July 2024 TV preview: Lady In The Lake, Sunny, and 19 other shows to watch

Another beloved Parks And Recreation alum makes the leap to lead an Apple TV+ series. In the sci-fi dramedy Sunny, based on the novel The Dark Manual by Colin O’Sullivan, Jones stars as a woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose son and husband disappear. Then she’s greeted by the show’s titular robot (voiced by Joanna Sotomura), who happened to be invented by her vanished partner, and the two get pulled into a twisty mystery. [Tim Lowery]

Abby Fuller directs this docuseries that sounds tailor-made for fans of David Fincher’s Mindhunter. Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer digs into the career of Ann Burgess, a researcher and clinical nurse specialist at the FBI. Her work involved researching behavioral patterns in serial killers (she’s interviewed Ted Bundy, Montie Rissell, and Ed Kemper), and also pioneering ways to treat trauma in victims. Elle and Dakota Fanning are among the producers of the three-part doc. [Saloni Gajjar]

So we’re at the stage of IP when 2016's Sausage Party is getting a spinoff, huh? The film, a parody of Disney and Pixar, is now branching out into television, with returning original cast members like Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton, as well as franchise newbies like Natasha Rothwell, Will Forte, Sam Richardson, and Yassir Lester. Foodtopia follows the leading anthropomorphic sausage Frank and his friends as they attempt to build a society. [Saloni Gajjar]

No one would’ve thought the card game Exploding Kittens could turn into a TV show. Yet here we are. After releasing a 2-D game version on the platform, Netflix is turning it into a full-blown animated series. In the project, an eternal conflict reaches epic proportions, so God and the Devil are sent to Earth to live in the bodies of chunky cats. The voice cast includes Tom Ellis, Sasheer Zamata, Mark Proksch, Suzy Nakamura, and Ally Maki. [Saloni Gajjar]

MGM+, a very real streamer that has brought us the likes of From, Godfather Of Harlem, and Beacon 23 expands its library with The Emperor Of Ocean Park. In the thriller, Forest Whitaker plays notable Judge Oliver Garland, who dies of an apparent heart attack. The investigation into his death leads to the theory that Oliver, a failed Black nominee to the Supreme Court, was actually murdered. Grantham Coleman, Tiffany Mack, Henry Simmons, and Bryan Greenberg co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

Anthony Hopkins makes his way back to TV after Westworld to star in yet another epic drama. In Those About To Die, he plays Roman emperor Vespasian. Based on Daniel P. Mannix’s novel, the 10 episodes delve into the spectacle of gladiatorial competition and the intersection of blood, politics, and entertainment. The ensemble features Iwan Rheon, Dimitri Leonidas, Gabriela Pession, Jojo Macari, Sara Martins-Court, and Tom Hughes. [Saloni Gajjar]

Netflix heard complaints about splitting up seasons in two parts and apparently decided to split Cobra Kai’s final round of episodes into three batches. Very, very cool. And it all begins on July 18 with five episodes (the remaining will air in November and then in 2025, to test our patience). Season six of The Karate Kid franchise’s spinoff finds the senseis in their toughest position yet, with their students disheartened after the Cobra Kai dojo was kicked out of the Valley Championship tournament. [Saloni Gajjar]

Director Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) is behind this small-screen adaptation of the mystery novel of the same name by Laura Lippman (who’s married to fellow former Baltimore Sun scribe David Simon). In the Apple TV+ thriller, Natalie Portman stars as Maddie, a suburban-housewife-turned-novice-newspaper-reporter who becomes consumed with getting to the bottom of a pair of killings in 1960s Baltimore. The Queen’s Gambit’s Moses Ingram and Insecure’s Y’lan Noel co-star. [Tim Lowery]

Adapting any film by Terry Gilliam seems like a pretty tall order, but Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and The Inbetweeners’ Iain Morris have done just that with their 10-episode take on the visionary director’s 1981 fantasy. In the Apple TV+ comedy series, a group of thieves hop around space and—yes, you guessed it—time, getting caught up in all sorts of adventures along the way. Lisa Kudrow, Kal-El Tuck, and Charlyne Yi appear in the project, as do Waititi and Clement (playing Supreme Being and Pure Evil, respectively). [Tim Lowery]

Historical TV comedies are getting their time in the spotlight thanks to Our Flag Means Death and Renegade Nell, and now The Decameron joins the slate. Set in 1348 as the bubonic plague destroys Florence, the show follows nobles and their servants as they hide out in the countryside. Naturally, they pass their time in Tuscany’s lush hills with plenty of wine and sex. But what happens when the group has to fight for their survival? The promising ensemble includes Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Tanya Reynolds, Tony Hale, and Jessica Plummer. [Saloni Gajjar]

Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 (Paramount+, July 1)

All American: Homecoming season 3 (The CW, July 8)

Vikings Valhalla season 3 (Netflix, July 11)

The Serpent Queen season 2 (Starz, July 12)

Hit-Monkey season 2 (Hulu, July 13)

UnPrisoned season 2 (Hulu, July 17)

The Ark season 2 (SYFY, July 17)

Snowpiercer season 4 (AMC, July 21)

61st Street season 2 (The CW, July 22)

Elite season 8 (Netflix, July 26)

Futurama season 12 (Hulu, July 29)