GoKawiilIf it feels like summer has quietly become the best season for new (and returning) television, you’re not imagining things. Not long ago, the warmest months were widely considered television’s doldrums, dominated by reruns and reality shows while viewers waited for September’s fall lineup. Like so many other parts of the TV landscape, streaming changed all that. Now, the hottest season is also when many of the year’s biggest—and best—series arrive.
Rather than simply rounding up the biggest shows of the month, we’ve curated a list to best reflect the stories WIRED tells every day. Chances are you’re already watching returning favorites like The Bear and The Vampire Lestat, along with new must-watch series like Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America. The picks below offer something different: stories that illuminate the technologies, ideas, and cultural shifts shaping the world—making them as thought-provoking as they are binge-worthy.
Here are our picks for the 11 best shows to watch this month.
House of the Dragon
For the better part of seven years, HBO has been desperate to fill the dragon-sized hole left by Game of Thrones. Though House of the Dragon will never live up to its predecessor’s acclaim, it’s a pretty good also-ran, especially if you’re craving even more dragon action (and don’t mind that George R.R. Martin has called out some of cocreator Ryan Condal’s creative decisions as “toxic”).
When King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) names his firstborn daughter Princess Rhaenyra (played by Supergirl Milly Alcock in the earliest episodes before Emma D’Arcy steps in as the adult version of the character) as his heir to the Iron Throne instead of his “Rogue Prince” younger brother Daemon (Matt Smith), all hell breaks loose. This prequel series, which returned for a third season on June 21, is set approximately 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and gives deeper context to the wild history of House Targaryen and how the once-ruling family engineered its own demise.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
What began as a hit Friday-night animated series on Nickelodeon in the mid-aughts has transformed into a critically acclaimed live-action fantasy hit for Netflix. Set in a world made up of four nations—the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads—certain individuals, known as Benders, possess the ability to telekinetically manipulate their native elements. A 12-year-old boy named Aang, however, can manipulate them all. That makes him the Avatar, a title that comes with the ultimate “with great power comes great responsibility” dilemma: maintaining harmony among the four nations.