Two high-profile new dramas, Snowfall and The Last Tycoon, lead a packed July 2017 TV premieres calendar that also includes returning favorites Game of Thrones and The Strain.
FX’s “Snowfall” examines the 1980s start of the crack epidemic in America. One reason to watch—director John Singleton is behind the project.
Amazon’s “The Last Tycoon” is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last work. Matt Bomer stars as a golden boy fighting for control of a film studio in 1930s Hollywood. So why wouldn’t you watch?
Christmas comes early on Hallmark, Hallmark M&M and Acorn TV, and Discovery munches into another Shark Week. Plenty of comedies, reality and doc shows premiere in July, too, so take a look at the calendar below to find what fits your tastes. I’m bolding the good stuff—according to me. I’ll update regularly and all times are Central.
July 2017 TV premieres
Sunday, July 2
7 p.m.
- “Big Brother,” CBS (Sunday premiere)
- “America in Color,” Smithsonian (season 1; cutting-edge technology transforms black-and-white films and photographs from iconic moments in U.S. history into color)
8 p.m.
- “First Ladies Revealed,” Smithsonian (season 1; prominent and remarkable women behind the U.S. presidency)
9 p.m.
- “Bar Rescue,” Spike TV (season premiere)
Monday, July 3
Streaming
- “Janet King,” Acorn TV (season 3; more Acorn TV in July here)
- “The Bride of the Water God,” DramaFever (U.S. premiere; god has to convince his destined bride that he isn’t delusional maniac)
Tuesday, July 4
Streaming
- “The Standups,” Netflix (season 1; new comic voices do their thing in 6 half-hour specials)
6 p.m.
- “The Words That Built America,” HBO (doc; more than 100 luminaries read the authentic words of the country’s founding documents)
7 p.m.
- “A Capitol Fourth,” PBS (annual musical special; Happy 421st birthday, American)
- “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular,” NBC (special)
Wednesday, July 5
9 p.m.
- “Snowfall,” FX (season 1; start of the crack epidemic in Los Angeles)
Thursday, July 6
8 p.m.
- “Mosquito,” Discovery (doc; deadliest animal in the world)
9 p.m.
- “Life of Kylie,” E! (season 1; Kylie Jenner gets her own show)
- “Bossip on WE TV,” WE tv (season 1; writers from premiere entertainment website for African Americans dishing breaking news, gossip, exclusives)
Friday, July 7
Streaming
- “Castlevania,” Netflix (season 1; vampire hunter fights to save city from Dracula’s army of otherworldly beasts in animated series)
- “Dawn of the Cross,” Netflix (season 4)
- “Degrassi: Next Class,” Netflix (season 4)
- “Luna Petunia,” Netflix (season 2)
8 p.m.
- “Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth,” Showtime (standup special)
- “Under the Influence,” Reelz (season 1; infamous star scandals where negative influences brought celebrities down; first up are Heath Ledger and River Phoenix)
Saturday, July 8
9 p.m.
- “Tour de Pharmacy,” HBO (Legends of Sports mockumentary; fictitious 1982 cycling doping scandal as seen through eyes of five competitors)
Sunday, July 9
7 p.m.
- “Earth Live,” Nat Geo (special; wildlife filmed live all around the world)
- “The Real Housewives of the Potomac Reunion,” Bravo (special)
8 p.m.
- “The Defiant Ones,” HBO (4-part doc; how Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine changed contemporary culture)
- “Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence,” History (2-hour special; new evidence found in U.S. government archives suggests pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan may have survived 1937 plane crash and died in Japanese military custody)
- “Love Finds Its Way,” Hallmark M&M (movie; mother tries to protect daughter from possible heartache, but love …)
- “Candy Crush,” CBS (season 1; mobile game moves to TV)
9 p.m.
- “The Spouse House,” TLC (season 1; 14 strangers live together in hopes of finding a spouse)
- “Famously Single,” E! (season 2)
11:15 p.m.
- “Apollo Gauntlet,” Adult Swim (season 1; after being transported from Earth to futuristic medieval society, cop becomes hero with magical suit and set of talking gauntlets)
Monday, July 10
7 p.m.
- “Dessert Games,” Food (season 1; four pastry chefs shop for, prep and plate confectionary creations in epic baking challenges)
- “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” CW (season 4)
- “Southern Charm Reunion,” Bravo (special)
8 p.m.
- “Will,” TNT (season 1; young William Shakespeare in Elizabethan England)
- “Texas Cake House,” Food (season 1; owners of Sideserf Cake Studio push boundaries of cake design)
- “Kate Plus 8,” TLC (3-part special; Kate and her sextuplets celebrate Halloween, Spring Break skiing and the kids’ 13th birthday)
9 p.m.
- “Ghosts of Shepherdstown,” Destination America (season 2)
10:30 p.m.
- “Funny How?” Viceland (limited series; life behind standup mic featuring rookie and veteran comics; nightly through July 14)
Tuesday, July 11
7 p.m.
- “The Fosters,” Freeform (season 5)
8 p.m.
- “The Bold Type,” Freeform (season 1; outrageous lives of those responsible for fictional women’s magazine Scarlet)
- “Outdaughtered,” TLC (season premiere)
- “In the Cut,” Bounce (season 3)
9 p.m.
- “American Ripper,” History (limited season 1; Chicago serial killer H.H. Holmes’ great-great-grandson thinks Holmes and Jack the Ripper were same man)
- “Still The King,” CMT (season 2)
- “Adam Ruins Everything,” truTV (season 2)
- “Rattled,” TLC (season 2)
- “A Question of Love,” FYI (season 1; 3 couples ask questions they are afraid to answer)
- “Rustic Renovation,” DIY (season 1; brothers renovate family cabins in their northern Minnesota hometown)
9:30 p.m.
- “Hollywood Puppet Shitshow,” Fuse (season 1; stars recount their wildest adventures reenacted as marionette puppets act them out in Wilmer Valderrama produced/created/hosted series)
- “You Can Do Better,” truTV (midseason premiere)
Wednesday, July 12
7 p.m.
- “The 2017 ESPYS,” ABC (special)
8 p.m.
- “Salvation,” CBS (season 1; asteroid will crash into Earth in six months if an MIT grad, tech superstar and Pentagon worker don’t stop it)
- “Suits,” USA (season 7)
- “Amazing Space,” DIY (season 1, 2 episodes; designer finds hidden extra space in homes)
- “Nature’s Great Race,” PBS (season 1; scientific teams utilize new technology to track caribou, zebras and elephants in Arctic wilderness and African bush)
9 p.m.
- “I’m Sorry,” truTV (season 1; comedy writer navigates the oftentimes self-induced complications of her life alongside her more straitlaced husband and their inquisitive daughter)
- “Odd Mom Out,” Bravo (season 3)
- “Cheap Eats,” Cooking (season premiere)
- “Murder By Numbers,” ID (season 1; following a murder investigation from beginning to end)
10 p.m.
- “Listed Sisters,” HGTV (season 1; Alana and Lex LeBlanc help Nashville families create home of their dreams)
Thursday, July 13
Streaming
- “NW,” BritBox (exclusive U.S. premiere; multi 2017 BAFTA-nominated drama based on Zadie Smith’s novel about two friends from Northwest London housing estate who are reunited when one faces crisis; more BritBox in July)
8 p.m.
- “Hooten and the Lady,” CW (season 1; treasure hunters set out to recover priceless legendary artifacts)
9 p.m.
- “Impractical Jokers,” truTV (midseason 6)
- “Akil the Fugitive Hunter,” A&E (premiere; combining live-action and animation, docuseries chronicles LA bounty hunter Akil Muhammad and criminals he catches)
Friday, July 14
Streaming
- “Friends from College,” Netflix (season 1; group of college friends face down their 40s in same city)
- “To the Bone,” Netflix (movie; anorexia patient put in group home)
- “Chasing Coral,” Netflix (doc; epic underwater campaign documents disappearance of coral reefs)
- “Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile,” Netflix (animated movie; champion truck-racing dog Buddy and ferret mechanic Darnell test crazy stunts)
Saturday, July 15
10 a.m.
- “Star vs. The Forces of Evil: The Battle for Mewni,” Disney XD (2-hour movie; Star returns to her home planet to discover magic is disappearing form the kingdom; also 1 p.m., 6 p.m.)
8 p.m.
- “The Christmas Cure,” Hallmark (movie; big city doctor visits hometown, rekindles romance and consider taking over dad’s practice; more Christmas Keepsake programming)
8:30 p.m.
- “You Can’t Turn That into a House,” FYI (season 1; brothers rebuild and refurbish run down places)
9 p.m.
- “The Vanilla Ice Project,” DIY (season premiere)
Sunday, July 16
7 p.m.
- “Shahs of Sunset,” Bravo (season 6)
8 p.m.
- “Games of Thrones,” HBO (season 7; 7 episodes)
- “Home for Christmas Day,” Hallmark M&M (movie; war widow tries to convince daughter to break off romance with soon-to-be-deployed soldier; more Gold Crown Christmas programming)
9 p.m.
- “The Strain,” FX (4th and final season)
- “Remember Me,” PBS (season 1; pensioner fakes fall to escape into residential care, leading to chilling mystery)
11 p.m.
- “Decker: Mindwipe,” Adult Swim (season 2)
Monday, July 17
Streaming
- “Midsommer Murders,” Acorn TV (season 19, part 2)
9 p.m.
- “Loaded,” AMC (season 1; four tech entrepreneurs/childhood friends sell gaming company, must deal with becoming millionaires)
- “Ed Gordon Special,” Bounce (special; interviews with African-American celebrities)
Monday, July 18
Streaming
- “Aditi Mittal: Things They Wouldn’t Let Me Say,” Netflix (standup special)
- “Ari Shaffir: Double Negative,” Netflix (standup special)
7 p.m.
- “Weekend in Havana with Geoffrey Baer,” PBS (special; color, culture and history of Cuban city)
8 p.m.
- “Rare—Creatures of the Photo Ark,” (season 1; renowned photographer, Photo Ark founder and native Nebraskan Joel Sartore explores diversity, beauty and value of thousands of animal species at risk of extinction)
9 p.m.
- “Shooter,” USA (season 2)
- “A Night with My Ex,” Bravo (season 1; ex-couples hash out unresolved issues)
Tuesday, July 19
Streaming
- “Road to Race Day,” go90.com (Complex doc series; box with Hendrick Motorsports teams during 2016 NASCAR Cup series)
Thursday, July 20
Streaming
- “Public Enemy,” Sundance Now (U.S. premiere; after 20 years in prison, child murderer seeks refuge with monks in Belgium village where little girl then disappears)
8 p.m.
- “Flip or Flop Atlanta,” HGTV (season 1; same idea, new city and new flippers: Ken and Anita Corsini)
- “Growing Up Hip Hop,” WE tv (season 3)
9 p.m.
- “Bad Blood,” ID (season 2)
10 p.m.
- “Desert Flippers,” HGTV (season premiere)
Friday, July 21
Streaming
- “Niko and the Sword of Light,” Amazon (animated season 1; Niko battles a plague of shadows that turns innocents into monsters)
- “Last Chance U,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Ozark,” Netflix (season 1; family thrust into a world of dirty money after moving to Ozarks resort community)
- “The Worst Witch,” Netflix (U.S. premiere; British series follows adventures of young witches attending a school for magic)
7 p.m.
- “Descendants 2,” Disney Channel, ABC, Disney XD, Freeform, Lifetime (movie; sequel to 2015 film about teen sons and daughters of Disney villains)
- “Dateline: Secrets Uncovered,” Oxygen (season 1; examines some of the most mysterious cases of recent history)
9 p.m.
- “Raven’s Home,” Disney (season 1; characters from “That’s So Raven” are all grown up now)
- “Vice Special Report: A World in Disarray,” HBO (doc; past, present and future of American foreign policy)
Saturday, July 22
7 p.m.
- “Cold Justice,” Oxygen (season premiere)
8 p.m.
- “Risk,” Showtime (doc; Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, filmed over six years)
- “The Jury Speaks,” Oxygen (season 1; re-examines controversial verdicts from sensational trials through jurors’ eyes)
Sunday, July 23
5 a.m.
- “Insecure” replay, youtube.com/HBO and HBO.com (All eight episodes of the first season available to stream for free for 24 hours)
6 p.m.
- “Shark Week,” Discovery (30th anniversary of annual programming event through July 30; complete Shark Week schedule)
7 p.m.
- “Story of a Girl,” Lifetime (movie; after appearing in sex video, 13-year-old girl’s life changes forever)
- “Wild Alaska Live,” PBS (3-part live special; Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt host live look at Alaska wildlife; also July 26 & 30; check local listings)
9 p.m.
- “Ballers,” HBO (season 3)
9:30 p.m.
- “Insecure,” HBO (season 2)
Monday, July 24
Streaming
- “Murdoch Mysteries: Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas,” Acorn TV (special)
7 p.m.
- “Love & Hip Hop Hollywood,” VH1 (season 4)
8 p.m.
- “Gone,” ID (season 1; twisted true stories of individuals who go missing and leave trail of secrets)
- 9 p.m.
- “Somewhere Between,” ABC (season 1; mother in Groundhog Day-like time loop tries to prevent murder of her daughter)
- Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, HBO (doc; William and Harry talk about their mother and how her influence has shaped their lives)
9 p.m.
- “Midnight, Texas,” NBC (season 1; medium moves to town occupied by supernaturals and other people hiding out)
9:30 p.m.
- “People of Earth,” TBS (season 2)
Tuesday, July 25
Streaming
- “Joe Mande’s Award-Winning Comedy Special,” Netflix (standup special)
8 p.m.
- “Bizarre Foods,” Travel Channel (season premiere)
Friday, July 28
Streaming
- “The Last Tycoon,” Amazon (season 1; studio golden boy battles father figure and boss for soul of their film studio in 1930s Hollywood)
- “Daughters of Destiny,” Netflix (doc series; young people from India’s most impoverished families strive for brighter future)
- “The Incredible Jessica James,” Netflix (movie; struggling playwright connects with divorced app designer she meets on blind date)
- “The Adventures for Puss n Boots,” Netflix (season 5)
9 p.m.
- “All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor,” Showtime (special; chronicle of buildup to Aug, 26 fight)
10 p.m.
- “The Food Flirts,” PBS (season 1; Brass sisters flirt their way into chef’s kitchens to uncover the secrets behind unique recipes)
10:30 p.m.
- “Room 104,” HBO (anthology season 1; different story each episode about assorted characters who pass through same hotel room)
Saturday, July 29
8 p.m.
- “Love at the Shore,” Hallmark (movie; neat-nick mom falls for messy surfer dude while staying at summer vacation home)
Sunday, July 30
7 p.m.
- “Top Gear America,” BBC America (season 1; actor William Fichtner, drag racing champ Antron Brown, British car journalist Tom “Wookie” Ford and Stig review cars)
- “5-Headed Shark Attack,” Syfy (movie; 5-headed shark terrorizes open ocean before invading beaches of Puerto Rico)
8 p.m.
- “The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam,” Smithsonian (doc; a look at David Berkowitz’s 1970s murder spree in New York)
10:30 p.m.
- “Rick and Morty,” Adult Swim (season premiere)
Monday, July 31
7 p.m.
- “Princess Diana: Tragedy or Treason?” TLC (3-hour special; Princess Diana’s life and death)
- “Mississippi River Sharks,” Syfy (movie; locals mobilize when sharks attack a fish rodeo on Mississippi River)
8 p.m.
- “Intervention,” A&E (season premiere)
9 p.m.
- “CBSN: On Assignment,” CBS & digital platforms (news program)
- “Dope Man,” A&E (special; recovering addict makes it his mission to save others)
- “House Hunters Family,” HGTV (season 1; parents and kids tour three properties, try to agree on ideal home)
- “The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All,” ABC (season finale)