhaenyra were best friends. But that connection won’t save the people of the seven kingdoms from the Dance of the Dragons. When dragons fight in the skies, only death can follow.
Hulu
The Toys That Built America (2021)
The Bear (2022)
81% 8.6/10The Bear is one of the best shows on TV, but we have no idea why FX doesn’t run it on cable and why Hulu insists on dropping entire seasons on the same day. Regardless, this is a half-hour drama more than a comedy, and it’s riveting. Season 3 picks up as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (The Iron Claw‘s Jeremy Allen White), and his employees, Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Marcus Brooks (Lionel Boyce), and Tina Marrero (Liza Colón-Zayas), as they finally reopen The Bear as an upscale restaurant.
Unfortunately for Carmy, he’s leveraged the entire future of The Bear just for this chance to completely reinvent it. The rest of the crew followed Carmy’s vision, but there’s anything but smooth sailing ahead. The Bear’s kitchen can be very dysfunctional even at the best times. And even this group may crack under the pressure.
Shoresy (2022)
8.5/10If Shoresy were any more Canadian than it already is, it would be Letterkenny, the hit comedy series that spawned this spinoff show. Jared Keeso stars as “Shoresy” Shore, a hockey player who has devoted his life to turning around the fortunes of his team, the Sudbury Bulldogs.
The third season finds the Bulldogs challenged as never before on the ice as they attempt to emerge as winners. But when Shoresy is forced off the ice, the team may need to find a way to win without him.
Apple TV+
Presumed Innocent (2024)
65% 7.6/10It’s been 34 years since Harrison Ford starred in the previous adaptation of Scott Turow’s legal thriller Presumed Innocent, so it was probably overdue for a remake. Road House‘s Jake Gyllenhaal steps into Ford’s former role as Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor who gets romantically involved with one of his colleagues, Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve).
When Carolyn is found murdered, Rusty is considered a prime suspect and arrested. Even worse, the news about his affair with Carolyn threatens Rusty’s marriage and family. There’s more to Carolyn’s death than just a sordid affair. But who else had the motive to kill her and frame Rusty for the crime?
Trying (2020)
69% 8.0/10There must be a rule among streamers that each outlet needs a certain allotment of British TV series. Trying is one Apple TV+’s imports from the U.K., and it revolves around Jason Ross (Rafe Spall) and Nikki Newman (Esther Smith), a couple who desperately wanted to have a baby together. And when that didn’t work out, they decided to adopt.
During the third season, Jason and Nikki fought to adopt a pair of siblings, Princess (Scarlett Rayner) and Tyler (Cooper Turner). They won that battle, but there are more challenges ahead in the newly released fourth season that may fray the fragile bonds between the kids and their adoptive parents.
Disney+
The Acolyte (2024)
67% 4.5/10Over a century before the Star Wars prequels, someone is going around killing Jedi in The Acolyte. Suspicion immediately falls on Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg), the former apprentice of Jedi Master Sol (Squid Game season 2‘s Lee Jung-jae). In an instant, it’s as if the universe has turned on Osha as even her friends believe she’s a murderer.
The reality is more disturbing. A Sith is orchestrating the murders for his Acolyte to perform, and now there are only two names left on their hit list — including Sol himself.
Paramount+
Criminal Minds: Evolution (2005)
64% 8.1/10Unlike the current season of Doctor Who, Criminal Minds: Evolution fully embraces that it is the 17th season of a police procedural drama that goes back to 2005. Last season, David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Jennifer “JJ” Jareau (AJ Cook), and the rest of the Behavioral Analysis Unit team uncovered a network of serial killers that was formed in the wake of the pandemic.
While the BAU identified and captured Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), the man behind the serial killer network, he still finds ways to be a thorn in their side in the new season. There’s also a new mystery on the horizon that may push the BAU team to their limits.
Mayor of Kingstown (2021)
53% 8.2/10The “mayor” is back in Mayor of Kingstown season 3, but if Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) thought things were going to get easier, then he’s in for a rude awakening. Russian criminals are muscling their way into Kingstown, and they don’t care who they have to hurt or kill to claim power.
It might take some unlikely alliances to keep the Russians from taking the criminal underworld out from under them. And this is a battle where Mike has a lot to lose if he backs down.
