Premiering TV Shows in June 2023
Secret Invasion
Starts 21st June // Network: Disney+ // Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Official Synopsis: "Nick Fury learns of a secret invasion by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls, who have been infiltrating Earth for years. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill, and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity."
Why you should watch it: Marvels Phase 4 - and by extension the MCU TV shows - have been a bit hit and miss, in both tone and quality. Introducing new characters has proved a challenge that not many saw coming. Phase 5 began with Ant-Man 3: Quantumania, and more recently Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and this, the first TV outing of this latest Phase, brings back yet another beloved character - Nick Fury (who showed up in the credits of the very first MCU film - Iron Man - 15 years ago). Tipped at one point to be Samuel L Jackson's standalone Marvel film, it stuck the course and is releasing as a 6 part mini-series. Judging by the trailer, which is fit for a cinema sized blockbuster, we are dealing with the darker side of the MCU, after the lighter but not as liked Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk. The small screen has had a good run of excellent spy shows this season, but Secret Invasion looks unmissable, especially if you're even moderately invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Hijack
Starts 28th June // Network: Apple TV+
Official Synopsis: "When Flight KA29 is hijacked during its seven-hour journey from Dubai to London, Sam Nelson - an accomplished corporate negotiator - tries using his professional skills to save everyone on board. Will this high-risk strategy be his undoing?"
Why you should watch it: While chatter about Idris Elba being the next 007 has died down, he's now taken on the role as airborne Jack Bauer. A seven-hour flight told over seven episodes should see the show play out roughly in real time, and while he probably doesn't have a weapon on-board a plane, Elba's on-screen presense should be all the ammunition he needs to get the job done, and all the the reason you need to watch this thriller.
The Walking Dead: Dead City
Starts 18th June // Network: AMC // Part of the The Walking Dead Universe
Official Synopsis: "Maggie and Negan travel to a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror."
Why you should watch it: Set two years after the events of the parent show, Dead City sees Maggie team up with Negan to rescue her kidnapped son. This is not a buddycop show though, as the two have their differences, the main being that Negan killed Maggies husband, and the father of the child they are heading to New York to save. Negan became a fan favourite, or at least, you hated to love him, so it's no surprise he gets a spin off. This is a fully fledged show, not a mini series, so you'll have to hold on to your stomach for a few years longer. "Fear the Walking Dead" might be coming to an end after 8 seasons, but there's plenty of undead-life in the franchise yet, with Dead City, and Daryl's upcoming Euro-trip spin off, and THEN a mini-series based around some guy called Rick...
The Crowded Room
Starts: 9th June // Network: Apple TV+
Official Synopsis: "A psychological thriller set in Manhattan in the summer of 1979, when a young man is arrested for a shocking crime - and an unlikely investigator must solve the mystery behind it."
Why you should watch it: Just the top tier cast should be enough to garner your interest in this 10-part psychological thriller based on a true-ish story. Tom Holland plays a man with dissociative identity disorder, who uses his condition to plead innocent to a number of horrific crimes. Emmy Rossum plays his mother (despite being only 10 years older than Holland), while Amanda Seyfried is his interrogator, helping him to retrospectively examine his past and crimes, and coming to a life altering revelation.
Returning TV Shows in June 2023
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Returns 15th June // Network: Paramount+
Official Synopsis: "In the 23rd century, Captain Christopher Pike Spock and Number One and the crew of the USS Enterprise explore new worlds and carry out missions throughout the galaxy during the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series."
Why you should watch it:Easily the best of the Nu-Trek series, Strange New Worlds finally embodies the hope and lighter-heartedness of the original show and the Federation that fans love so much. With stand alone episodes, but having a larger over arcing story, it's an easy-to-watch series that doesn't stray too far from its roots, and leaves the doom and gloom to the other future facing shows.
The Witcher
Returns 29th June // Network: Netflix
Official Synopsis: "Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together."
Why you should watch it: Henry Cavill's last outing as Geralt of Rivia is more of the story than the show is currently. After off screen disagreements with the writers and the deviations from the source material, Cavill is stepping down as the Witcher at the end of this season. Taking over from him is that guy from the Thor movies... no wait, the other one, from Westworld... no, that still feels wrong... er... the one from Hunger Games! How many Hemsworths are there?! Liam, the youngest of the half dozen Hemsworths, has some big, mud filled boots to squish into next season. And the show has just been renewed for a Season 5, so it'll be around for a while yet. Just don't get me started on the "family friendly" spin off in production...
Jack Ryan
Returns 30th June // Network: Amazon Prime Video
Official Synopsis: "When CIA analyst Jack Ryan stumbles upon a suspicious series of bank transfers his search for answers pulls him from the safety of his desk job and catapults him into a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout Europe and the Middle East, with a rising terrorist figurehead preparing for a massive attack against the US and her allies."
Why you should watch it: It feels like Season 3 of Jack Ryan only aired a few months ago, but oh, it did… just a scant six months separate it and the final season. Prior to that, there had been a THREE YEAR gap between season 2 and 3; something must have occurred… After "spreading freedom" around the world previously, Ryan finds him in charge of the CIA; but things aren't quiet at home. He'll go head to head with wide spread conspiracy and terrorist groups, and he'll have just six episodes to do it in. Two episodes a week of spy vs spy action drop from the end of June.
Outlander
Returns 16th June // Network: Starz
Official Synopsis: "Spanning the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure, follow Claire, a married WWII combat nurse, who mistakenly steps back in time to year 1743 where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world of adventure that sends her on the run and threatens her life. When Claire is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, it ignites a passionate affair that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives."
Why you should watch it: Outlander Season 7, and the Revolutionary War (the one a century before the Civil War), is upon us. This is not the end of the story though, as the upcoming season will be the longest season (16 episodes) since the first, though like then the episodes will arrive in two blocks of eight. And the show has already been renewed for an eighth (and final) season. Season 6 ended with the family separated and Claire finding herself in danger (when doesn't she?), but I'm sure they'll all be back together soon enough, with new people in their lives causing them mischief, and maybe some returning faces. In a show about time travel, is anyone really ever gone?
Black Mirror
Returns 16th June // Network: Netflix
Official Synopsis: "Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone - a black mirror of our 21st Century existence. Black Mirror is a contemporary British re-working of The Twilight Zone with stories that tap into the collective unease about our modern world."
Why you should watch it: After a four-year hiatus, and then being announced almost out of the blue, Season Six of the much loved but darkly dystopian anthology series hits our screens. Charlie Brooker admits that he'd become bored of the not-that-happy-ending trope, and that the new run of five episodes would see a reset to the formula. So, if you want that slight feeling of unease about yourself, your life and everyone around you, this is the show for you!
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Returns 7th June // Network: FX
Official Synopsis: "Five egocentric friends who run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better."
Why you should watch it: One of the cult-y-est of cult hits, Always Sunny is the little show that could. Now with Season 16 about to start, it is STILL renewed for 2 more seasons after this. It is already the longest running (though not longest in number of episodes...) live action comedy series in America, so if you haven't yet watched the crazy, disgusting, dark and hilarious world of the Philly pub run by a bunch of sociopaths, now is a great time to get your binge on.
Ending TV Shows in June 2023
Manifest
Returns: 2nd June // Network: Netflix
Official Synopsis: "When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. But in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years - and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they're all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible."
Why you should watch it: The latest in a long line of NBC trying to recreate the "must see TV" of the early 2000s, after ABCs LOST and their own (mostly just the first season) Heroes. Since then, we've had FlashForward, The Event and many others. Just like those, Manifest started off BIG, but quickly lost viewers throughout the first season. However, unlike those, Manifest aired in a more dangerous time for old style media, and NBC renewed the show for a second season. Which fared even worse than the first. But sticking to the old method of renewing past season 1, so aim for 4 seasons, we ended up with a season 3 in 2021. With yet lower ratings, NBC cut their losses and cancelled the show. But we were firmly in the time of Covid, and when NBC did a deal with Netflix to run the show on the streaming platform that everyone was watching all day every day, Manifest quickly topped the viewing charts. Netflix picked up the show for a fourth and final season, and the second half lands at the start of June. With lots of questions answered, but still more to come, Season 4 has been flying high so far. After the cliffhanger of Part 1, fans will be hoping that the show sticks the landing at the final departure.