New summer TV shows to look out for - from star-studded company to gritty dramas
One glance at the TV guide and it looks set to serve up a summer of sport, with the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics sprinting onto our screens.
But for those who like a bit more drama than England’s yawnsome Denmark draw, there’s plenty more to look forward to.
With returning hits and brand new bingeable shows, TV and streaming is set to be as scorching as the weather.
Here, Sara Wallis runs down witty comedies that knock it out the park and gritty dramas that’ll make you hold your breath longer than an England/Germany final. (But probably with a better ending).
Don’t move too far from the small screen… Here’s our sizzling guide.
Dramas
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, BBC iPlayer, July 1
Adapted from the hit young adult mystery thriller novel by Holly Jackson, this stars Emma Myers as teen detective Pip, on a mission to crack a cold case in her town.
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder
Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh. Case closed, right? Wrong. Pip isn’t so sure and she’s determined to prove it.
Watch out for Anna Maxwell Martin and Gary Beadle as Pip’s parents in a drama that starts out as cosy crime and moves into gripping thriller territory.
****
The Jetty, BBC1/iPlayer, July 15
Jenna Coleman takes on her first ever detective role in this slightly spooky thriller that tackles themes of sexual morality, identity and memory.
It starts when a fire tears through a building on a jetty in a scenic Lancashire lake town. Detective Ember Manning must work out how it connects to a podcast journalist investigating a missing persons cold case and an illicit relationship between a man and two underage girls. And she’s more involved than she thinks.
*****
Tom Jones, ITV1, summer
Based on Henry Fielding’s classic 1749 novel, this period drama - previously shown on ITVX - stars Solly McLeod as the hero Tom, alongside Sophie Wilde as heroine Sophia Western. The pair must overcome enormous obstacles before finding their way to each other. Watch out for Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham as the seductive Lady Bellaston.
****
Suspect, Season 2, Channel 4, July
Picking up where the first season left off, Dr Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff) is on a quest to find the truth about her daughter’s tragic death.
When a mysterious new client Jon (Dominic Cooper) makes a disturbing confession under hypnosis, she is forced to embark on a deadly mission to save a life.
Joining the cast this season are Ben Miller, Tamsin Grieg, Vignette Robinson, Eddie Marsan, Nicholas Pinnock and Gina McKee.
****
SLIP, ITVX, August 8
Written and created by Zoe Lister-Jones, she plays Mae Cannon, a 30-something woman who is restless in life and goes on an adventure of self discovery.
Mae narrates: “Life is a dream. Not like one where we’re all flying, a super banal dream where nothing really happens. You’re just witnessing a version of your life.”
The show, also featuring Schitt’s Creek Emily Hampshire, follows Mae as she lives out versions of her life through a journey of parallel universes.
****
High Country, BBC1/iPlayer, mid-July
Dubbed Australian rural noir, this acquisition from Down Under has an eerie setting and a tense atmosphere.
Leah Purcell stars as detective Andie Whitford, who is transferred to the Victorian High Country and thrust into the baffling mystery of five missing persons who have vanished into the wildnerness. Over the course of an edge-of-the-seat, high-stakes investigation, Andie uncovers a web of deceit, murder and revenge.
****
End Of Summer, BBC iPlayer, July 6
Based on a bestselling Swedish novel by former police officer Anders de la Motte, this is a complex and absorbing mystery.
The Nordic Noir begins in summer 1984 when five-year-old Billy vanishes in rural Sweden. The inconclusive police investigation shatters the family.
Two decades later, Billy’s sister Vera (Julia Ragnarsson) meets a hauntingly familiar young man (Erik Enge).
****
The Turkish Detective, BBC iPlayer, July 7
Set in modern-day Istanbul, this is an emotionally-charged drama, based on the Inspector Ikmen novels by Barbar Nadel.
The Turkish Detective
It follows Inspector Inspector Çetin (Haluk Bilginer), his partner Detective Mehmet Süleyman (Ethan Kai) and Detective Ayşe Farsakoğlu (Yasemin Kay Allen) as they solve crimes, going through many ups and downs. Each crime story is heavily rooted in the varied culture and history of Istanbul and set against the frenzied world of modern-day Turkey.
****
The Night Caller, Channel 5, July 7-10
Starring Robert Glenister, Sean Pertwee and Suzanne Packer, this Liverpool-set thriller is about a lonely taxi driver’s growing obsession with a late-night Radio DJ.
One night, black cab driver Tony plucks up the courage to ring NightTalk to speak to Lawrence and soon becomes a ‘friend of the show’. But in time, his bond develops into something unhealthy - and dangerous. Then by chance, Lawrence gets into Tony’s cab, and things take a turn.
****
Those About To Die, Prime Video, July 19
Heading back to Ancient Rome, this epic and lavish historical drama stars Anthony Hopkins, Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Ruperty Penry-Jones and Tom Hughes.
Those About to Die
And you can expect action and violence as it’s set in the corrupt world of chariot racing and gladiatorial fights. It explores a side of Rome never before told - the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most - blood and sport.
*****
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 2, Prime Video, August 29
Set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, this takes viewers back to the fabled Second Age of Middle-Earth’s history.
From the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the island kingdom of Numenor, expect a sweeping epic of mythical legend. Roy Kinnear, Ciaran Hinds and Tanya Moodie join the case, which includes Charlie Vickers as Sauron.
****
Lady In The Lake, Apple TV+, July 19
Hollywood star Natalie Portman heads up the cast, alongside Moses Ingram and Y’lan Noel, in this twisting thriller. When the disappearance of a young girl grips the city of Baltimore in 1966, the lives of two women converge on a fatal collision course.
Portman plays housewife Maddie, who reinvents herself as an investigative journalist, while Ingram plays Cleo, a mother juggling many jobs and a commitment to advancing the Black progressive agenda.
*****
Comedy
Emily In Paris, Season 4a, Netflix, August 15
After a chaotic cliffhanger ending to season three, which saw Camille dump Gabriel at the alter because of his feelings for Emily and reveal her pregnancy, we’re already on edge.
Emily in Paris
Emily (Lily Collins) has strong feelings for two men, soon-to-be-dad Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) and ex-boyfriend Alfie (Lucien Laviscount), while her marketing career and life in Paris continues to be complicated.
Ashley Park returns as best mate Mindy, who has her own set of troubles.
****
The Great, Season 3, Channel 4, July
Rip-roaring, sweary, smart and anarchic, we can’t get enough of this comedic period drama. Elle Fanning plays the lead in this show charting the rise of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, while Nicholas Hoult plays her fawning, idiotic husband Peter.
The couple begin this season together, facing a ‘marriage witch’, who is a ye olde style counsellor. They agree to work through their issues - but with everyone a bit murderous, it could end badly.
*****
Mr Bigstuff, Sky Max, July 17
Actor Ryan Sampson has penned this comedy, in which estranged brothers Glen (Sampson) and Lee (Danny Dyer in his TV comedy debut) try to patch up a sibling rivalry that may well be beyond repair.
Mr Bigstuff
Glen is a nervy perfectionist trying to live the suburban dram, while Lee is an alpha male with a prescription drug addiction and a biscuit tin full of his Dad’s ashes.
The comedy, also starring Harriet Webb and Adrian Scarborough, explores broken families, fragile masculinity and carpet sales.
****
Unstable, Season 2, Netflix, August 1
Rob Lowe is clearly still unstable as he returns as biotech genius Ellis Dragon. Created by Lowe, along with his son John Owen Lowe (who plays his son Jackson in the show), it’s a comedy about a father in emotional freefall after the death of his wife.
In this season, Ellis lays out a series of challenges and mind games for Jackson to see if he has what it takes to succeed him as heir to the Dragon empire.
****
Bad Monkey, Apple TV+, August 14
Vince Vaughn plays former Miami Police detective turned restaurant health inspector Andrew Yancy in Southern Florida.
But he’s soon pulled into a world of greed, corruption and eccentric characters after a tourist finds a severed arm while out fishing. And yes, in case you’re wondering, there’s a monkey involved. Also stars Natalie Martinex, Rob Delaney, Jodie Turner-Smith, Alex Moffat and Michelle Monaghan.
****
Only Murders In The Building, Season 4, Disney+, August 27
As this comedy drama, starring Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin, returns with more podcast murder mystery, there are some new faces.
Only Murders In The Building
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria joins the cast, as well as Schitt’s Creek’s Eugene Levy and The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis. They play fictionalised versions of themselves, who are playing trio Mabel, Charles and Oliver in a film.
*****
Alma’s Not Normal, Season 2, BBC2/iPlayer, summer
Written by and starring Sophie Willan, she plays Alma, from Bolton, as she tries to make her life as fabulous as she’s always dreamed.
Inspired by Sophie’s own experiences of the care system, this has big emotional undertones, but brings comedy to a bleak subject matter.
A sneak clip shows Alma, Grandma Joan (Lorraine Ashbourne) and Jim (Nicholas Asbury) discussing the merits of Joan’s beloved spam. So it’s definitely not all serious.
Piglets, ITV1/ITVX, July
From the team behind hospital hit Green Wing, this is a six-part comedy set in a fictional police training college.
It follows a newly recruited group of six very different would-be cops and the handful of key staff whose thankless task it is to knock them into some kind of shape.
Heading up the cast are Sarah Parish and Mark Heap as no-nonsense Superintendent Julie Spry and some-nonsense Superintendent Bob Weekes, whose job it is to oversee the training of the next batch of new recruits.
****