If you're looking for a new show to watch this week, the vast landscape of streaming networks will provide plenty. So if someone tries to tell you "there's nothing good on," tell them they're a liar, because there's a lot. There's a new season of Rob Lowe's family comedy Unstable. There's crime-solving show A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. There's a new animated Batman cartoon, new Futurama episodes, new Unsolved Mysteries, and more.
Unstable, season 2
Unstable's first season earned fans' loyalty for its mix of family comedy and scathing satire, and now Rob Lowe and his real-life son John Owen Lowe are returning for a second season of workplace comedy. They play fictional father and son Ellis and Jackson Dragon. Ellis is a bio-tech billionaire genius who can't keep his shit together, and his son is the only thing that grounds him, but Jackson just wants to play his flute. If you missed season one, don't sleep on season two.
Where to stream: Netflix
Cowboy Cartel
This Apple TV+ original docuseries details the connection between horse racing and Mexican drug cartels by telling the story of FBI agent Scott Lawson. Lawson spearheaded an ambitious operation that took down the heads of the brutal Los Zetas cartel by following the money. It led from a successful horse racing concern directly to the most violent drug cartel on earth.
Where to stream: Apple TV+
Good Girl's Guide to Murder
This Netflix original series is a modern take on a classic formula: a plucky, precocious teen sets out to solve a mystery. Emma Myers, who you might remember as Wednesday Addams’ werewolf roommate in Wednesday, plays wannabe detective Pip Fitz-Amobi, a character created by YA novelist Holly Jackson in the book upon which this series is based. If you like Nancy Drew, but feel like it's a little old fashioned, check out A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Where to stream: Netflix
Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 4
The first three seasons of Netflix's revival of Unsolved Mysteries are excellent. Netflix hasn't released a ton of details about volume four yet, but if previous seasons are any indication, it will feature a mixture of unexplained deaths, strange disappearances, paranormal activity, UFOs, and other "what the hell?" content presented in a thorough, thoughtful way.
Where to stream: Netflix
Futurama, season 12
Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's iconic sci-fi cartoon Futurama is back this month for a 12th season, with 10 new episodes coming. Fry, Bender, Leela, and everyone else will be back to discover the secret of Bender's ancestors, learn the story behind coffee, and make sardonic jokes about the present even though it takes place in the year 3,000 or so. If you've never seen Futurama, you'll have nearly all month to catch up on the previous 12 seasons—they're also available on Hulu.
Where to steam: Hulu
Batman: Caped Crusader, Season 1
The newest animated iteration of Batman was produced by Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and Bruce Timms, so I have high hopes. Caped Crusader is a family-friendly Batman series, so gather the kids—but that doesn't mean there won't be serious action and thrills as Batman faces off against Clayface, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and a female version of The Penguin.
Starts streaming August 1.
Last week's picks
Time Bandits
I'm a huge fan of 1981's Time Bandits. Terry Gilliam's hallucinogenic movie about a gang of thieves who travel through time thanks to a temporal wormhole in a little boy's closet is a rip-roaring adventure that's ostensibly for children but isn't afraid to be brutal and cynical. Whether 2024's Time Bandits comes close to the mad genius of Gilliam's vision is an open questions, but it was created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and stars Lisa Kudrow, so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. If it doesn't work out, the original is streaming on Max.
Where to stream: Apple TV+
The Decameron
If you like unconventional comedy, check out The Decameron. Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, published in the 14th Century, this Netflix period comedy is set in Florence, Italy, in 1348 among a rag-tag group of nobles and their servants who are camped out in an opulent villa as the plague rages outside. To pass the time, they tell each other stories that range from from touching to ribald, while the social order descends into chaos. Seems relatable. Netflix describes it as "Like Love Island, but Back in the Day," and that's enough for me to give it a watch.
Where to stream: Netflix
2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
I'd like to find the pageantry of Olympics opening ceremonies ridiculous—how dumb that we pretend these little games mean something in our fractured and treacherous world?—but every four years, my cynicism fails and I start to believe in the unifying power of athletic competition and a world where we settle our differences through breakdancing and men's artistic swimming. At least for as long as the ceremonies go on. (And that's a long time!)
Where to stream: Peacock
Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson
Speaking of the Olympics, if you think the reverence and weightiness of traditional Olympics coverage is a little much, check out Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson's highlights streaming throughout the Olympics. This talk-show style stream will feature recaps of the best moments of the games and, if all goes well, many funny jokes.
Where to stream: Peacock
Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam
Lou Pearlman, the impresario behind The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears might not have been a super honest guy—shocking, I know. Dirty Popdetails how Pearlman changed music while building his personal empire, and doesn't shy away from the dark side of the business of fame, power, and exploiting talented young artists.
Where to stream: Netflix
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