Best international series to stream this July, from House of the Dragon to The Regime to The Curse

4th Jul 2024 | Source: Multichoice Ghana

<div><em>1st seasons of The Regime, The Curse, Bookie, The Irrational; new House of the Dragon, Killing It, All American: Homecoming</em></div>

<div><strong>HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S2<em> </em></strong><span style="color:#000000">|</span><em> </em><span style="color:#000000">Mondays from 3am, express from the US</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">The second season of </span><em>House of the Dragon</em><span style="color:#000000"> is flying express to Showmax and M-Net every Monday, with two episodes already up.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Based on George RR Martin's </span><em>Fire & Blood</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>House of the Dragon</em><span style="color:#000000"> is set 200 years before the events of </span><em>Game of Thrones </em><span style="color:#000000">and tells the story of House Targaryen. Following King Aegon Il's coronation, Alicent and Rhaenyra cling to fading memories of their old friendship as their opposing factions gear up for civil war. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Matt Smith is back in his Critics Choice-nominated role as Daemon, as is Emma D'Arcy in her Golden Globe-nominated role as Rhaenyra and multi-award winner Olivia Cooke as Alicent. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">The Emmy-winning first season was named Best TV Series - Drama at the 2023 Golden Globes and Best TV Series at </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">' Golden Tomato Awards for the best-reviewed show of 2022. Season 2 similarly has a 93% critics' rating on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">, with </span><em>Seattle Times </em><span style="color:#000000">saying, "</span><em>House of the Dragon</em><span style="color:#2a2c32"> evolves into such smart, thrilling and heartbreaking storytelling that it threatens to become the rare prequel that outshines the original." </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#2a2c32">After the S2 premiere helped Max to its most-watched day yet, </span><em>House of the Dragon</em><span style="color:#2a2c32"> has been renewed for a third season.</span></div>

<div><strong>KILLING IT S2 </strong><span style="color:#000000">| First on Showmax | Binge from Monday, 1 July</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#131313">Co-created by Emmy winner Dan Goor (</span><em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</em><span style="color:#131313">), </span><em>Killing It </em><span style="color:#131313">earned Craig Robinson (</span><em>The Office</em><span style="color:#000000">,  </span><em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</em><span style="color:#4d5156">) </span><span style="color:#131313">a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor as Craig. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Season 2 opens with Craig and Jillian (</span><span style="color:#131313">Emmy-nominated comedian Claudia O'Doherty) getting </span><span style="color:#000000">ready for the farm's first shipment of saw palmetto berries, but a series of unexpected visitors puts everything they've worked for in jeopardy, while a new employee proves to be a thorn in their sides.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Season 2 has a 100% critics' rating on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">, where the critics' consensus calls it "scathing as ever and even funnier than before." As </span><em>The Hollywood Reporter</em><span style="color:#000000"> says, "Few current series are sharper or funnier about our modern capitalist dystopia."</span></div>

<div><strong>BOOKIE S1</strong><span style="color:#000000"> | First on Showmax | Binge from Friday, 12 July</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">From Emmy nominees Chuck Lorre (</span><em>The Big Bang Theory</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>The Kominsky Method</em><span style="color:#000000">, and </span><em>Two and a Half Men</em><span style="color:#000000">) and Nick Bakay (</span><em>Young Sheldon</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Mom</em><span style="color:#000000">), </span><em>Bookie</em><span style="color:#000000"> follows a veteran bookie struggling to survive the looming legalisation of sports gambling, and his increasingly unstable clients, family and co-workers.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Award-winning comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (</span><em>Green Book</em><span style="color:#000000">) stars as Danny, with Black Reel winner Omar J. Dorsey (</span><em>Power Book III: Raising Kanan</em><span style="color:#000000">)</span><em> </em><span style="color:#000000">as Ray, with a supporting cast that includes Andrea Anders (Michelle Lasso in </span><em>Ted Lasso</em><span style="color:#000000">) and guest appearances from the likes of Charlie Sheen and his </span><em>Two and a Half Men </em><span style="color:#000000">co-star</span><em> </em><span style="color:#000000">Angus T. Jones (as themselves).</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">With a 90% critics' rating on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">, Max has already booked a second season. </span></div>

<div><strong>THE IRRATIONAL S1</strong><span style="color:#000000"> | Binge from Friday, 12 July</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Critics Choice nominee Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green in </span><em>Law & Order</em><span style="color:#000000">) stars in </span><em>The Irrational </em><span style="color:#000000">as Alec Mercer, a renowned behavioural scientist who uses his unconventional approach to human psychology, body language, and emotions to solve illogical puzzles and perplexing mysteries.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Based on bestselling author Dan Ariely's non-fiction book </span><em>Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions</em><span style="color:#000000">, the series is written and produced by Humanitas Prize winner Arika Lisanne Mittman (</span><em>Dexter</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Elementary</em><span style="color:#000000">).</span></div>

<div><em>The Irrational</em><span style="color:#000000"> has already earned Martin a nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at this year's Image Awards, and a second season of the ratings hit.</span></div>

<div><strong><em>WEEK THREE: 15-21 July</em></strong></div>

<div><strong>THE REGIME S1 </strong><span style="color:#000000">| Binge from Monday, 15 July</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Oscar winner Kate Winslet (</span><em>Mare of Easttown</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Titanic</em><span style="color:#000000">) stars in </span><em>The Regime</em><span style="color:#000000"> as Chancellor Elena Vernham, who presides over a fictional modern European autocracy - for now - from within the walls of her luxurious palace. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Frears (</span><em>The Queen</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Dangerous Liaisons</em><span style="color:#000000">) and Emmy winner Jessica Hobbs (</span><em>The Crown</em><span style="color:#000000">), the six-part limited series is created by six-time Emmy winner Will Tracy (</span><em>Succession</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>The Menu</em><span style="color:#000000">).</span></div>

<div><em>The Regime</em><span style="color:#000000"> is already popping up in Best of the Year So Far lists on the likes of </span><em>BBC.com, Polygon </em><span style="color:#000000">and </span><em>Vogue</em><span style="color:#000000">, while </span><em>Inverse</em><span style="color:#000000"> calls the show, "An uncategorizable, oddly surreal political drama that is one of HBO's grandest experiments yet — and one of its most outlandish successes in years."</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Look out for the likes of Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough (</span><em>Alice & Jack</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>To Leslie</em><span style="color:#000000">), Emmy nominee Hugh Grant (</span><em>Love Actually</em><span style="color:#000000">), and Emmy winner Martha Plimpton (</span><em>Mass</em><span style="color:#000000">).</span></div>

<div><strong>ALERT: MISSING PERSONS UNIT S2 </strong><span style="color:#000000">| Binge from Friday, 19 July</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Co-created by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, </span><em>Alert: Missing Persons Unit</em><span style="color:#000000"> centres on the dedicated detectives of Philadelphia Police Department's Missing Persons Unit, where Detective Nikki Batista and her ex-husband, Detective Jason Grant, work tirelessly to save lives, having experienced their own child being kidnapped. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">As Season 2 starts, Nikki has been promoted to captain and is engaged to marry Mike Sherman, who's now partnering with Jason. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Dania Ramirez (</span><em>Sweet Tooth</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Devious Maids</em><span style="color:#000000"> and </span><em>Heroes</em><span style="color:#000000">) and Golden Globe nominee Scott Caan (</span><em>Hawaii Five-0</em><span style="color:#000000"> and the </span><em>Ocean's</em><span style="color:#000000"> trilogy) co-star, with Emmy winner Gil Bellows (</span><em>Chucky</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Ally McBeal</em><span style="color:#000000">) as the new commissioner, Hollis Braun. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Also look out for the likes of Ryan Broussard (Will Putnam in </span><em>Only Murders in the Building</em><span style="color:#000000">), Nigerian-American actress Adeola Role (</span><em>Blue Bloods</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>The Good Fight</em><span style="color:#000000">) and guest cast like Critics Choice winner Taye Diggs (</span><em>All American</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Empire</em><span style="color:#000000">, the </span><em>Best Man</em><span style="color:#000000"> movies), and Ade Chike Torbert (Scrappy in </span><em>Power Book III: Raising Kanan</em><span style="color:#000000">).</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">With Ramirez nominated for Best Actress - Drama at the Imagen Awards, the police procedural has already been renewed for a third season.</span></div>

<div><strong>THE CURSE S1</strong><span style="color:#000000"> | Binge from Monday, 22 July</span></div>

<div><em>The Curse</em><span style="color:#000000"> explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring in their new home-improvement show. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Oscar winner Emma Stone (</span><em>Poor Things</em><span style="color:#000000">) stars alongside the show's co-creators: Emmy nominee Nathan Fielder (</span><em>The Rehearsal</em><span style="color:#000000">) and Critics Choice nominee Benny Safdie (</span><em>Uncut Gems</em><span style="color:#000000">). </span></div>

<div><em>The Curse</em><span style="color:#000000"> has a 94% critics' rating on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">, with Best of the Year mentions everywhere from </span><em>Rolling Stone</em><span style="color:#000000"> to </span><em>Wired. Entertainment Weekly </em><span style="color:#000000">hailed it as "the weirdest, most unforgettable show of 2023" while, The Guardian, in a five-star review, praised it as, "exquisitely cringe-worthy... like nothing else on TV... </span><span style="color:#121212">It is exhilaratingly tense, it ends magnificently and I found it impossible to look away.</span><span style="color:#000000">"</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Keep an eye out for the likes of Oscar-nominated Somalian actor Barkhad Abdi (</span><em>Captain Phillips</em><span style="color:#000000">, </span><em>Eye in the Sky</em><span style="color:#000000">), Emmy nominee Corbin Bernsen (</span><em>L.A. Law</em><span style="color:#000000">), and Screen Actors Guild winner Constance Shulman (Yoga Jones in </span><em>Orange Is the New Black</em><span style="color:#000000">).</span></div>

<div><strong>ALL-AMERICAN: HOMECOMING S3 </strong><span style="color:#000000">| First On Showmax | Mondays from 22 July</span></div>

<div><em>All American: Homecoming</em><span style="color:#000000"> continues the journey of a young tennis hopeful from Beverly Hills and an elite baseball player from Chicago as they contend with the high stakes of college sports while navigating the highs, lows and sexiness of unsupervised early adulthood at a prestigious, historically Black college.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Nigerian-American creator Nkechi Okoro Carroll won a 2024 Gracie Allen Award for the young adult sports drama, which </span><em>Variety</em><span style="color:#000000"> calls a "a big-hearted, worthy spinoff" of </span><em>All American</em><span style="color:#000000">. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">The new season sees Simone Hicks (GeffriMaya, reprising her role from </span><em>All American</em><span style="color:#000000">) and Damon Sims (Peyton Alex Smith from </span><em>Legacies</em><span style="color:#000000">) return for a new semester of freshman challenges – on the court and off. Emmy nominee Kelly Jenrette (</span><em>The Handmaid's Tale</em><span style="color:#000000">) is also back as Amara Patterson.</span></div>

<div><strong>SULLIVAN'S CROSSING S1 | </strong><span style="color:#000000"> Binge from Friday, 26 July</span></div>

<div><em>Sullivan's Crossing</em><span style="color:#131313"> centres on Boston neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan from </span><em>When Hope Calls</em><span style="color:#131313">), who decides to take a time out from her professional life in the city following a scandal. She returns to her childhood home in Nova Scotia, where her estranged father, Sully, runs a picturesque campground called Sullivan's Crossing. </span></div>

<div><span style="color:#131313">Five-time Teen Choice Award winner Chad Michael Murray (</span><em>One Tree Hill</em><span style="color:#131313">) co-stars as an enigmatic newcomer, with Scott Patterson (Luke Danes in </span><em>Gilmore Girls</em><span style="color:#131313">) as Maggie's father.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#131313">Based on t</span><span style="color:#000000">he novels by </span><em>New York Times</em><span style="color:#000000"> bestseller Robyn Carr (who also wrote the </span><em>Virgin River</em><span style="color:#000000"> novels) and c</span><span style="color:#131313">reated by Roma Roth</span><em> </em><span style="color:#131313">(who exec produces the </span><em>Virgin River</em><span style="color:#131313"> TV series), </span><em>Sullivan's Crossing</em><span style="color:#131313"> already has a second season on the way.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">We're not sure how it's already half-way through 2024, but Best Series of 2024 So Far listicles are upon us, and coming in fast.</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">In addition to </span><em>House of the Dragon</em><span style="color:#000000"> and </span><em>The Regime</em><span style="color:#000000"> above, Showmax contenders include:</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">• </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/9/e11942ebe8497f5644ae57cf3a771044ffa0ba5d743f4930b132aef854a42d36" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show</em></a><span style="color:#000000">: #4 on </span><em>MetaCritic</em><span style="color:#000000">'s Best TV Shows This Year, and #11 on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em></div>

<div><em>• </em><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/10/d6fecc065791e0c23c97dfa8f741b063d553b953cfd23a7cdeae5d35bdf1124d" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>True Detective: Night Country</em></a><em>: #1 on BBC.com, and #16 on Rotten Tomatoes</em></div>

<div><em>• </em><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/11/fb1e73f005f05db86549e48315c0b0851df9e320e9952b77a7414b23d5c6ac4c" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Curb Your Enthusiasm S12</em></a><em>: #14 on Rotten Tomatoes</em></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">There's much more on the way before the end of the year, including </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/12/46acf052461c045ed4d2ab5ad8873902769064fd9b9c8decbd437589eee0211f" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Fantasmas</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#2 on </span><em>MetaCritic</em><span style="color:#000000">), </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/13/11cbbe43fcb4a2f2bd1a60bbab33fe2e5707295fbf62700bc1e4ebec0df81645" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Hacks S3</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#6 on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">), </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/14/ad359644fd1df1a6b0159d102496257cbf48dcd446571448a7b92987451a395e" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Mary & George</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#7 on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">), </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/15/65d4d2e6022ecf1457cd2520027d61e4ef95cd0ee85477d83595d040aa633350" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>The Sympathizer</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#9 on </span><em>MetaCritic</em><span style="color:#000000">), </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/16/dc5efa549e4d0e7d7fc3d5bfec2ace2d15272ffda6f6cf816429927831c03cf6" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>Elsbeth</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#13 on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">), and </span><a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/211/1cu1382sl7nq7ipk0k06rolhw/17/890b456bb50a7b023a0aae69e2669169c4822f5e98547281500ac503123b91d7" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc" target="_blank"><em>A Gentleman In Moscow</em></a><span style="color:#000000"> (#18 on </span><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em><span style="color:#000000">). </span></div>

<div><strong>EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN JULY</strong></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">Other highlights on Showmax this July include:</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">• Mzansi Wethu's most-watched show ever, </span><em>Sibongile & The Dlaminis </em><span style="color:#000000">(from 30 July)</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">• 2024 blockbusters </span><em>The Beekeeper,</em><span style="color:#000000"> with Jason Statham (from 8 July), and </span><em>Mean Girls </em><span style="color:#000000">(from 1 July)</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">• 2024 People's Choice nominee </span><em>Anyone But You</em><span style="color:#000000">, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell (from 15 July)</span></div>

<div><span style="color:#000000">• 2024 Critics Choice Super nominee </span><em>Blue Beetle </em><span style="color:#000000">(from 1 July)</span></div>

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