New on streaming, June 2023: Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, NOW, Prime Video

A rare benefit of lockdown – aside from working in your pyjamas – was discovering the global televisual buffet available on Netflix. Most people flocked to France (Call My Agent!, Lupin) and South Korea (Squid Game), but it’s also worth checking out the rest of the world. A great example from Spain is Valeria, a Sex and the City-type romcom following four 20-something friends and their carnal adventures in Madrid. The titular character starts as an aspiring novelist, who changes her genre to erotic fiction.

The third and final season sees Valeria (Diana Gómez) in a good place: she’s newly divorced, finding success as a writer, and enjoying a no-strings-attached relationship with Victor (Maxi Iglesias). But seeds of doubt grow within her. Naturally, Carmen (Paula Malia), Lola (Silma López) and Nerea (Teresa Riott) gather to guide Valeria through this new stage of her life.

The Idol – Sam Levinson’s first TV project after the success of Euphoria – could become the most controversial show of the year. Not only did Rolling Stone run a piece that exposed the alleged chaos of the production, but the series' world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival received a diabolical reception from critics. But you can’t help but be curious: is it that deplorable?

Lily-Rose Depp leads the hedonism as Jocelyn, a famous pop star recovering after a nervous breakdown. Instead of hiding away, she's determined to break out as the biggest and sexiest musician in the world – bolstered by nightclub manager Tedros (Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye), who revitalises her passions. She hopes to move into a new era of stardom, but a dark and morally depraved underworld awaits.

Tom Holland has one of the most recognisable faces on the planet: hitting mainstream popularity as the latest Spider-Man. Thankfully, he’s not avoiding roles that show a more nuanced side. Similar to Kingsman star Taron Egerton and his transition into the bleak world of Black Bird, Holland shifts into a less sympathetic character for The Crowded Room. In an interview (via Esquire), the actor and executive producer said the role ‘caused a bit of a meltdown at home’.

Holland plays Danny Sullivan, a man arrested for a New York shooting in 1979. Told in a series of sessions with interrogator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), The Crowded Room reveals Sullivan's mysterious and devastating history.

Swiftly following Apple TV+’s Prehistoric Planet, the beloved presenter Sir David Attenborough returns to Netflix for Our Planet II. Although many of his documentaries tackle environmental issues (like microplastics in Blue Planet II), this project confronts climate change head-on.

The sequel examines the migration patterns of albatrosses, antelopes and red crabs (among many others) in a key, evolutionary need to survive. But due to changing conditions, these multitudinous travel arrangements shift into chaos, which, in turn, threatens the future of the world as we know it. Our Planet II features footage from Africa, the Arctic, China and India.

Social realism is where British cinema soars above the rest. The post-Thatcher 1990s was a crucial period for the genre, pumping out gritty classics like Naked, Nil by Mouth and Trainspotting. And it didn’t swerve comedy either: as proven with Peter Cattaneo’s Oscar-winning 1997 film The Full Monty, which follows six former steelworkers organising a local strip show for some extra cash.

Twenty-five years later, the lads are back in this Disney+ sequel. Resurrecting the original cast, the eight-part limited series returns them to Sheffield – where societal structures are still crumbling. Meanwhile, Gaz (Robert Carlyle) is trying to patch things up with his daughter Destiny (Talitha Wing).

As the years wear on and technology updates itself, citing Black Mirror is now necessary for everyday conversations. Charlie Brooker’s dystopian nightmare – The Twilight Zone for the smartphone era – maintains an enjoyable pessimism for the future while scrutinising politics and media in the present day.

It’s taken four years, but Black Mirror is back. Season six boasts a starry and eclectic ensemble that includes Zazie Beetz, Michael Cera, Rob Delaney, Paapa Essiedu, Salma Hayek Pinault, Myha’la Herrold, Kate Mara and Aaron Paul. And the batch of cautionary tales contains a hit-and-run incident, a shocking TV biopic, and a Scottish nature documentary. Let’s ready ourselves for the anthological dread.

Sorry to Bother You was one of the most innovative, polemic and surreal films of 2018 – and yet, it’s severely underrated. Writer/director Boots Riley rose to fame initially as a rapper as well as an activist, which infuses his filmmaking style. He also wasn’t afraid to poke holes in established industry titans like Spike Lee.

I’m a Virgo – his first TV project – is another tale down the rabbit hole of Californian absurdism: looking at the adolescence of Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), who's 13 feet tall. After being hidden away by his father, Cootie finally escapes and discovers the nonsense of the real world.

Friday 2 June
Valeria, season 3 (Netflix)
iCarly, season 3 (Paramount+)
Deadloch (Prime Video)

Saturday 3 June
Queen of the Universe, season 2 (Paramount+)

Monday 5 June
Barracuda Queens (Netflix)
The Idol (NOW)

Tuesday 6 June
Somebody Somewhere, season 2 (NOW)
Claremont: a Killer Among Us (Paramount+)

Wednesday 7 June
Saint X (Disney+)
Arnold (Netflix)

Thursday 8 June
Significant Other (ITVX)
Never Have I Ever, season 4 (Netflix)
Tour de France: Unchained (Netflix)
Joe Pickett, season 1 (Paramount+)

Friday 9 June
The Crowded Room (Apple TV+)
Flamin’ Hot (Disney+)
Bloodhounds (Netflix)
The Playing Card Killer (Netflix)
Tex Me Motors (Netflix)
This World Can’t Tear Me Down (Netflix)
You Do You (Netflix)
Der Pass, season 3 (NOW)

Tuesday 13 June
Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact (Netflix)

Wednesday 14 June
Love Trip: Paris (Disney+)
The Full Monty (Disney+)
Our Planet II (Netflix)

Thursday 15 June
Count Abdulla (ITVX)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, season 2 (Paramount+)

Friday 16 June
Stan Lee (Disney+)
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King (Netflix)
Extraction 2 (Netflix)

Wednesday 21 June
Secret Invasion (Disney+)
Cunk on Earth (Netflix)

Thursday 22 June
Ruby Speaking (ITVX)

Friday 23 June
Saving Giraffes: The Long Journey Home (Disney+)
World’s Best (Disney+)
I’m a Virgo (Prime Video)
iNumber Number: Jozi Gold (Netflix)
Through My Window: Across the Sea (Netflix)

Wednesday 28 June
Run Rabbit Run (Netflix)

Friday 30 June
Nimona (Netflix)

TBC
Swagger, season 2 (Apple TV+)
Black Mirror, season 6 (Netflix)
And Just Like That, season 2 (NOW)