Written by Proma Khosla, IndieWire
At IndieWire, we recognize that summer is a big time for film. Between festivals and seasonal blockbusters and the expected uptick in theater attendance, who wouldn’t need a Summer Film Preview to keep track of it all?
But let’s not sleep on the small screen.
From returning favorites like “Squid Game” and “The Gilded Age” and guilty pleasures “And Just Like That,” the summer TV calendar offers the comfort of familiar titles while navigating the new titles entering the fray. Devoured “The Bear” Season 4 in one sitting? Queue up “The Waterfront,” Netflix’s new series about a powerful fishing family in North Carolina. Caught up with Michael C. Hall as he reprises a legendary character in “Dexter: Resurrection”? Maybe chase it with Lena Dunham’s “Too Much,” a romantic comedy starring “Hacks” breakout Megan Stalter. In August, you can watch the warriors of Wakanda in a new Disney animated series — and the true history of warriors in Hawaii as they fought for their land in Apple’s “Chief of War” from Jason Momoa.
The Summer 2025 TV slate has a little something for everybody, from the Prime Video series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s “We Were Liars” to the star-studded voice cast of “Long Story Short” to the returns of Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and whatever creepy shit is afoot in FX’s “Alien: Earth.”
Mark your calendars, grab your snacks, and get ready to dive into this summer slate. Here are 20 new and returning TV shows to watch in summer 2025.
Ben Travers contributed to this article.
“And Just Like That” Season 3 (May 29, Max)
Che (Sara Ramirez) may be gone from Max’s “Sex and the City” sequel series, but there’s still ample room for chaos. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is newly single and (hopefully) not latching on to the first person she sees. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is deeply invested in her kids’ … love lives (OK, mainly just Lily’s ballet school crush). Seema (Sarita Choudhury) has been all but formally adopted as the group’s new Samantha, which means there’s no way she settles for the Bad Man she’s thinking about in the Season 3 teaser… right? And Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is kind of, sort of still dating Aidan (John Corbett) — despite agreeing on a five-year break in the Season 2 finale — but she’s got a hot new neighbor who could keep her from repeating past mistakes. (Dump Aidan! Dump Aidan! Dump Aidan!) Is that enough to keep you hooked? Let’s find out! —BT
Featuring work from Cinematographer, Tim Norman
“Nautilus” (June 29, AMC)
Based on Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” this AMC original follows the adventures of Captain Nemo (Shazad Latif), an Indian prince held prisoner by the East India Mercantile Company and determined to seek revenge for his misfortune. Nemo and some of his fellow prisoners escape and chart a path forward, but they’ll have to outrun their captors before reclaiming their lives. Also starring Georgia Flood, Céline Menville, Thierry Fremont, with guest appearances from Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv, and Noah Taylor. Written by James Dormer and developed by Xavier Marchand and Anand Tucker, with Michael Matthews serving as lead director. —PK
Featuring work from VFX Supervisor, Derek Wentworth
“Chief of War” (August 1, Apple TV+)
Jason Momoa gets in the driver’s seat as star, writer, and executive producer (as well as finale director) of this series he co-created with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett. The nine-episode series is based on true events in 18th century Hawai’i, where the warrior Ka’iana (Momoa) tries to unify his community and neighboring islands against Western colonization. The cast includes Luciane Buchanan, Temuera Morrison, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Cliff Curtis, Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale’o, Brandon Finn, James Udom, Mainei Kinimaka, and Te Kohe Tuhaka. —PK
Featuring work from Production Designer, Jean-Francois Campeau
“Washington Black” (TBA, Hulu)
Esi Edugyan’s bestselling novel gets the Hulu treatment with this limited series starring Ernest Kingsley Jr. as George Washington “Wash” Black, a young boy from Barbados whose life takes an unexpected twist after he ends up under the wing of one Medwin Harris (Sterling K. Brown, back on our screens in record time, thank goodness). When Wash has to flee his home, he ends up on a worldwide adventure that gives him a glimpse into the kind of life he never dared to imagine. Selwyn Hinds and Kim Harrison serve as showrunners, executive producing with Brown, Edugyan, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wanuri Kahiu, Mo Marable, Rob Seidenglanz, Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams, D.J. Goldberg, Jennifer Johnson and Anthony Hemingway. —PK
Featuring work from Cinematographer, Patrick Murguia
Featuring work from Editor, Aimee Jennings
Featuring work from Editor, Sarah C. Reeves, ACE
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