We’re more than halfway through 2024 and content is popping up everywhere. Having so many options means its easier to feel inundated by the plethora of streaming sites and availability of shows. With the sheer volume of series available, I’ve compiled a shortlist spanning several genres and platforms. The shows are in no particular order and have nothing in common except they’re all awesome.

Supacell

Supacell is about five Black South Londoners who unexpectedly develop superpowers. Now, if you’re thinking the superhero genre is played out, you wouldn’t be wrong. But what’s different with Supacell is… Well, everything frankly.

Again, this isn’t taking place in New York and isn’t overrun with American tropes and buzzwords. The story is set in South London, where you’re going to get a full helping of culture shock if you’re watching as an American. You won’t survive if you watch without subtitles so turn those bad boys on immediately unless UK Drill is a norm and you can navigate “the ends” without assistance. It’s not just watching five young adults navigate through personal struggles with family, identity, and finances. You’re going to get a unique story and learn a lot about the culture in London. Throughout the series, you’ll hear the cast glide through English, Pidgin, and Patois seamlessly (which is why subtitles are key).

Created by Rapman, the six-episode series follows the lives of Michael (Tosin Cole), Tazer (Josh Tedeku), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Rodney (Calvin Demba), and Sabrina (Nadine Mills), five young adults experiencing unique personal struggles that discover life-altering abilities. Unbeknownst to them, the use of their powers puts them on the radar of a group behind a string of missing person reports across London. With each of them being tracked, the only thing that may give them a chance of survival is Michael’s desire to form a team and face their common enemy as a collective.

Sabrina is a nurse who cherishes both her patients and her job. The two things holding her back from a stress-free life are the very real psychological struggle of trying to thrive in a white space and being the sole Black employee and the lack of maturity from her roommate and younger sister Sharleen (Rayxia Ojo). Tazer leads a group of young people who pose as a gang in an attempt to build street cred. In the background, he lives with his grandmother and quietly struggles with abandonment. Eric is fresh out of prison and desperate to reconnect with his son. His stress level is high as he’s a fantastic worker but can’t keep a job (released after background checks) and his son’s mother is apathetic to his struggles, equating financial support to visitation.

Calvin lives with his best friend out of necessity after his mother abandoned him for no other reason than being biracial. Struggling to get by, he resorts to selling drugs but soon learns he’s not very good at it. One of the first to discover their special power, it helps Calvin substantially and he’s able to generate more revenue but it comes at the cost of being discovered by rival dealers. Michael works hard as a delivery driver and has plans to marry his longtime girlfriend Dionne (Adelayo Adedayo). If planning a wedding wasn’t stressful enough, he’s looking to re-home his ailing mother into a new facility. The first to discover their special power, Michael gets a glimpse of a dim future if he can’t unite the others to find the group that’s tracking them.

Five different characters, five different personalities; so it shouldn’t be too hard to identify a favorite as a viewer. Keep your Shazam app at the ready because the soundtrack is pretty cool. If you weren’t familiar with drill before, you will be after this series. An interesting cultural note: watch how the gangs, the supposed “tough guys” get by and how they approach one another. As an American, I was completely caught off guard.

It’s easy to get lost in the blackhole of content that Netflix houses so it’s important that when you find a great series, you let others know. Supacell is gaining traction globally and with the type of attention it’s getting, there’s high hopes Netflix will renew the series for a second season.

Watch Supacell Now on Netflix

Series: One Season, Six Episodes | Rating: TV-MA | Trailer

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory

Set six years after the events at Camp Cretaceous (the series that preceded this one), “The Nublar Six” struggle to find their footing off the islands, navigating a world now filled with dinosaurs and people who want to hurt them. Reunited in the wake of a tragedy, the group finds themselves on the run. This sparks a global adventure to unravel a conspiracy that threatens dinosaurs and humankind alike and finally learn the truth about what happened to one of their own.

Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams), Ben (Sean Giambrone), Kenji (Darren Barnet), Yaz (Kausar Mohammed), and Sammy (Raini Rodriguez) are back and face a new threat in this extension of Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous. The kids are older now and are struggling with the sudden loss of their friend Brooklyn (Kiersten Kelly). They’ve moved on from Isla Nublar but Ben starts recruiting the others once he finds out they’re being hunted.

A few good topics that viewers will experience are coexistence, forgiveness, and PTSD. Some of the kids are dealing with loss while others struggle from past near-death episodes with dinosaurs. But each one of them, as young as they are, works through their difficulties with effective communication and even therapy.

It’s a bit more violent than I would’ve expected for a “PG” rating but for teens and older it’s great. The soundtrack is phenomenal and gives it a cinematic-thriller feel, even though it’s a kid’s show.

Watch Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Now on Netflix

Series: One Season, 10 Episodes | Rating: TV-PG | Trailer

Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Jake Gyllenhaal, hailing from David E. Kelley and executive producer J.J. Abrams, and is based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Scott Turow.

The series goes on a gripping journey through the horrific murder that upends a Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office as one of its own is suspected of the crime. Gyllenhaal stars as Rusty Sabich, a cocky veteran prosecutor who works under the current mayor Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp) who gets entangled in a murder trial. With the support of his wife Barbara (Ruth Negga) and kids Jaden (Chase Infiniti) and Kyle (Kingston Rumi Southwick), Rusty defends the long list of mistakes he’s made and claims his innocence of the murder.

The series explores obsession, sex, and politics, as there’s a constant battle for control throughout the series. On the political side, this entire debacle arrives on the heels of an important election that could see Rusty and Raymond out. Waiting on the other side for the Mayor’s seat is rival Nico Della Guardia (O-T Fagbenle) and his obsessive, would-be Attorney General Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard). Rusty and Tommy absolutely despise each other and the acting from Sarsgaard was phenomenal.

The series is an edge-of-your-seat suspense that will keep you guessing. A few moments that seemed predictable ended up being plot twists. You’re going to see Jake Gyllenhaal naked more than you probably wished, but don’t worry, that bare behind isn’t enough to shove the series into the void of repulsion.

It’s incredibly well-written, the acting is top-tier, and it’s an overall exciting series. Since the last episode aired last week, you can binge the entire season. Remember, Apple TV+ has built an incredible track record for quality series, therefore, you risk nothing in dedicating the rest of your July to Presumed Innocent.

Watch Presumed Innocent Now on Apple TV+

Series: One Season, Eight Episodes | Rating: TV-MA | Trailer

Sunny

Sunny is the latest series to hit Apple TV+ and follows an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan. Suzie (Rashida Jones) gets blindsided by the disappearance of her husband and son after a plane crash. As an act of condolence, her husband’s employer gifts her a new domestic robot named Sunny.

The foul-mouthed Suzie initially resents Sunny as she’s not a fan of artificial intelligence and the invasion of privacy that comes with the robots. But over time, she develops a liking for Sunny and begins to see her as a way to cope, filling a void created after losing her family. With the help of Sunny and a new acquaintance in Mixxy, Suzie follows her intuition to investigate her family’s disappearance which leads her down a dangerous path.

Sunny stars Rashida Jones, Annie the Clumsy, and Joanna Sotomura as the voice of Sunny. The series has a bit of everything – mystery, suspense, sci-fi, and a fresh cast to seal its authenticity. The series affords a breakout starring role for Jones and a lesson in history and culture for Japan.

It won’t be easy to tell who’s friend or foe and Suzie’s reclusive demeanor and smart mouth don’t help the situation. She’s built up a wall internally that’s as thick as the Hoover Dam and nobody can seem to breach it. To find answers about her missing husband and son, she’ll have to uncover a web of lies and her own set of traumas.

Sunny is an amazing series and is definitely a must-see. The series dives into a serious conversation about privacy and artificial intelligence that no other series has attempted. It’s the latest series to hit Apple TV+ that’s a home run. Apple TV has built up a reputation for quality over quantity as does the studio behind this series, A24. The two coming together is a match made in content heaven and it would be criminal to withhold this from the list.

Suzie isn’t my favorite character and honestly, I think they could’ve found someone better to get the job done than Rashida Jones. But around halfway through the season, she won’t work the nerves as much (even though her vulgar mouth doesn’t improve). The robot Sunny is the true star of the show and you’ll see why after you start your binge!

Watch Sunny Now on Apple TV+

Series: One Season, 10 Episodes | Rating: TV-MA | Trailer

Batman: Caped Crusader

It’s the Batman you know but presented in an updated manner. You know Bruce Wayne, you know Gotham City, but aesthetically, it’s fresh and absolutely glorious.

In Batman: Caped Crusader, each episode runs like a standalone story. Certain elements carry over from one episode to the next but the story isn’t flowing like it normally would in an animated series. With old-school fight scenes and more hand-to-hand combat than gadgets, this Batman goes back to its roots in a beautifully animated series that’s sure to be a fan favorite.

The series is a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the lens of executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm. Other executive producers include Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich, and Sam Register.

All the stops were pulled for this series from the casting to the music to the story. One thing that Gen-Z demands is diversity and Caped Crusader is the first of the big superhero franchises to go this far. Commissioner Gordon was Black, Harley Quinn was Asian, and fans got a sneak peek at San Diego Comic-Con of a gender-bender Penguin.

The soundtrack helped set the mood for a suspenseful noir that grew better with each episode. Frederik Wiedmann is responsible for the five-star tunes that structure the backdrop of the series, and honestly, should have his name thrown in the hat come awards season.

There were only a few drawbacks and the first is with the TV-Y7 rating. Film and TV continue to push boundaries in the wrong direction and this is one of them. “You’re an ass Dent!” “Friggin!” “Well, I’ll be damned Virginia. There really is a Batman.” In the grand scheme of things, it won’t ruin the series, but there’s no way I would be ok with a seven-year-old hearing language like that. There were a few episodes where magic was featured. One of the great things about Batman is that his superpower is his wealth. Outside of that, he’s a regular person that has a lot of cool stuff. So when a couple of villains come on the scene using magic, that just threw off everything that felt natural about Batman.

The series has all of the attributes of a major undertaking. This was not some cheap project thrown together at the last minute. Take the cast for example. This list reads like a cast for a feature film: Hamish Linklater, Jamie Chung, Diedrich Bader, Christina Ricci, Minnie Driver, Mckenna Grace, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Tom Kenny, Jason Watkins, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment and Toby Stephens.

Batman: Caped Crusader is the best animated series of 2024. I may catch flack for this, but I enjoyed this as much as Batman: The Animated Series, if not more. Bruce Timm brought the same overarching elements of the Animated Series and gave it a fresh update with Caped Crusader to make a glowing revival.

The animated series has 10 episodes, all of which will drop on Prime Video on August 1. It will be available in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Watch Batman: Caped Crusader on Prime Video starting August 1, 2024

Series: One Season, 10 Episodes | Rating: TV-Y7 | Trailer

-Jon Jones

Photos: Courtesy of their respective studios (Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+)