📺 Watching: The Bear, Sunny, Lovesick...
plus 'We Are Lady Parts' and 5 upcoming TV shows
Welcome back! After a much needed week of rest, lakeside breezes, and cookouts, we’re happy to return to your inboxes with some fresh reviews. We’ve officially entered the (incredibly hot and humid) dog days of summer, and new content is slowing down once again, but with the Olympics right around the corner and the Tour de France underway, it’s hard to feel too deprived!
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
We Are Lady Parts (Peacock)
Sunny (Apple TV+)
The Bear - S3 (Hulu)
Lovesick (Netflix)
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Below is a selection of new shows and movies premiering this week. Our full list of July releases, including theatrical releases and streaming debuts, is available here and published monthly for our premium subscribers.
Vikings: Valhalla (Season 3) — The new generation of Vikings continues to forge its own destiny and make history in the new episodes of this historical drama.
Watch on Netflix: July 11 (all 8 episodes)Exploding Kittens (Season 1) — This adult animated comedy is very loosely adapted from the card game of the same name and follows God and the Devil after they are sent to Earth in the bodies of chunky house cats. An odd premise, yes, but the talent involved is promising, including Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as producers.
Watch on Netflix: July 12The Serpent Queen (Season 2) — The queen returns in this historical drama about the clever Catherine de' Medici. Despite being orphaned and married off at the age of 14 to a man in love with someone else, young Catherine schemes and maneuvers her way to rule France as queen for 30 years.
Watch on Starz: July 12Me (Season 1) — This sci-fi, family-friendly coming-of-age series from Barry L. Levy follows a 12-year-old kid’s journey of self-discovery after he realizes he has shape-shifting super powers.
Watch on Apple TV+: July 12 (1 of 10 episodes, then weekly)UnPrisoned (Season 2) — When a messy, but perfectionist therapist’s dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son, their life turns upside down…or right side up? The Alexander family still has a lot to figure out in this new season of UnPrisoned.
Watch on Hulu: July 17 (all 8 episodes)
Where we choose a recent-ish show that we enjoyed (or one that is returning soon) to feature.
We Are Lady Parts
Keywords: comedy, musical(ish), upbeat
Watch if you like: Never Have I Ever, Ramy, Kim’s Convenience
Jenni’s Rating: B
Created, written, and directed by Nida Manzoor, We Are Lady Parts combines humor, heart, and unique perspectives in a refreshing addition to the sitcom genre. Set in London, the series follows the journey of an all-female, Muslim punk rock band (called Lady Parts) as they navigate the complexities of friendship, romantic relationships, cultural expectations, and the pursuit of their musical dreams.
The show benefits from decent writing, surprising silliness, and a solid point of view, but its strength really rests on the main ensemble cast of women. The dynamic between them is equal-parts relatable and entertaining, showcasing the highs and lows of working in a group while dealing with societal pressures and personal insecurities. All five of the ladies deliver standout performances, but Anjana Vasan shines as Amina, a shy, endearing Ph.D. student and closet-guitarist who becomes an unlikely addition to the band. Her growing confidence and budding chemistry with the rest of the crew provide a wonderful emotional core to the first season of the series.
And of course, as is fitting for a show about a band, music features quite heavily in We Are Lady Parts. The original punk rock songs are hilarious and perfectly complement the rebellious, zany spirit of the show. However there are also fantasy-sequence songs a la Crazy Ex Girlfriend or Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist that don’t always fit the vibe as well. It’s hard to make “breaking into song” feel natural and unforced in any context, and unfortunately, this series hasn’t cracked the code. Those scenes are in the minority, though, and don’t diminish the fact that We Are Lady Parts is a wonderful watch for anyone looking for a show that is not only funny, light, and engaging, but also culturally rich and empowering.
— Jenni
Length: 25-min runtime, 2 seasons / 12 episodes
Watch on: Peacock
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
Sunny
Keywords: dark comedy, mystery, thriller
Watch if you like: Black Mirror, Severance, Search Party
Jess’s Rating: B
Rashida Jones is back on the small screen in Sunny, a genre-bending series that blends sci-fi, mystery, and dark comedy. Set against the backdrop of Kyoto, the show follows Suzie (Jones), a grieving American expat who forms an unlikely alliance with an AI home-robot named Sunny. Together, they embark on a quest to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances of Suzie's husband and son. As Suzie digs deeper, she finds out that there was more to her husband than she realized.
The first two episodes accomplish what every good mystery-thriller must: they hook the audience. The question at the center of the story — what happened to Suzie’s family — is compelling, but even more so is the web of lies that she begins to unravel about the husband that she thought she knew.
Beyond the mystery elements, the series navigates a tonal tightrope, teetering between overly somber and darkly comedic; this emotional see-sawing is not entirely smooth in its execution so far. Hopefully it improves over the rest of the season. As is typical of Apple TV+ thrillers, the visuals are stunning, and the pacing may prove to be a point of contention.
If you like sci-fi mysteries and quirky dark comedies, there’s definitely the seed of something great in Sunny. Despite reservations about the payoff, the series has firmly secured my intrigue.
— Jess
Length: 35-min runtime, 1 season / 10 episodes (2 available now, new on Wednesdays)
Watch on: Apple TV+
These popular shows came back with new episodes. Here’s what we thought and where you can watch them.
The Bear - Season 3
Keywords: drama-comedy, chaos, chefs
Watch if you like: Succession, Shameless, Sweetbitter
Jess’s Rating: B
Jenni’s Rating: B+
Editor’s note: Jenni and I discuss our feelings about Season 3 of The Bear in more depth in the latest Double Take podcast episode.
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