James R | On 01, Jun 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.

Chernobyl may have come to a gripping, chilling close, but June is stuffed with summer TV treats to fill its void, with the return of two of America’s biggest dramas: The Handmaid’s Tale and Big Little Lies. For bleak TV thrills, Black Mirror and 3% are on hand, while Tales of the City and The Chef Show promise mouth-watering, heart-warming delights. Crime drama fans can look forward to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Amazon series, Too Old to Die Young and Italian crime series Gomorrah, while Marvel fans will be sad to bid farewell to the inimitable Jessica Jones. And, of course, there’s the small matter of Killing Eve…

We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your June watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK:

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 3

Hulu’s dystopian drama, based on the book by Margaret Atwood, returns as June’s resistance to the regime of Gilead continues, as she struggles to strike back against overwhelming odds. Startling reunions, betrayals, and a journey to the terrifying heart of Gilead force all characters to take a stand, guided by one defiant prayer: Blessed be the fight.

Big Little Lies: Season 2

The highly-anticipated and star-filled second series of the Emmy winning mystery drama arrives on Sky Atlantic. Following the events of last season, life has returned to some semblance of normalcy in the picturesque seaside town of Montery. Mothers dote, husbands support, children are adorable, houses are beautiful. But the night of the school fundraiser changed the town, leaving the community reeling as the “Monterey Five” – Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Renata (Laura Dern) and Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) – bond together to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Meanwhile, newcomer Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) arrives in town looking for answers… Simulcast alongside the US broadcast, watch each episode on-demand anytime after at 2am each Monday.

Fear The Walking Dead: Season 5

AMC’s zombie spin-off returns for a fifth run, following Season 4’s reset of the show’s focus, tone and ensemble. Lennie James once again leads the cast as Morgan.

Black Mirror: Season 5

A cab driver with an agenda becomes the centre of attention on a day that rapidly spirals out of control. Two estranged college friends reunite in later life, triggering a series of events that could alter their lives forever. A lonely teenager yearns to connect with her favourite pop star, whose charmed existence isn’t quite as rosy it appears… Charlie Brooker’s dystopian tech anthology returns for three new tales.

The Chef Show

Cooking is a journey. And making a meal is about more than just food. It’s about appreciating friends, family and tradition. An opportunity to come together. To learn, to share and to celebrate different flavors, cultures and people. In The Chef Show actor/director Jon Favreau and award-winning Chef Roy Choi reunite after their critically acclaimed film Chef to embark on a new adventure. The two friends experiment with their favorite recipes and techniques, baking, cooking, exploring and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the entertainment and culinary world. From sharing a meal with the Avengers cast in Atlanta, to smoking brisket in Texas with world-renowned pitmaster Aaron Franklin, to honoring the legendary food critic Jonathan Gold in Los Angeles – Favreau and Choi embrace their passion for food, but more importantly their love for bringing people together over a delicious meal.

3%: Season 3

Netflix’s Brazilian thriller returns for a third season, as Michele creates an idyllic Inland sanctuary that’s open to all, but when a crisis hits, she’s forced to design a selection process of her own.

Tales of the City

Returning to San Francisco after a long absence, Mary Ann Singleton reunites with the community of characters at 28 Barbary Lane in Netflix’s continuation of the series based on Armistead Maupin’s novels. Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis and Elliot Page star.

Designated Survivor: Season 3

The gloves come off as Kirkman launches his election campaign amidst ethical quandaries, international incidents and a new terrorism threat at home.

Killing Eve: Season 2

Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh) return for a second season of spying, shooting and dark obsession. Expect gripping plot twists, fast pacing and twistedly funny thrills – and, best of all, the whole box set is available immediately following its first episode’s broadcast on BBC One.

Black-ish: Season 5

The US comedy returns for a fifth season to catch up with Dre and Rainbow Johnson, a prosperous couple who come to realise that there’s a price to pay for giving their children more than they ever had.

Year of the Rabbit

Matt Berry stars in this new Channel 4 comedy about a police detective in Victorian London. He plays Detective Inspector Rabbit, a hardened booze-hound cop who’s aided and abetted by his new partner Wilbur Strauss (Freddie Fox) and the country’s first female police officer, Mabel Wisbech (Susan Wokoma), as they bring justice to the streets of the east end. Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Misbehaviour) joins them as the mysterious Lydia, alongside Sally Phillips (Veep, Bridget Jones) as Princess Juliana of Bulgaria, and Jill Halfpenny (Three Girls, In the Club) as Rabbit’s former flame, the deadly Flora.

Directed by BAFTA-nominated Ben Taylor (Catastrophe, Sex Education) and written by Emmy and WGA Award-winners Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil (Veep, Black Books), with additional material from Matt Berry.

Wild Bill

Rob Lowe executive produces as well as stars in this police drama, which follows Bill Hixon, newly appointed Chief Constable of the East Lincolnshire Police Force. Landing in Boston, Lincolnshire with teenage daughter Kelsey, he’s hoping they can flee their recent painful past. However, this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question everything about himself and leave him wondering if it’s Boston that needs Bill, or Bill that needs Boston?

The Act

This eight-part series stars Patricia Arquette, Joey King, Chloë Sevigny and AnnaSophia Robb and is based on the 2016 BuzzFeed article “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom Murdered” by Michelle Dean. It follows Gypsy Blanchard (King), a girl trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her overprotective mother Dee Dee (Arquette). Her quest for independence opens a Pandora’s box of secrets – one that ultimately leads to murder.

Jessica Jones: Season 3

When Jessica (Krysten Ritter) crosses paths with a highly intelligent psychopath, she and Trish (Rachael Taylor) must repair their fractured relationship and team up to take him down. But a devastating loss reveals their conflicting ideas of heroism, and sets them on a collision course that will forever change them both.

Too Old to Die Young

Nicolas Winding Refn’s show explores the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles, charting the existential journey of several characters, as they transform from killers to samurais. Starring Miles Teller, John Hawkes, Jena Malone and William Baldwin, the thriller is co-written by Ed Brubaker (Captain America: Winter Soldier, Westworld) and comprises 10 episodes that are approximately 90 minutes each. Read our review

Absentia: Season 2

This psychological thriller, starring and executive produced by Castle’s Stana Katic, follows FBI agent Emily Byrne (Katic), who disappeared without a trace and was declared dead after hunting one of Boston’s most notorious serial killers. Six years later, she was found in a cabin in the woods, barely alive, and with no memory of the years she was missing. Returning home to learn her husband, Special Agent Nick Durand (Patrick Heusinger, Casual), had remarried and her son, Flynn (Patrick McAuley, The Conjuring 2), was being raised by another woman, she soon found herself implicated in a new series of murders. Season 2 picks up as Emily struggles to define her new normal as a mother and a survivor of six years of physical and mental torture.

Ackley Bridge: Season 3

Created by Ayub Khan Din (East is East), Kevin Erlis (Shameless) and Malcolm Campbell (Shameless, What Richard Did), Channel 4’s winning drama about a multi-cultural school returns for a third season of exploring the lives of pupils and teachers alike with irreverence, wit and big-hearted awareness of social tensions and issues.

Gomorrah: Season 4

More popular than even Game of Thrones in its native Italy, the critically-acclaimed Naples-set crime drama Gomorrah returns for its fourth season. Described by Ricky Gervais as “the best show in the world”, the fourth season of Gomorrah picks up right where last season’s cliffhanger left off, as a devastating event pulls Naples to the verge of all-out war. The only way crime boss Genny Savatano can maintain balance in the city is to let a new player enter the game – the Levante family, headed by Gerlando.

Catch-22

Hugh Laurie, George Clooney and Kyle Chandler star in Hulu’s adaptation of Joseph Heller’s seminal novel. It follows artful dodger Yossarian (Christopher Abbott), a US Air Force bombardier who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to avoid his military assignments, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a sinister bureaucratic rule that specifies a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers which are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind; a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but a request to be removed from duty is evidence of sanity and therefore makes him ineligible to be relieved from duty.

Dark: Season 2

As the date for the apocalyptic Last Cycle approaches, Winden’s families discover that they play a critical role in the fate of their world…

Beecham House

Gurinder Chadha OBE creates this new sweeping drama set on the cusp of the 19th century. Starring Tom Bateman, it follows the fortunes of the residents of Beecham House, an imposing mansion surrounded by acres of exotic woods and pristine lawns.

Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair, Jekyll and Hyde) takes the role of enigmatic, soulful John Beecham, a handsome former soldier who has purchased the magnificent mansion, Beecham House, to begin a new life with his family in Delhi before the British ruled in that region.

Wealthy and distinguished, John has witnessed profiteering and exploitation during his time with the controlling East India Company and has resolved to conduct his business as a trader in a more equitable manner. Determined to escape his previous life, John appears haunted by his past, but is inspired to become an honourable member of the region’s trading community.

Warrior: Season 1

Cinemax drama about a martial arts prodigy who immigrates to San Francisco from China and becomes a hatchet man for the most powerful Tong organisation in Chinatown. Based on an original concept by Bruce Lee.

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