It’s only the second day of June, and already Watch With Us is too busy trying to watch all the great new shows premiering this week.
As the old George Gershwin song says, “it’s nice work if you can get it,” so we’re grateful there are so many binge-worthy series available.
The new season of Criminal Minds is already streaming, and it’s serving up serial killer realness that should make its chief franchise competitor, Law & Order, envious.
Mindy Kaling remakes Friends for the AI age with the Hulu new comedy Not Suitable for Work, while Disney+ debuts its latest hit Pixar flick, Hoppers, on June 3.
If you watched Michael and want to know more about the late singer’s troubled life, head over to Netflix and stream the salacious true crime docuseries, The Verdict: Michael Jackson.
‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 19 (Now Streaming) — Paramount+
There’s no safer bet on TV right now than the crime procedural, which is why Criminal Minds keeps coming back from the dead to investigate — well, the dead. The revival, subtitled Evolution, gives CM fans more of what made the show such a hit in the first place: gruesome case-of-the-week mysteries and a larger, season-long narrative, usually centering around a charming serial killer. Hey, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
One of them, Elias Voit (Zach Gilford), is back, presumably to terrorize the BAU once more, but you’ll have to wait to find out what he’s really up to across the season’s 10 weekly episodes. Some notable guest stars this season include Community’s Yvette Nicole Brown, the MCU’s Clark Gregg and Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie in a role that’s still under wraps as of press time. Knowing HR fans, they probably want to see Storrie’s most prized asset — his acting. (Get your mind out of the gutter, people!)
‘Not Suitable for Work’ (June 2) — Hulu
Friends is a Gen X classic, but at over 30 years old, its references (remember Snapple?) and storytelling can seem a bit dated. That’s why Not Suitable for Work is so suitable for fans of that classic NBC sitcom — it shares the same DNA, but it’s dressed to appeal to Gen Zers who just graduated from college and are trying to make it in the workforce.
The show chronicles the professional and personal ups and downs of five young professionals, who also coincidentally live right across from each other, as Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) did with Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). Besties AJ (Ella Hunt) and Abby (Avantika) live in the same building as bros Josh (Jack Martin), Kel (Nicholas Duvernay) and Davis (Will Angus), but they’re all pursuing vastly different careers in finance, medicine and fashion. Davis’ crush on AJ, who is not-so-secretly besotted with her brash boss (Jay Ellis), gives off cutesy Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel vibes, but we’ll see if that will-they-or-won’t-they subplot pays off as well as it did in the ‘90s.
‘Hoppers’ (June 3) — Disney+
Mabel (Piper Curda) is a college student determined to save her childhood glade from destruction, courtesy of the local mayor, Jerry (Jon Hamm). When she discovers that her biology professor has developed technology that allows someone to transfer their consciousness into a robotic animal, she stealthily uses it to pose as a beaver so she can lure enough animals back to the glade to prevent its demise. But Mabel’s ruse is too good, and her integration into the endangered animal kingdom may be irreversible.
Hoopers hails from Pixar, who know a thing or two about making high-quality animated films. While Hoopers doesn’t reach the heroic heights of The Incredibles, it’s still a worthy addition to the Disney canon, with a spunky heroine, a slimy villain and enough cute and fuzzy sidekicks to populate your local Disney store with on-band merchandise. The animation is bright and sharp, convincingly showcasing the hidden kingdoms of wildlife that humans like Jerry take for granted.
‘Michael Jackson: The Verdict’ (June 3) — Netflix
Michael is still packing in Thriller fans worldwide, so why not watch a docuseries about what that hit movie doesn’t cover? The three-episode show, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, spotlights the highly publicized — and still contentious — 2005 trial of the pop singer, who was accused of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo.
Directed by Nick Green, the series features interviews with figures from the trial, including jurors, eyewitnesses and lawyers from the defense and prosecution. Green hopes that “anyone interested in the Michael Jackson story should feel this documentary gives them a window into what was largely a closed event and a chance to feel closer to what happened.” Does The Verdict succeed in doing that, or will Netflix audiences cry foul and object? Find out for yourself on June 3.
