The Best New TV Shows of July 2025

2025 found me drawn to a delightful assortment of shows that seemed particularly appealing to women. It could just be a coincidence or maybe I’m more attuned than usual, but five out of the six series I enjoyed most last July were centered around or created by women. One was a romantic comedy featuring an unconventional heroine, another was a British detective series with a remarkable female lead, there was a soap opera about a wife in MAGA territory, a period drama focusing on women’s lives post-World War I London, and lastly, a dark Spanish comedy exploring the theme of female anger. These shows were like a mix of refreshing popsicles on a hot summer day, each one unique but equally satisfying. The sixth show was quite different but undeniably thought-provoking – a well-researched docuseries about Hurricane Katrina.

Code of Silence (BritBox)

In the UK drama titled “Code of Silence,” law enforcement is pursuing a secretive criminal network that operates in untraceable locations. To aid them, they enlist Alison Brooks (played by Rose Ayling-Ellis), a deaf employee at a canteen, to lip-read suspects in surveillance videos. This isn’t your typical British detective series; it offers a unique take on the genre through its compelling portrayal of Alison, a deaf character who is more complex and intriguing than often depicted in popular culture. Despite being frequently underestimated, she’s not defined by her difference. Instead, she’s a covert thrill-seeker, drawn by curiosity, boredom, and desperation to disobey her superior officer, DS Ashleigh Francis (portrayed by Charlotte Ritchie), and conduct independent investigations in her spare time.

The series provides a nuanced depiction of Alison’s life outside work, populated by other distinctively deaf characters such as the mother she resides with and supports (Fifi Garfield) and her timid ex-boyfriend (Rolf Choutan). The show also thoughtfully portrays how Alison interprets spoken words through on-screen text. It’s a character study combined with a crime thriller, generating tension not from the question of whether the police will apprehend the criminals, but from curiosity about Alison’s next move.

Dope Girls (Hulu)

This year, Julianne Nicholson is truly shining brightly. Known for her consistent supporting roles, she’s taken center stage this spring in the fourth season of ‘Hacks’, portraying a social media sensation gone astray, and as a tech billionaire reminiscent of Elon Musk in ‘Paradise’. Both performances garnered Emmy nominations. Now, you can witness her stellar performance in the main role of the British series, ‘Dope Girls’, a raw historical drama set within the criminal underworld of post-World War I London.

In the midst of being widowed, jobless, and homeless, during a period when male veterans are asserting power at home, Kate Nicholson (played by Nicole Kidman) takes her teenage daughter Evie (Eilidh Fisher) and moves in with a biracial nightclub dancer named Billie (Umi Myers), who is unbeknownst to Evie, her half-sister. Concurrently, a character named Violet (Eliza Scanlen from ‘Sharp Objects’) maneuvers her way into becoming one of England’s pioneering female police officers. As these narratives intertwine, the characters find themselves ensnared in a perilous underworld of crime, drugs, prostitution, and murder. The series, titled ‘Dope Girls’, co-created by Polly Stenham and Alex Warren, is likely to be compared with ‘Peaky Blinders’; both shows are set in the same country, period, and milieu. However, its offbeat humor and predominantly female cast seem to resemble Hulu’s engaging 18th-century soap opera, ‘Harlots’, more closely.

The Hunting Wives (Netflix)

The ingenious creators of summer television have come up with what could be the most outrageous, ridiculous, and soap-operatic wife show ever produced – quite an achievement. This series, based on May Cobb’s novel, is streaming on Netflix as “The Hunting Wives.” It offers a captivating mix of kidnapped teens, age-gap relationships, hidden mysteries, corrupt clergy, unfaithful politicians, mysterious stalkers, bisexual characters with intense desires, various substances, and a murder. In fact, even in the three episodes made available for review, it delves into the cultural conflicts of the Trump era. Despite its occasional crudeness (which I found off-putting), one cannot help but appreciate its audacity (which I also find admirable) to constantly push boundaries. Fans of wife shows, prepare to be hooked on this new obsession. [Read the full review.]

Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Nat Geo)

In August, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a disaster of unprecedented scale that left generations affected. This catastrophe was not only a result of nature’s wrath but also the confluence of poverty, racial injustice, and administrative blunders. Since then, it has sparked an immense wave of powerful artistic expressions, ranging from Jesmyn Ward’s novel “Salvage the Bones” to Spike Lee’s documentary series “When the Levees Broke,” as well as David Simon’s HBO drama “Treme.” Furthermore, Hurricane Katrina occurred at a time when YouTube was just launching in early 2005, enabling individuals to produce and disseminate videos more democratically.

In a more comprehensive and less poetic manner than its predecessors, “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” is heavily influenced by the vast collection of distressing firsthand accounts from citizens. Led by an executive production team including Ryan Coogler, director Traci A. Curry uses five episodes to meticulously depict the storm and its immediate aftermath, detailing each hour as the collapse of New Orleans’ levee system wrecked some of its most impoverished neighborhoods. Curry speaks with a vast array of relevant figures: scientists, first responders, community activists, journalists who reported from the city as evacuees fled, and both local and national government officials. However, the most impactful moments, narratives, and insights are provided by the residents themselves – ordinary people from the areas hit hardest, who recorded their attempts to save themselves and their neighbors at a time when many might have chosen to turn away.

Rage (HBO)

After finishing “The Hunting Wives”, take a moment to savor a large glass of Spanish creator Félix Sabroso’s series exploring female wrath. Consisting of eight episodes, each approximately 35 minutes long, the show focuses on women (often of maturing age) who are driven to boiling rage, often due to male actions or the injustices inherent in a patriarchal society. The initial episode introduces Marga (played by Carmen Marchi), an heiress and artist with bright yellow hair and a love for shooting, as she discovers her husband has fathered a child with their housekeeper, Tina (Claudia Salas).

In “Rage,” the stories of various characters, such as Marga’s favorite store clerk (Candela Peña) and Tina’s mother (Nathalie Poza), intertwine throughout the series, creating a sense of mounting tension. A standout episode focuses on Vera (Pilar Castro), Marga’s friend who is a renowned chef but has been harshly criticized. Despite being led by talented Spanish actresses, many of whom are familiar faces in Pedro Almodóvar films, each episode offers a satisfying emotional release. Fans of Almodóvar will appreciate the vibrant set design and the blend of dark humor and self-aware melodrama.

Too Much (Netflix)

Based on the clock next to Jessica’s bed, it’s past 9:07 PM on a weeknight. At this hour, Jessica (played by Megan Stalter) informs Felix that she can’t stay up late tonight. This is because she has an early meeting at 8:30 AM the next day. The new couple, featured in the Netflix series Too Much, often spend their nights together, a habit that her boss (Richard E. Grant) has noticed affecting her work performance. However, the initial stages of love are powerful and in this episode, we see it overpowering Jessica’s more cautious decisions.

2025-08-01 17:53