Summer may be a time of following the sweet temptation of sunshine to replenish our dried up Vitamin D reserves, but that doesn’t mean good TV stops coming out. If anything, there are more anticipated series to look forward to than ever before.
Not only are returning favorites like The Bear, And Just Like That, and Wednesday popping up on the horizon, but some new shows are making their way to the appointment viewing list as well. There are long-awaited franchise extensions like Alien: Earth and the MCU’s Ironheart, brand new comedies like Stick, Owen Wilson’s golf vehicle, and Too Much, Lena Dunham’s romcom series starring Meg Stalter, and gripping crime dramas like The Better Sister and Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
Whether you want light escapism or something to really sink your teeth into, here are 36 shows you should know about this summer.
Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey
Summer on Paramount+
While several documentaries have explored what really happened to JonBenet Ramsey, the 6-year-old beauty pageant winner who was murdered in her home in Colorado in 1996, there have only been a few dramatizations of her story. Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey will mark the fourth time the story has been brought to the small screen, with Melissa McCarthy starring as JonBenet’s mother Patsy Ramsey and Clive Owen as her father, John. The series will focus on their relationship, their curated family image and the investigation into the perceived cover-up of their daughter’s murder.
Washington Black
Summer on Hulu
Sterling K. Brown continues his stellar run with Washington Black, a Hulu series based on the book of the same name by Esi Edugyan. Set in the 1800s between Barbados and Nova Scotia, Washington Black follows a young refugee named George Washington ‘Wash’ Black (Ernest Kingsley Jr.) who is taken under the wing of the de facto mayor of Black Halifax, Medwin Harris, played by Brown. Brown will also executive produce the series.
Murderbot
May 16 on Apple TV+
The question on everyone’s mind: What if the technology that takes on ou most mindless and inane tasks revolts against us? Well, Murderbot takes it one step further: What if it secretly can revolt against us, but chooses not to, and then gets weirdly obsessed with a trashy TV show? OK, so maybe not a step further, but definitely a step… somewhere else. Alexander Skarsgård stars as the content-loving humanoid, and is supported by a cast of dramedy heavy-hitters like David Dastmalchian, Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, John Cho and Jack McBrayer (which is fun casting considering the internet’s fixation on McBrayer and Skarsgård’s seemingly random long-term best friendship). The series is based on the book series The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, who consulted on the show.
Sirens
May 22 on Netflix
If there is a winning recipe when it comes to TV, Sirens might be it. It’s a pinch culty, a tad ominous, it’s got a sprinkle of eat-the-rich touch points and a heavy pour of sapphic intrigue. The always excellent Meghann Fahy plays a girl who is concerned that her sister (Molly Alcock) might have fallen too hard under the spell of her rich boss, played by Julianne Moore, who seems to court a legion of pastel-donning admirers. No one wants to get on the wrong side of a billionaire, especially one with hair as silky and razor sharp as Moore’s. Also in the cast are Kevin Bacon, Glen Howerton and Bill Camp.
Adults
May 28 on FX
If Gen X had Sex and the City and Millennials got Girls, then Adults might be Gen Z’s answer to the best friend ensemble comedy wrangling with the cuspy nature of feeling too old to only now be getting your sh-t together while also too young to have it all figured out. From trying to throw the perfect dinner party because TikTok told you to, to being called ancient at age 29, this is the elder Zoomer lived-experience. Nick Kroll produces this show from The Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, which follows a group of friends, made up of newbie comedy faves Owen Thiele, Amita Rao, Jack Innanen, Malik Elassal and Lucy Freyer, who live together in one of their childhood homes. A master list of guest stars like Julia Fox, D’Arcy Carden and Charlie Cox are all on the roster as well.
Dept. Q
May 29 on Netflix
Netflix has really been in its gritty British crime drama bag of late, and Dept. Q is the latest dimly-lit, grimy, regional-accented jewel in its crown. It stars Matthew Goode as a once-venerated detective now on a self-destructive, guilt-laden streak who is tasked with heading up a new cold case division in Edinburgh. But although he’s been given the position as a way to keep him on a tight leash, Goode’s Carl Morck starts looking inward at his own organisation. Based on a series of Danish crime novels, Dept Q is penned by Scott Frank, the writer and director of the previous Netflix super-smash The Queen’s Gambit.
The Better Sister
May 29 on Prime Video
New crop of summer shows, new glossy whodunit. In The Better Sister, Jessica Biel, carrying the murder mystery c*nty bob torch from Leslie Bibb in The White Lotus and Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers, and Elizabeth Banks play estranged sisters who are thrust back into each other’s lives when one of their husband’s, played by Corey Stoll, is murdered. Already a very successful 2019 book by Alafair Burke, the ending might be known to some, but if you’re in the dark, stay in there until the series premieres!
Stick
June 4 on Apple TV+
The once-great athlete drawn back to the sport they left behind to mentor a young upstart is a trope well-trodden in sports stories (2016’s Eddie the Eagle, 1992’s A League of Their Own and 2009’s Eastbound and Down, just to name a few). In Stick, that same dynamic is applied to golf, as Owen Wilson’s former champion becomes coach to a disenfranchised prodigy, played by Peter Dager, and learns to re-love the game that once tore him apart. Also in the cast are Marc Maron, Judy Greer and Timothy Olyphant.
The Waterfront
June 19 on Netflix
Scream and Dawson’s Creek scribe Kevin Williamson writes the new dysfunctional family drama The Waterfront. The series, starring Holt McCallany (Mindhunter, tragically gone but never forgotten) and Maria Bello, revolves around a North Carolina family who run the town, but are forced to try and keep everything together in the face of tragedy by and clawing back their legacy as it dismantles piece by piece. Historically, great things have happened when Williamson hones in on mysteries and bodies of water, so this looks set to be a winner.
Ironheart
June 24 on Disney+
With Ironheart, Marvel is officially closing its doors on Phase 5 before The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits cinemas later this summer. The series, which was announced way back in 2020, picks up after 2022’s Wakanda Forever, as Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams returns to MIT after having created a suit that can rival Tony Stark’s. Once back, she connects with the mysterious The Hood (Anthony Ramos), who can tap into dark magic. It’s been a long road to get Ironheart to the small screen, having originally been slated to hit Disney+ in 2023.
Smoke
June 27 on Apple TV+
A fun development of the 2010s and beyond is the number of shows based on investigative podcasts. Apple TV+’s Smoke is taken from the hugely popular truth.media series Firebug, which centres around a string of arson attacks in the 90s and a supposedly fictional manuscript from the POV of an arsonist that bore a striking resemblance to them. Taron Egerton, now a staple in the Apple TV+ gritty drama canon, plays an arson investigator who, alongside Jurnee Smollett, is on the trail of two serial arsonists. It also stars Rafe Spall, Greg Kinnear and John Leguizamo. Try not to be drawn to the flame of the podcast ahead of its release if you want to keep this mystery burning.
Too Much
July 10 on Netflix
If your FYPs and feeds have been filled lately with nostalgic clips of Girls and people posting about how Lena Dunham actually was “a voice of a generation”, then you’ll be pleased to know that more of her voice is landing in our laps soon with Too Much. She’s teamed up with her husband, Luis Felber, for this romantic comedy series about a comedian, played by Hacks-scene stealer Meg Stalter, who runs off to London in the wake of a break-up only to find a connection with a chaotic Brit, played by The White Lotus’s Will Sharpe. As someone who distilled the 2010s millennial experience with neat, eviscerating accuracy, it’s thrilling to imagine what Dunham will be able to glean from modern romance. Elsewhere in the cast, you have Girls alum Andrew Rannells, Emily Ratajkowski and Richard E. Grant.
Dexter: Resurrection
July 11 on Paramount+
He’s baaaack… again. Everyone’s favorite serial killer, played by Michael C Hall, is returning for his third outing following 2021’s Dexter: New Blood. But wait? Didn’t he die at the end of that? Well, never let a seemingly fatal gunshot wound trick you until the person is buried in the ground. Even then, that hasn’t stopped the sequel industrial complex before. Turns out Dexter did not die at the end of New Blood, so Dexter: Resurrection will pick up weeks after Dexter was shot by his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), and after being revived, he follows him to New York City. Because this is Dexter, expect some murders, although producers are keeping tight-lipped on whether it becomes a family business this time around.
Untamed
July 17 on Netflix
If there’s one thing that can be certain in life, it’s that we will always find new places to set crime dramas. In Untamed, the murder lens is pointed at the sprawling expanse of the National Parks. Eric Bana will be a special agent for the National Parks Service who happens upon a gruesome death, sending him into a world of brutal secrets and hidden mysteries. Also in the series is Sam Neil, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Wilson Bethel.
Leanne
July 31 on Netflix
The multicam sitcom isn’t over. Netflix has ordered Leanne, the self-titled series by comedian Leanne Morgan and sitcom wiz Chuck Lorre. The series revolves around Leanne, a woman whose husband of 33 years just left her for another woman. Now, she’s starting over, which is easier said than done when you’re a grandma going through menopause. The series will star comedy heavyweights Ryan Stiles, Celia Weston, and Kristen Johnston.
Chief of War
August 1 on Apple TV+
Chief of War has been something of a passion project for Jason Momoa, so much so that it’s the first time he’s written for the small screen. Along with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, he has co-created and penned the series about Ka’iana, the famed Hawaiian warrior, who tries to unify the islands of Hawaii before Western colonization shows up on their shores. Momoa will star as Ka’iana, known as the most famous Hawaiian in the world, alongside a predominantly Polynesian cast. Expect bloody battles, historical drama, and the stunning beauty of Hawaii.
Eyes of Wakanda
August 6 on Disney+
Where Ironheart closes the book on Phase 5 of the MCU, Eyes of Wakanda will be the official first Disney+ series to kick it off. The animated series, which is made as part of Ryan Coogler’s television deal with Disney, traces the history of Wakanda and follows the nation’s warriors as they try to retrieve Vibranium artefacts from all over the world. The voice cast includes Winnie Harlow, Patricia Belcher and Cress Williams.
Alien: Earth
August 12 on FX
InWith Alien: Earth, the first TV series in the expansive Alien franchise, which has already seen 7 films hit the big screen, it’s not just space roamers and scavengers that are in the xenomorph face-hugging danger zone, but everyone in the world. As the title suggests, this time, the action is coming a little closer to home and, timeline-wise, will sit somewhere between the Prometheus/Alien: Covenant films and the original 80s franchise. At the helm is Noah Hawley, who’ll hopefully be mashing some of the evocative, homegrown vibes of his very successful Fargo TV adaptation with the sci-fi maximalism of Legion. The series will star Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant and Alex Lawther.
Long Story Short
August 22 on Netflix
Bojack Horseman was often praised for its searing ability to examine humanity’s particularities, which was impressive considering the animal conduits from which they came. With Long Story Short, the same creators have jumped into the real world of humans to give us the story of one family, the Schwoopers, as the children time-hop between childhood and adulthood to show the highs, lows, and everything in between, of life. Like Bojack, Long Story Short has assembled an all-star cast that includes Abbi Jacobson, Max Greenfield, Dave Franco, and Nicole Byer.
Returning Shows
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2
May 21 on Hulu
Another Nicole Kidman prestige vehicle, another chance to witness the most bonkers wig you’ve ever seen. For the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers, a follow-up to its first outing that saw Kidman play Masha, the cultish founder of a wellness retreat, she has traded in the flowy earth mother locks for a razor-sharp bob. Masha has also swapped the California sunshine for the Austrian Alps and has a whole new set of clients waiting to be cracked open by her unorthodox methods. The new cast includes Christine Baranski, Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Annie Murphy, Dolly de Leon, and Mark Strong.
And Just Like That Season 3
May 30 on HBO Max
The show that no one can decide whether they love or hate or hate to love is back on our screens. The Sex and the City follow-up is back for its third outing, and two new big names have joined the cast: Rosie O’Donnell and Patti LuPone. This season has promised new love interests, old love interests (somehow Aidan is still kicking about), teenage growing pains, and Carrie writing romantasy to appeal to BookTok. And just like that, we’re back in.
America’s Sweethearts Season 2
June on Netflix
Season 1 of America’s Sweethearts took us behind the scenes of probably the most famous cheerleading squad in the world, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. The docuseries let us in on the gruelling expectations of squad hopefuls, as they all vied for a coveted place in its tight ranks. Season 2 promises much of the same, with even more drama, adrenaline and spirit fingers.
Ginny and Georgia Season 3
June 5 on Netflix
Season 2 of Ginny and Georgia ended on a massive cliffhanger. The series, which follows single mother Georgia (Brianne Howey) and her children Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin as they move to a small Massachusetts town to escape their dark secrets, ended with Georgia banged up in the back of a cop car, seemingly finally out of luck in outrunning her past. Naturally, we’re heading into the third season with a tense jumping-off point – Will Georgia be freed? Can she get away with murder again? Is this the end of the road for our scrappy little family? Probably not, as season 4 is already greenlit, but it’s sure to be high-stakes.
The Buccaneers Season 2
June 18 on Apple TV+
Just before The Gilded Age cast was fighting over opera houses in New York, another set of socialites were trying their hand at the marriage game across the pond. The Buccaneers lands us in 1870s London as a group of young American socialites take on British society. Season 2 will keep up the culture clash (and the period spin on modern music) as we delve further into the romance woes and being stuck between love and societal expectations. And the original high society teen queen, Leighton Meester, joins this season!
The Gilded Age Season 3
June 22 on HBO Max
Love is at the heart of The Gilded Age season 3. The series, starring Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon and Taissa Farmiga, follows the new money New York set of the early 1900s, and is all about social capital. Now that the money is flowing, next comes figuring out how to use it to build security and a legacy. For the women of The Gilded Age, that means marriage. This season asks the question: Is love even something to consider when the stakes are so high for a union?
The Bear Season 4
June 25 on FX
New episodes of an award-winning series every single year? Thank you, The Bear. The fourth season to be pumped out in as many years is coming our way this summer, and the once-humble Chicago beef sandwich shop is now edging closer to its goal of a Michelin star. There are a few cliffhangers viewers will hope are tied up as we head into its next run, like whether Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney will jump ship to a new job, and whether they ended up getting a good opening night review. Of course, this is The Bear, so we can expect that none of these questions will be answered in a chill or stress-free way.
Foundation Season 3
July 11 on Apple TV+
It’s been a couple of years since we had confirmation that Foundation, Apple TV+’s sci-fi series about a war between a generational Empire and a Foundation set up to divert the destruction of its galaxy, would be back for a third season. Finally, it’s upon us, jumping 152 years into the future when tensions between the warring factions are at a peak. Based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, the series stars Lee Pace (innovating the concept of crop tops in the series) and Jared Harris.
Vince Staples Show Season 2
July 17 on Netflix
Although it was originally announced as a limited series, those words don’t really mean anything in 2025. The Vince Staples Show, a the series based on a fictional spin on the life of rapper Vince Staples, will now be back for a second run. The show is set in Long Beach, and follows Staples as he navigates a world of crime, being famous but not really famous and just trying to get through the day without anything crazy happening. The last season ended with a hint of what could come next, with the son of a man Staples seemingly murdered in a shoot-out watching a commercial for the cereal Staples owns—a nod to Kill Bill, when Uma Therman’s bride kills someone with gun pulled from a cereal box and then tells her child to seek revenge in the future if it still feels raw.
Twisted Metal Season 2
July 31 on Peacock
It’s a big era for post-apocalyptic TV shows based on video games. One that’s flown more under the radar than Fallout and The Last of Us is Twisted Metal, the series based on the early-aughts PlayStation game. While the original game was a simple, souped up demolition derby, this adaptation has expanded it into an anarchic trek across America with some Deadpool and Zombieland flourishes from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It stars Anthony Mackie, Neve Campbell, and Stephanie Beatriz, and Season 2 will dump us back in a derby where the stakes are higher than ever. Also, there’s a murderous clown.
Wednesday Season 2 – Part 1
August 6 on Netflix
As soon as it hit Netflix in 2023, Wednesday broke records for viewing hours and became an immediate hit with the outcasts of the world. No doubt, fans have been chomping at the bit for Season 2, and two years later, it is finally here. For the second instalment, Wednesday is heading back to Nevermore, this time with her brother in tow. To make things worse, her parents are also coming with. Even if you’re the coolest, chicest, gothest girl on campus, there’s no teenage mortification quite like seeing your parents in the school hallway. Joining the cast this season are Steve Buscemi and Joanna Lumley. In recent Netflix fashion, the season will be split into two, with Part 1 dropping in August and the second lot coming on September 3.
Platonic S2
August 6 on Apple TV+
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne may have some of the best comedic chemistry out there. The first season of Platonic, which hit screens in 2023 and was their reunion after the two (very good) Bad Neighbors films, saw them play one-time college besties who reconnect in middle age and have to navigate making space for each other in their new lives. The charming series, which was part When Harry Met Sally, part stoner buddy comedy, ended on a note that left the door open for more, and finally, we’re getting it. There are few plot details,, but the cast has expanded to include SNL alums Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett.
Final Seasons
Big Mouth Season 8
May 23 on Netflix
Thankfully, puberty does eventually come to an end. But unfortunately, that also means Big Mouth, the cartoon about all the disgusting, messy parts of growing up from Nick Kroll, must also conclude as well. At eight seasons, the show is Netflix’s longest-running scripted series in history, which tracks for how endless middle school can feel. Still, we all have to graduate to high school eventually, and absolutely nothing gross or weird happens there.
Squid Game Season 3
June 27 on Netflix
Let the games begin… and end. South Korea’s juggernaut series Squid Game, about a series of fatal games where desperate people are forced to fight until the bitter end until only one remains, is back for its third and final installment, just a few months after season 2 hit the streamer. The end of season 2, which saw Lee Jung-jae’s Gi-hun try to stage a rebellion against the macabre games and the antagonistic Front Man, ended in a cliffhanger tragedy, so tension is already high going in for this final round. Will he finally put an end to the psychotic games? And who will we lose in the process?
The Handmaid’s Tale Series Finale
May 27 on Hulu
After eight years and six seasons, The Handmaid’s Tale is officially coming to an end. In the same way that Black Mirror’s technological boogeyman has caught up with IRL advancements at a scarily fast pace, you could argue that the series about a future totalitarian society that subjugates its female population is venturing eerily close to present-day vibes. With new episodes of the final run already dropping weekly, we edge closer and closer to finding out whether Gilead will fall to revolution and if there’s a safe outcome for its refugees.
The Sandman Season 2 Volume 1
July 3 on Netflix
Though Neil Gaiman’s original Sandman anthology spans 10 volumes, the Netflix series its based on, which focuses on the character of Dream (Tom Sturridge), is capping at two seasons. It’s suggested the next season of the fantastical saga, centred around Dream’s quest to rebuild his own realm of the Dreaming, is going to delve into the fourth volume of the original graphic novel, where Dream returns to Hell and is reunited with his dysfunctional siblings. Like many Netflix series, this one is dropping in two parts, with the second one landing on July 24.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3
July 16 on Prime Video
Considering The Summer I Turned Pretty is based on a trilogy of books by Jenny Han, it makes sense that the Taylor Swift-soundtracked series would wrap up with its third season. That, and there’s really only so much real estate that can be stretched about a love triangle between two brothers. The third season, which is a two year time jump on from the end of Season 2 sees Belly (Lola Tung) happy with her decision to date Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), but is she really, truly over his brother Conrad (Christopher Briney)? The series has so far stayed true to the source material, so steer clear if you want an unspoiled romcom ending!
The post The 36 Most Anticipated TV Shows of Summer 2025 appeared first on TIME.
