From Helgoland to Sausage Party, but also The Decameron and Under the birdge. Here are the best products on the main streaming platforms
A fairly varied serial July even if, on paper, not with any particular sparks. We rely mainly on light and entertaining stories but there is no lack of some more challenging drama.
Sunny (Apple tv+, July 10)
A peculiar mix of thriller and dark comedy, this series centers on Suzie (Rashida Jones), an American living in Tokyo who is trying to overcome the serious loss that struck her, having lost her husband and son in a mysterious plane crash. The company her husband worked for entrusts her with a highly advanced domestic robot and, after an initial mistrust, the partnership between the two will shed light on what really happened in that tragic accident.
Under the bridge (Disney+, 10 luglio)
Miniseries inspired by the novel of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey and which is based on a tragic true story. It tells the story of the sudden disappearance of Reena Virk, a fourteen-year-old who leaves home one evening to meet up with her friends and never returns. A police officer – Lily Gladstone – investigates the case together with the writer herself, played by Riley Keough, arriving to discover a terrible truth and an unsuspecting killer.
Sausage Party: Cibopolis (Amazon Prime Video, July 11)
Irreverent animated series, sequel to the film (almost homonymous). The protagonists – Frank, Brenda. Barry and Sammy – pursue their utopian goal of building a food society, setting out on a journey to create their culinary utopia. There will be the usual provocative language, sarcasm and a certain vulgarity, very incorrect. For lovers of the genre, a succulent novelty to wait for.
The Lady of the Lake (Apple tv+, July 19)
All-female miniseries starring Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram in Baltimore in the late 1960s. Maddie Schwartz is a Jewish housewife who tries to free herself from a heavy past by throwing herself into investigative journalism. Her story intertwines with that of Cleo Johnson, an African-American mother who moves in the political undergrowth of the city and who is found dead in a lake, following the disappearance of a group of young girls. A story with a good pace and well-crafted.
Those about to die (Amazon Prime Video, 19 luglio)
Series set in ancient Rome in 79 BC that focuses on life in the city and in particular on gladiator fights and the competitions at the Circus Maximus. Four corporations of Patricians controlled all the games and soon a new stadium was built for the fights: the Colosseum. Antony Hopkins plays the emperor Vespasian while Italy, where part of the series was filmed, also has a small acting quota with the presence of Gabriella Pession. Many have tried to make series about ancient Rome: we will see if this time it will be the right one in terms of results.
Betty La Fea: The Story Continues (Amazon Prime, July 19)
Resurrection of the old Colombian sitcom (adapted in America as Ugly Betty) several years after the previous one. Betty is now married to Armando – who is about to divorce – and is trying to recover the relationship with their teenage daughter. In the meantime, Betty’s father-in-law, Roberto – founder of Ecomoda – passes away, whose last wish was to see the woman involved in the company again.
Helgoland 513 (Sky and Now, July 19)
Sky Germany is churning out this new original series, a post-apocalyptic drama set in 2039. In a dystopian future, an apocalypse has destroyed the world and the only place that has been preserved is Helgoland, an island off the coast of Germany. A dictatorship is established here, guided by restrictive social rules, the first of which is that only 513 people can live on the island. When a child is born, they must decide who must sacrifice themselves to make room for him.
The Decameron (Netflix, 25 luglio)
A treacherous operation that of a serial transposition of Boccaccio’s Decameron. At the center of the story is a group of nobles who take refuge in a country villa to escape the black plague of 1348, living a dissolute and unruly existence between rivers of alcohol and forbidden stories. It was sold as a dark comedy in soap style, ergo caution seems mandatory.
