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Streaming highlights in July: the films and series you need to see

1.7.2023

New month, new streaming recommendations. Here’s what you can stream on Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Prime Video this July.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Your new streaming addiction. But seriously, these film and series recommendations for July are no joke. If any must-watch shows have slipped under my radar, let me know in the comments.

Last King of the Cross (film)

John Ibrahim is one of the best-known personalities in Australia. No wonder given that in 1988, at the tender age of 18, he already owned his first nightclub in Sydney’s famous red-light district, Kings Cross. From there, he conquered the city’s underworld. But he only became really famous when the police accused him of possibly being the most important figure in Sydney’s organised crime scene. In 1995, the Wood Royal Commission, which investigated Ibrahim, went so far as to accuse him of being a linchpin of the drug industry.

Ibrahim was never convicted due to a lack of evidence. He’s still free as a bird. While he’s supposedly not a Sydney drug lord, he’s now an honourable estate agent. In 2017, he published his memoirs, in which he described his career and criminal activities that almost cost him his life countless times. Now comes the series, based on those very memoirs.

Release date: 4 July
Where: Sky Show (entertainment pass)

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Anthology series)

Afrofuturism. The term was coined in the 90s and became widely known by the time Marvel’s Black Panther was released, if not sooner. Afrofuturism combines elements of African culture, history and mythology with futuristic and technological concepts. In short, it gives us alternative visions of the future, informed by African perspectives. Such as Wakanda in Black Panther with its capital, Golden City.

The anthology series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire is in the same vein. Over the course of ten independent short stories, artists from Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe present an African future they long for in a way that’s not been seen before. At times action-packed, other times funny, sometimes sad. I’m looking forward to seeing it. I’ve been a big fan of this format ever since Star Wars: Visions.

Release date: 5 July
Where: Disney+

Bird Box: Barcelona (film)

The premise hasn’t changed much since the 2018 original starring Sandra Bullock. Humanity is still under threat from mysterious creatures. They still drive anyone who glances at them to madness and suicide. What’s different this time around is the setting. We’re no longer looking at an American apocalypse, but instead one in Barcelona, Spain.

In fact, the spin-off was produced by local film studio Nostromo Pictures and written and directed by Spanish siblings Álex and David Pastor. Bird Box: Barcelona therefore isn’t really a sequel, but rather part of an anthology. I think it’s an exciting concept. Aside from that, I’ve been a big fan of Spanish productions ever since Casa de Papel and El Hoyo.

Release date: 14 July
Where: Netflix

Foundation (miniseries, season 2)

Foundation is a science fiction series that leaves audiences divided. It’s based on Isaac Asimov’s short stories, some of which are set centuries apart. Asimov wasn’t in the slightest bit bothered about the characters. Instead, his focus was on the overarching influences that shape entire communities. So it’s actually the brilliant mathematician Hari Seldon who predicts the inevitable end of humanity (12,000 years of darkness) with his groundbreaking psychohistory. But instead of taking fate lying down, he establishes the Foundation – a beacon of hope that aims to reduce the darkness to 1,000 years. Of course, the fascist empire that’s currently ruling won’t hear of it and has it in for the Foundation.

And so it continues. Century after century. Asimov’s short stories always go like this. The Foundation gets into a crisis and is on the brink of conquest or destruction. But every society is governed by political and sociological forces that are universal. You just need to recognise them. Seldon knew that. And that’s why Asimov’s short stories always end on an anticlimax; it’s rare to see big battles or heroic speeches. Instead, the crises simply resolve themselves, while the main character explains at the end of each short story why things turned out the way they did. A bit like Sherlock Holmes. It’s a lightbulb moment for us readers.

In the series, however, action and spectacle take precedence. Sometimes going entirely against Asimov’s philosophical ideas. For example, that the fate of the universe may depend on the actions of a single hero. This is the kind of thing that divides audiences. Nevertheless, in itself, Foundation is a force to be reckoned with, especially visually, and it boasts some interesting philosophical ideas of its own. For instance, that the empire has been ruled for millennia by a clone of the same emperor, who in turn replaces the old, deceased predecessor clone. This is precisely what leads to the stagnation that triggers humanity’s downfall.

Release date: 14 July
Where: Apple TV+

They Cloned Tyrone (film)

He actually should be dead. He being Fontaine (John Boyega), a neighbourhood drug dealer. His rival Isaac shot him the day before. But Fontaine wakes up. In his bed. Unscathed. What the heck is going on? The search for answers quickly leads him and his friends Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) to a huge underground complex. That’s where the trio find out that Nixon’s government has a lab that conducts experiments on the local Black population. Worse still, Fontaine, is in fact a clone. Fontaine declares war on the white institutional overlord, at first frantically and then with determination.

I love it when my first thought after watching a trailer is, «What the heck?» At least it hints at some kind of science fiction thriller with a conspiracy touch, filmed in the grainy style of the 1970s. An amazing combo. All thanks to relatively unknown director Juel Taylor, who’s only really been known as a screenwriter thus far – with credits including Creed 2. This film could be the start of a stellar career.

Release date: 21 July
Where: Netflix

The Witcher (season 3, volume 2)

Of course, the third season of The Witcher, one of Netflix’s most successful series, wasn’t released all at once last month. Otherwise you could have binge-watched the final Henry Cavill season in one go and then cancelled your subscription. By splitting the series up, you’re forced to subscribe to Netflix for at least two months if you want to watch it all (legally). Brilliant. It’s another popular decision alongside the introduction of paid account sharing and the pretty certain end to basic subscriptions (site in German). There’s (still talk of testing in Canada, but we don’t have to be mind readers to know what’s in store).

Release date: 27 July
Where: Netflix

Good Omens (miniseries, season 2)

When author and showrunner Neil Gaiman announced in the summer of 2021 – two years after the end of the first season – that there’d be a second series of Good Omens, his homepage crashed due to the amount of traffic. A sequel!? No one was expecting that. He wrote the eponymous book, which the series is based on, with Terry Pratchett in 1989. It was then published in 1990. But there was never a sequel. Which is why there was no second season. Until now.

«It was 1989, in the middle of the night at a convention in Seattle,» wrote Gaiman in the announcement he made two years ago, «we shared a hotel room to save money. We were lying in our respective beds with nothing better to do than think of a potential sequel to Good Omens. It was a good sequel. We had every intention of writing it as soon as we had three or four months. But I went to America and Terry stayed in the UK. My Sandman suddenly became SANDMAN™, and his Discworld became DISCWORLD™. We never found the time to write a sequel.»

Time. It ran away from them. So quickly, in fact, that Pratchett never saw his book adapted into a series. He had Alzheimer’s and died on 12 May 2015 at the age of 66. Which is why it wasn’t a given that there’d be a second series. Fans can rest assured that Gaiman is at the helm again as co-showrunner to ensure the series stays true to his, but more importantly, Pratchett’s vision. And it’s based on the very design that Gaiman and Pratchett came up with one sleepless night 34 years ago.

Release date: 28 July
Where: Prime Video

Header image: Secret Invasion, Disney/Marvel Studios

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Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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Streaming highlights in July: the films and series you need to see

Last King of the Cross (film)

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Anthology series)

Bird Box: Barcelona (film)

Foundation (miniseries, season 2)

They Cloned Tyrone (film)

The Witcher (season 3, volume 2)

Good Omens (miniseries, season 2)

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