June streaming guide: Physical, Ms Marvel and Everything I Know About Love
It may be halfway through June but there are still a bunch of new releases left to stream.
The future of streaming is female. Or so it would seem judging by the best television of the month, all featuring strong female leads and exciting performances by actors both emerging and established. Rose Byrne is back in the second season of Physical, the ‘80s-tacular exercise infomercial dramedy that was a sleeper hit of last year. Also returning is Selena Gomez for the second season of Only Murders In The Building, in which the singer proved an unlikely – but very effective – foil to the comedy stylings of her co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short, as they investigate mysterious deaths in their Upper West Side apartment building.
Physical drops at the beginning of June; Only Murders at the end of the month. In between, there will be Marvel’s first Muslim superhero Ms Marvel, the adaptation of Everything I Know About Love, the beloved coming-of-age memoir, Alicia Vikander’s English-language small screen debut in Irma Vep Foxtel’s thrilling courtroom drama The Twelve. A month of great female stories, a month of great television.
–
Physical
Rose Byrne returns as the proto-lifestyle guru Sheila Rubin in the second season of Physical. This show is a provocative and unconventional dramedy that tackles some big themes, while serving as an excellent showcase for Byrne’s talent and charisma. The second season has also added fellow Australian star Murray Bartlett, last seen chewing through the scenery in The White Lotus. On AppleTV+ from June 3
The Boys
Superhero satire The Boys is critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated and has a cult-like following, and yet this Prime Video series still manages to be underrated. If you haven’t gotten on board with the gory, R-rated comedy action hybrid then make season three your moment. The world of superheroes is in disarray, nefarious leader Homelander (Anthony Starr) has gone rogue and Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, whose sole purpose is to put Homelander out of commission, appears to have picked up a few superhero powers of his own, if the season three trailer is anything to go by. Looks like this season, which also star Jack Quaid, Chace Crawford and Jensen Ackles, is going to be a showdown for the ages. On Prime Video from June 3
Irma Vep
Before she was an Oscar-winning movie star, Alicia Vikander got her start in Swedish television. Irma Vep will prove her English – and, at times, French – language television debut, though, in the small screen adaptation of Olivier Assayas’ ‘90s film of the same name, about a movie star interrogating her own celebrity as she remakes a popular silent film. There are layers of meta-textual commentary on celebrity, fame and showbiz in this television series, in which director Assayas – best known for his collaborations with Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper – adapts his own work, which is about adaptation, and the movie star Vikander plays a movie star in a story about the nature of stardom. It’s all very … French. On Binge from June 7
Ms Marvel
World, get ready to meet Kamala Khan, Marvel’s first Muslim superhero. Kamala is a charming high-schooler with a big personality who finds herself imbued with powers of super strength – and the handy addition of fists that grow in size and power when in the middle of a fight. But her real superhero is honesty and earnestness, something that has endeared the character to audiences ever since she was first introduced in the comics, and which makes her an excellent subject for Ms Marvel, a television series full of nostalgia, nail polish and teen crushes, set in a New Jersey high school. Canadian actor Iman Vellani delivers a star-is-born performance as young Kamala in Ms Marvel, which will serve as her introduction to audiences between the superhero takes centre stage in the forthcoming sequel to Captain Marvel. On Disney+ from June 8
Everything I Know About Love
Every millennial woman you know has read and adored Dolly Alderton’s memoir Everything I Know About Love. With more than 300,000 copies sold in the UK alone, the memoir by the former dating columnist of the Times UK was a publishing sensation when it was released in 2018 and has now been adapted by Alderton into a miniseries starring rising talents Emma Appleton and Bel Powley. Appleton plays Maggie and Powley her best friend Birdie, who have moved into a London house share and are preparing for the big city single friends life of their dreams – only to have it fall apart when one of them gets a boyfriend. A love letter to friendship, being in your 20s and getting it all wrong. On Stan from June 8
Under the Banner of Heaven
Daisy Edgar-Jones and Andrew Garfield headline this chilling true crime thriller, based on the real murder of a young woman in a Mormon community in the ‘80s. Garfield stars a detective investigating the case, whose faith is tested by what he discovers at the scene of the crime, while Edgar-Jones – who broke out in Normal People and is about to have a huge year, starring in both this series and the blockbuster big screen adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing – plays the victim Brenda in flashbacks. On Disney+ from June 8
The Magpie Murders
From author Anthony Horowitz and star Lesley Manville comes The Magpie Murders, a deliciously tongue-in-cheek murder mystery in which a celebrated editor of crime novels cracks open her most famous author’s latest story only to discover that he has himself shuffled off his mortal coil in mysterious circumstances. Manville stars as editor Susan, who takes it upon herself to investigate her client’s demise – all while tracking down the missing final chapter of his latest page-turning whodunit. Manville, who will soon star as Princess Margaret in the fifth season of The Crown, is absolutely stellar in this cosy crime caper. On BritBox from June 9
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Fans of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before will flock to this series, also based on a beloved Young Adult book trilogy by celebrated author Jenny Han. To All The Boys proved to be one of Netflix’s most success YA adaptations, and Prime Video is banking big on this series to do the same for them, as it follows a love triangle between a teenage girl and two brothers that unfolds over one lazy summer vacation. On Prime Video from June 17
The Twelve
A woman is accused of murder, and though she proclaims her innocence is put to trial in a Sydney court. A jury of 12 of her peers are assembled to decide her fate. This is the premise for Foxtel’s splashy new series, led by Sam Neill and Marta Dusseldorp as the lawyers prosecuting and defending the cast, as well as a diverse group of actors including Pallavi Sharda and Matt Nable as jury members. This compelling courtroom drama is less interested in the machinations of the law than it is in the lives of the jury tasked with making the final decision on a woman’s innocence. Who are the jurors? What are their stories? What are their biases and prejudices? And what will ultimately make up their mind? On Foxtel from June 21
Loot
Maya Rudolph stars in this workplace comedy about a billionaire called Molly Novak accustomed to all the trappings of wealth who finds herself in the middle of a tabloid storm when her relationship falls apart. Molly retreats to a new role in the offices of a charitable organisation she once founded and promptly forgot about – and there she finds community, connection and maybe a way to move on. There are rumours that this could be Apple’s next Ted Lasso. If anyone could spin a simple premise into comedic cold, it’s Maya Rudolph. On AppleTV+ from June 24
Only Murders In The Building
Everyone, relax. Only Murders In The Building is back. One of the best debut series of 2021 is returning in record time, less than a year after its premiere. The action will pick up exactly where season one left off, with Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) attempting to solve a murder in which they are now the prime suspects – all while producing a new clutch of episodes for their beloved Serial-esqe podcast.
All your favourite guest stars are back, as well as some new characters played by Amy Schumer and Cara Delevingne. The jokes are just as good, the scene-setting just as silly, the references just as insider-y and New York-y. There really isn’t much on television that is more satisfying than Only Murders In The Building. “We’re getting the hang of this,” exclaims Charles in an early trailer for the season. “Absolutely! You can tell it’s our second season,” Oliver responds. Well, quite. On Disney+ from June 29