This Week in TV

In a post-Peak TV world, it’s impossible to watch everything that’s airing across all the various streamers, networks, channels, and everywhere else. In our weekly Power Rankings, we look back on the best of the TV week that was, but here, we’re making sure you’re ahead of the game. From the most must-see premieres to our currently-airing favorites to can’t-miss finales, here is your definitive guide for what to watch on TV this coming week. 

For the week of July 28th:

Premieres:

Futurama (Season 12)

Network: Hulu

Premiere Date: Monday, July 29th

Totally underappreciated in its original run, which just caught the tail end of the ’90s, one gets the sense that Futurama at first suffered from misplaced expectations. Knowing it was coming from Matt Groening, perhaps people expected a futuristic version of The Simpsons, but Futurama is fundamentally different in quite a few aspects. Although it was similar in its satirical lampooning of modern (or futuristic) daily life and media, it was also capable of being surprisingly—even shockingly—emotional at times. Just ask anyone who remembers the end of “Jurassic Bark” or “The Luck of the Fryrish,” among other episodes. Likewise, its self-contained continuity was unlike almost every other animated sitcom, with events unfolding in both its first and second run on TV that fundamentally affected the viewer’s perception of earlier plot points. It’s now rightly recognized as one of the best animated comedies ever. It’s returning for its 12th (of at least 14) season on Hulu. —Jim Vorel

---

Batman: Caped Crusader 

Network: Prime Video

Premiere Date: August 1st

The Dark Knight has a long and illustrious career in the world of animation, from reimaginings like Batman Beyond to the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, which is often heralded as one of the best cartoons of all time. Gotham’s detective will make his highly anticipated return to the format in the 10-episode show Batman: Caped Crusader, a “reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens of executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm.” For those who aren’t in the know, Bruce Timm co-created The Animated Series, while Reeves recently directed the scorcher reboot, The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson. The project will be a collaboration between the iconic Warner Bros. Animation, Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Reeves’ 6th & Idaho. They’ve already teased some of the new versions of these characters, such as a remixed Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who flips the script on everyone’s favorite murderous court jester by having her act bubbly when she’s not wearing the mask and sinister when she transforms into Harley Quinn. Batman comes with a hefty legacy, cartoon or otherwise, but hopefully, the latest will take a cue from successful reboots like My Adventures with Superman and maintain the essence of what came before while doing new things with the material. —Elijah Gonzalez

---

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Network: Netflix

Premiere Date: Thursday, August 1st

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is based on the young adult mystery novel of the same name—specifically, the UK edition of the book—and follows Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myer) as she looks into the disappearance of Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) and the subsequent suicide of her boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni) that occured 5 years before. Pip begins her investigation as a school project and things quickly spiral out from there as she starts digging into the past, attempting to disprove the assumption that Andie’s disappearance was a case of murder-suicide at the hands of Sal.

It is rare that a series is so casually well-rounded. Myers’ performance gives Pip a multitude of layers, from happy-go-lucky to afraid and massively out of her depth. Pip’s ensemble of friends are a believably active part of the story without overwhelming the center thread of Pip trying to find the truth. It is a perfectly-packaged, breezy adventure with a Wednesday alum as the lead, and even though there are two more books worth of material that the series can build off of, the ending of its inaugural season ties things off in a satisfying way. Closing the door on this type of mystery is difficult, but the strength of the writing leaves no stone unturned and no question unanswered—a testament to the rock-solid execution of this series, which undeniably stands as a summer mystery worth binging. —Kathryn Porter [Full Review]

Forever Favorites:

House of the Dragon: With just two episodes left of Season 2, explosive revelations and major twists are surely on the horizon for our Westerosi rulers as they claw and fight for the throne. Alicent wanders into the marsh and Rhaenyra faces down Seasmoke’s new rider in Episode 7.

Cobra Kai: If you haven’t caught up with the happenings of this beloved dojo ye, there’s no better time to tune-in. The next batch of episodes isn’t coming until November, but we have five solid episodes to tide us over for now.

The Decameron: Teenage Bounty Hunters‘ Kathleen Jordan has returned to Netflix to deliver a hilarious and off-kilter comedy about the Black Death—what’s not to love?

Time Bandits: With the Time Bandits now making their way through time, Episodes 3 and 4 find this ragtag crew posing as dragon slayers and denizens of the Harlem Renaissance.

Can’t-Miss Finales

Criminal Minds: Evolution: The second (or 17th) season of Paramount+’s Criminal Minds is coming to a close this week, with promises regarding an answer to the perplexing “Gold Star Mystery” on the horizon. With Season 3 (or 18) already ordered, this finale will be on you don’t want to miss.

Paste Pick:

If you were only going to give your time to one single show this week, it should be Batman: The Caped Crusader. Following in the wake of My Adventures with Superman‘s success and clearly inspired by the masterpiece that is Batman: The Animated Series, Prime Video’s take on the shadowy bat will surely be both binge-worthy and engaging. The series is set to take some admirably liberties with the source material, crafting a Gotham that audiences will be eager to return to.

---

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.