6 Must-See Drama Series Coming in July That Will Make You Cancel Your Plans
Mark your calendars, July is going to be full of quality drama.
Natalie Portman plays a journalist investigating several murders at once, Anthony Hopkins rules the Roman Empire, and Catherine de' Medici, played by Samantha Morton, climbs the ladder of power.
1. Sunny
Release Date: July 10
Platform: Apple TV+
A sci-fi drama about an American woman named Suzie who lives in Japan, in the city of Kyoto. A tragedy strikes Suzie's life – her husband and son disappear without a trace in a mysterious plane crash. Suzie's husband worked in an electronics company, and as a consolation, the grieving woman is given a robot made by that company.
The robot is called Sunny – it is a humanoid creature with whom you can talk about anything in the world. At first, Suzie treats the gift with skepticism and even irritation, but in time, the woman and the robot become friends. Sunny helps the woman find out what happened to her family.
Early audiences are saying that Sunny is not just a dramedy, but an excellent, intriguing conspiracy thriller that gives Rashida Jones, star of Parks and Recreation and Silo, a chance to show off her full range of acting chops.
2. The Serpent Queen, Season 2
Release Date: July 12
Platform: Starz
The Serpent Queen is a historical drama about Catherine de' Medici (played by Samantha Morton) that combines an excursion into the history of 16th-century France with a break in the fourth wall. According to the plot, Medici arrives at the court of the monarch Henry II at the age of 14. The girl was supposed to become a humble wife and bear her husband a dozen heirs, but instead she began to weave intrigues to take the throne for herself.
Catherine had to work hard to spread and consolidate her influence. In the first season, an adult Catherine, preparing to become regent for her son, tells a servant the story of her ascension to the throne. In the second, she will confront Elizabeth I, Queen of England.
The first season of The Serpent Queen received rave reviews from critics, but failed to capture viewers. Perhaps new episodes will help the underrated project find its audience.
3. Those About to Die
Release Date: July 18
Platform: Peacock
Gladiators have made a dramatic comeback, and this year we'll not only see Ridley Scott 's ambitious Gladiator sequel, but we'll also get a chance to immerse ourselves in the history of this bloody entertainment.
Those About to Die tells the story of Emperor Vespasian (played by Anthony Hopkins), who, for the sake of public order, builds the Colosseum, a huge arena where battles, chariot races, and public executions are held.
Hopkins is the main, but not the only, famous face in the cast. Game of Thrones ' Iwan Rheon will play one of the secondary characters. The period drama, with an impressive budget of $140 million, is being produced and directed by Roland Emmerich, a master of the disaster movie genre.
4. Lady in the Lake
Release Date: July 19
Platform: Apple TV+
Apple TV+'s top release for July is a crime miniseries based on Laura Lippman's bestselling novel of the same name. The story follows bored housewife Maddie (played by Natalie Portman), who leaves her husband, moves to Baltimore and becomes an investigative journalist in the late 1960s.
The woman begins to investigate evidence of two seemingly distant murders. But Maddie soon realizes that the deaths are connected. All seven episodes were directed by Alma Har'el, who also directed the drama Honey Boy, based on Shia LaBeouf's autobiographical screenplay.
5. The Decameron
Release Date: July 25
Platform: Netflix
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is a collection of one hundred melodramatic and erotic stories from the 14th century, considered one of the most scandalous books in the history of Italian literature. Pier Paolo Pasolini made a bold attempt to bring the stories and life of Boccaccio to the screen in the 1970s, and now it's Netflix's turn.
The action takes place in Italy in 1348, during the bubonic plague epidemic. A party of several nobles, accompanied by servants, travels to Florence, to a villa in the countryside. Locked in the castle, they indulge in a real bacchanalia: drinking, carousing, having sex and telling each other various stories. The fun continues until social norms begin to fade and idle days turn into a struggle for survival.
6. Me
Release Date: July 12
Platform: Apple TV+
An original Apple TV series about a twelve-year-old boy named Ben who faces the challenges of growing up. Ben lives in a foster home and goes to an ordinary school, where he encounters bullies, falls in love for the first time and tries to make friends.
And it seems that Ben is an ordinary teenager, but not everything is so simple. He discovers a superpower that allows him to turn into other people. Together with his stepsister, Ben tries to figure out what is going on and find a good use for his gift.