Summer TV Watchlist: The Whole 'Sex and the City' Gang Returns, 'The Bear' Delivers Course 2 🍽️

Plus the return of "The Righteous Gemstones," a new Marvel Disney+ series and the streaming debut of Nic Cage as Dracula Week of June 10 – 16 Things are only getting hotter … outside and on TV. This week we’ve got “Secret Invasion,” a brand-new Marvel Studios series starring some of your favorites from the MCU (led by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury), a new show by the mad genius behind “Sorry to Bother You” (“I’m A Virgo”) and the return of “The Righteous Gemstones,” “The Bear,” “And Just Like That...” and “The Walking Dead” (thanks to the first-ever sequel series “The Walking Dead: Dead City”). All of that plus an adorable Disney+ movie (“World’s Best”), an intriguing sports doc (“That Peter Crouch Film”) and the end (for now!) of “Clone High.” Like we said – hot, hot, hot! On with the television! Secret Invasion Wednesday, June 21, Disney+ Source: Disney+ Who can you trust? This is the central question behind “Secret Invasion,” the latest Marvel Studios streaming series for Disney+. Instead of large scale superhero theatrics, the tone of “Secret Invasion” takes more from paranoid thrillers of the 1970s, as Nick Fury (a returning Samuel L. Jackson) is greeted with the threat of a large-scale alien infiltration. These aliens, known as Skrulls, can camouflage themselves as anybody and the comic book event series that the show borrows its title from introduced the possibility that characters you had been following for decades could be outed as intergalactic sleeper agents. It’s unlikely that a shocking revelation regarding one of your favorite MCU characters will be delivered in “Secret Invasion,” but just introducing the possibility is tantalizing enough. The new series co-stars returning Marvel Studios favorites like Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull character he played in “Captain Marvel” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle and Martin Freeman; plus new Marvel players Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Dermot Mulroney and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman. Without a Marvel Studios movie in theaters this summer, this should do well to tide us over. [[TRAILER](] Clone High Thursday, June 22, Max Source: Max If you’ve never seen “Clone High,” that’s OK. It was a cult animated series that aired on MTV for a single season back in 2003. Created by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller along with Bill Lawrence, it focused on a high school comprised of dethawed clones of famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln (Will Forte), Joan of Arc (Nicole Sullivan), Cleopatra (voiced by Christa Miller in Season 1, Mitra Jouhari now) and JFK (Miller). 20 years later, the show itself was unfrozen and is even better than ever, with a knowingness and sense of fun that is very much in keeping with the original series. (Some of the original show’s more problematic elements are addressed directly and it’s very much appreciated.) If you never watched the original episodes and want to jump in now, that’s OK. It remains both accessible for newcomers and satisfying for longtime fans. And don’t worry, this isn’t the end for “Clone High” – it’ll be back for a third season very soon. [[TRAILER](] World’s Best Friday, June 16, Netflix Source: Disney+ According to the press release, this Disney+ original film follows “12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel,” who “discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar.” The movie was co-written by Utkarsh Ambudkar, who also stars, with direction by Roshan Sethi (a producer on “The Resident”). Based on the trailer for “World’s Best, this should be a fun, sprightly little comedy/drama, the kind that Disney used to make a lot more of. (They also used to put these movies in the theater.) Get on it! [[TRAILER](] That Peter Crouch Film Thursday, June 22, Prime Video Source: Prime Video Those of us who aren’t soccer fans might not know who Peter Crouch is. But based on the trailer for this documentary film from Prime Video, he looks like an intriguing character indeed. Ridiculed for his extreme height (he’s basically a giant) and with a rocky start in the field, he would go on to become one of the most legendary players who ever played the game – and one of the most scoring strikers. If none of this means anything to you, then Crouch as a personality – oversized, somewhat goofy – should be enough to get you to watch. After all, that “Ted Lasso” itch has to be scratched somewhere. Why not this? [[TRAILER](] Renfield Peacock Source: Universal You’ve got to appreciate Universal for swinging for the fences. The same year that they unleashed the singularly insane “Cocaine Bear” and “M3GAN” on the world, they also introduced audiences to “Renfield.” It would be enough if the movie was an update/reinvention of the Dracula mythology told from the point of view of his enthralled, bug-eating henchman (Nicholas Hoult). But there’s even more to love about “Renfield.” For one, Nicolas Cage plays Dracula in the most Nicolas Cage-y way possible. (However good you think he’ll be; he’s even better.) And instead of being a straight horror movie, it incorporates elements of gangster movies and action movies, like if the guys behind “John Wick” remade John Landis’ little-seen cult classic “Innocent Blood.” (Look it up.) Directed by Chris McKay, a former animator who made Chris Pratt’s alien invasion movie “The Tomorrow War” from a story from “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman, “Renfield” has a wonderfully gonzo sensibility, with bullets and body parts flying in equal measure. Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz and Shohreh Aghdashloo also put in extremely knowing performances. Everybody understood the assignment. And chances are, you’ll fall under “Renfield’s” spell. [[WATCH](] Source: AMC “The Righteous Gemstones” Sunday, June 18 at 10 p.m., HBO Thank the Lord, “The Righteous Gemstones” has returned. One of the very best, laugh-out-loud funniest shows on television, the series (created and largely written by star Danny McBride) follows the backstabbing, sometimes downright criminal behavior of a fussy family of Southern megachurch pastors (led by patriarch John Goodman and including Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson and Walton Goggins as Uncle Baby Billy). It’ll be interesting to see what tone season 3 takes after season 2’s ‘80s action movie vibe, with McBride once again joined by regular collaborators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. (Green told us he shot his episode in between work on “Halloween” and “The Exorcist” films.) Whatever “The Righteous Gemstones” wants to preach, we’re ready to listen. [[TRAILER](] “The Walking Dead: Dead City” Sunday, June 18 at 10 p.m., AMC The first sequel series to the original “The Walking Dead” and the fifth overall show in the universe, “The Walking Dead: Dead City” follows Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they scour a postapocalyptic New York City in search of Maggie’s son Hershel. Early reviews have praised the show as the best of the “Walking Dead” spinoffs yet and the marketing materials show a cool new monster that looks like it's a hundred zombies crammed into one. Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek, Michael Anthony and Trey Santiago-Hudson also star. Hopefully Maggie and Negan get to take in some of the sights after battling all those ghouls. [[TRAILER](] “And Just Like That …” Thursday, June 22, Max The second season of the “Sex & the City” spinoff/sequel is getting buzz for two reasons: one, the return of Aidan (John Corbett), one of Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) most popular ex-flames. And, of course, the secret cameo that Kim Cattrall shot as Samantha Jones, supposedly without Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis or creator Darren Star on set. Hopefully, it’ll make for good television. [[TRAILER](] “The Bear” Thursday, June 22, Hulu Everyone’s favorite stressful culinary drama is back! After making a splash last summer, “The Bear” returns, with Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri joined by Molly Gordon and – wait for it – Bob Odenkirk in season 2. All 10 episodes of season 2 drop on June 22. Grab some coffee. Like the most delicious meals, you’ll want to gobble this one up. [[TRAILER](] “I’m A Virgo” Friday, June 23, Prime Video Created by “Sorry to Bother You” filmmaker Boots Riley, “I’m A Virgo” follows a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old Black man named Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), who, according to the official synopsis, is “raised by his Aunt Lafrancine and Uncle Martisse in Oakland, California. He is shielded from the outside world until being accidentally discovered by a group of teenage political activists.” Episodes of the series premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this year to rave reviews. It’s easily got the most bizarre premise for a streaming series since “Mrs. Davis.” We cannot wait. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](