Summer TV Preview: The 26 Best Shows and Movies to Watch

It's looking unlikely that the WGA strike will end anytime soon, meaning that the TV release schedule will be slowing down as productions continue to face delays. That also means you should enjoy this big influx of summer TV while you can. From new seasons of shows you love (Black Mirror, The Bear, and Only Murders in the Building), premieres of new shows you'll probably love (I'm a Virgo), spin-offs (Justified: City Primeval, The Walking Dead: Dead City), and anticipated movies (Flamin' Hot, Extraction 2), there's a lot to keep you busy over the next few months.

Below, you'll find our preview of the best shows and movies to watch from June through August. For more, here's the ultimate guide to everything coming to Netflix, Hulu, Max, and more in June.

The best shows and movies to watch this summer

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16 (June 7, FXX) 

Great news: The gang is back and just as awful as ever. Last season saw them terrorizing Ireland, but now they're back on their home turf, facing new challenges like long-distance dating, rent control, and appearances from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who will apparently have the misfortune of being passengers in Charlie's (Charlie Day) car. This show should go on forever. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Based on a True Story (June 8, Peacock)

Did someone say new Chris Messina show? New Chris Messina show! Here, he stars opposite Kaley Cuoco as a washed-up tennis star who starts a podcast with his true crime-obsessed wife — and a local killer. It's sort of like Only Murders in the Building, but with less crime solving. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Never Have I Ever Season 4 (June 8, Netflix)

Who will Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) choose? The hot guy, the other hot guy, a different hot guy, or Ben (Jaren Lewison)? No offense, Ben, but you're up against a guy named Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), played by an actor who is 32 years old. The final season of Mindy Kaling's high school rom-com had better answer that question, and I don't want to hear any of this "Devi learns to love herself instead" garbage. YOU. MUST. CHOOSE. -Tim Surette [Trailer] 

Flamin' Hot (June 9, Hulu/Disney+)

You've heard of Tetris, you've heard of Blackberry, but have you heard of Flamin' Hot? Eva Longoria directs this biopic, which tells the story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a low-level employee at Frito-Lay who went on to become the mastermind behind Flamin' Hot Cheetos. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The Full Monty (June 14, Hulu)

Do you want some hot stuff? Consider this — FX's sequel series to the Oscar-winning British comedy is the latest item on the nostalgia conveyor belt, picking up 25 years later and reuniting the film's original cast to show how they've been navigating the crumbling social and political systems in modern-day Sheffield. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Black Mirror Season 6 (June 15, Netflix)

Charlie Brooker's frequently devastating, sometimes enriching, and mostly terrifying anthology series about the way humans interact with technology may not have the same beloved standing as it did in its early seasons, but this new crop of five episodes will be worth picking through for the gems. This time around, Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Michael Cera, and more join the fun. Here's everything we know about the season. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Extraction 2 (June 16, Netflix)

Chris Hemsworth returns for the sequel to his 2020 megahit Netflix movie, despite his character maybe dying in the original. He didn't, obviously, and now the mercenary is back to do what he does best: kill a bunch of dudes. This time, his assignment is to extract a Georgian gangster's family from a prison. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Outlander Season 7 (June 16, Starz)

Call your mom and your aunt and maybe even your grandma: Outlander's penultimate season is almost here. Well, the first half of the penultimate season, anyway — the second half will premiere sometime in 2024. This season is set during the Revolutionary War and picks up after last season's cliffhanger ending, which found Claire (Caitriona Balfe) going to prison for murder. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 (June 18, HBO)

Succession's Roys aren't TV's only sibling rivalry vying for ultimate power. Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin Gemstone (Danny McBride, Edi Patterson, and Adam DeVine) get their shot at heading up the megachurch in the new season of HBO's ridiculous comedy, but guess what? Being in control ain't all that it's cracked up to be, despite the monster trucks and NASCAR autos the trailer shows. Also coming this season: Steve Zahn playing a truly batsh-- right-wing nutso. -Tim Surette [Trailer] 

The Walking Dead: Dead City (June 18, AMC)

In another, more fun world, this Walking Dead spin-off would be called Maggie and Negan Take Manhattan. Set after the events of The Walking Dead's series finale, the series finds, yes, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) fighting to find Maggie's son in a post-apocalyptic version of New York City. -Allison Picurro [Trailer] 

And Just Like That... Season 2 (June 22, Max)

Aidan (John Corbett) is back! Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is back! Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) is back! All is right with the world in the second season of the Sex and the City sequel series, which finds Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) getting her groove back after Big's death. Who among us wouldn't send Aidan a "Hey stranger" email if given the opportunity? Here's everything we know about Season 2 so far. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The BearSeason 2 (June 22, Hulu)

Order up! The Bear is looking to solidify its status as show of the summer for the second year in a row as it returns for its new season. Tensions are high among the Original Beef crew as they suffer through the pains of opening a new restaurant, which involves everything from mold removal to sending certain people to culinary school. All 10 episodes will drop at once. Here's everything you need to know about Season 2. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

I'm a Virgo (June 23, Prime Video)

Cosmic thinker, musician, activist, and film director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) tries his hand at television with this seven-episode coming-of-age series about a teenage boy growing up in Oakland. But since this is a Boots joint, you know there's a fun wrinkle. This kid, played by When They See Us Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome, happens to be 13 feet tall. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Witcher Season 3 (June 29, Netflix)

History's most ripped babysitter returns! Season 3 of the fantasy series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's books will be the last for star Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia — he'll be replaced by Liam Hemsworth moving forward — who continues to look over Ciri (Freya Allan) as she becomes a bigger target for bad guys. The eight-episode Season 3 will be split into two parts, with the first five episodes dropping June 29 and the final three episodes available July 27. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 4 (June 30, Prime Video)

The fourth season of Prime Video's military thriller is also its final season. So how does Prime Video celebrate that? With the series' shortest season yet. I guess saving the world is getting easier for Jack Ryan (John Krasinski), who will suit up as the CIA's deputy director. Not bad for a guy who started as a pencil pusher. Two episodes will be released each Friday for three weeks. Here's everything we know about Season 4. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Afterparty Season 2 (July 12, Apple TV+)

Christopher Miller's genre-bending murder mystery series returns for a second season with a whole new case involving a wedding that is thrown into disarray when the groom is murdered. From Season 1, Tiffany Haddish's Det. Danner, Sam Richardson's Aniq, and Zoë Chao's Zoë return, and they're joined by new cast members John Cho, Jack Whitehall, Poppy Liu, and more. -Allison Picurro

What We Do in the Shadows Season 5 (July 13, FX)

It's called hot vampire summer, look it up. For a quick refresher, the end of Season 4 found Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) going off in search of a vampire who would finally grant him the transformation Nandor (Kayvan Novak) has spent years denying him. But because nothing ever really changes on this show (in the best way), we probably shouldn't expect him to get what he wants. -Allison Picurro

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 (July 14, Prime Video)

The Summer I Turned Pretty is turning even prettier in Season 2. The new season is based on It's Not Summer Without You, the second book in Jenny Han's trilogy, which takes place a year after the events of the first novel and finds Belly (Lola Tung), Conrad (Christopher Briney), and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) adjusting to a new normal following Susannah's (Rachel Blanchard) cancer diagnosis. -Allison Picurro

The Real Housewives of New York City Season 14 (July 16, Bravo)

After a long delay caused by the miserable disaster that was Season 13, RHONY is back and rebooted with an all new cast. The new ladies are businesswoman Sai De Silva, model Ubah Hassan, real estate agent Erin Dana Lichy, former J.Crew president Jenna Lyons, fashion publicist Jessel Taank, and socialite Brynn Whitfield. There's no chance that these women will deliver anything as entertaining as Scary Island, but we can at least hope for a little more fun drama this time around. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Justified: City Primeval (July 18, FX)

Timothy Olyphant kindly dusted off his big ol' hat to reprise his role as Raylan Givens in this limited series Justified spin-off. City Primeval finds Raylan living in Miami with his teenage daughter (played by Olyphant's actual daughter, Vivian Olyphant) before he ends up in Detroit and becomes involved with a violent criminal called the Oklahoma Wildman (Boyd Holbrook). -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Minx Season 2 (July 21, Starz)

The artist formerly known as HBO Max really fumbled the ball on this one, but thankfully Starz snatched up Minx for Season 2 before Jake Johnson's chest hair could get lost in the ether. This time around, Doug (Johnson) and Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond) aren't struggling to get Minx off the ground, but are navigating its overwhelming success and all the money and notoriety that comes with it. Here's hoping Season 2 gifts us with the sight of Johnson in more glorious '70s outfits. -Allison Picurro 

How to With John Wilson Season 3 (July 28, HBO)

As John Wilson once said, "Wow." Quietly one of TV's best and most surprisingly touching shows, How to With John Wilson is saying goodbye with a run of episodes that is sure to make us let out a lot of disbelieving laughter and marvel at Wilson's uncanny ability to make the mundane so interesting. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Reservation Dogs Season 3 (Aug. 2, Hulu)

The best group of teens on TV are back. We don't know much about what will happen in Season 3 yet, though this isn't really a show that relies on plot. But after Season 2 ended with the gang fulfilling their goal of traveling to California, and making peace with the death of their best friend in the process, we can't wait to see what's coming next. -Allison Picurro

Heartstopper Season 2 (Aug. 3, Netflix)

The first season of Heartstopper, an adaptation of Alice Oseman's graphic-novel series, was extremely sweet, and also very much bait for TikTok fancams. Season 2, which finds Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) exploring their new relationship, is already stirring up enthusiastic buzz online. If you've seen Season 1, you know why — it's pretty adorable! -Allison Picurro [Teaser] 

Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (Aug. 8, Hulu)

Has anyone ever heard of this Meryl Streep woman? Apparently she's talented enough to join Only Murders in the Building Season 3, which picks up in the aftermath of the Season 2 finale, which found Paul Rudd's character dying in the middle of the play Oliver (Martin Short) directed. The new season picks up in the aftermath of that shocker, and it catches us up on what went down in the year between solving Bunny's murder and opening night of Oliver's play. -Allison Picurro [Teaser] 

Red, White & Royal Blue (Aug. 11, Prime Video)

Based on Casey McQuiston's hit novel, Red, White & Royal Blue is set in a better world where Uma Thurman is president of the United States and her son falls in love with a prince from the British royal family. Imagine the Harry and Meghan story with even more drama. -Allison Picurro