What to Watch This Week
From the biggest streaming services to the most reliable broadcast networks, there are so many shows vying for your time and attention every single week. Lucky for you, the Paste Editors and TV writers sort through the deluge of Peak TV “content” to make sure you’re watching the best the small screen has to offer. Between under-the-radar gems and the biggest, buzziest hits, we keep our finger on TV’s racing pulse so you don’t have to.
The rules for the Power Rankings are simple: any current series on TV qualifies, whether it’s a comedy, drama, news program, animated series, variety show, or sports event. It can be on a network, basic cable, premium channel, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, or whatever you can stream on your smart TV, as long as a new episode was made available within the past week (ending Sunday)—or, in the case of shows released all at once, it has to have been released within the previous four weeks.
Below is what we’re enjoying right now. Happy viewing!
Best TV Shows for the week of July 8th:
Honorable Mention: My Adventures with Superman (Max), Star Trek: Prodigy (Netflix)
5. Fantasmas
Network: HBO (streaming on Max)
Last Week: Honorable Mention
This Week: It may not be for everyone, but if you dig Julio Torres, you’ll dig this wild show—especially this week’s Grindr date fiasco.
HBO’s Fantasmas is a sketch comedy show that went to art school, a quirky romp that’s not always laugh-out-loud funny but consistently imaginative and beautifully cinematic. The series wraps around and connects most of its disparate sketches through a loose ongoing narrative. Creator/writer/director Julio Torres stars as Julio, who works as a “Julio.” What does a “Julio” do? Basically, he utilizes the gifts of free-association synesthesia granted to him as a child after being struck by lightning on the toilet (he never had to go to gym class after that). He says he sees the world differently from everyone else, though who knows what counts as “normal” in this semi-dystopian alternate reality; even when Julio’s absent, the other characters operate in a similar register of German expressionism by way of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse by way of The People’s Joker. Sketch comedies by their nature tend towards inconsistency, and Fantasmas is no exception, but its strong style and vision provide a high baseline of entertainment even when the jokes are hit-or-miss and the connecting narrative doesn’t come together as satisfyingly as it could. It’s like nothing else currently on television, and it’s fun to live in Torres’ mind for these six half-hours. —Reuben Baron [Full Review]
4. The Bear
Network: FX (streaming on Hulu)
Last Week: 2
This Week: Yes, chef!
At the beginning of The Bear’s third season, we start with the past. Pinpointing the exact roots of passion and pain, as we watch some of the most impactful moments of Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) journey that made him the exceptional chef and messed-up person he is today. From Episode 2 onwards, the tension is immediately cracked up to 11 as our beloved crew deals with the repercussions of last year’s “catastrophic” finale that shattered hearts like a bulldozer. Claire (Molly Gordon) is gone, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Carmy are fuming at each other, and the rest of the team stands between them, trying to cool things down. This has always been the constant back-and-forth status quo, and we get a big portion of it once again, but it’s clear that the characters are evolving, taking a shot at bettering themselves in their own individual ways.
Season 3 serves as a time for self-reflection and processing all the heavy stuff (grief, break-up, divorce), a sort of recovery to heal from the mistakes. To do that, however (not just for Carmy, but for everyone), creator Christopher Storer needs to focus on each character individually and give them enough screen time to break them down, layer to layer. And he does just that—going all in on all our favorite figures, further building arcs that pay off in the most rewarding ways. This outing is the pinnacle of Storer’s work, a loving dedication to food, restaurants, the city of Chicago, and most importantly, the people who fill it with life. So enjoy every bite. —Akos Peterbencze [Full Review]
3. My Lady Jane
Network: Prime Video
Last Week: 4
This Week: This series is the perfect frothy summer binge.
If you’ve never heard of Lady Jane Grey, who briefly held the English throne between the reigns of Edward VI and “Bloody” Mary I, that’s to be expected. After all, Jane was only Queen for nine days in 1553 before she was deposed by her cousin, the aforementioned “Bloody” Mary, and later executed in 1554 alongside her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley. At the time, she was only a teenager, likely only 16 or 17 years old. Lady Jane’s chapter in the history books may be short (probably more like a paragraph), but Prime Video’s My Lady Jane—based on the YA novel of the same name—elevates the titular heroine (Emily Bader) into a smart and spunky teen far more interested in science than romance, who is swiftly married off by her scheming mother Frances (Anna Chancellor) to the first nobleman’s son who will have her: Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel). But Guildford is hiding a secret of his own, one that expands the world of the series into something magical.
Overall, My Lady Jane is a fun and fast-paced fantasy filled with romance, intrigue, and magic in equal measure. While it can be a bit uneven in both its tone and execution, it never fails to entertain, and even occasionally delight with its clever and whimsical approach to history. The real Jane Grey’s story may have ended with the fall of an ax, but My Lady Jane gives her the chance to live again. And this time, we’re all rooting for her. —Lauren Thoman [Full Review]
2. The Acolyte
Network: Disney+
Last Week: 1
This Week: Is it hot in here or is it just the Sith?
Set 100 years before the rise of The Empire during the High Republic era, The Acolyte follows the thriving Jedi Order as their own are hunted by a mysterious assassin. Tasked with hunting down this figure is Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his team consisting of Yord (Charlie Barnett), Jecki (Dafne Keen), and his former student Osha (Amandla Stenberg). As the Jedi continue to chase this assassin, a dark secret and a shameful past continue to haunt them as this figure threatens to bring their actions to light. In Star Wars’ first proper mystery thriller, duality reigns supreme and guides the franchise into a new era for this galaxy far, far away. —Anna Govert
1. House of the Dragon
Network: HBO (streaming on Max)
Last Week: 3
This Week: A wicked dragon battle left us all in tears.
The story picks up right where it left off, after King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) ascended the throne with the help of his mother, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), and her allies, pushing the realm closer to civil war as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her followers find themselves on the back foot. Queen Rhaenyra is grieving the loss of her son after yet another accidental escalation between the two factions, and Westeros waits with bated breath as a cataclysmic war between dragons becomes increasingly likely. This series feels ripped from a previous era of big-budget indulgence. The cast is massive, the sets and costumes look expensive, and there’s a whole flight of CGI dragons that probably took an unreasonable number of hours to render. The narrative may feel constrained by the work it’s adapting, but its characters are complex enough to make this tale more than just royalty-oriented reality TV. House of the Dragon may come across like a diminished scion of a once proud house, but honestly, I’ll take whatever reminders of former glory I can get. —Elijah Gonzalez [Full Review]
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