Happy “it’s nearly June” time, everyone! It’s remarkable to think that we’re nearly halfway through 2022, isn’t it? It only feels like yesterday that the world’s biggest streamers were preparing to drop their first productions of the year. And, while there’s been plenty of audiences to enjoy over the past five months, things are about to hot up even more in the battle for viewers’ attention.
It’s endured a fair deal of bad press in recent weeks, but Netflix is laying down a marker with its sizeable content offering in June 2022. The streaming giant will no doubt be on a high after Stranger Things season 4 part 1’s release on May 27, but that’s just the start of its summer (or winter, depending on where you live) push to be the go-to streamer over the next four weeks.
Of course, it’ll have competition from Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and more. Those vying for Netflix’s streaming crown have a number of top-tier movies and TV shows to put in front of your eyes, too, so don’t discount what they have to offer you. From superhero-based content to comedies, and rom-com dramas to action or sci-fi oriented films, you’ll find something worth checking out in our ‘top picks for June 2022’ list below.
Here, then, are the 11 biggest movies and TV series you’ll want to catch on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and more in the coming weeks.
Interceptor (Netflix)
When to stream it: Friday, June 3
Australian action-thriller novelist Matthew Reilly makes his feature film debut with Interceptor, an action-drama flick co-produced by Marvel movie star Chris Hemsworth and starring the Thor actor’s wife Elsa Pataky.
Pataky plays Captain JJ Collins, an army officer who is reluctantly stationed on a Pacific Ocean-based nuclear missile interceptor base after she’s wrongfully forced to leave her dream job at the Pentagon. When the charismatic US soldier-turned-criminal Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey) infiltrates the offshore camp, alongside his expertly-assembled crew of mercenaries, with the aim of carrying out a potentially apocalyptic plan, Collins becomes the last line of defence in preventing Kessel and company from carrying out their villainous plan.
The upcoming Netflix movie looks like your average action-thriller, but there are bound to be some great and gripping action sequences throughout. One to watch if you’re looking for a weekend film where you can switch your brain off for a couple of hours.
The Boys season 3 (Prime Video)
When to stream it: Friday, June 3
The first of three superhero shows to arrive in June. The R-rated Prime Video series is back for its third outing after nearly two years away and, based on the trailer above, The Boys season 3 could be the funniest, goriest, and most emotional entry yet.
Picking up one year after the season 2 finale, The Boys finds the show’s morally complex heroes and villains in various positions of power that they want (or don’t want) to be in. Homelander’s wings have been clipped following the fallout over Stormfront, Billy finds himself reluctantly working for the government (with none other than his former protégé Hughie supervising him), and the world itself in a relative time of peace.
Unsurprisingly, it isn’t long before things spiral out of control. When The Boys learn of an anti-Supe weapon that may finally put an end to Homelander’s reign of terror, their quest to find it puts them on a collision course with Homelander and the Seven. Civil wars start erupting within the two groups’ ranks, but the re-emergence of Soldier Boy, Vought’s first ever Supe, may force them to put their differences aside to combat a threat graver than Homelander himself.
The first three episodes of The Boys’ third season simultaneously land on June 3. Subsequent episodes will follow weekly until the finale on July 8. And we expect it, as well as the live-action show’s adaptation of the Herogasm storyline, will be truly diabolical.
Ms Marvel (Disney Plus)
When to stream it: Wednesday, June 8
If The Boys is a bit too adult-themed for you, why not check out Ms Marvel, aka the latest MCU Phase 4 project, when it arrives on June 8?
Starring newcomer Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, Ms Marvel charts the origins of the titular superhero as she tries to balance her school, social, and superpowered lifestyles upon acquiring her own abilities. The Pakistani-American teenager is a massive fan of the Avengers, so it seems all of her dreams have come true when she becomes a superhero in her own right. As Ms Marvel’s Disney Plus series will explore, though, dreaming of being a superhero and actually becoming one are two entirely things.
Early social media reactions have suggested that Ms Marvel will be another win for Marvel Studios, but it remains to be seen if it’ll be as critically acclaimed as Loki, WandaVision, or Moon Knight. There has been pushback from Ms Marvel’s fanbase over the heroine’s powers being altered, after all, with Marvel Studios president Kevine Feige and the character’s co-creator trying to explain why that creative decision has been taken.
Even if it doesn’t end up being as popular as previous Marvel TV shows, we’re confident it’ll be another strong entry in the MCU. We’ll be reuniting with Kamala/Ms Marvel in 2023’s The Marvels, too, alongside Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’ Photon, so you’ll be seeing more of Vellain’s version in the future.
Hustle (Netflix)
When to stream it: Wednesday, June 8
Netflix will be hoping that Adam Sandler’s latest film can be as big of a hit as Uncut Gems, the A24-developed 2019 crime thriller that landed a number of prestigious prizes on the 2020 awards circuit.
Like Uncut Gems, Hustle will see Sandler’s on-screen character looking to unearth a diamond in the rough. However, Hustle will be much more of a feel-good, sports-oriented flick, with Sandler’s Stanley Sugerman finding renewed purpose and love for basketball when he discovers a new talented but raw player in Bo Cruz, who’s played by actual NBA player Juancho Hernangómez.
Sugerman, a travel-weary scout for the Philadelphia 76ers, strikes up a father-son style bond with Bo, the pair’s passion for basketball shining through. Somewhat expectedly, the duo team up to prove that they can make it as a professional coach and NBA player respectively. But, with naysayers lurking around every corner, their journey will test their resolve and desire to make it to the top. Be prepared to laugh and cry at this likely inspirational drama.
For All Mankind season 3 (Apple TV Plus)
When to stream it: Friday, June 10
Apple TV Plus has a flair for creating stunning sci-fi shows. Foundation and Severance are arguably the pick of the bunch, but For All Mankind is another superb addition to Apple’s original TV series offerings.
Fans of this fictional space race story will be delighted to hear, then, that it’s coming back for its third season. After a time jump from 1983 to 1995 in season 2’s final episode, For All Mankind’s next entry will likely chart the US and Russia’s battle to colonize Mars. You know, after the first astronauts set foot on the red planet in the final moments of season 2 episode 10.
We’ll see a new storyline play out in the show’s third season, while some new faces will join its stellar cast. According to an official Apple TV Plus press release, season 3 will see “the Red Planet becomes the new frontier in the Space Race, not only for the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but also an unexpected new entrant with a lot to prove and even more at stake.” Curiously, though, it’s not another nation that throws its hat into the ring. You’ll have to watch the trailer above to find out who it is.
Peaky Blinders season 6 (Netflix)
When to stream it: Friday, June 10
Following its six-episode return on the BBC in the UK, Peaky Blinders season 6 finally arrives on Netflix for its international fanbase. The period piece makes its Netflix return on June 10, with all episodes dropping on the streaming giant on that date. Unlike British fans, then, those based in the US and further afield will be able to binge watch it over an entire weekend, if you so wish.
So where does the Netflix show pick up in season 6? Unsurprisingly, straight after the season 5 finale, with Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby in a dark, dark place. No sooner have we caught up with Tommy and company, however, and the show jumps forward four years to 1933, putting our favorite characters in new situations that are every bit as tense, suspenseful, and captivating as the previous five seasons.
With Peaky Blinders season 6 set to be the final instalment in the series, you’ll be pleased to know that UK fans and critics have lauded it as the best entry in the show’s history. You can be the judge of whether they’re right or not, but you should prepare yourself for a thrilling end to what’s been one of the best British shows of recent years.
Spiderhead (Netflix)
When to stream it: Friday, June 17
The Netflix content wheel keeps on turning as June progresses and, if a sports-based film or TV period drama aren’t your thing, maybe this sci-fi thriller will be instead.
Spiderhead stars Chris Hemsworth – yep, him again – as Steve Abensti, a so-called brilliant and charismatic visionary who founded the state-of-the-art, offshore penitentiary known as Spiderhead. Here, inmates can sign up to an experiment, which fits with a surgically attached device that administers doses of mind-altering drugs, in exchange for their lengthy jail terms.
Two such subjects in Jeff (Top Gun: Maverick‘s Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Birds of Prey‘s Jurnee Smollett) agree to sign up to the program, and quickly form a connection as a result of their drug-fuelled interactions. But, as is always the case with such trials, things start to go wrong – very wrong, in fact – and it isn’t long before Abnesti’s experiment forces Jeff and Lizzy to question everything about who they are, what they’re doing here, and how they can potentially escape.
Based on George Saunders’ short story for The New Yorker, Spiderhead is directed by Joseph Kosinski, whose previous credits include the underrated Tron: Legacy, the Tom Cruise-starring Oblivion, and, as mentioned, Top Gun: Maverick. While you’re here, read our chat with Kosinski on how he filmed some of Maverick’s most spectacular sequences.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video)
When to stream it: Friday, June 17
One for the romance fans out there now. Based on Jenny Han’s New York Times best-selling book trilogy of the same name, The Summer I Turned Pretty is billed as a multigenerational drama-coming of age tale that largely focuses on the love triangle between Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin (newcomer Lola Tung) and two guys she falls for. The problem? Belly’s would-be suiters are brothers. Uh-oh…
The Prime Video series will explore other aspects of, well, love and everything to do with relationships. Amazon Studios suggests that the show will also tackle the ever-evolving dynamics between moms and their children, the power of female friendship, and the nostalgia of those perfect summer nights spent with people you really care about.
Sure, The Summer I Turned Pretty won’t be for everyone, but there’s bound to be an audience for it. It’s getting released at the right time – i.e. those long summer nights we mentioned above – so why not check it out?
The Umbrella Academy season 3 (Netflix)
When to stream it: Wednesday, June 22
The third and final superhero-centric show to launch in June, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy follows in The Boys’ footsteps in receiving its third outing in the very near future.
After the Hargreeves family successfully averted another apocalypse, the misfit siblings thought they had finally traveled back to their own timeline. Naturally, their joy is short-lived – turns out, they’ve been transported to an alternate reality where their recently deceased father Sir Reginald Hargreeves is alive and well.
Not only that, but The Umbrella Academy has been replaced by a more powerful, collaborative, and cool superhero team called The Sparrow Academy. Oh and, thanks to their continual messing with the timeline, The Umbrella Academy have created yet another world-ending event. This time, they’ve only got five days to prevent this doomsday from occurring. Time’s a tickin’, guys and gals.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 will launch in full on June 22, with the show’s main cast all returning for its latest instalment. Expect plenty of drama, musical dance numbers, witty retorts, and dysfunctional family-based action to play out across its 10 episodes. If you want a rundown on what season 3’s episodic titles may tease from a plot perspective, read our expert guide.
Westworld season 4 (HBO Max)
When to stream it: Sunday, June 26
Everyone’s favorite sci-fi western-thriller series returns on HBO Max in June, with Westworld’s fourth season debuting on WarnerMedia’s streaming platform following a two-year hiatus.
The acclaimed HBO Max show will see all of its biggest stars reprise their roles from previous instalments, including Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman), Thandiwe Newton (Reminiscence), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok), and Ed Harris (Top Gun: Maverick). It’s a good job we know about which actors are back for season 4, too, as there’s little in the way of a plot synopsis for us to entice you with.
Right now, showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are keeping their cards very close to their chest. WarnerMedia is being similarly coy about what to expect from season 4, with the company only revealing a teaser trailer and a brief logline that teases the show’s fourth season will depict “a dark odyssey about the fate of sentient life on earth”. Sounds ominous.
Unlike most other TV series we’ve included in this list, Westworld season 4’s eight episodes will all be released weekly. The fourth season’s premiere will be the only entry to drop on launch day, meaning new episodes will arrive every Sunday until the season finale on August 14.
Only Murders in the Building season 2 (Disney Plus/Hulu)
When to stream it: Tuesday, June 28
The hit Hulu and Disney Plus murder-comedy series is back! Or, rather, it will be when it arrives on both streaming services in late June. US audiences will be able to catch Only Murders in the Building’s second season on Hulu, while UK and international audiences can stream it on Disney’s streaming service.
The series will pick up right where the first season left off, with Steven Martin’s Charles-Haden, Martin Short’s Oliver, and Selena Gomez’s Mabel wrongfully implicated in the murder of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger. Determined to prove their innocence, the trio must stick together, try and clear their names, and bring the real culprit to justice.
Unfortunately, that’ll be easier said than done. Their New York neighbors believe them to be guilty, while the real murderer keeps hiding police evidence in their department. Still, these amateur detectives won’t be deterred in their quest absolve themselves of all blame.
Season 2 will receive a two-episode premiere when it arrives on June 28, with episodes releasing weekly after that until the finale on August 23. If you’re yet to watch this truly underrated whodunnit, you’ve got plenty of time to catch up before it returns.