Secret Invasion, Netflix’s Skull Island, and all the new TV to watch - Polygon
Yes, it’s blockbuster movie season, but summer TV is also heating up — and this week is a perfect example of just how packed this summer is going to be for television shows.
This week has several notable releases: Part 2 of Break Point, the Netflix tennis docuseries from the same folks that brought us Formula 1: Drive to Survive, is finally here, satiating tennis fans until Wimbledon next month. Critical and indie dramedy darling The Bear is also back, ready to rethink what the restaurant looks like (and operates as).
Perhaps biggest of all, Samuel L. Jackson is coming to TV with Disney Plus’ Secret Invasion. The long-awaited MCU show adapts the comic arc of the same name, following Fury’s dawning realization that the shapeshifting Skrulls have already infiltrated Earth and some of them might be up to no good.
All that is alongside new episodes for ongoing shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Righteous Gemstones, Strange New Worlds, and more. Here are all the significant TV premieres this week:
New shows on Netflix
Skull Island
Genre: Animated giant monkey business
Release date: June 22, with all eight episodes
Showrunner/Creator: Brian Duffield
Cast: Mae Whitman, Benjamin Bratt, Darren Barnet, Betty Gilpin
If you liked Kong: Skull Island, then it’s time to check out this animated spinoff coming to Netflix. The show is about (what else?) people who get shipwrecked on an island where they encounter a host of strange, enormous creatures — including... a giant ape known as Kong.
Glamorous
Genre: Soapy dramedy
Release date: June 22, with all 10 episodes
Showrunner/Creator: Jordon Nardino
Cast: Kim Cattrall, Miss Benny, Zane Phillips, Jade Payton, Michael Hsu Rosen, Ayesha Harris, Graham Parkhurst
Glamorous follows Marco Mejia (Benny), a young, gender non-conforming beauty vlogger who lands a job as an assistant for model-turned-makeup-mogul Madolyn Addison (Cattrall). Like Ugly Betty before him, he’s quick to find that behind the scenes of the industry isn’t all glitz and glamor. But also like Ugly Betty before him, it’s possible he and the company will find some middle ground.
Break Point
Genre: Sports docuseries
Release date: June 21, with all 5 episodes
Showrunner: Kari Lia
Cast: Professional tennis players (including: Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, Ons Jabeur, Ajla Tomljanovic, Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe, Aryna Sabalenka)
The tennis documentary you know and love is back for another set (season). From the team behind F1: Drive to Survive, Break Point: Part 2 (episodes 6-10) follows a select group of tennis players on and off the court as they win, lose, get injured, and try to win the top spot.
New shows on Disney Plus
Secret Invasion
Genre: MCU espionage thriller
Release date: June 21, with 1 episode
Showrunner/Creator: Kyle Bradstreet
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman
The long-teased Secret Invasion is finally upon us, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) feels fine. Set in the present day MCU, Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls and joins his allies — including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos — as they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.
New shows on Hulu
The Bear season 2
Genre: Kitchen drama
Release date: June 22, with all 10 episodes
Showrunner/Creator: Christopher Storer
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott
The Bear is back with a new name — the restaurant is changing from “The Beef” to “The Bear” — a new remodel (in the works), and the same ol’ fine-dining clash of egos and visions that made season 1 such a breakout hit. Say it with me: Yes, chef!
New shows on Max
And Just Like That..., season 2
Genre: Sex and the City spinoff
Release date: June 22, with 2 episodes
Showrunner/Creator: Darren Star
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Nicole Ari Parker, Sarita Choudhury, Karen Pittman, and Sara Ramirez
The first season of (most) the Sex and the City gals living and loving in their 50s was divisive, but generally received as “soapy fun.” The second season promises the same — with at least a high-profile cameo from Kim Cattrall, who will return for a single scene as Samantha.
Downey’s Dream Cars
Genre: Docuseries (with eco-friendly angle)
Release date: June 22, with 2 episodes
Executive producer: Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Emily Barclay Ford
Cast: Robert Downey Jr. and a team of auto experts
Robert Downey Jr. loves classic cars! So now he and a team of experts will be restoring six classic cars from his collection to make them more eco-friendly on the road.
New shows on Prime Video
I’m a Virgo
Genre: Slightly surrealist slice of life
Release date: June 23, with all 7 episodes
Showrunner/Creator: Boots Riley
Cast: Jharrel Jerome, Brett Gray, Allius Barnes, Olivia Washington, Kara Young, Carmen Ejogo, Walton Goggins, and more
Cootie (Jerome) just wants to be like everyone else. Unfortunately, he’s also 13 feet tall, a condition his parents try to hide from the world by keeping Cootie safely tucked away. But once he breaks out, he goes hard trying to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world, as well as navigating some awkward encounters with real-life crime fighter “The Hero.”
New shows on Apple TV Plus
Carpool Karaoke: The Series, season 6
Genre: Celebrities doing karaoke in a car (talk show)
Release date: June 23, with 7 episodes
Showrunners/Creators: Ben Winston and James Corden
Cast: The Afterparty cast; Avril Lavigne and YUNGBLUD; Lea Michele and Darren Criss; Cedric The Entertainer and Sheryl Lee Ralph; Alanis Morissette and Cara Delevingne; the Girls5Eva cast; the Ghosts cast; and Alison Brie and Danny Pudi.
Season 6 of the Carpool Karaoke series continues with a fresh crop of celebrities driving around and singing. As they sing along to their playlists, they share things from their lives — with one group even receiving some incredibly exciting news in real time.
Swagger, season 2
Genre: Drama
Release date: June 23, with 1 episode
Showrunner/Creator: Reggie Rock Bythewood, Kevin Durant and Brian Grazer
Cast: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Quvenzhané Wallis, Tristan Mack Wilds, Caleel Harris, Tessa Ferrer, James Bingham, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, Jason Rivera, Christina Jackson, Sean Baker, Orlando Jones, and Shannon Brown.
Inspired by NBA superstar Kevin Durant’s experiences, Swagger explores the world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption. Off the court, the show reveals what it’s like to grow up in America. Season 2 picks up with senior year, where four of the boys will be attending the predominantly white prep school that hopes to capitalize on their basketball prowess and make the program competitive.
New shows on Peacock
LA Fire & Rescue
Genre: Docuseries
Release date: June 21 at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC; streaming the next day on Peacock
Showrunner/Creator: Robyn Younie
Cast: Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters
A documentary spinoff from Dick Wolf’s Chicago universe, the series documents actual calls and drama of being a firefighter at one of Los Angeles’ many firehouses. The season will focus on nine different departments, who serve the more than 4 million residents of LA, and face unpredictable danger in the process.
Source: Polygon
