By trading wheels for helicopter blades, NASA is upping its game for the Dragonfly mission, a flying machine intended to explore Titan, an icy moon of Saturn. 

The team has started assembling the honeycomb panels for the aircraft’s main body, completed a series of drop tests on the parachute system, and demonstrated that its compact chemistry lab can pick out tiny amounts of target molecules in test samples.

This NASA robot, expected to launch as early as 2028, is no space orbiter. Dragonfly will be an SUV-size, eight-rotor aircraft, designed specifically to navigate the hazy orange skies of Titan, a world larger than the planet Mercury. It will explore the alien landscape much like NASA’s fleet of rovers, except Dragonfly will have a much faster way of getting from Point A to B. In the words of Back to the Future‘s Doc Brown: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” 

Titan, about 886 million miles from Earth, is the only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere. But Titan’s air is thick — about 1.5 times the pressure at Earth’s sea level and roughly three times as dense, said Charles Malespin, who leads the team that built the hardware for analyzing Titan’s samples. Because it is so cold in this alien world, gases like methane become liquids, and the atmosphere turns into a heavy blanket. Meanwhile, the moon has just one-seventh Earth’s gravity.  

“That’s why an octocopter is primed for that, because you could fly very easily through it,” Malespin said. “We could cover a huge amount of terrain and explore a much larger area.”

Scientists see Titan as a kind of time machine for understanding how life begins. Its methane‑rich atmosphere constantly produces complex organic molecules that dust the icy surface, creating dunes and deposits of carbon‑based material. On early Earth, similar chemistry may have helped make the building blocks of life, but our planet’s surface has since changed dramatically because of life and geology. 

Titan, by contrast, stays frozen and preserves that chemistry. By flying from dune fields to an ancient crater where water and organics could have mixed, researchers hope Dragonfly will allow them to study how simple ingredients evolve into more complex molecules. 

“There was a melt pool that may have lasted up to about 1,000 years. That is a lot of time for chemistry to happen between the organics that are depositing in it and the water,” said Melissa Trainer, a planetary scientist and the lead for Dragonfly’s DraMS instrument, a quasi-acronym for its mass spectrometer. “Who knows what we could make in a 1,000-year chemistry experiment?”

For a handful of reporters at Goddard Space Flight Center in April, NASA walked through how the $3.35 billion mission will drill into Titan’s rock-hard ice, analyze samples with its built‑in chemistry lab, and then lift off again to explore a new spot. The device will use a carousel of 40 sample cups, tiny ovens, and a laser to study the Saturn moon’s plentiful organic material.

It’s the opposite of what the tiny drone Ingenuity, which went kaput two years ago, faced on Mars. There, the air is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s. To lift itself, Ingenuity needed very long blades and a featherweight body, leaving hardly any wiggle room to carry instruments.

But for Dragonfly, engineers can exploit its larger body to stuff it full of tools. 

“If you had cardboard wings, you could fly just by pushing because the atmosphere is pretty much so thick there,” Malespin said. 

NASA Dragonfly team members begin integrating the sample carousel into the DraMS mass spectrometer instrument.
Credit: NASA / Mike Guinto

Mobility is the other key reason NASA built Dragonfly as an aircraft. Rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance on Mars move slowly, perhaps half a football field in a day. Dragonfly, on the other hand, could traverse miles.

Researchers will use the mission’s measurements collected over three years to study prebiotic chemistry, the steps that occur on the way to making life. They are looking for familiar building blocks, such as amino acids, nucleobases, and fatty acids.

But one limitation for the mission is that Dragonfly can’t explore Titan’s lakes or seas of liquid methane and ethane at the north pole. Instead, the robot is built to explore an equatorial region of dunes. That’s fine with the team, said deputy project scientist Shannon MacKenzie, because some of the materials scientists are looking for on Titan don’t dissolve well in liquids anyway. 

“We want to go to the sand,” MacKenzie said. “Those organic sand particles are probably the end result of a lot more of that chemistry than what we would be able to slurp up out of the lakes.”

Awaiting those detections will take a great deal of patience for the team. The journey alone to get to Titan in the outer solar system will take nearly seven years. 

What will your summer TV obsession be this year?

Will it be a returning old favorite like House of the Dragon, The Bear, or Ted Lasso? Or will it be a new show, like Netflix’s sci-fi series The Boroughs or Apple TV’s thriller remake of Cape Fear?

Whatever your preference, 2026’s summer TV offerings are here to satisfy any genre craving you may have. Hang out with rock star vampires in The Vampire Lestat, or zip along with superheroes in offerings like Spider-Noir and Lanterns. Get some animated action in with a new season of The Legend of Vox Machina or the upcoming raunchy comedy Mating Season. Looking for romance? Check out the hockey-focused Off Campus or summery drama Every Year After.

That’s just the start of what you can expect from TV over the next few months. Here, in chronological order, are the TV shows you should keep an eye out for this summer.

May 2026 TV releases

Lord of the Flies

A new miniseries from Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne, based on William Golding’s legendary novel Lord of the Flies? Count us in. Following a group of school boys who are forced to survive on a deserted island after their plane crashes, this new adaptation is every bit as brutal as the 1954 book. Expect coming-of-age friendships, rivalries, and a piercing exploration of just how quickly society can fall apart when things enter life-or-death territory. — Sam Haysom, General Assignment Editor, UK

Starring: Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt, David McKenna, Ike Talbut

How to watch: Lord of the Flies premieres May 4 on Netflix.

The Other Bennet Sister

What do you know of Mary Bennet, the overlooked sister of Pride and Prejudice? Jane Austen’s beloved novel spends ample time with Lizzy and Jane, but what of the more reserved, observant, and bookish of the Bennet family? Based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name and set after Pride and Prejudice, BBC’s The Other Bennet Sister gives Mary the respect (and screen time) she deserves.

Call the Midwife‘s Ella Bruccoleri takes on the unsung fictional heroine, whose sisters are now all married, which means she’s under pressure from her ever-theatrical mother (Gavin & Stacey‘s Ruth Jones) to do the same. However, thanks to the encouragement of the Gardiners (Indira Varma and Richard Coyle), Mary decides to travel across England to figure out her own path — whether it involves potential suitors or not. — Shannon Connellan, Senior Editor

Starring: Ella Bruccoleri, Ruth Jones, Richard E. Grant, Indira Varma, Dónal Finn, Tanya Reynolds, Varada Sethu, Maddie Close, Poppy Gilbert, Richard Coyle, Laurie Davidson, Grace Hogg-Robinson, Molly Wright, Lucy Briers

How to watch: The Other Bennet Sister premieres May 6 on BritBox.

M.I.A.

Ozark co-creator Bill Dubuque shifts states for some score-settling South Florida crime in Peacock’s new drama, M.I.A.. Heir to a family drug business, Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela) finds herself literally adrift on the ocean when they’re brutally murdered. Once back on dry land in Miami, the one that got away has one mission: Revenge, what did you think? However, she’ll have to find this cartel before they find her — or the cops do. Sounds like it’s time for a flamboyant new identity and the brutal deployment of those specialised hunting skills. — S.C.

Starring: Shannon Gisela, Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola, Dylan Jackson, Alberto Guerra, Maurice Compte, Gerardo Celasco, and Marta Milans

How to watch: M.I.A. premieres May 7 on Peacock.

Off Campus

Heated Rivalry got you craving more hockey romance? Then Off Campus may be just up your alley. Based on the bestselling books by Elle Kennedy, the series centers on Briar University’s hockey team and the women they fall for. The first season is all about womanizing hockey all-star Garrett (Belmont Cameli) and quiet tutor Hannah (Ella Bright), who kick off a fake dating ploy in order to make Hannah’s crush jealous. Of course, all that fake dating turns into real feelings, with the potential for a romance hot enough to steam up the ice rink. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Ella Bright, Belmont Cameli, Mika Abdalla, Antonio Cipriano, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Josh Heuston, and Stephen Kalyn

How to watch: Off Campus premieres May 13 on Prime Video.

Nemesis

Folks, it’s a heist series! We love a heist: rogue mastermind versus the law, niche skills against high security, inevitable montages. In Netflix’s Nemesis, Power Universe creator Courtney A. Kemp presents a Los Angeles–set crime caper with co-creator Tani Marole and pioneering New Jack City director Mario Van Peebles. Insecure‘s Y’lan Noel plays a master thief the LAPD hasn’t been able to catch; Abbott Elementary‘s Matthew Law plays the hard-boiled detective who lost his partner thanks to the elusive mastermind. What’s that? It’s time for…one last job? Involving a colossal diamond haul? Let’s absolutely go. — S.C.

Starring: Matthew Law, Y’lan Noel, Cleopatra Coleman, Tre Hale, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jonnie Park, Ariana Guerra, Gabrielle Dennis, Michael Potts, Sophina Brown, Cedric Joe, and Jeff Pierre

How to watch: Nemesis premieres May 14 on Netflix.

Dutton Ranch

Yellowstone heads, this one’s for you. This spin-off and sequel to Paramount+’s hit neo-Western picks up with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her husband Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) as they try to build a future on their Texas ranch. However, a rival ranch may put a stop to that future before it can even begin. Saddle up for some serious Western drama, along with star power in the form of new additions to the Yellowstone-verse like Ed Harris and Annette Bening. — B.E.

Starring: Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Finn Little, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Juan Pablo Raba, Marc Menchaca, Natalie Alyn Lind, Ed Harris, Annette Bening, and Morgan Wade

How to watch: Dutton Ranch premieres May 15 on Paramount+.

Game Changer Season 8

Last season on Game Changer, host (and Dropout CEO) Sam Reich took this ever-changing game show to unpredictable places, including a sobering Traitors parody, a big-hearted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire variant, and Antarctica. What’s next?

It’s not like Reich’s going to tell us. (That’d spoil the fun.) But what we do know is that this season welcomes back Dropout stars like Demi Adejuyigbe, Ally Beardsley, Jacob Wysocki, Oscar Montoya, Jiavani, Ify Nwadiwe, Zac Oyama, Lou Wilson, Vic Michaelis, Josh Ruben, Anna Garcia, Lily Du, Kimia Behpoornia, Jeremy Culhane, Grant O’Brien, Siobhan Thompson, and Brennan Lee Mulligan. Whether you’re new to Game Changer or you’ve been here the whole time, this line-up alone should have you giddy. We can’t wait to see what this crack team of improvisers has in store. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Sam Reich, Demi Adejuyigbe, Ally Beardsley, Jacob Wysocki, Oscar Montoya, Jiavani, Ify Nwadiwe, Zac Oyama, Lou Wilson, Vic Michaelis, Josh Ruben, Anna Garcia, Lily Du, Kimia Behpoornia, Jeremy Culhane, Grant O’Brien, Siobhan Thompson, and Brennan Lee Mulligan

How to watch: Game Changer Season 8 premieres May 18 on Dropout.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

Tatiana Maslany leads the new dark comedy Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. She stars as newly divorced mom Paula, who’s convinced she witnessed a terrible crime. Her independent investigation takes her down a slippery slope of blackmail and murder, two things that are very inconvenient to be thinking about when you’re also dealing with a custody battle and an identity crisis. Will Paula crack the case and rediscover her sense of self-worth? And just how, exactly, does youth soccer fit into all this? Find out when you tune in, for what is hopefully a maximally pleasurable viewing experience.* — B.E.

Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Jake Johnson, Brandon Flynn, Murray Bartlett, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg, Nola Wallace, and Dolly De Leon

How to watch: Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed premieres May 20 on Apple TV.

The Boroughs

If you hated the Stranger Things finale, let the Duffer Brothers try to win you back with The Boroughs. The pair executive produce this supernatural series, created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, which is set in a quaint New Mexico retirement community. The community’s residents include an all-star cast of Geena Davis, Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman, Clarke Peters, and Denis O’Hare, who join forces to investigate the otherworldly threat lurking over their home. The cast alone is worth a watch, but The Boroughs‘ trailer teases even more goodies, like some seriously spooky creatures and its ensemble gearing up to kick monster butt in a sewer, Losers Club from IT-style. — B.E.

Starring: Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman, Carlos Miranda, Jena Malone, Seth Numrich, and Alice Kremelberg

How to watch: The Boroughs premieres May 21 on Netflix.

Mating Season

The creators of Big Mouth are back with another raunchy comedy about love and sex. This time, they turn their focus from teenagers and their hormone monsters to wildlife having a tough time coupling up during mating season. Follow along with bear Josh (voiced by Zach Woods), raccoon Ray (voiced by Nick Kroll), deer Fawn (voiced by June Diane Raphael), and fox Penelope (voiced by Sabrina Jalees) as they search for a mate in the very horny animal kingdom. Seriously, the trailer is already at a 10 in terms of animal horniness (see: a joke about a skunk expressing her anal glands), so I’m expecting the full show to take that to an 11. — B.E.

Starring: Nick Kroll, Zach Woods, June Diane Raphael, and Sabrina Jalees

How to watch: Mating Season premieres May 22 on Netflix.

Spider-Noir

It’s impossible to single out just one highlight in the Academy Award–winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but hearing Nicolas Cage voice the ultra-broody Spider-Man Noir is certainly up there. This year, Cage takes that portrayal into live action with Spider-Noir, which audiences can watch in black and white or color. The series takes place in 1930s New York, where Cage’s Ben Reilly is a grizzled private investigator who also happens to be the city’s only superhero. Here’s hoping he gets to drink all the egg creams and punch all the Nazis he wants. If it’s even half as fun as Spider-Man Noir’s appearance in Into the Spider-Verse, I’m all for it.* — B.E.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, and Jack Huston

How to watch: Spider-Noir premieres May 27 on Prime Video in 2026.

The Four Seasons Season 2

Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani, Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, and Will Forte in “The Four Seasons.”
Credit: Emily V. Aragones / Netflix

Celebrate the start of summer with some televised vacations thanks to the return of The Four Seasons. Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield’s spin on the 1981 Alan Alda film follows a friend group — played by Fey, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Steve Carell, and Kerri Kenney-Silver — over the course of four vacations. Season 1 ended with the loss of Carell’s Nick and the dramatic news that his younger girlfriend Ginny (Erika Henningsen) is pregnant. How will Nick’s friends come together to help Ginny, and what gorgeous new locales will they visit next? All will be revealed in Season 2. — B.E.

Starring: Tina Fey, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Erika Henningsen

How to watch: The Four Seasons Season 2 premieres May 28 on Netflix.

Deli Boys Season 2

Saagar Shaikh, Asif Ali, and Poorna Jagannathan in “Deli Boys.”
Credit: Disney / James Washington

What happens when your multimillionaire father’s death unveils a secret drug empire? That’s the problem Mir and Raj Dar (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) face in Season 1 of Hulu’s delightful crime comedy Deli Boys. In Season 2, the stakes are even higher: The Dar brothers are swamped with dirty cash, which draws the attention of the shadiest characters in Philadelphia. Among them is Max Sugar (Fred Armisen), who catches the attention of Deli Boys scene stealer Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan). If the fun of the first season somehow isn’t enough to draw you back, then surely the promise of the pairing of Armisen and Jagannathan will do the trick. — B.E.

Starring: Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Fred Armisen, Andrew Rannells, Kumail Nanjiani, Lilly Singh, Robin Thede, and Tan France

How to watch: Deli Boys Season 2 premieres May 28 on Hulu.

Star City

Apple TV’s For All Mankind presents an alternate history of the Space Race, one where the Soviet Union became the first country to send a man to the moon. The show’s upcoming spin-off, Star City, rewinds the clock to examine the early days of the Soviet Union’s space program. Behind the Iron Curtain unfolds a thriller steeped in paranoia, as the program’s cosmonauts, engineers, and more weather moles and leaks in their efforts to push humanity farther than it’s ever been before. — B.E.

Starring: Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O’Casey, Alice Englert, Solly McLeod, Adam Nagaitis, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Josef Davies, and Priya Kansara

How to watch: Star City premieres May 29 on Apple TV.

June 2026 TV releases

Not Suitable for Work

Ella Hunt and Will Angus in “Not Suitable for Work.”
Credit: Disney

With Never Have I Ever, Mindy Kaling portrayed the perils of high school. With The Sex Lives of College Girls, she dove into the chaos of finding yourself in college. Her new project, Not Suitable for Work, examines yet another defining life stage: your early twenties. Co-created with showrunner Charlie Grandy, Not Suitable for Work follows five work-obsessed twentysomethings as they hunt for professional success — and a personal life, if time allows — in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood. — B.E.

Starring: Ella Hunt, Avantika Vandanapu, Will Angus, Jack Martin, Nicholas Duvernay, and Jay Ellis

How to watch: Not Suitable for Work premieres June 2 on Hulu.

The Legend of Vox Machina Season 4

Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina ended with the titular crew scattering to the winds in search of their own individual goals. But a year later, in Season 4, the call of adventure (and the threat of a growing death cult) will bring them back together. 

Every season of The Legend of Vox Machina has grown darker and stronger, and Season 4 looks to be no exception. This time around, Critical Role’s bawdy bands of heroes will come face to face with their most dangerous foe yet: the Whispered One, also known as Vecna in Dungeons & Dragons. (And yes, he’s very different from Stranger Things‘ version.) Don’t expect Season 4 to be all doom and gloom, though. It will also feature Critical Role fan-favorites like Taryon Darrington (voiced by Wayne Brady) and his mechanical servant Doty, who are bound to bring some laughs to the fight for Exandria. — B.E.

Starring: Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Wayne Brady, Kevin Michael Richardson, Debra Wilson, and Tom Cardy

How to watch: The Legend of Vox Machina Season 4 premieres June 3 on Prime Video.

Cape Fear

Who’s ready for a remake? Apple TV reimagines Martin Scorsese’s 1991 film Cape Fear, itself a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. The series centers on married attorney couple Anna and Tom Bowden (Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson), who are about to face a vengeful reckoning from Max Cady (Javier Bardem), the killer they put behind bars. Will the series live up to its source material? Or, at the very least, The Simpsons‘ “Cape Feare” episode?* — B.E.

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, Javier Bardem, Joe Anders, Lily Collias, Malia Pyles, and Anna Baryshnikov

How to watch: Cape Fear premieres June 5 on Apple TV.

The Vampire Lestat (Interview with the Vampire Season 3)

AMC’s exceptional Interview with the Vampire gets a rocking rebrand in Season 3. Now titled The Vampire Lestat, this season focuses on everyone’s favorite French vampire train wreck (affectionate). Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) has stepped into the spotlight as a rock star, and he’s using his music to tell his side of his relationship with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson). But as he goes on tour, he’ll confront “muses” from his troubling past, who’ll show us a whole new side of Lestat. Expect more heart-wrenching angst, vampire spats, and several bangers performed by Lestat himself. (Stream “Long Face” for clear skin.) Trust me, you’re going to want a front row seat to this concert.* — B.E.

Starring: Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles, Assad Zaman, Jennifer Ehle, Ella Ballentine, Jeanine Serralles, Christopher Heyerdahl, Damien Atkins, Sheila Atim, Noah Reid, Ryan Kattner, Seamus Patterson, and Sarah Swire

How to watch: The Vampire Lestat premieres June 7 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC.

Every Year After

Matt Cornett and Sadie Soverall in “Every Year After.”
Credit: Cate Cameron / Prime Video

The Summer I Turned Pretty may be over (until the film, that is), but Prime Video is not giving up its hold on summer-tinged YA romances. Enter Every Year After, based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling 2022 novel Every Summer After. The series introduces Persephone “Percy” Fraser (Sadie Soverall) and Sam Florek (Matt Cornett), two friends who spent six summers growing inseparable, falling in love, then falling apart. Now, it’s been years since they’ve seen one another, but when a tragedy brings them crashing back together, will they be able to rekindle the love they once shared? — B.E.

Starring: Sadie Soverall, Matt Cornett, Aurora Perrineau, Abigail Cowen, Michael Bradway, and Joseph Chiu

How to watch: Every Year After premieres June 10 on Prime Video.

House of the Dragon Season 3

The dragons are still dancing in House of the Dragon Season 3, which continues the war of succession between Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her nephew, King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). Between the massacres by dragonfire and full-on child murder, the war has already been catastrophic enough. But it’s about to get even more fraught, as the Battle of the Gullet is on its way. In George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the Battle of the Gullet is a naval bloodbath that will launch a calamitous new chapter in the Westerosi history books. Brace yourself for epic action, family betrayals, and of course, tons of dragons.* — B.E.

Starring: Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Matthew Needham, James Norton, Tom Bennett, Kieran Bew, Kurt Egyiawan, Freddie Fox, Clinton Liberty, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim

How to watch: House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

It’s Toph time! Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender returns for Season 2 in 2026, where it will introduce everyone’s favorite earthbender (Miya Cech) as Aang’s (Gordon Cormier) newest teacher. On top of that, we’ll hopefully be revisiting some of the original show’s best moments: the increased involvement of Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu), the political intrigue of Ba Sing Se, and the true beginnings of Prince Zuko’s (Dallas Liu) redemption arc. That’s an embarrassment of riches, but Toph is still at the top of my list of things I’m most excited to see this season. You know that first “twinkletoes” is going to hit just right.* — B.E.

Starring: Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Miya Cech, Elizabeth Yu, Ty Lee, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Maria Zhang, and Daniel Dae Kim

How to watch: Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 premieres June 25 on Netflix.

The Bear Season 5

Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in “The Bear.”
Credit: FX Networks

Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) may have quit the restaurant life at the end of The Bear Season 4, but don’t think for a second that the series is done. FX announced that The Bear will return for a fifth and final season this summer, meaning we’ll see what the Bear restaurant looks like under the supervision of Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Sugar (Abby Elliott). I’m especially intrigued to see what Carmy gets up to when he’s not in chef mode. Maybe he gets really into watercolors, or hiking. Maybe he’ll finally learn to relax! But something tells me he’ll be back in the kitchen before too long — hopefully after he’s done some serious healing.* — B.E.

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Edwin Lee Gibson, Corey Hendrix, Oliver Platt, Molly Gordon, Ricky Staffieri, and Jamie Lee Curtis

How to watch: The Bear Season 5 premieres this June on Hulu.

July 2026 TV releases

Elle

Lexi Minetree in “Elle.”
Credit: Prime Video

Prime Video made a Legally Blonde prequel. What, like it’s hard? The series follows Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree) as she navigates high school and blossoms into the bubbly fashion expert-turned-law student viewers came to adore in Legally Blonde. It’ll be fascinating to see what kind of backstory Elle engineers for its heroine, given that so much of Elle’s growth comes after making it to Harvard Law. However, it seems like Prime is confident in Elle‘s path ahead: The show has already been renewed for a Season 2. — B.E.

Starring: Lexi Minetree, June Diane Raphael, Tom Everett Scott, Chandler Kinney, Jacob Moskovitz, Gabrielle Policano, Zac Looker, and James Van Der Beek

How to watch: Elle premieres July 1 on Prime Video.

Silo Season 3

After the many, many cliffhangers Silo Season 2 left us on, the third season has been a long time coming. Fortunately that time has indeed finally come, with the Season 3 teaser taking us back into the world of Hugh Howey’s book series while hinting at the silo’s origin story. Which is all very good and exciting, but we still have many additional questions that need answering: What exactly is the safeguard procedure? What’s going to happen to Sims (Common) and his family? Will Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) and Bernard (Tim Robbins) survive that fire? Tell us already. — S.H.

Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Alexandria Riley, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Rick Gomez, Billy Postlethwaite, Clare Perkins, Ashley Zukerman, Jessica Henwick, Laura Innes, Jessica Brown Findlay, Morven Christie, Reed Birney, Matt Craven, Colin Hanks, and Steve Zahn

How to watch: Silo Season 3 premieres July 3 on Apple TV.

Little House on the Prairie

A childhood classic comes to Netflix this summer with Little House on the Prairie, based on the beloved series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Like the books, the TV series introduces the Ingalls family, who uproot their lives in the big woods of Wisconsin and begin a new life on the prairie. The show looks to introduce Wilder’s work to a new generation, but let’s be real: Plenty of adults will also be checking it out to make sure it stays true to the story they grew up loving. — B.E.

Starring: Alice Halsey, Skywalker Hughes, Luke Bracey, and Crosby Fitzgerald

How to watch: Little House on the Prairie premieres July 9 on Netflix.

The Five-Star Weekend

Elin Hilderbrand’s novel The Five-Star Weekend arrives on Peacock this July, bringing summery vibes and an all-star cast along with it. Jennifer Garner plays Hollis Shaw, a cook and food blogger trying to recover from a devastating loss. As part of her grieving process, she decides to host a weekend getaway at her Nantucket house. Her guests? Friends from different stages of her life (and one extra surprise invitee), played by D’Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, and Chloë Sevigny. — B.E.

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, Gemma Chan, D’Arcy Carden, Harlow Jane, and Timothy Olyphant

How to watch: The Five-Star Weekend premieres July 9 on Peacock.

Lucky

Anya Taylor-Joy enters heist mode in limited series Lucky, based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Marissa Stapley. Taylor-Joy plays Lucky Anderson, a con artist raised in a life of crime. When a multimillion-dollar heist goes awry, she’ll have to put up the fight of her life in order to escape the FBI agents and crime boss on her tail. Will she live up to her name, or will her luck finally run out?* — B.E.

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Drew Starkey, Clifton Collins, Jr., and William Fichtner

How to watch: Lucky premieres July 15 on Apple TV.

August 2026 TV releases

Ted Lasso Season 4

You better BELIEVE, because Ted Lasso is back. Turns out Season 3 was not the end of Ted’s (Jason Sudeikis) time in Richmond. The lovable soccer coach has returned to England to lead a second division women’s football team, and he’ll be joined by familiar faces like Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). What are you waiting for? Grab some shortbread and settle in for the resurrection of one of Apple’s biggest shows.* — B.E.

Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern, and Grant Feely

How to watch: Ted Lasso Season 4 premieres Aug. 5 on Apple TV.

Lanterns

The televised DC Universe expands in a big way this year with Lanterns, based on the Green Lantern comics. Don’t expect many space shenanigans, though. The series is primarily set on Earth, pairing new Lantern Corps recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) with longtime Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) to investigate a murder right in the heart of America. Our very first look at the show features Hal jumping out of a moving car in order to encourage John to use the ring, so expect a lot of banter in this mentor-mentee relationship. (And maybe a few car crashes.)* — B.E.

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Nathan Fillion, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Ulrich Thomsen, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, Sherman Augustus, Chris Coy, Paul Ben-Victor, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Cary Christopher, and Jasmine Cephas Jones

How to watch: Lanterns premieres this August on HBO and HBO Max.

Adults Season 2

Owen Thiele, Malik Elassal, Amita Rao, Jack Innanen, and Lucy Freyer in “Adults.”
Credit: Pari Dukovic / FX

FX’s Adults was one of 2025’s most fun new comedies, mixing hangout vibes with the perils of young adulthood in the 2020s. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long to get a second dose of the show’s chaotic housemates, as Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Anton (Owen Thiele), Issa (Amita Rao), and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) return to our screens this August. In Season 2, we’ll hopefully find out what’s next for the Anton-Issa-Paul Baker love triangle, as well as see the gang struggle with new questions about adulthood. How do you admit the embarrassing truth that you love your boring office job? Why does spending time with family always turn you into the worst version of yourself? And how can you make sure that you never, ever hurt your friends’ feelings? Whatever answers the Adults crew finds, I believe in them! — B.E.

Starring: Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Owen Thiele, Amita Rao, and Jack Innanen

How to watch: Adults Season 2 premieres this August on Hulu.

The Hawk

Will Ferrell hits the links in The Hawk, a new golf comedy from Netflix. (Between this and Apple TV’s Stick, it’s a big time for golf on TV.) He plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, once the world’s top golfer, now a washed-up old-timer. But Lonnie refuses to lay down his clubs. He only needs one more major win to complete a golf Grand Slam and become a true legend of the sport. Can Lonnie pull off the comeback of all comebacks? With the help of his support system, played by a promising ensemble of Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, and Katelyn Tarver, anything is possible. — B.E

Starring: Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson, Chris Parnell, Katelyn Tarver, and David Hornsby

How to watch: The Hawk premieres this summer on Netflix.

(*) means a blurb comes from a previous list.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 29 seconds ago

A decade before Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wesley Snipes made superheroes cool again as Blade, the Daywalker. 1998’s Blade includes the coolest opening sequence of any vampire movie and it launched a trilogy, so it makes sense that Marvel would milk it for all its worth.

2006’s Blade: The Series tried to keep the good times rolling, and if you forgot it existed, that’s by design, as Disney probably doesn’t want a series with this much blood, guts, and nudity to be associated with modern Marvel. Well, that, and Snipes didn’t return as Blade, marking the only time anyone else has played the live-action Vampire hunter. 

Blade: The Series Picks Up Where Trinity Left Off

Replacing one of the coolest dudes on the planet is a tough job. Whoever stepped into the sunglasses of Blade would be constantly compared to Wesley Snipes. The rapper Sticky Fingaz answered the call, and while he looked the part of a muscular superhero, he couldn’t emulate the attitude. Blade: The Series picks up after the events of Blade: Trinity, and was written by the same man, David S. Goyer, though outside of the title character, there’s no real connections that mattered. 

Blade: The Series introduces Christa Starr (Jill Wagner of Wipeout), a U.S. Army soldier coming home from the Iraq War to solve the mystery of who killed her brother, Zach (David Kopp). It doesn’t take long for the series to reveal that Marcus (Neil Jackson), an upstart Vampire noble, was behind the murder and that Zach was secretly an ally of Blade’s, working to take down the Vampires of the House of Cthon. She’s also, judging by the reactions of every man who enters her vicinity, the most beautiful woman they have ever seen. 

Christa is the real main character of Blade: The Series, which eventually cuts the title character down to appearing in maybe 10 minutes an episode by the end of the first, and only, season. For most shows that would be a bad thing, but Wagner’s performance as Christa and her on-screen chemistry with Neil Jackson, the man behind Marcus, is so good, the show becomes better as it shifts the focus. 

Disney Wants Nothing To Do With Blade: The Series

What makes Blade: The Series stand out even today isn’t the fairly generic plotlines, like a vampire-killing virus, people from Blade’s past wanting revenge, or a vaguely Eurotrash vampire jockeying for position as the new ruler of the Undead, it’s what the series was able to get away with showing on screen. Blade aired on Spike TV, a cable channel but not a premium cable channel, and yet it was able to get away with showing copious amounts of blood and nudity. 

During its run, Blade: The Series was a hit, posting excellent numbers for the newly rebranded cable channel. Millions tuned in each week and you couldn’t get away from the commercials while trying to watch CSI marathons or 1000 Ways To Die. The show was canceled not because it wasn’t being watched, but because it was expensive, with a price tag close to a million dollars (or more) per episode. 

Before the cancelation, Blade: The Series had namedropped other Marvel characters affiliated with the 90s group, the Midnight Sons: Moon Knight and Dr. Strange. One can only imagine that any version of those characters appearing on Spike TV would be as dark and gritty as their 90s comics counterparts. Remember when Dr. Strange wore a mask, used elemental magic, and was known simply as Strange? 

Today, Blade: The Series is hard to find anywhere. Apple TV+ has the series available to purchase, but it’s not on Hulu, Disney+, or anywhere else you might find Marvel shows. It’s the last relic of how Marvel would license its characters out before the start of the MCU, and proof that no matter what Blade says in Deadpool & Wolverine, there were two Blades, and odds are, there will only ever be two Blades.