The 5 New and Under-the-Radar Shows You Can’t Miss This July

You’re gonna need a bigger TV set . . . to keep up with all the new shows coming your way this July.  

As usual, the month is all about sharks. Discovery’s annual Shark Week begins July 20. First up (and I’m not even kidding) is Dancing with the Sharks. In this special, hosted by Tom Bergeron, divers perform underwater routines with their sharks (I swear this is a real thing). And the biggest shark of them all turns 50 this year. To celebrate, Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres July 10 on Disney+, Hulu, and NatGeo.

If hanging out with toothy fish isn’t your thing, don’t worry, July has so much more to offer. Harvey Guillén and Brenda Song announce this year’s Emmy nominations on July 15 at 11:30 a.m. ET. You’ll be able to see more of the epic Abbott Elementary crossover when FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for its 17th (!!) season on July 9. Belly (Lola Tung) has a big choice to make when The Summer I Turned Pretty returns for a third season July 16 on Prime Video. (Choose you, Belly! Choose you!)

And just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another Dexter series, Michael C. Hall reprises his Emmy-nominated role in Dexter: Resurrection, July 11 on Paramount+. Sure, Dexter died in the series finale of Dexter: New Blood, but it turns out he’s not quite dead yet. He’s feeling much better. 

As always, we don’t want you to miss a thing. So go ahead and take a bite out of these five new and under-the-radar shows you can’t miss this month.

1. Christmas at Sea

Stars:  Benjamin Ayres, Jonathan Bennett, Wes Brown, Erin Cahill, Paul Campbell, Taylor Cole, Nikki DeLoach, Sarah Drew, Tyler Hynes, Kimberley Sustad, and Andrew Walker

Premiere Date: July 7 at 8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel, streaming the next day on Hallmark+. New episode premieres every Monday until the finale on July 28

What if you could meet and interact with your favorite TV actors? That’s the magic behind Hallmark’s Christmas cruise, which takes the stars of the addictive Hallmark Christmas movies and their devoted fans on a trip from Miami to Nassau. First up, two of Hallmark’s leading men—Paul Campbell and Andrew Walker—help passenger Rob propose to his girlfriend Donna. 

The four-part series is part of Hallmark’s 13th annual Christmas in July programming event. Also keep an eye out for the Unwrapping Christmas movie series, which follows four friends Tina (Natalie Hall), Mia (Kathryn Davis), Lily (Ashley Newbrough), and Cindy (Cindy Busby), who work together at a gift shop. They all get their own Christmas movie, starting with Tina and Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle on July 5. With all the sadness in the world right now, why not escape to the comfort of the Hallmark Channel, where only happy endings are allowed. 

2. Ballard

Stars: Maggie Q, Courtney Taylor, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Mosley, Rebecca Field, Victoria Moroles, Amy Hill, Ricardo Chavira, Noah Bean, Alain Uy, and Hector Hugo

Premiere Date:  All 10 episodes premiere July 9 on Prime Video. 

Bosch ended in 2021 and its spin-off series Bosch: Legacy came to a close in April but his world lives on in the new Prime Video series Ballard. Maggie Q reprises her role of Detective Renée Ballard, the character she introduced in the series finale of Bosch: Legacy. Ballard leads the LAPD’s new and, of course, underfunded cold case division.

Michael Connelly, who wrote the six (and counting!) Ballard books serves as one of the executive producers of the series. Titus Welliver who has played Detective Harry Bosch since 2014 will reprise his role. Because even though Harry is now retired, he still helps Ballard solve her cases. 

3. The Institute

Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Barnes, Joe Freeman, Simone Miller, Fionn Laird, Hannah Galway, Julian Richings, Robert Joy and Martin Roach

Premiere Date: The first two episodes premiere July 13 at 9 p.m. on MGM+. A new episode airs every Sunday until the season finale on August 24.

Jack Bender, one of the executive producers of a little show called Lost, is back with another mysterious series. Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman) is an extraordinarily gifted teen, but he doesn’t really know how gifted he is until he’s kidnapped and brought to a place known only as The Institute. Mary-Louise Parker co-stars as Ms. Sigsby, the woman who runs the Institute and believes she is doing the right thing.

The series is based on a novel of the same name by Stephen King, who also serves as one of the executive producers of the series. Bender and King have teamed up previously on Under the Dome and Mr. Mercedes. And Bender’s other MGM+ series From was renewed for a fourth season last year.

4. Untamed

Stars: Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, Rosemary DeWitt, Wilson Bethel

Premiere Date:  All six episodes premiere July 17 on Netflix.

Sure Yosemite National Park seems idyllic, and it is, but not when it’s the setting for a Netflix drama. Eric Bana headlines as Kyle Turner, a special agent for the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (which is a real thing, Google tells me). When a brutal murder occurs, Kyle must bring his team together to investigate while balancing his tenuous relationship with his ex-wife Jill (Rosemary DeWitt). Don’t make Kyle angry. You may not like him when he’s angry.

The series was written by Mark L. Smith, the mind behind The Revenant and American Primeval, who also serves as the showrunner and executive producer on the series.

5. Code of Silence

Stars: Rose Ayling-Ellis, Kieron Moore, Charlotte Ritchie, Andrew Buchan, Nathan Armarkwei Laryea, Joe Absolom, Beth Goddard, Andrew Scarborough, and Fifi Garfield

Premiere Date:  The first two episodes premiere on July 24 on Britbox. A new episode airs every Thursday thereafter until the finale on August 21.

Alison Brooks (Rose Ayling-Ellis) is working two jobs to support herself and her mother, Julie (Fifi Garfield). But it’s her job at the police canteen that puts her right in the middle of an investigation into a criminal gang when DS Ashleigh Francis (Charlotte Ritchie) asks for her help. Alison is deaf and can read lips, something that proves to be extraordinarily useful with suspects.

The series was a critical and commercial success when it premiered across the pond in May. Like the trailer for Code of Silence above, the series will also be available to stream in ASL.

Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter (@AmyTVGal).

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