It’s July, which means it’s time to recap the first half of the TV year with the Best New TV Shows of 2024 (So Far). Maybe you’ll find something you haven’t seen yet, or maybe you’ll realize a glaring omission—read and learn.
This week’s What to Watch recs include the returns of Hit-Monkey and The Ark, the final seasons of Cobra Kai and Snowpiercer, the debut of the Natalie Portman mystery thriller Lady in the Lake, the streaming premiere of Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga, and MLB All-Star Game baseball action. Stream away!
New on Hulu this week
Hit-Monkey | Hulu | Animation, fantasy
Season 2 premiere, Monday, July 15: Didn’t know there was a Marvel Comics character named Hit-Monkey? Hey, they can’t all be Avengers. Hit-Monkey follows a Japanese snow monkey (voiced, well, grunted, by Fred Tatasciore) out for revenge against the Tokyo Yakuza for the murder of his family. Aiding his vengeance quest is Bryce (Jason Sudeikis), an American assassin-turned-ghost mentor. In season 2, Hit-Monkey relocates to New York City to escape his murderous life (spoiler: he doesn’t). Watch trailer
Live on FOX this week
MLB All-Star Game | FOX | Sports, baseball
Coverage begins Tuesday, July 16, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET: Live from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas (for the first time in 29 years), it’s the 2024 MLB All-Star Game. The American League and National League teams will feature 33-player rosters, managed by Bruce Bochy (Texas Rangers) and Torey Lovullo (Arizona Diamondbacks), respectively. You can watch the MLB All-Star Game for free with an antenna on FOX, which will preempt such quality game-show programming as The Quiz With Balls this week.
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New on Syfy this week
Season 2 premiere, Wednesday, July 17: One of Syfy’s last original scripted series after Resident Alien changed residency to USA Network, The Ark continues its seemingly doomed mission to colonize a new planet. Season 1 (which is available on Peacock) introduced a spaceship crew of 100+ who’d just survived a catastrophic interstellar event, awakened from cryosleep a year early with only weeks’ worth of food and water. It’s no Battlestar Galactica, but The Ark is an entertaining soap opera amongst the stars. Watch trailer
New on Netflix this week
Cobra Kai | Netflix | Drama, comedy
Season 6 pt. 1 premiere, Thursday, July 18: From its humble beginnings as a YouTube series in 2018 to a Netflix smash today, Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai has never been dull. Ridiculous, implausible, occasionally too self-serious, yes—but never dull. In the sixth and final season (which will be split into three parts because Netflix gonna Netflix), the prestigious Sekai Taikai International Championship is nigh. But with Cobra Kai disbanded, who’s left to fight? Part 2 will stream in November and part 3 in 2025. Watch trailer
New on Max this week
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! | Max | Animation, comedy
Series premiere, Thursday, July 18: Of all the Harley Quinn characters to spin off into their own series, who expected it to be Kite Man? In Hell Yeah!, Kite Man (voiced by Matt Oberg) and his girlfriend Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) buy Gotham bar Noonan’s, which is a watering hole for villain sidekicks and henchmen. It’s a DC Universe Cheers, with Harley Quinn favorites like Bane, Clayface, and Frank the Plant, as well as Harley and Poison Ivy themselves, dropping in. Two of 10 episodes stream on July 18. Watch trailer
New on Peacock this week
Those About to Die | Peacock | Drama
Series premiere, Thursday, July 18: Sword-swinging epic Those About to Die draws inspiration from the same 1958 historical book as the movie Gladiator (which, coincidentally, is also getting a sequel later in 2024). The series, produced by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and written by Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan), centers on the gladiators-in-the-colosseum blood-and-circus of Ancient Rome and stars Anthony Hopkins as Roman Emporer Vespasian. All 10 episodes will stream on July 18. Watch trailer
New on Netflix this weekend
Sweet Home | Netflix | Drama, horror
Season 3 premiere, Friday, July 19: The third season of K-drama Sweet Home will be its last, wrapping the story that began as a webcomic in 2017 and went on to become the first-ever Korean series to crack Netflix’s U.S. Top 10. Sweet Home’s deft blend of monster-apocalypse horror and inter-character drama could be compared to The Walking Dead, except that Sweet Home is quitting while it’s ahead and not dragging things out forever. All episodes of Sweet Home season 3 will stream on July 19. Watch trailer
New on Max this weekend
Love Lies Bleeding | Max | Drama
Movie streaming premiere, Friday, July 19: Director/writer Rose Glass (Saint Maud) won raves for Love Lies Bleeding when it was released theatrically in early 2024, as did stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. The 1989-set crime noir follows Lou (Stewart), a gym manager who falls into a relationship with bodybuilder Jackie (O’Brian). When Jackie becomes involved in a brutal murder, Lou intervenes to help her as the cycle of death and blackmail spirals out of control. Love Lies Bleeding is an instant gritty, lusty classic. Watch trailer
New on Apple TV+ this weekend
Lady in the Lake | Apple TV+ | Drama
Series premiere, Friday, July 19: Adapted from the novel by Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake follows housewife-turned-journalist Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman) as she investigates the case of a missing Black woman (Moses Ingram) in 1960s Baltimore. If you’ve read the book, be aware that director Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) has made some major changes to the plot. Lady in the Lake also stars Y’Lan Noel, Brett Gelman, Noah Jupe, and Mikey Madison, and two of seven episodes stream on July 19. Watch trailer
New on AMC+ this weekend
Season 4 premiere, Sunday, July 21: The fourth and final season of ice-bound sci-fi series Snowpiercer was originally set to premiere on its home network TNT last year. But the brain trust at Warner Bros. Discovery decided “Nah,” leaving the completed final 10 episodes in limbo. This year, AMC stepped in and picked up season 4, as well as the previous three (which are available on AMC and AMC+ now). Will the train finally stop a-rollin’ in a friendly, thawing world? It’s likely not going to end that easily. Watch trailer
New movie releases available to rent/buy on VOD this week
Horizon: An American Saga (2024)
Because Kevin Costner has been working on Horizon: An American Saga since 1988, it’s understandable that he’d rather concentrate on his movie series than another season of Yellowstone. The Civil War-era Western epic’s first chapter has received mixed reviews and failed to pack theaters (Horizon’s three-hour running time was probably a factor), leaving the releases of the next three chapters in question. Maybe Horizon: An American Saga will find its audience on home screens, driving Costner right back to … TV. Watch trailer
- Horizon: An American Saga (July 16)
- Dance Rivals (July 16)
- The Dead Don’t Hurt (July 16)
- The House Next Door (July 16)
- Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three (July 16)
- Mother of All Shows (July 16)
- The Strangers: Chapter 1 (July 16)
- Tuesday (July 16)
- Before Dawn (July 19)
- Clear Cut (July 19)
- The Hyperborean (July 19)
- Thelma (July 19)
