It’s the high heat of the summer, the time when temperatures spike and days are lazy. This used to be a time when TV was scarce, with everyone looking ahead to the fall premieres. But things are a bit different now, with summer also bringing — you guessed it — lots of TV.
Among them are a bevy of superhero options: For animated Marvel, you can check out Hit-Monkey season 2 on Hulu; for animated DC, there’s Kite Man: Hell Yeah! on Max. Over on Prime, The Boys season 4 is wrapping up with a real change of pace (for the show and the other superhero options here). And on Netflix there’s Cobra Kai, where Daniel and Johnny may as well be honorary superheroes at this point.
All that in more — here’s the best new TV premieres and finales this week.
New shows on Netflix
Cobra Kai season 6 part 1
Genre: Sports drama
Release date: July 18
Showrunner/creator: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg
Cast: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, and more
Netflix is hoping to make an event out of the end of Cobra Kai — after all, not only is it the end of a six-season show (somewhat of a rarity on Netflix!), but the end of a show reviving a beloved film franchise. This is the beginning of the end, but mostly just the beginning of the end; the 15-episode season will be split into three parts, with the first five episodes dropping Thursday.
New shows on Disney Plus
The Acolyte finale
Image: Lucasfilm
Genre: Star Wars
Release date: July 1
Showrunner/creator: Leslye Headland
Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Lee Jung-jae, and more
We know the truth of what happened on Brendock, and we know why Mae (Amandla Stenberg) feels such animosity for the Jedi, and we know why Sol (Lee Jung-jae) feels such immense guilt over what happened to the twins. Now, with all that on the line, the question remains: Will Manny Jacinto’s Dark Side pitch win over anyone?
New shows on Hulu
Hit-Monkey season 2
Genre: Animated superheroes
Release date: July 15
Showrunner/creator: Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Cast: Fred Tatasciore, Ally Maki, Olivia Munn, and more
When we last saw him, Hit-Monkey’s (Fred Tatasciore) fight had gone wrong and led to him being snuck out of Japan with a promise to clear his name. Unfortunately, Akiko (Olivia Munn) was already taking up Lady Bullseye’s mantle as she vows revenge for what she saw.
New shows on Max
Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
Genre: Animated superheroes black comedy
Release date: July 18
Showrunner/creator: Dean Lorey, Justin Halpern, and Patrick Schumacker
Cast: Matt Oberg, Stephanie Hsu, James Adomian, and more
What started as a comic book bit became a featured side character bit in Harley Quinn. And now, he’s got his own show: Let’s hear it for Kite Man! Hell yeah.
New shows on Prime Video
The Boys season 4 finale
Photo: Jasper Savage/Prime Video
Genre: Superheroes (gone wrong)
Release date: July 18
Showrunner/creator: Eric Kripke
Cast: Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, and more
Things are getting serious for the Boys — I know, I know; when aren’t they? But this time it’s “there’s a shapeshifter parading as one of them and it turns out the supe killing virus isn’t quite there yet” kind of shit. Where will that leave our ragtag band of would-be operatives?
New shows on AMC Plus
Snowpiercer season 4
Genre: Dystopian thriller
Release date: July 21
Showrunner/creator: Josh Friedman and Graeme Manson
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner, and more
Season 3 ended with a bit of division and a bit of hope: While some stayed behind on the Snowpiercer in hopes of survival, others ventured out to “New Eden” to see what a new reality could be. The premiere picks up nine months later, and is called “Snakes in the Garden” — do with that what you will.
New shows on Peacock
The Ark season 2
Genre: Sci-fi (in space)
Release date: July 17 at 10 p.m. EDT on SyFy; next day on Peacock
Showrunner/creator: Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner
Cast: Christie Burke, Reece Ritchie, Richard Fleeshman, and more
Season 1 of The Ark did not see things going great for humanity as they set out on a desperate, decades-long mission to find a new planet. The finale ended with a big ol’ cliffhanger (no spoilers here), but suffice it to say: Space can be a lot less empty than you’d hope. Here’s to whatever nasties are waiting us in season 2!