The 5 Best New TV Shows of July 2024
As a food enthusiast who has traveled extensively to sample local cuisines, I must say that the new Apple TV+ series, Omnivore, is a tantalizing feast for both the eyes and the taste buds!
As someone who has been a dedicated television viewer for many years, I find myself often seeking out unique and captivating content from various parts of the world to expand my cultural horizons. This July, I am thrilled to see an array of international shows that cater to my interests, particularly those with a focus on food, reality TV, and political thrillers.
The Boyfriend (Netflix)
In most dating shows, participants often seem overly eager for physical intimacy, which is why Netflix created the series “Too Hot to Handle” focusing on keeping its cast of amorous singles from hooking up and instead fostering romantic connections. However, the new Netflix reality show “The Boyfriend” stands out—not only because it features an all-male queer cast, a first for Japanese television, but also because it follows a format similar to “Terrace House“, moving nine individuals seeking love into a shared house and allowing viewers to observe their interactions as they get to know each other. Unlike the previous show, there’s minimal pressure to pair off. The participants work together in twos on a coffee truck, providing an opportunity for potential couples to spend quality time together.
The focus in this series is more on emotional than physical intimacy. It’s filled with crushes, rivalries, and shifts in feelings that might make you feel like tossing things at the screen. However, what stands out is the show’s unique representation of gay and bisexual men—in a nation where same-sex marriage is still illegal—as ordinary individuals seeking love. Despite the traditional panel of outside commentators common in Japanese reality TV feeling as superfluous as ever, the portraits of men sharing their pasts, assessing compatibility, and just living life as part of a growing LGBTQ community are unforgettable.
The Decameron (Netflix)
The common understanding of The Decameron is that it demonstrates the extraordinary ability of storytelling to lift people during history’s toughest periods. In her introduction to The Decameron Project, author Rivka Galchen captures this perspective by saying, “Reading stories in challenging times can help us comprehend those moments, and also find the strength to endure them.”
In a distinct interpretation, Kathleen Jordan, responsible for Netflix’s adaptation of “The Decameron”, gained a unique perspective from her pandemic-era reading of Boccaccio’s work. Her dark comedy hypothesis suggests that perhaps the underlying everlasting message is that regardless of whether they are Florentine nobles in 1348 or Wall Street financiers in 2020, the privileged will indifferently forsake their less fortunate peers during a plague outbreak. Jordan has opted to focus on the framing narrative rather than the tales themselves, and surprisingly, her unconventional approach proves effective. [Read the full review.]
The Fortress (Viaplay)
As a movie enthusiast, I can’t help but ponder over the allure of isolationism for someone residing in a secure, affluent nation amidst global turmoil. However, what if you construct barriers, disengage from geopolitical relationships, master living without imports… only to witness your supposed haven succumb to an unexpected catastrophe? This haunting query serves as the driving force behind this Norwegian political thriller, which unfolds in a future Norway about a decade after it sealed its borders and redirected resources towards self-sufficiency while the rest of the world was ablaze.
In the year 2037, a bacterium is causing an outbreak among farmed salmon, a primary protein source for the nation, near Bergen city. Initially, this is a concern for Esther Winter (Selome Emnetu), a head of the Food Safety Authority. However, the infection rapidly spreads to humans as well, creating a crisis. The series The Fortress explores this escalating situation from various perspectives, including Ariel Mowinkel (Eili Harboe from Succession), a young speechwriter for the Prime Minister, and Charlie Oldman (Russell Tovey, known for Feud: Capote vs. the Swans), a refugee seeking asylum in Norway with his family. The series is well-written, excellently acted, and maintains a fast pace. However, its most notable aspect lies in its advocacy for international collaboration during a period of increasing nationalism.
Lady in the Lake (Apple TV+)
Lady in the Lake takes the shape of a neo-noir whodunit. But hidden within that shadowy aesthetic is, among other compelling themes, an ambitious deconstruction of the genre. The femmes fatales, the victims, and the heroes are the same people; both of the leads, The Queen’s Gambit breakout Moses Ingram’s Cleo Johnson and Natalie Portman’s Maddie Schwartz, contain all of those archetypes, yet neither understands the person she really is. Though she sometimes errs toward the dreamy and diaphanous at the cost of coherence, creator, writer, and director Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) mostly manages to do justice to her uncommonly complicated characters without sacrificing the wild plot twists or binge-inducing suspense that are among the pleasures we expect from this type of show. [Read the full review.]
Omnivore (Apple TV+)
If you enjoyed “Salt Fat Acid Heat” or have been eagerly anticipating “Waffles + Mochi” but are seeking something for adults, then “Omnivore” might become your favorite new show. This series is led by René Redzepi, the chef behind the famed Copenhagen restaurant Noma, and is narrated and executive produced by him. The documentary explores various ingredients from different parts of the world in each of its eight episodes, delving into coffee, corn, tuna, and more.
Different subjects dictate different approaches. The premiere takes on chiles in a gutsy trek up the Scoville scale, from paprika producers in Serbia to the Tabasco factory in Louisiana to sweaty, pepper-fueled feasts in Bangkok. An episode devoted to the pig zooms in on the Spanish village of La Alberca, which cultivates not just Iberian ham, but also respect and gratitude toward the animals that, in more ways than one, keep the town fed. While Redzepi’s monologues can sometimes get a bit florid, they complement the show’s ruminative, cinematic style, supplying fascinating food facts and deep cultural context.
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2024-07-31 15:06