Gossip Girl, Resident Evil, Sexy Beasts, and more run wild on TV this July

Based on Nicholas Blake’s 1938 novel of the same name, The Beast Must Die is a BritBox venture (and an ITV and BBC partnership) that already aired in the U.K. and now arrives in the U.S., first on AMC+ (on July 5), then on AMC Network. Frances Cairns (Cush Jumbo) is a mother mourning the loss of a child killed by a hit-and-run. The police investigation into the case doesn’t lead anywhere, so Frances decides to seek revenge on her own. She poses as a novelist researching a murder mystery to worm her way into the life of George Rattery (Jared Harris), the rich man she believes is responsible for her son’s death. Frances is aided by detective Nigel Strangeways (Billy Howle), who suffers from PTSD and believes his own department covered up the murder of Frances’ son. Frances and George are intense and intelligent, which leads to a fantastic face-off between Jumbo and Harris. [Saloni Gajjar]

Fans of ace tennis player Naomi Osaka are about to get an intimate, fly-on-the-wall look into her life with this three-episode docuseries. Filmed over the last few years, the series follows the 23-year-old Japanese-Haitian player’s hectic training and travel schedules. Naomi Osaka covers the tennis star’s major U.S. Open game from 2019, moving forward to her present-day training for the delayed Tokyo Olympics. , citing anxiety due to press conferences and being fined if she refuses to do them. It’s unclear if the docuseries will dive into this, but hopefully it gives audiences a glimpse into the pressures she faces that caused her to make this decision. [Saloni Gajjar]

We don’t know much about the specifics of American Horror Stories, the latest addition to Ryan Murphy’s FX universe (actually, this one’s going to be streaming on FX On Hulu). The trailer isn’t all that forthcoming, though it does feature plenty of AHS markers, like a figure or two covered in head-to-toe latex, some fanged creatures, a creepy house, and cool graphic prints. What’s most intriguing about this spin-off is the change in format. Rather than tell a season-long story, Murphy, who reinvigorated the anthology series, will swap out storylines with each episode—not having to pay off weeks’ worth of plot might actually work in the mega-producer’s favor. What we can be sure of is that AHS veterans will fill the cast, including Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Lily Rabe, Evan Peters, Billie Lourd—deep breath—Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Emma Roberts, Angelica Ross—phew—Adina Porter, Leslie Grossman, Finn Wittrock, Cody Fern, Taissa Farmiga, and Dylan McDermott. [Danette Chavez]

Producer Rick Rubin has pulled off incredible solo albums with iconic artists like Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, and Neil Diamond, so music fans will understandably be stoked to see his latest project with a famous collaborative partner. In this six-part docuseries, Rubin and the legendary Paul McCartney seemingly travel through the ex-Beatle’s entire discography, including Wings and his solo career. The artist and producer discuss musical methodology (“You can control a whole band through the bass,” says Sir Paul, who oughta know) and experimentation. But the clear focus is on chronicling McCartney’s life, as one of the most successful songwriters of all time discusses the inspiration and influences behind many of his famous hits, while uncovering stories from his earliest days in music. The 79-year-old McCartney apparently is using this year to be more productive than ever—as his new solo album, , and collaborative followup release would indicate—which should make this series an extraordinary watch. [Gwen Ihnat]

In Apple TV+’s new musical comedy Schmigadoon!, Key & Peele’s Keegan-Michael Key and Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong play romantic couple Josh and Melissa, who take a backpacking trip to revitalize their relationship. Instead, they get lost and stuck in a magical town called Schmigadoon, where everyone lives in a movie musical from the 1940s, complete with stunning sets and costumes. Here’s the twist: Josh and Melissa cannot leave until they find true love. The series, from Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, spoofs the many musicals it features (including, of course, the 1954 Gene Kelly film Brigadoon). The cast also includes the musically minded Jane Krakowksi, Fred Armisen, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Jaime Camil, and Aaron Tveit. Let the song and dance begin. [Saloni Gajjar]

Disney+’s Turner & Hooch faces an uphill battle, but not because it’s the latest in a long line of film-to-TV adaptations and other reworkings. After all, this series from Matt Nix is dubbed a “legacy sequel,” which is much fancier than your run-of-the-mill reboot. No, the real challenge will be to get viewers to watch a show set in a world where Tom Hanks has died. Actually, it’s his character Scott Turner, from the 1989 film of the same film, who dies and leaves a different dog named Hooch to his son Scott (this family is really bad at naming things). Played by Josh Peck, Scott is a U.S. Marshal who’s much too busy to look after a dog. Sound familiar? But Turner and Hooch eventually make a great pair, just in time to discover that Scott the elder’s death might not have been an accident. (We encourage Disney+ to lean into the “avenge Tom Hanks” angle with the show’s marketing). [Danette Chavez]

Along with half of the internet, you’ve likely already watched the trailer for Sexy Beasts. This reality dating series, produced by World Series Of Dating’s Simon Welton, will attempt to make love matches “based purely on personality” by obscuring the conventional attractiveness of its conventionally attractive contestants with prosthetics and fake fur. Each episode will feature one contestant going out on dates with three different people, then naming one of them their “sexy beast,” at which point, they’ll get to see each other’s faces. As silly as the premise is, at least Sexy Beasts’ producers knew enough to hire FX artist Kristyan Mallet, who’s worked on everything from Mission Impossible and The Theory Of Everything to The Nevers and the forthcoming The Sandman. Rob Delaney will narrate this latest advancement in modern dating technology, which received a two-season order right out of the gate. [Danette Chavez]

This stop-motion animated series follows two detectives, voiced by Jimmi Simpson and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who are investigating the disappearance of their town’s famous tycoon. In the process, they rally to fight against corruption at a personal high cost. The show has a fantastic voice lineup, including Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Alia Shawkat, Terry O’Quinn, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, and John C. Reilly. to stand in for the adult characters. But this new series, like so many other stop-motion series these days, is produced by Stoopid Buddy, so as strange as it is to hear Eleanor Shellstrop’s voice coming out of a face with Blythe Doll-like eyelids, it’s worth a look. [Saloni Gajjar]

Kevin Smith has used the nerd cred he established in his movies to get gigs writing comic books and working on superhero TV shows, but he’s cashing some serious checks for Masters Of The Universe: Revelation, a new animated series that he’s executive producing for Netflix. Rather than a reboot or a reimagining of the cartoon that introduced 1980s kids to He-Man and Skeletor, Revelation is a proper sequel to the original series. Smith says it will fill in some gaps and expand on storylines that didn’t get their due the first time around (and all done in a style that approximates the original cartoon as much as possible without looking cheap or ridiculous). It is, in other words, something that only a huge nerd with significant showbiz clout could accomplish—and that’s without mentioning the cast, which includes Mark Hamill, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Wood, and Lena Headey. [Sam Barsanti]

. Now, MTV Entertainment Studios is going Behind The Music once more in a new season of its influential music docuseries, and many of the same performers whose careers were previously explored. The first half of season one, which premieres July 29, will have episodes devoted to Ricky Martin, LL Cool J, Huey Lewis, Busta Rhymes, Duran Duran, New Kids On The Block, Bret Michaels, and Fat Joe, all of whom appeared on the original iteration of the show. That’s not the most intuitive way to counter the nostalgia critiques that come with most reboots and revivals, but we also aren’t opposed to spending more time with Ricky Martin, LL Cool J, and, once the back half premieres, Jennifer Lopez. [Danette Chavez]

season-two premiere (July 6); Love Island season three (July 7);: Oregon Trail (July 13); season-two premiere (July 15); season-two premiere, The Movies That Made Us season-two premiere (July 23)