House of the Dragon S2, Knuckles S1, Special Ops: Lioness, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School & more
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S2
Express from the US | Mondays from 3am from 17 June
The second season of House of the Dragon flies express to Showmax and M-Net from 17 June 2024. The Emmy-winning first season was named Best TV Series – Drama at the 2023 Golden Globes and Best TV Series at Rotten Tomatoes’
Golden Tomato Awards for the best-reviewed show of 2022.
Based on George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen. Following King Aegon Il’s coronation, Alicent and Rhaenyra cling to fading memories of their old friendship as their opposing factions gear up for civil war.
Matt Smith is back in his Critics Choice-nominated role as Daemon Targaryen, as is Emma D’Arcy in her Golden Globe-nominated role as Rhaenyra Targaryen and multi-award-winner Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower.
New cast this season includes BAFTA nominee Abubakar Salim (Father in Raised by Wolves) as Alyn of Hull and Gayle Rankin (Sheila the She-Wolf in GLOW) as Alys Rivers.
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: SUMMER SCHOOL
First on Showmax | Binge from 24 June
Following the harrowing events of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, our Pretty Little Liars face a fate worse than death: summer school.
However, Millwood High isn’t the only thing getting in the way of their fun summer jobs and dreamy love interests. A new villain, who may or may not have a connection to A, has come to town and is going to put them all to the test.
The Max Original has a 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As Paste says, “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is the juicy, bloody sequel teen drama dreams are made of… Summer School manages to take everything we loved about Original Sin and emulate it while elevating the gore, the scares, and the stakes.”
KNUCKLES S1
First on Showmax | Binge from 14 June
The most-watched kids and family title ever on Paramount+, Knuckles follows our favourite echidna on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the echidna warrior.
Knuckles is once again voiced by Emmy nominee Idris Elba, with Critics Choice nominee Adam Pally (Happy Endings, The Mindy Project) as Wade.
Led by the same creative team as the blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog movie franchise, the action-packed adventure is set between the second film and the third, which is expected at the end of this year.
IGN Movies says, “Knuckles is an absolute riot… A laugh-a-minute road movie that just happens to be a six-part miniseries.”
Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd (aka Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy) voices Pachacamac, and there’s a guest appearance from Emmy winner Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic. The show’s live-action cast includes Oscar nominee Stockard Channing (Grease’s Rizzo), Edi Patterson (from Knives Out and The Righteous Gemstones) and Cary Elwes (Westley in The Princess Bride). Also look out for Critics Choice nominee and Grammy winner Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), Rory McCann (Jurgen the Brutal in Jumanji: The Next Level and Game of Thrones’ fearsome Sandor Clegane) and Tika Sumpter from Mixed-ish.
SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS
Binge from 13 June
Zoe Saldaña was up for a Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress: Action for her performance in Special Ops: Lioness as Joe McNamara, the leader of an undercover all-women US special ops team dedicated to befriending the wives, girlfriends or daughters of high-value terrorist targets and working to turn them for the CIA.
Created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1923, Tulsa King and Sicario), Special Ops: Lioness became Paramount+’s most-watched global series when it launched and has already been renewed for a second season.
The stacked cast includes the likes of Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman, four-time Emmy nominee Michael Kelly (Hank Stamper in House of Cards), and Sheridan favourites like Yellowstone’s Dave Annable and 1883’s Stephanie Nur.
Special Ops: Lioness is inspired by the true premise of ‘Team Lioness’, which saw female soldiers specifically added to patrols in Iraq in 2003 to search local women, who insurgents were using to smuggle contraband. They often found themselves amid intense fighting, in violation of the US’ Combat Exclusion Policy – one established in 1948, which excluded women from combat positions and was only lifted in 2013.
POWER BOOK IV: FORCE S2
Binge from 10 June
After leaving New York, Tommy Egan (Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Joseph Sikora from Power and Ozark) finds him straddling the line between the two biggest crews in a city divided by race. Using his outsider status to his advantage, Tommy is ready to rewrite all the rules in his quest to become the biggest drug dealer in Chicago.
The series has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 8.1/10 on IMDb, with Variety saying, “By taking the time to unpack the very real racial tensions in Chicago, permitting Tommy to do what he does best and illustrating the varied characters more intimately, Force has hit its stride.”
Already renewed for a third season, Force also features the likes of Lili Simmons (Banshee) and Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2).
ALICE & JACK S1
Binge from 27 June
“If I could be with anyone in the world, it would be with you.”
A British romantic drama about love in all its unexpected, technicolour, kaleidoscopic beauty, Alice & Jack follows the highs and lows of a 16-year relationship between two imperfect lovers, played by Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough and Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominee Domhnall Gleeson.
Times (UK) says Alice & Jack “is gloriously, magnificently spot on about love, which is its main job. The selfishness of their pull to each other is exquisitely observed, and I entirely believe in their passion, the fierce, cruel intimacy of their time together.”
The six-part miniseries is written and executive produced by four-time Emmy nominee Victor Levin (Mad About You, Mad Men) and directed by BAFTA nominee Hong Khaou (Baptiste, Monsoon, Lilting) and Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award winner Juho Kuosmanen (Compartment No.6, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki), with a stacked cast that includes BAFTA winners Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education) and Aisling Bea (Greatest Days), Nigerian-British singer and actress Rachel Adedeji (Dreaming Whilst Black, Champion), and Thalissa Teixeira (Trigonometry, Anne Boleyn).
HOME ECONOMICS S3
Saturdays from 22 June
The Hayworth siblings are back in the third and final season of Home Economics, coping with the highs and lows of life terribly… but together.
Caitlin McGee (Mr Monk’s Last Case, Mythic Quest) returns as Sarah, alongside Emmy winner Topher Grace (BlacKkKlansman, Spider-Man 3) as Tom, and Critics Choice nominee Jimmy Tatro (Theater Camp, American Vandal) as Connor.
The show has an 82% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been nominated for four Women’s Image Network Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Sasheer Zamata as Sarah’s wife, Denise.
This season’s cast also includes appearances from Emmy nominee Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley in Community), Critics Choice nominee Danny Pudi (Brad in Mythic Quest and Abed in Community), Emmy winners Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) and Kelly Ripa (Live with Kelly and Ryan, All My Children), and Grammy winner Cheech Marin (Champions, War with Grandpa).
MOONSHINE S3
Binge from 19 June
A raucous tale of lust, legacy and lobster, Moonshine follows a dysfunctional family of half-siblings battling to take control of the ailing family business, a rundown summer resort in Nova Scotia.
Everyone needs something to fight for, and in Season 3 there’s plenty to go around for the Finley-Cullen clan as a luxury resort being built next door threatens the Moonshine – and may be just what they need to bring them together.
The show has already earned over 30 award nominations in its native Canada, winning Best TV Series at the Screen Nova Scotia Awards, and picking up nominations at the Leo Awards for Tom Stevens and at the Canadian Screen Awards for Jennifer Finnigan, Emma Hunter, and Peter MacNeill.
AWARDS UPDATE
The Sixth Commandment wins Best Limited Drama BAFTA
At the 2024 BAFTA TV Awards, Britain’s most prestigious awards:
- The Sixth Commandment won Best Limited Drama and Leading Actor (Timothy Spall)
- Black Ops won Female Performance: Comedy for Nigeria’s Gbemisola Ikumelo
- Succession won Best Supporting Actor for Matthew Macfadyen
