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House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon finds itself slightly up against it this year, as the faster and funnier A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has snatched its crown as the premium Game of Thrones spin-off. But let’s not discount it, because what House of the Dragon has in spades is scale and spectacle plus newly announced co-star James Norton. If that doesn’t excite you, nothing will. Sky Atlantic/Now/HBO Max, 22 June
The Bear
There is a moment in the trailer for the final season of The Bear where a character screams “It’s not sucking!” He’s talking about a vacuum cleaner, but millions will be hoping it goes for the show itself, which has struggled over the last couple of years. However, signs are good. The recent one-off special Gary – which ended with a literal car crash – had real promise, and this year’s plot seems to be about the end of the restaurant itself. Will it be back to its best? Disney+, 26 June
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness
After Curb Your Enthusiasm ended, people wondered what Larry David would do next. Almost certainly, nobody banked on his comeback vehicle being an Obama-produced historical sketch show to mark America’s 250th anniversary. The previews (in which a VJ Day nurse screams “Pervo fucko” at David) seem like we’ll be in highly familiar territory, which is no bad thing at all. The commemoration that America deserves. HBO Max, 27 June
Would You Rather: Decide to Survive
A comedy gameshow twist on that perennial chin-stroker, Would you Rather? Romesh Ranganathan hosts as web stars from Nella Rose to Chunkz are forced to do tasks based on quandaries such as “Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?” or the rather more niche “Would you rather eat a man-size bean or a bean-size man?”. Delightfully weird in a Taskmaster-lite way. Prime Video, 26 June
Elle
Did the world need a TV prequel to the Legally Blonde films? Arguably not. Nevertheless, Elle – a series about the teenage Elle Woods, inspired by Netflix hit Wednesday – has great potential. The core of Legally Blonde, about a girl who constantly outsmarts people who judge her on her appearance, is endlessly adaptable. Plus this is written by Laura Kittrell. Given that her last two projects were Insecure and High School, you have to assume she knows her stuff. Prime Video, 1 July
Silo
Always ambitious, the last season of Apple’s Silo ended on one hell of a cliffhanger, with the protagonist apparently being incinerated. However, when your protagonist is played by Rebecca Ferguson, you’re going to want to keep her around, so happily she seems to have survived being burned alive quite well. And a good job too, because she’s the only woman in that darn silo capable of uncovering the dark truth about the world. Apple TV, 3 July
Little House on the Prairie
A monster in the 70s and 80s – its pilot was watched by 45% of all US households – Little House on the Prairie is now ripe for a remake. The story of a family struggling to survive in 1870s Minnesota, the original was kept afloat on all manner of soapy subplots. The possibility always loomed that Netflix was going to Shōgun this, leaning into historically accurate brutality, although by and large this version looks as warm and sedate as its predecessor. A second season was commissioned before the first has even aired – a sure sign of confidence. Netflix, 9 July
Lucky
Before she takes the lead in the TV version of Bella Mackie’s hit novel How to Kill Your Family, Anya Taylor-Joy plays badass con artist Lucky. She has robbed millions of mob dollars but gets screwed over then goes on the run, with both the FBI and the mafia nipping at her heels. She escapes casinos teeming with police and makes ingenious use of an emergency flare after being locked in the boot of a car in the desert. High-octane stuff, also starring a terrifying Annette Bening and Timothy Olyphant as Lucky’s incarcerated father. Apple TV, 15 July
Ride Or Die
Two best friends find themselves on the run from a mysterious enemy. One learns that the other is secretly a highly trained assassin. The premise might appear to borrow freely from Mr & Mrs Smith (and the title might appear to borrow freely from the last Bad Boys movie) but with Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer in the lead, and sketch comedy trio Massive Dad’s Tessa Coates as a writer, it should be a lot of fun. Prime Video, 15 July
The Hawk
When it was announced that Will Ferrell was making a new TV series about golf, everybody assumed that it would be as sweet and gentle as Apple’s Stick. Judging by the trailer, this is not the case at all. This is Ferrell in full Ricky Bobby mode: horrible tan, terrible hair and constantly shouting. In one scene he commandeers a bus. In another he appears to hump some sand. It is good to have you back, sir. Netflix, 16 July
Heartstopper Forever
Get ready for literal sparks to fly as Charlie and Nick’s love story bows out with a full movie finale – a feature-length gift for fans of Alice Oseman’s gorgeous queer teen tale. The last time we saw them they’d become inseparable … but can they survive Nick heading off to uni? Anna Maxwell Martin joins the magic as Nick’s new mum (Olivia Colman, who broke hearts with Nick’s coming out scene back in season one, was unavailable). Netflix, 17 July
Furious
The new show by Elizabeth Meriwether, who made last year’s stunning Dying for Sex – the Guardian’s No 2 show of 2025 – is about an FBI agent (Emmy Rossum) on the hunt for a female serial killer. The latter is played by Lola Petticrew, who was extraordinary in heartbreaking Troubles dramas Say Nothing and Trespasses. Sign us up. Disney+, 27 July
The Five Star Weekend
Like Nicole Kidman’s soapy and moreish The Perfect Couple, The Five Star Weekend is based on a novel by Elin Hilderbrand. When Hollis Shaw’s partner dies, she decides to rally all her best friends together at her summer house in Nantucket (which her daughter rather cuttingly describes as a Golden Girls trip.) The cast is absolutely stacked, from Jennifer Garner and Regina Hall to Gemma Chan and Chloë Sevigny. Sure to be juicy. Sky/Now, July
Ted Lasso
The hit football comedy returns for one final run-out – and this time AFC Richmond is setting up a women’s squad. Jason Sudeikis’s eponymous twee coach is convinced to come back to the UK, and he’s ready to assemble the best gosh-darn team in the whole second division. But beyond all that: we just want to find out if grumpy Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and lovely Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) end up together. Apple TV, 5 August
The Shards
If you’ve read Bret Easton Ellis’s novel of the same name, you’ll know what a wild ride The Shards is. A piece of autofiction about a high-schooler named Bret Easton Ellis, who happens to be in the middle of writing a book called Less Than Zero, the story quickly plunges into a whirlwind of serial killers and stalkers. After original director Luca Guadagnino dropped out, Ryan Murphy picked up the baton. Ellis’s involvement is so far unknown, a weird thing to say about a show where he is the lead character, but if Murphy manages to retain the excesses of the book, there will be much to discuss. Disney+, 6 August
Alley Cats
Ricky Gervais has come close to making an animated show before – there was almost a Flanimals series 17 years ago – but now he finally gets his chance. Alley Cats is a no-holds-barred adult comedy about the outrageous misadventures of a pack of feral cats, which sounds like it hits most of Gervais’s favourite subjects. There’s also a cast of Gervais all-stars, including Diane Morgan, Kerry Godliman and Tom Basden (playing a cat named Ponce). Netflix, 7 August
Lanterns
It’s fair to say that Green Lantern has yet to enjoy the screen adaptation it deserves, but that might be about to change with Lanterns, which stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler. Not only has it been inspired by Slow Horses, but it was co-written by Damon Lindelof. You just have to think back to Watchmen to see the miracles he can perform on tired old superhero franchises. If that was any indication, this could be amazing. HBO Max, 17 August
Ann Droid
A new Diane Morgan character is always a dream. In her forthcoming hoot of a sitcom, Morgan plays Ann – a downmarket robot carer bought for Sue (comedy royalty Sue Johnston) by her broke son Michael (Motherland fans, rejoice! He’s played by Paul Ready AKA Kevin) who wants to ditch his mum and move back in with his awful wife. At first, Sue is livid and rails against her robo-sidekick – but she soon realises that Ann is much more fun company than her son … and way better at remembering her meds. It’s packed with laughs, plus a moving look at where we might all be heading. BBC One, date TBC
Hit Point
From the maker of Misfits, Howard Overman, this cop thriller starts with a panther, an ape and a fox sticking up a Range Rover in a container park before making off with a bag containing £10m. From there it piles on twist after twist and grossout moments, such as a clingfilm horror scene and a getaway by slapping someone with a cheeseburger. U&Dave, date TBC
Ludwig
Mark Brotherhood’s detective series was one of the big hits of 2024. Not only did it have a couple of national treasures in the lead, in the form of David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin, but its premise refused to underestimate its mainstream audience: Mitchell plays the twin brother of a missing policeman, posing as his sibling in order to find him. The second series will have to do without Gerran Howell, who has found global fame on The Pitt, but that’s unlikely to dent its appeal. BBC One, date tbc
The Rapture
“She knew you were coming. She believed you would find the truth.” In a top-security psychiatric unit for the infamous killing of her mum, Bethany (India Amarteifio) still claims she’s innocent – and that she’s just waiting for the right person to show up and solve her case. She also draws extraordinary visions of things that come to pass – one of whom is her new psychologist, Dr Gabs Fox, played by Ruth Madeley. Throw in a religious sect obsessed with the climate crisis and some end times panic, and you have yourself a gripping thriller. BBC One, date TBC
Vigil
We already know that Vigil is great, because both its seasons so far have been glorious. A police procedural set first on a navy submarine, then at an air base in the Persian Gulf, the show is able to use the suffocating claustrophobia of the settings to really ramp up the tension of the investigation. This one is set on a remote Arctic research station. But that’s beside the point, since the real draw are the performances, led by Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie. BBC One, date tbc
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Rivals
The second series of Rivals has been a little darker than the first, with characters who survived the book meeting a sticky end. Nevertheless, it is still identifiably Rivals – full of bad hair and polo matches and enough bonking to make your aunty choke on her scones. As ever, it is hilarious that we are building towards a climax that revolves round the ownership of a local ITV franchise, but if anything that just makes the whole thing even camper. Disney+, out now
Two Weeks in August
Catherine Shepherd’s pitch-black comedy has found itself as one of the highlights of the season so far, and for good reason. A gang of (largely) obnoxious people go on holiday together, and we watch as one self-made disaster after another befalls them. There are drugs. There is infidelity. There is oppressive weather. Not only is this the British answer to The White Lotus, but it also deserves to stand as concrete proof why groups of friends should never go on holiday together. BBC iPlayer, out now
Widow’s Bay
The show of the year? Possibly. Widow’s Bay is part Lost, part Twin Peaks and part Parks and Recreation. One way of looking at it is as an incredibly observed workplace comedy about the governance of an island under the grip of a demonic entity. Another is to see it as one of the most genuinely frightening horrors ever to make it to television. The finale is rapidly approaching. The question is, in a show that already has killer clowns and sea hags and 1980s slasher villains, what else can it throw at us? Apple TV, out now
