The temperature is rising and the summer TV and summer movies seasons have officially kicked off. This weekend brings a round of new movies and TV shows for you to enjoy on Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and other streaming services.
Summer is always a great time for a scare, and horror fans will get a few options this week, including The Conjuring 3 and Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. For comedic thrills, check out the new Peacock series We Are Lady Parts and the delightfully weird comedy special Bo Burnham: Inside.
- All the upcoming Marvel movies and Disney Plus shows
- New TV shows airing this month
- Plus: The Flash director teases Michael Keaton’s return as Batman
And if you didn’t want to pony up $30 to watch Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney Plus Premier Access, it’s now available to subscribers for free. This week also brings the end of Pose on FX and the beginning of a new Bachelorette season.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of new TV shows and specials available on broadcast and cable. If you’ve cut the cord, just sign up for one of the best cable TV alternatives for access to your favorite channels.
Here are our picks for the new movies and TV shows to watch this week.
Streaming now:
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (HBO Max)
Movie | 1 hr 52 min (R) | How to watch The Conjuring 3
The Warrens are back to investigate another terrifying paranormal case. The third Conjuring film pulls from another true story, one from the 1980s, about Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who stabbed his landlord to death. His trial was the first instance when demonic possession was used as a legal defense. The movie’s take on those events send Ed and Lorraine Warren to witness the trial of a young man accused in a brutal stabbing. They find a link to another bloody crime, and both may be linked to witch totems used to pass on a satanic curse. The Conjuring 3 is also opening in theaters as well as streaming on HBO Max, so you can hide under the covers during the super scary parts.
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV Plus)
Series premiere | Season 1, episodes 1-2 (TV-MA) | Watch now
Stephen King has called his 2006 novel Lisey’s Story his favorite, so he takes the adaptation of it into his own hands. He penned the spooky eight-episode limited series starring Julianne Moore as a troubled widow. Lisey Landon is still dealing with the grief of losing her husband, author Scott (Clive Owen), several years ago, as well as an estranged sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a mentally ill one (Joan Allen). Then, disturbing events bring up memories of Lisey and Scott’s marriage. The show toggles between the present and past, as Lisey confronts how much she’s repressed about Scott’s dark nature.
Sweet Tooth (Netflix)
Series premiere | Season 1, episodes 1-8 | Watch now
A sweet, whimsical post-apocalyptic adventure sounds like a complete oxymoron, but this adaptation of the Vertigo comic manages to mash up several genres and tones into one lovely package. The show begins 10 years after an event known as the Great Crumble, which wreaked havoc on the world and led to the birth of hybrids, children with a mix of human and animal parts. One such hybrid, a deer-boy named Gus (Christian Convery) leaves his secluded home on a quest to find his mother. Along the way, he befriends a wanderer named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) and together, they trek across the dangerous landscape.
We Are Lady Parts (Peacock)
Series premiere | Season 1, episodes 1-6 (TV-MA) | Watch now
The British comedy follows the journey of the titular punk band, composed entirely of Muslim women. They’re searching for a lead guitarist and decide to recruit a total novice, a microbiology PHD student named Amina (Anjana Vasan). Amina figured she’d just find a husband and settle down, but when Lady Parts comes calling, she finds herself dreaming of rocking out and achieving stardom. The show drew raves across the pond for its irreverent, silly and sweet humor, as well as its focus on Muslim women as fully-fledged characters beyond their hijabs.
Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)
Special | 1 hr 27 min (TV-MA) | Watch now
The multitalented actor/writer/director/musician/poet Bo Burnham most appeared as Carey Mulligan’s good boyfriend in Promising Young Woman. You may previously remember him as the writer/director of the coming-of-age tale Eighth Grade. Now, he headlines this very weird but utterly absorbing Netflix special which he filmed “alone, without a crew or an audience, over the course of the past year” in quarantine. Inside is more like a one-man show than a typical comedy special, with Burnham (his beard growing longer) performing sketches and songs about anxiety, loneliness and the effects of social distancing on mental health.
Kim’s Convenience (Netflix)
Series finale | Season 5, episodes 1-13 (TV-MA) | Watch now
The Canadian sitcom comes to rather an abrupt end, after having been renewed for a sixth season. But the creators departed the series and thus, Kim’s Convenience is closing up shop. Not much happens in season 5, just the amusing, mundane aspects of running a store. But the show has always been more about the chemistry among the cast members — Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as as Appa, Jean Yoon as Umma, Andrea Bang as Janet, Simu Liu as Jung, Andrew Phung as Kimchee and Nicole Powers as Shannon. Their banter and shared energy will be missed. If you love Simu Liu, get ready for him to get even more popular in Marvel's Shang-Chi.
Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney Plus)
Movie | 1 hr 47 min (PG) | Watch now
Make way for a new Disney princess! Now regular Disney Plus subscribers can watch Raya and the Last Dragon, after it debuted on Premier Access in March. The studio’s latest animated adventure introduces Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, aka Rose from the Star Wars sequel trilogy), a warrior princess from the land of Kumandra. The realm used to host humans and dragons living peacefully together, until a horde of monsters attacked and the dragons sacrificed themselves in the battle. Some 500 years later, the monsters are back and it’s up to Raya to find the last remaining dragon, Sisu (Awkwafina), to get rid of them for good.
Coming soon:
Pose (FX)
Series finale | Airs Sunday, June 6 at 10 p.m. ET
The groundbreaking LGBTQ series celebrated a wedding in the penultimate episode. The two-hour finale is more emotional, with Pray Tell (Billy Porter) still dealing with health issues. When Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) discovers an HIV clinical trial is denying access to people of color, she joins ACT UP in an effort to get Pray Tell the medication he needs.
The Bachelorette (ABC)
Season 17 premiere | Airs Monday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET
The Bachelor franchise underwent a racial reckoning earlier this year, though it seems like the new season of The Bachelorette is mostly back to business as usual. Host Chris Harrison is still taking time away from the show, and he’s replaced by former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe. This season’s lead is Katie Thurston, best known for wielding a vibrator when meeting Matt and speaking out against bullying in the house. So, maybe this show will be more sex-positive and woke than before. Or maybe we’ll just get more rowdy men taking off their shirts and accusing each other of not being there for the right reasons.
Loki (Disney Plus)
Series premiere | Streams Wednesday, June 9 at 3 a.m. ET
Trick or treat? We won’t need to choose in the latest Marvel series, since the titular trickster is such a charming treat. Loki, the god of mischief, was last seen absconding with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame. That was a past version of Loki, though, since the present-day one died at the hands of Thanos. Past Loki’s antics get him in trouble with the time cops at the Time Variance Authority. Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) enlists Loki’s help to right his time-bending wrongs and save their reality from an even greater threat. Loki is one of the most entertaining characters in the MCU, one that was constantly stealing scenes with his wit and verve. So, we’re hoping to get something fresh and creative in the line of WandaVision over the more staid and formulaic Falcon and Winter Soldier.
Hacks (HBO Max)
Season 1 finale | Streams Thursday, June 10 at 3 a.m. ET
What a time to be alive, during the very welcome Jean Smart-aissance. She was a highlight of Mare of Easttown — downing Manhattans, hiding ice cream in frozen vegetables, playing Fruit Ninja on her iPad. And she’s been at her sharpest in Hacks, which concludes the first of hopefully several seasons. Smart’s aging comedian Deborah Vance has proven she still has massive star power, but she could use a bit of fresh material in her Vegas residency. That’s what Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a millennial out-of-work television writer, is supposed to provide, but it’s taken awhile for the two to warm up to each other. Now that they have bonded (somewhat), can Deborah and Ava find a common joke ground?
Younger (Paramount Plus/Hulu)
Series finale | Streams Thursday, June 10 at 3 a.m. ET
Fortysomething Liza Miller’s pretence of being a millennial has long been exposed, and she’s worked her way up from publishing assistant to editor. Her story is ending on Younger and it looks like she may get her happily ever — just not in the form of a wedding. Liza (Sutton Foster) has gotten back together with Charles (Peter Hermann), now that he’s woken up from his fog of stupidity. While her love life may be set, Liza faces upheaval in her career again and she may have to make a difficult decision about her priorities.
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