Want to beat the heat of July? Crank the AC, curl up under the covers and binge watch one of this month's television releases. New July TV includes two spinoffs that expand already created fictional universes, two shows about eccentric young women being honest about their feelings in England and an adaptation of a bestselling novel about a man's escape from slavery and subsequent adventures.
'Such Brave Girls'
Created for the BBC and coproduced by A24, this dark British comedy about a dysfunctional single-parent family stars creator Kat Sadler alongside her real-life sister, Lizzie Davidson. The show's second season again features "traumatized women making terrible choices" amid "some of the most savage writing on TV," said Rhik Samadder at The Guardian. "Such Brave Girls" lives up to its name by giving "voice to the sort of dark thoughts you might file away to stew over at 3am," said Katie Rosseinsky at The Independent. The show tackles everything from "mental illness" to "sexual repression" to "parental estrangement" with an "almost feral comic energy." (July 7, Hulu)
'Ballard'
The beloved "Bosch" universe continues to expand. Following the 2021 conclusion of "Bosch," an American procedural drama starring Titus Welliver as a former LAPD detective, audiences craving more were rewarded with "Bosch: Legacy," a spinoff that introduced Renée Ballard, another character from Michael Connelly's novels. Now Ballard has her own chance to shine in the newest iteration of the cop drama. In its first season, Detective Ballard (Maggie Q.) "plunges into a web of murder and corruption as she hunts a ruthless serial killer and uncovers a sinister police conspiracy that threatens everything she stands for," said Collider. Welliver reprises his role as the now-retired Bosch. (July 9, Prime Video)
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'Too Much'
Lena Dunham crafted the most searing and incisive portrait of privileged New York twenty-somethings ever put to screen with HBO's "Girls," a six-season series she wrote and starred in. Now the ex-New Yorker is back with a new show that again mimics her life trajectory (only this time, she remains off-screen). Dunham moved to London in 2021 and married British-Peruvian musician Luis Felber; in "Too Much," Jessica (the hilarious Megan Stalter) deals with the dissolution of her long-term relationship by moving across the pond, where she meets and falls in love with British indie rocker Felix (Will Sharpe). (July 10, Netflix)
'Dexter: Resurrection'
Everyone's favorite serial killer returns in a series that picks up right where "Dexter: New Blood" left off. The original "Dexter" was Showtime's most popular show during its eight-season run, which ended in 2013. The 2021 reboot, "Dexter: New Blood," was bold enough to kill off its anti-hero, who was typically the one doing all the killing. (Dexter got shot by his son, Harrison.) But "instead of winding up six feet under, Dexter now lives to kill another day," said Greg Braxton at the Los Angeles Times of "Dexter: Resurrection," which brings back showrunner Clyde Phillips and, of course, Michael C. Hall in the starring role. "It turns out he miraculously survived that 'fatal' gunshot and is ready to resume his deadly vigilante campaign." (July 11, Showtime)
'Washington Black'
This adaptation of Canadian author Esi Edugyan's 2018 novel about the life of George Washington Black — not to be confused with America's first president — was created by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds ("The Twilight Zone") and stars Sterling K. Brown and Ernest Kingsley Jr. The story follows "Wash" as he flees a sugar plantation in Barbados at age 11. "Good fortune and a natural curiosity in the sciences lead Washington on a journey around the globe," said The Hollywood Reporter, and eventually he is "able to dream unimaginable possibilities for his future as a Black man in the 19th century." (July 23, Hulu)
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