The July 2019 Watchlist: 23 UK TV highlights for this month
James R | On 02, Jul 2019
Netflix. Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer. NOW. Walter Presents. There’s so much TV to watch these days in so many places that it can be hard to keep up. Every month, we boil down what’s on the box to the essentials you need in your streaming queue.
This summer may be all about Stranger Things, but there are plenty more things to keep your indoors during those hot weekends, from X-Men series Legion and the Bad Boys spin-off you never knew you needed to a family animation from Guillermo del Toro, quality detective thrills, the feel-good heart of Queer Eye and multiple sporting documentaries. And did we mention Judi Dench climbing a tree?
We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your July watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK:
The Rook
Joely Richardson and Adrian Lester star in this supernatural spy thriller, which follows a woman who wakes up beside Millennium Bridge with no memory and no way to explain the circle of dead bodies surrounding her. The only clue to her past is a letter in her pocket, the first of several she planted for herself aware her memory would be wiped. As Myfanwy discovers more about who she is and her position as a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she will have to navigate the dangerous and complex world she is involved in.
The Rook UK air date:
When? 1st July (10pm)
What channel? Virgin TV Ultra HD
Watch online in the UK:
Virgin Media On Demand
Available on-demand weekly
Judi Dench’s Wild Borneo Adventure
In this brand new documentary series for ITV, national treasure Dame Judi Dench embarks on a wild adventure to Borneo to explore one of the oldest and most spectacular rainforests, meet its enchanting animals and get a vivid insight into the importance of this rainforest to life on our planet.
Judi reveals her passion for both orangutans and their habitat as she delves deep into one of the few untouched rainforests remaining in South East Asia.
Featuring stunning footage, the series brings to life this incredible rainforest which has some of the most diverse wildlife on the planet and the tallest tropical trees in the world. The tallest was recently discovered to be over 100 metres tall and the series sees Judi climbing one.
UK air date:
When? 2nd July (9pm)
What channel? ITV
Watch online in the UK:
ITV Hub
Available live and on-demand weekly
Crashing: Season 3
Comedian Pete Holmes returns for the third and final series of his semi-autobiographical comedy about his adventures making his way through the world of stand-up. All episodes will be available on-demand on the same day.
Crashing S3 UK air date:
When? 2nd July (9pm)
What channel? Sky Atlantic
Watch online in the UK:
Sky / NOW (£8.99 a month – an Entertainment Membership auto-renews at £8.99 a month until 1st September 2020, £9.99 thereafter unless cancelled))
Available weekly live and on-demamd
Legion: Season 3
FOX’s mind-bending X-Men series, starring Dan Stevens, returns for its third and final season.
Legion S3 UK air date:
When? 4th July (9pm)
What channel? FOX UK
Watch online in the UK:
Sky / NOW (£8.99 a month – an Entertainment Membership auto-renews at £8.99 a month until 1st September 2020, £9.99 thereafter unless cancelled))
Available weekly live and on-demamd
Stranger Things: Season 3
From rabid rats and Soviet espionage to New Coke and a brand-new mall, it’s the summer of 1985 in Hawkins … and big changes are afoot.
Stranger Things S3 air date:
When? 4th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Dark Money
Babou Ceesay (Damilola, Our Loved Boy, Best Of Enemies) and Jill Halfpenny (Three Girls, In The Club) lead the cast of this new thought-provoking four-part drama. From the writer of Damilola, Our Loved Boy, Levi David Addai, and directed by Lewis Arnold (Broadchurch, Humans), Dark Money tells the fictional story of The Mensahs, an ordinary working-class family from North London whose youngest son has recently finished filming a major Hollywood movie role. But Manny (Ceesay) and Sam’s (Halfpenny) world is shattered when Isaac reveals he was abused whilst out in America by a renowned filmmaker. Although guilt-ridden, the family decide to accept a substantial pay-off to keep silent, believing the money will help start a new life, enable them to heal, and avoid the publicity hell of pressing charges against a celebrity. But the damage runs deep, and the cost of remaining silent may be too high.
Dark Money UK air date:
When? 8th July (9pm)
What channel? BBC One
Watch online in the UK:
BBC iPlayer
Available live and on-demand weekly
Britain’s Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate
Following ITV’s TV debate broadcast last month (see above), this will be the first and only live televised head-to-head debate between the final two candidates vying to become our next Prime Minister. For the first time in the campaign, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson will debate head-to-head live on TV in front of a studio audience in the North West of England.
ITV viewers have submitted their questions, and those selected will appear in the studio audience and will ask their question direct on the night to the candidates. Julie Etchingham, the host of ITV’s Leaders Debates in 2015 and 2017, will moderate the debate on the questions between the two candidates.
UK air date:
When? 9th July (8pm)
What channel? ITV
Watch online in the UK:
ITV Hub
Available live and on-demand
LA’s Finest
Partner up with L.A.’s Finest this summer, a brand new series starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. The series follows Sydney “Syd” Burnett (Union), who was last seen in Bad Boys II taking down a drug cartel in Miami. Having left her complicated past behind her, she is now a LAPD detective with a new partner, Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mum with an equally complex history.
LA’s Finest UK air date:
When? 10th July (9pm)
What channel? FOX UK
Watch online in the UK:
Sky / NOW (£8.99 a month – an Entertainment Membership auto-renews at £8.99 a month until 1st September 2020, £9.99 thereafter unless cancelled))
Available weekly live and on-demamd
Harlots: Season 3
The powerful period drama, created by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Moria Buffini and Alison Newman, returns to whisk us back to the vibrant, cosmopolitan backdrop of 18th century Georgian London, offering a bold new take on the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex. An all-star cast includes Samantha Morton, Lesley Manville, Jessica Brown Findlay and Liv Tyler. It’s available at the same time as its US broadcast on STARZPLAY, which costs £4.99 a month, via Amazon Prime Video Channels (effectively a bolt-on subscription for Amazon Prime users), or via Virgin Media On Demand.
Harlots S3 UK air date:
When? 11th July
What channel? STARZPLAY
Watch online in the UK:
Amazon Prime Video Channels / Virgin Media (£4.99 a month)
Available weekly on-demand
3Below: Tales of Arcadia: Part 2
Still stranded in Arcadia, royal alien siblings Aja and Krel continue their quest to return home as General Morando plots a course to invade Earth.
3Below Part 2 UK air date:
When? 14th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Poldark: Season 5
Poldark returns for a final season of period drama and Cornish brooding. The Poldarks look forward to life together in peace, but a plea from Ross’s old Army Colonel, Ned Despard (Vincent Regan), compels him to the capital. As Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) manages their affairs in Cornwall she encounters disenchantment and a new opponent, Tess (Sofia Oxenham). George (Jack Farthing) meanwhile struggles to engage with the world and it falls to Cary (Pip Torrens) to expand the family empire – as Valentine (Woody Norman) struggles to find his place within it.
Poldark S5 UK air date:
When? 14th July (9pm)
What channel? BBC One
Watch online in the UK:
BBC iPlayer
Available live and on-demand weekly
Stargazing: Moon Landing Special
On 16th July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard their Apollo 11 spacecraft – and a few days later made history as Neil and Buzz became the first humans to land on the Moon. Today, Cape Canaveral Spaceport is the busiest in America. Made up of Kennedy Space Centre and a US Air Force base, it launches satellites into orbit and sends space probes to explore the solar system. Since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011 no people have blasted off from here – but that is about to change.
Brian and Dara explore the top of Launch Tower 41. It has just been refitted to allow astronauts to board a brand new spacecraft – the Starliner – and meet Dane Drefke, who is in control of the launch tower while the astronauts complete their final preparations before they fly into space.
Stargazing: Moon Landing Special UK air date:
When? 15th July (9pm)
What channel? BBC Two
Watch online in the UK:
BBC iPlayer
Available live and on-demand
Elementary: Season 7
We bid farewell to the modern-day adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as Elementary begins its seventh and final season. In this opening episode, Holmes and Watson’s new careers as consultants for Scotland Yard in London take them inside the tabloid journalism industry when a popular model is the victim of an acid attack. Also, as Watson grows increasingly homesick for New York, Captain Gregson is wracked with guilt over his unresolved rift with his former consultants.
Elementary S7 UK air date:
When? 16th July (9pm)
What channel? Sky Witness
Watch online in the UK:
Sky / NOW (£8.99 a month – an Entertainment Membership auto-renews at £8.99 a month until 1st September 2020, £9.99 thereafter unless cancelled))
Available weekly live and on-demamd
Deadly Class
Set in a dark, heightened world against the backdrop of late ’80s counterculture, “Deadly Class” follows the story of Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth), a teen living on the streets who is recruited into Kings Dominion, an elite private academy where the world’s top crime families send their next generations.
Deadly Class UK air date:
When? 19th July
What channel? STARZPLAY
Watch online in the UK:
Amazon Prime Video Channels / Virgin Media (£4.99 a month)
Available at once on-demand
Queer Eye: Season 4
The Fab Five are back in Kansas City, Missouri! Join Antoni, Bobby, Jonathan, Karamo and Tan for a new group of inspirational heroes, jaw-dropping makeovers and tons of happy tears!
Queer Eye S4 air date:
When? 19th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Money Heist: Part 3
Eight thieves took hostages and locked themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulated the police to carry out his plan. Now, we catch up after the event to find out what’s next…
Money Heist Part 3 air date:
When? 19th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Last Chance U: Indy
Netflix’s critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series returns to give viewers an intense, unfiltered look at the junior college football program at Independence Community College (ICC). Entering his third season with ICC and second season on Last Chance U, Coach Brown has assembled a team that looks sure to compete for a national championship, but a disastrous season on the field puts a spotlight on all of the ugliness of college football that winning tends to polish over.
Last Chance U Indy air date:
When? 19th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
All or Nothing: Season 4
Season 4 of the Emmy Award-winning sports documentary series, produced by NFL Films, will tell the story of the Carolina Panthers striving to compete for a championship in the face of inevitable change. Just three years removed from his MVP season and a Super Bowl appearance, quarterback Cam Newton remains the charismatic star around whom the Panthers revolve. His cast of teammates includes dynamic running back Christian McCaffrey and perennial All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly, along with a mix of talented rookies hungry to prove themselves and several veteran stalwarts who know this season might be their last. As the season unfolds, Carolina’s players, staff, head coach Ron Rivera and the team’s new owner David Tepper are all forced to navigate a difficult path. Jon Hamm (Good Omens, Mad Men) will return as narrator.
All or Nothing S4 UK air date:
When? 19th July (12am)
What channel? Amazon Prime Video
Watch online in the UK:
Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month)
Available at once on-demand
Gotham: Season 5
DC’s prequel about a young Bruce Wayne returns for its fifth and final season.
Gotham S5 air date:
When? 24th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Another Life
Another Life centres on astronaut Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff) who is focused on searching for alien intelligence. She leads a crew on a mission to explore the genesis of an alien artefact. As Niko and her young crew investigate, they face unimaginable danger on what might very well be a one-way mission.
Another Life air date:
When? 25th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
Orange Is the New Black: Season 7
A privileged New Yorker ends up in a women’s prison when a past crime catches up with her in this Emmy-winning series from the creator of “Weeds.”
OITNB S7 air date:
When? 26th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand
The Boys
Karl Urban stars in Amazon’s darkly irreverent take on superheroes. As popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – what happens when they abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good? It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets. Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Darick Robertson (Happy!).
The Boys UK air date:
When? 26th July (12am)
What channel? Amazon Prime Video
Watch online in the UK:
Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month)
Available at once on-demand
Sugar Rush: Season 2
Time’s the most important ingredient as teams race against the clock – and each other – to bake up the best-tasting sweets, as Netflix’s excellent cooking competition returns for a second course.
Sugar Rush S2 air date:
When? 26th July (8.01am)
What channel? Netflix UK
Watch online in the UK:
Netflix UK (£7.99 a month)
Available all at once on-demand