James R | On 03, Jul 2018

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.

From Orange Is the New Black to the long-awaited Season 2 of This Is Us, this is your July TV watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

BBC Two was quick to snap up this new, six-part adaptation of the classic Australian novel. Originally published in 1967, it follows the disappearance of three adolescent girls and their governess in the Australian bush after a sunny Valentine’s Day picnic in 1900. Natalie Dormer stars as the enigmatic Headmistress of Appleyard College, as the impact of the disappearance spreads through the students and staff – theories start to circulate, paranoia sets in and long-held secrets surface… Click here to read our spoiler-free review of the series from the Berlin International Film Festival.

Sharp Objects

Amy Adams stars in this dark and deeply compelling HBO drama. Based on the book of the same name by The New York Times bestselling author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Big Little Lies), this eight-episode series tells the story of reporter Camille Preaker (Adams), who returns to her small hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. Trying to put together a psychological puzzle from her past, she finds herself identifying with the victims a bit too closely. Can’t wait until 9pm to see each episode? The show is simulcast at 2am with its US broadcast, with the episode then available to stream on-demand.

This Is Us: Season 2

Created by Dan Fogelman, this unabashedly sentimental US series chronicles the Pearson family across the decades: from Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) as young parents in the 1980s to their 37-year-old kids, Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown), searching for love and fulfillment in the present day. The grounded, life-affirming dramedy reveals how the tiniest events in our lives impact who we become, and how the connections we share with each other can transcend time, distance and even death.

Orange Is the New Black: Season 6

It’s all change for the ladies of Litch, as Netflix’s flagship drama returns – and after the riot in Season 5, the women are taken to maximum security prison and face an unfamiliar new home.

Anne with an E: Season 2

Netflix’s heart-warming adaptation of Anne of Green Gables for a second season, as Anne sees her world become a much bigger place, with new faces and heartfelt lessons about love, loss and growing up. With Amybeth McNulty reprising her effortlessly charming performance in the lead, this show can’t put a foot wrong.

Sacred Games

A cop without a case and a criminal without a code. Set amid the chaos of Mumbai, this epic crime thriller follows the journey of Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a seasoned, cynical police officer, and Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte), an intelligence officer, to the centre of a mysterious web woven by the powerful overlord, Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Exploring the corrupt underworld beneath India’s economic renaissance, the series promises stunning visuals and slick plotting over eight episodes. The fact that it’s Netflix’s first Indian original series only adds to the intrigue.

Last Chance U: Season 3

This award-winning sports documentary, inspired by a feature article in GQ magazine, has become one of Netflix’s most popular original series, thank to its focus on the high stakes of junior college football, where players seek redemption on the pitch – and hope for the positive impacts it can bring in the classroom and in their life. Season 3 is switching up the game to focus on a new team: the Independence Pirates in Kansas. But watch out for a companion series, launching on the same date, which will also catch us up with the EMCC players and staff featured in Season 2.

The Last Man on Earth: Season 4

This comedy series about the end of the world was one of the funniest TV shows around, before it was cancelled earlier this year. It follows the post-apocalyptic life of Phil, a guy who – thanks to a virus wiping out the human race – is now the only guy on the planet. Instead of serious soul-searching, though, Phil poos in a swimming pool. Instead of surviving, he stocks up on porn. The show was created by Will Forte, who plays Phil, and produced by The LEGO Movie’s Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. Forte is joined by Kristen Schaal as the scene-stealing Carol, as well as January Jones, Mel Rodriguez and Jason Sudeikis. With all four seasons on Amazon Prime Video, this is the perfect chance to catch up with a hilarious summer box set.

The Cleaning Lady

This punchy series has a premise like no other: when a crooked manager at the local boxing club is murdered, the club’s cleaner, Rosa, is forced at gunpoint to clean up after the mafia-related hit. Scared for her life, but handsomely paid for her part in the crime, single mother Rosa uses her immaculate cleaning skills and, with no choice in the matter, begins to act as the regular “cleaning lady” for the gang. As the clandestine clean-ups increase and as she continues to struggle to provide a normal life for her ailing son Felipe, Rosa finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the mafia.

Mark Kermode’s Secrets of the Cinema

In a major new five-part series on BBC Four, Mark Kermode and Kim Newman present a richly entertaining personal guide to cinema, told through some of the most popular film genres, including rom-coms, heist movies, science fiction and more.

The Proms 2018

Across more than 90 concerts over eight-weeks, the Proms draws the world’s greatest classical musicians to London’s Royal Albert Hall, playing new music, old classics and famous symphonies and concertos to a captivated audience. With BBC One, Two, Four, iPlayer and BBC Radio 3 teaming up to broadcast every note, that audience is wider than ever, and the line-up covers everything from Leonard Bernstein (born 100 years ago) and John Wilson leading performances of West Side Story to the centenary of Debussy’s death. The First Night Of The Proms will be on BBC Two and the Last Night on BBC Two and BBC One. There are regular television broadcasts every weekend (Friday and Sunday) across the summer on BBC Four, and Proms Extra – the weekly magazine show hosted by Katie Derham – returns for its sixth season, every Saturday evening on BBC Two. All of the above will be available on BBC iPlayer to stream live and on catch-up.

Who Is America?

Sacha Baron Cohen makes a surprise return to our screens, with an undercover satirical comedy that he has filmed undercover in secret for a year. The seven-part show explores the identity of the United States, exploring the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate the unique nation. The trailer shows us Dick Cheney agreeing in an interview to sign a waterboarding kit – a tease of what promises to be an incendiary piece of TV.

Add to Watchlist