June brings new seasons from three of TV's hottest shows: The Boys, House of the Dragon and The Bear. There are also some promising new series premiering this month, which is an improvement over June 2023 — remember The Idol? Secret Invasion? Stars on Mars? None of these newcomers will make you set your TV on fire in the backyard (not that I've done that, as far as you know).
THE ACOLYTE (DISNEY+)
Aside from 2021's The Book of Boba Fett (so much hype, so little payoff), the Disney+ stable of Star Wars series has been entertainingly solid. The Acolyte, set 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, follows a Jedi master (Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game) and his former padawan (Amandla Stenberg, The Hate You Give) as they investigate a string of Jedi murders. You won't see any familiar characters in The Acolyte, but there is a Wookie Jedi(!).
CLIPPED (HULU)
Will a future bio-drama about the Gonzaga Bulldogs be called Zagged? How could it not be? Clipped tells the true tale of the 2013 Los Angeles Clippers under the shaky ownership of Donald Sterling (played here with asshole gusto by Ed O'Neill) and the rivalry between his personal assistant (Cleopatra Coleman) and his business partner wife (Jacki Weaver). Even if you don't care about basketball (guilty), there's plenty of juicy drama and scenery chewing to be had here. (Read our full review of the show at Inlander.com/screen)
FANTASMAS (HBO, MAX)
If you've never seen the fantastic 2019-2022 show Los Espookys, go watch it now on Max (Warning: It's mostly in Spanish). Julio Torres, one of the stars and creators of that show, is the beautifully surrealist mind behind Fantasmas, playing a version of himself in a bizarro-world New York City. In the dream-like series, he interacts with a wild variety of characters, including some played by Steve Buscemi, Emma Stone and Bowen Yang. Oh, and it's in English.
PRESUMED INNOCENT (APPLE TV+)
After taking over the Patrick Swayze role in the Road House remake, the next move for Jake Gyllenhaal was obviously to step in for Harrison Ford in a Presumed Innocent series adaptation, right? Best not to dwell on it. In this David E. Kelley/J.J. Abrams production, Gyllenhaal plays Rusty Sabich, a Chicago lawyer accused of murdering his mistress. If Gyllenhaal's next role isn't the Bruce Willis character in a Wild Orchid remake, we've been robbed.
HOTEL COCAINE (MGM+)
It's not the most creative show title, but Hotel Cocaine does grab your attention before you can ask, "Wait, what's MGM+?" In late '70s Miami, Roman Compte (Danny Pino) manages the Mutiny Hotel and nightclub, a bustling hotspot for politicians, models, sports stars, musicians, and, of course, international coke dealers, the FBI, and the CIA. If you liked Narcos but wished it had more disco dancing, polyester suits and muted pastels, Hotel Cocaine is for you.
DISCO: SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION (PBS)
Speaking of disco, the maligned '70s music genre gets a positive spin in this PBS documentary. (The 1979 Kiss "sellout" disco track "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was all over The Fall Guy and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire this year — redemption achieved.) The three-part docuseries chronicles disco's rise from the New York underground to the crash-and-burn backlash of "Disco Sucks!" This all really happened, kids.
ORPHAN BLACK: ECHOES (AMC, AMC+)
The 2013-2017 sci-fi series Orphan Black, about a woman who discovers she's one of many clones, was a cult hit with so many layers that it was ripe for spinoffs. AMC has finally gotten around to one with this sequel series set in the same universe but fast-forwarded to the year 2052. The shadowy corporate biotech cloning is still happening, and amnesiac Lucy (Kristen Ritter) may be a product of it. There must be a sequel/clone joke here... ♦
