Netflix reality shows, Foundation, Summer I Turned Pretty, and other new TV

The Fourth of July may be over but fireworks continue. This week’s new TV offerings are full of dramatic showdowns — from murders (Afterparty) to dinner parties (The Real Housewives of New York CityTo reality show contestants assigned the task of simply not hooking each other up (It’s Too Hot To Handle).

Of course, it’s not all melodrama. Netflix is looking back at 2022’s NFL season with QuarterbackThe new series, which follows three QBs including Patrick Mahomes and other stars for a full year of their lives. The vampires are still a thing of the past. What We Do In The ShadowsWhile they may be known for their dramatic flair, there is also a good deal of solid humor to help balance out the drama.

It is also worth noting that the return to FoundationThe Isaac Asimov adaption on Apple TV Plus stars Lee Pace and Jared Harris. It returns to the screen with new content and challenges, for fans of Psychohistory. The second season feels more secure than the previous one.

The following are the major TV premieres this week (and their finales).

Netflix releases new series

Quarterback

Image: Netflix

Genre: Sport documentary (football Edition)
Date of release: The complete July 12 episode
Cast: Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, Marcus Mariota

In the same vein as Netflix’s other sports documentaries, Quarterback follows a select crew of (get this) quarterbacks through last year’s NFL season. Behind closed doors, we get a glimpse at the training they do and their families. We also get a feel for how last year’s NFL season went.

Season 5 of Too Hot To Handle

Genre: Reality show sex-up nonsense
Date of release: August 14, 2014, with four episodes
Cast: Cast of Hot Reality Singles

You know the drill: There are 10 hot singles lured to a luxurious locale (in this case, a yacht in the Caribbean) with the promise of competing in a new dating show, when it’s revealed that the only way they can get the $200,000 cash prize is to avoid all physical intimacy. How will the 10 singles manage to avoid physical intimacy??

Hulu: New Shows

Season 5 of What We do in the Shadows

Russ Martin/FX

Genre: The Irreverent Vampire Comedy
Date of release: The July 14th (Hulu), and July 13 (FX) streaming episodes
Showrunner: Paul Simms
Cast: Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Mark Proksch, Harvey Guillén, and Kristen Schaal

What We Do In The Shadows is back, and thank god — it’s been far too long since someone yelled “Bat!” on our television screens. In the new season, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) is reconnecting with family from the old country, Lazslo (Matt Berry) and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) fight for Guillermo’s (Harvey Guillén) time, and Colin (Mark Proksch) does what so many energy vampires before him have done (run for office).

Max Podcasts: The Newest Shows

The End Times of Miracle Workers

Genre: A comedy anthology (end times).
Date of release: August 10
Showrunner/creator: Simon Rich
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe Geraldine Viswanathan Steve Buscemi Karan soni Jon Bass

Long-awaited fourth (and Mad Max(seasonal) Miracle WorkersThis week, the film is finally released. In this wasteland, there’s only one challenge truly frightening for a pair of ruthless warriors: settling down in the suburbs.

Full Circle

Genre: A Thriller
Date of release: The 13th of July
Showrunner/creator: Steven Soderbergh, Ed Solomon
Cast: Zazie Beetz and Claire Danes. Jim Gaffigan. Jharrel Jerrome. Timothy Olyphant. CCH Pounder.

There’s nothing better to watch in the middle summer than an exclusive prestige thriller series. This one — from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon — follows an investigation of a botched kidnapping that connects multiple characters with long-held secrets (which, in classic crisscrossing mystery fashion, are likely to come out in a big way).

Prime Video now has new episodes

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2

Genre: Teen soap
Date of release: Three episodes on July 14
Showrunner/creator: Jenny Han
Cast: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Jackie Chung, Alfredo Narciso, and Minnie Mills
This love triangle between Belly and her two brothers, based on Jenny Han’s novel of the same title, is sure to please romance fans. Season 2 will be based on book 2 of the series. It’s Not Summer Without You, in which Belly and Conrad’s new relationship strains under Susannah’s passing, with both of them dealing with her tragic loss. When Conrad goes missing, Belly reunites with Jeremiah to track him down — only for Belly’s feelings for Jeremiah to grow stronger.

Peacock presents new shows

The Real Housewives of New York City Season 14

Genre: Reality nonsense about angry entitled women
Date of release: The 16th (Bravo) and 17th (streaming via Peacock).
Cast: Sai De Silva Ubah hassan Erin Dana Lichy Jenna Lyons Jessel Tank and Brynne Whitfield

RHONY is a show that you probably already know if you’re in or out on — but there’s, of course, still time to get on board if you want to. RHONYSeason 14 will feature a brand new cast, but the drama of reality shows is still as it always has been. Here’s to several dramatic bougie and boozy parties!

Apple TV Plus now has new shows

Afterparty

Apple

Genre: Parodies of genres and mystery
Date of release: August 12, 1 Episode
Showrunner/creator: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Zach Woods, Ken Jeong, John Cho, and more

What a beautiful wedding — at least, until the groom turns up dead the next day. The latest episode of Afterparty, everyone (mostly) is a suspect, everyone’s got a story, and everyone’s got a different genre they filter their life through. Season 2 of the murder mystery brings back Aniq (Sam Richardson) and Danner (Tiffany Haddish) to put the screws to people and see if they can’t turn up the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth somewhere between everyone’s version of events.

Foundation

Genre: Sci-fi epic
Date of release: August 14, 1 Episode
Showrunner/creator: David S. Goyer Jane Espenson
Cast: Lee Pace Jacqueline Harris Lou Llobell Terrence Man and More

Foundation season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off: decades past the storylines of season 1, with the Foundation more far-flung and more at risk than it’s ever been. While a new Empire rises to power, they attempt to reset the balance of their empire by (gasp!) bringing in empress-like figures and having babies (not through cloning) using traditional methods.

Hulu: New Shows

What I Met Your Father The season 2 finale

Photo: Patrick Wymore/Hulu

Genre: Rom-com sitcom
Date of release: August 11
Showrunner/creator: Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger
Cast: Kim Cattrall and Kim Duff are joined by Francia Raisa Christopher Lowell Suraj Sharma Tom Ainsley Tien Tran

You can also find out more about the following: What I Met Your MotherThe spin-off is moving along apace, despite not having met (or at least not disclosed) the father. In the season 2 finale of the show, the whole gang heads to Pemberton’s to wait out a hurricane. Everything will be okay and there won’t even be any trouble because they are trapped in close quarters.