June has left me twirling down The Devil’s Road delighted as I continue my coverage of The Vampire Lestat on Forbes (posts go up on Mondays!). I’m going to be sad to see this season go on Sunday, July 19 but, y’all, what a journey it has been.
So many thoughts and big feelings. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I watched my screeners the first go around and that’s not solely due to my job. Anyway, if you haven’t watched, please do, though be careful. This is a gothic horror show, mind the trigger warnings in my review.
July’s offerings are pretty light on the horrors. My curated list is a mixed bag of genres and, to my happiness, two broadcast shows to sink your teeth into. I love broadcast. You will hear me yelling to the rooftops about it come the fall. But until then, I do have the fall TV schedule on hand if you need it.
As usual my curated picks are below, this time with descriptions. But if you’d like to skip to what’s on my personal watch list, click here.
Wednesday, July 1 - Elle (Prime Video)
All 8 episodes
A teenage Elle Woods moves from Los Angeles to Seattle in the ‘90s when grunge has swept up the city’s youth. A pink stand-out in a sea of grey, she must learn to navigate new relationships and figure out how to make a difference in her own unique way.
Thursday, July 9 - Little House on the Prairie (Netflix)
All 8 episodes | Based on a book
The streaming adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s story sees the young girl and her family setting up a home for themselves outside the developing town of Independence. Fans of the classic series may lament the first season being told in only eight episodes.
Thursday, July 9 - The Five-Star Weekend (Peacock)
All 8 episodes | Based on a book
When Hollis Shaw’s husband dies, she decides to head to Nantucket to process her grave loss and her next steps. The beloved food influencer, who’s prone to creating beauty as a means of escape, invites four friends from different periods in her life. None of them know each other, but they all knew a version of her that she’s trying to find again as she learns to live life without the man she loved.
Monday, July 13 - All American season 8 at 8 p.m. (The CW)
2-hour premiere, weekly release, 13 episode season
The final season of the network’s last pre-Nexstar era original will see Jordan, Layla, Cooper, Spencer, Olivia, and the teens that were folded into the main cast in season 7 at a crossroads. The season takes place over the course of one single week.
Monday, July 13 - Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro at 8 p.m. (ABC)
Weekly release, 8 episode season
DWTS’ latest spin-off pits 12 up-and-coming professional dancers against one another as they compete to secure a spot on the main show as a pro. The contestants are not only battling it out on the dance floor, they’re also living together under one roof and training with one another as well.
DWTS season 34 winner Robert Irwin hosts. Pro Mark Ballas and his mother, champion ballroom dancer and “Queen of Latin” Shirley Ballas, are judges.
Tuesday, July 14 - Quarterback season 3 (Netflix)
The third outing of the docuseries that follows NFL quarterbacks during the season features Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders), Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Cam Ward (Tennessee Titans), and Joe Flacco (Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals).
Wednesday, July 15 - Lucky (Apple TV)
Two episode premiere, weekly release, 7 episode season
Lucky’s on the run from the FBI and a mob boss thanks to a multi-million dollar heist that goes sideways. Left out in the cold on her own, she’s got to use the skills she’s honed and delve into her deepest, darkest criminal instincts to survive and find a way out of a mess that she didn’t create.
Friday, July 17 - The East Palace (Netflix)
All 8 episodes
Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang have been recruited by the king to investigate hauntings within the East Palace. They both are able to tap into the spectral world—Gu-cheon by transforming into a ghost himself to slay spirits and Saeng-gang through her ability to hear and speak with the dead. They’ll need to work together to discover the origins of the hauntings whilst stumbling upon secrets that have been hidden with the palace.
Thursday, July 23 - Ransom Canyon season 2 (Netflix)
All 8 episodes | Based on a book
The season picks up six months after Quinn left for New York. In that time, she wasn’t in communication with Staten. He dealt with her absence by avoiding his own feelings, but they come to the forefront once she’s back in town.
Quinn will have to decide if the small town life she’s cultivated is really what she wants while Staten is in a fight for his legacy now that he’s been booted as trustee of Double K Ranch.
Sunday, July 26 - The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 at 9 p.m. ET (AMC and AMC+)
Weekly release, 8 episode season | Based on a comic book series
Maggie and Negan’s past hasn’t been put on the shelf, but it has been put to the side as the two work together to make a thriving community in Manhattan for the first time since the apocalypse. Trouble is, chaos still has a hold on the city and the need to root it out forces the pair to consider whether old wounds have taught them new lessons or if the past is just too tragic and devastating to put behind them.
Monday, July 27 - Furious (Hulu)
Three episode premiere, weekly release, 8 episode season
Alice Black and the female serial killer she’s tracking have more in common than the FBI agent would likely admit. They both have a core sense of justice, making decisions and choosing what to do next based on a set of beliefs that fit their view of the world. But as their lives begin to intertwine, the line between right and wrong starts to blur as their commonalities become more apparent.
Thursday, July 30 - Paris Is Always a Good Idea (Hallmark+)
Two episode premiere, weekly release, 6 episode season | Based on a book
Chelsea Martin has put her career first for some time. She’s in Paris for business not pleasure as she works to secure a major donation for the non-profit she’s devoted her life to. But when she receives a message from her late mother, she decides that she’s going to take a trip across Europe to reconnect with three past loves.
As Chelsea reflects on the person she once was to find the woman she wants to be in her present, she’ll also find that there may be more to the dynamic between her and her former rival turned ally, Jason Knightly.
I understand the criticism that Elle doesn’t make sense as a prequel because it doesn’t neatly fit into the narrative established by Legally Blonde. But I think folks should remember that this is a TV series based on the universe of that movie but that doesn’t mean it has to closely follow its canon. Not when the film in question is 25 years old and this is a teenage Elle Woods.
It’s not a spinoff series, it’s a shameless franchise play in the industry’s peak IP era. While there’s certainly worthy critique there, accepting the show as its own entity will go along way in smoothing any ruffled feathers. Because honestly, Elle looks cute. It’s giving YA meant for teens but with solid crossover appeal.
From the trailer alone, there’s something about it that clicks right into the same kind of draw that The CW’s Nancy Drew and Paramount+’s School Spirits have, though without the supernatural element. Probably because it doesn’t come off as an adult show masquerading as a teen drama.
Elle’s my relaxed pick of July. Something to put on and enjoy because it pops and looks like it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s so much prestige TV on streaming, I’m happy to be watching something that’s more fun.
While I fell off of Dancing with the Stars because that two hour run-time is no joke, I am going to be checking out this spinoff.
By virtue of its format, the parent show leaves little time to get to know the pro dancers outside of the short behind-the-scenes looks at rehearsals with their celebrity partner. The set-up for DWTS: The Next Pro gives the audience an opportunity to learn more about the professionals vying for a spot on the show as they compete. Not only does it capture the highs and lows of their work in the competition, it’ll bring viewers into the cast house with them as they navigate interpersonal relationships, too.
Since this is a new show and not a revamped beloved program, the mix of typical reality TV fare with the competition as the base draw without fan voting is more likely to go over better with the franchise’s established fan base than say So You Think You Can Dance did for its eighteenth and final season.
Am I only watching Quarterback’s third season because of Jayden Daniels? You better believe it! I’m a Commanders fan; I must tune in. But I am interested in Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, and Joe Flacco’s journeys last football season as well. Particularly, Ward’s since he was the sole rookie of the bunch.
The Commanders’ season was rough for Daniels last year as injury kept him benched for much of it after a promising rookie year the season prior that saw him leading the team to the NFC Championship for the first time since 1991. That’s 33 years. He wasn’t even born yet.
Daniels’ has such a positive spirit and has brought a renewed energy to the Commanders and the DMV as a whole. But last year was tough, and I’m interested in seeing how he worked through the setbacks and handled the decisions he made that put him in a worse position than he’d been in at the start of the 2025-2026 season. For example, his season-ending choice to chase down an intercepted ball that resulted in him being pushed out of the way by a member of the Vikings’ defense and re-injuring his elbow. Insert Cardi B ‘What was the reason?’ gif here.
I thoroughly enjoyed Anya Taylor-Joy in The Gorge, so I’m super excited to see her in another title that marries her dramatic talent with her action skills. I’m in love with the premise of Lucky. Not only because the focus is a career criminal who was raised in the life (which is something the newly renewed Nemesis should delve into next, just saying) but also because the heist isn’t the point. The aftermath of it going wrong is.
This is essentially a chase story. One where Lucky has two targets on her back—the FBI and the queenpin who wants her money. They both play by different rules but the objective for her is the same. Get out alive. Can that premise handle seven episodes? We’ll see. Netflix’s Man on Fire couldn’t when it was a terrorist unit and the Brazilian government, but even from the trailer you can tell Lucky has more of an attitude and point of view, so I have faith it’ll deliver.
In truth, I don’t remember much about Ransom Canyon’s first season besides having a good time. It’s one of those shows where you tune in for the feeling it provides. If there’s such a thing as a cozy drama, this show is it. Like, yes, we start out with a lot of loss for Staten but the point is this small town and the people in it who are trying to find their way through what life throws at them.
Quinn is my favorite. Minka Kelly has a soft strength to her performance that keeps this show’s spark alive. I’m not sure I would be here without her presence. I adore the complexities of Quinn’s romance with Staten, and I think the young adult performances are done well, too.
My only lament is that we’re in the streaming era so this series doesn’t have the episode count that would really let it sing. Like a smooth 15-18 episodes is so doable given the size of the cast and the book series it’s based on. Imagine the filler episodes. I am sad this is not a possibility.
That’s it for my July TV picks! What are you watching?
ICYMI:
Wrote my favorite plot highlight/analysis recap for my The Vampire Lestat coverage over on Forbes so far. Of course, it focused on Louis and Regina. I cannot stop thinking about the Brick & Bacon plot.
Every Year After and I didn’t see eye-to-eye, but its potential had me hoping for a second season and I’m happy to share it got renewed!
I wrote a review of The Season (a June pick!) for Forbes. The long and short of it is that I found the Hong Kong-set revenge drama to be engaging but ultimately thrill-less. Full thoughts, here. I would like a season 2 because I think they could do another revenge plot that’s more in the vein of what this show is.
I watched The X-Files pilot back in May and I loved it. I understand the hype now. Haven’t watched more just because there’s so much to watch, but I do want to get back to it.
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