On the Radar: Our July entertainment picks

Welcome to On the Radar, your monthly reminder of what’s coming down the pike in the world of entertainment.

We’ve got the latest TV shows, movies, books and more — all coming out in July.

Take a look and see what’s up this month.

TV

Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix)
Release date: Wednesday, July 1

Fusing signature elements from the original series with contemporary immersive, character-driven storytelling, the new episodes are rooted in the experiences of ordinary people who have lived the unthinkable — from the trauma of a loved one’s unexplained disappearance or horrific death, to the shock of a bizarre paranormal encounter. Alongside detectives and journalists, family members offer clues, present theories and identify suspects, hoping one viewer holds the key to solving the mystery.

Hot Mess House (HGTV Canada)
Release date: Tuesday, July 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Organizing expert Cas Aarssen helps overwhelmed clients with their messy spaces. After identifying their distinct organizing style, she uses video calls and online conferencing to guide them through the process of bringing flow back to their homes.

Tough as Nails (Global TV)
Release date: Wednesday, July 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Global welcomes Tough As Nails, a new 10-episode competition series debuting Wednesday, July 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. From producer Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race), who will also serve as host, and his producing partner, Louise Keoghan, the series celebrates everyday people who roll up their sleeves and don’t think twice about working long, hard hours and getting their hands dirty to keep their country running.

Competitors who consider the calluses on their hands a badge of honour will be tested for their strength, endurance, life skills and, most importantly, mental toughness in challenges that take place at real-world job sites.

Stateless (Netflix)
Release date: Wednesday, July 8

At an Australian immigration detention centre, four strangers — a troubled woman, an anguished refugee, a bureaucrat and a struggling dad — cross paths.

Greatness Code (Apple TV+)
Release date: Friday, July 10

Greatness Code is a short-form unscripted series directed by Gotham Chopra and co-produced by Uninterrupted and Religion of Sports that spotlights untold stories from the greatest athletes in the world. The first season unfolds with seven mini-episodes, each examining a pivotal moment that defined an athlete’s career. Internationally revered athletes featured in Season 1 include LeBron James, Tom Brady, Alex Morgan, Usain Bolt, Katie Ledecky and Kelly Slater.

Little Voice (Apple TV+)
Release date: Friday, July 10

Little Voice is a new coming-of-age drama series featuring original music from Sara Bareilles. A love letter to the diverse musicality of New York starring Brittany O’Grady, Sean Teale, Colton Ryan, Shalini Bathina, Kevin Valdez, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Chuck Cooper, Little Voice follows Bess King, a uniquely talented performer struggling to fulfill her dreams while navigating rejection, love and complicated family issues.

Street Food: Latin America (Netflix)
Release date: Tuesday, July 21

From the creators of Chef’s Table, the hit series Street Food returns for a new culinary adventure. The newest installment will travel to six countries in Latin America and explore the vibrant street food culture of Oaxaca, Mexico; Salvador, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and La Paz, Bolivia. Each episode highlights the stories of perseverance and culture that bring life to each country’s cuisine.

Love Island (hayu Canada)
Release date: Four specials, July 25 & July 26

Don’t worry Love Island fans! Although the summer series was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Love Island team is giving viewers four new specials so everything beloved about the hit reality dating series will be packaged up to enjoy in the specials.

The four specials are: Love Island – The Cute Bits, which will make us cringe, as we salute the very worst grafting, flirting and chat-up lines from the six series; Love Island – The Bust Ups, which is revisiting all the best fall outs and b–ching from five glorious years in paradise, in the company of the voice of Love Island Iain Stirling; Love Island – All the LOLs, which is here to take an affectionate look back at the most bonkers behaviour the villa has seen over the series; and Maura Higgins: You’re Joking Me!, which follows Maura as she attempts to get fit and take on a massive personal challenge — but she really wants you to know she’s not happy about it.

Bad Ideas with Adam Devine (Quibi)
Release date: Monday, July 27

Bad Ideas with Adam Devine is Devine’s twisted take on an adventure series. In each episode, he and a famous friend will travel to a new location in search of adventures that are already inherently dangerous — only they’ll add their own extra-special sauce to ensure they are truly terrible choices.

Last Chance U: Laney (Netflix)
Release date: Tuesday, July 28

Last Chance U returns for Season 5 in a brand new setting to give viewers a raw, authentic look at the junior college football program at Laney College in the heart of Oakland, Calif. After clinching the title of state and national champions in 2018, the Laney Eagles have a hard season to follow and a lot to prove. Going into his eighth season and having built the program from the ground up, powerhouse head coach John Beam must fight to rally the team amidst countless setbacks. Season 5 brings intensity both on and off the field as players battle injuries, stress and personal demons while finding much-needed support in the community and taking pride in their scrappy mentality and motto, “Laney Built.”

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Release date: Friday July 31

The Umbrella Academy is the story of a super-dysfunctional family of superheroes who have eight days to get it together and save the world.

Movies

True Patriot Love movie event (W Network)
Release date: Wednesday, July 1

Join W Network as they celebrate Canada Day with their True Patriot Love movie event, which features Canadian leads in some of our favourite Hallmark Channel movies, including When Sparks Fly at 10 a.m. ET/PT, starring Canadian Christopher Jacot and Meghan Markle; Date with Love at 4 p.m. ET/PT, starring Canadians Shenae Grimes-Beech and Andrew Walker; and The Secret Ingredient at 6 p.m. ET/PT, starring Canadian Brendan Penny and Erin Cahill.

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Desperados (Netflix)
Release date: Friday, July 3

A panicked young woman (Nasim Pedrad) and her two best friends (Anna Camp and Sarah Burns) fly to Mexico to delete a ranting email she sent to her new boyfriend. On arrival, they run into her former beau (Lamorne Morris), who soon gets caught up in their frantic scheme. Desperados also stars Robbie Amell and Heather Graham.

Greyhound (Apple TV+)
Release date: Friday, July 10

Tom Hanks stars as a longtime navy veteran who, as a first-time captain, is tasked with protecting a convoy of 37 ships carrying thousands of soldiers and much-needed supplies across the treacherous waters of the Atlantic during the Second World War. For five days with no air cover, the captain and his small force of three escort ships must make their way through an area of the ocean known as “the Black Pit,” battling Nazi U-boats while protecting their invaluable ships and soldiers.

Fatal Affair (Netflix)
Release date: Thursday, July 16

Ellie (Nia Long) tries to mend her marriage with her husband Marcus (Stephen Bishop) after a brief encounter with an old friend, David (Omar Epps), only to find that David is more dangerous and unstable than she’d realized. Fatal Affair is directed by Peter Sullivan.

Virtual Events

Canada Day House Party
Time and Date: Wednesday, July 1 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET/PT

On July 1, Canadian DJ Skratch Bastid will host the first-ever virtual Canada Day House Party, featuring a diverse, all-Canadian lineup with acts like Sam Roberts Band, Cadence Weapon, Dean Brody, Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, Tobi and more. The virtual event will be in benefit of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

This interactive, digital festival from music marketing agency FRC and presented by Air Miles will bring together music, Canadian celebrities, contests, giveaways, recipes, games and much more to celebrate Canada Day 2020 – all from the comfort of Canadians’ own homes.

Adult Swim Con
Time and Date: Thursday, July 23-Saturday, July 25

Adult Swim announces the first ever Adult Swim Con, a free, fully-immersive convention experience where no badge, plane ticket, or hotel reservation is required. Running Thursday, July 23 to Saturday, July 25, lineup highlights include special behind the scenes looks at Rick and Morty, presented by Pringles, and Robot Chicken, featuring a Q&A with the cast and crew from both shows, a special Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time game play session and an exclusive DJ set from Flying Lotus to celebrate the premiere of YOLO: Crystal Fantasy. Fans can sign up HERE for further event details and full schedule of events, which will be posted next month.

Music releases

Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
Release date: Friday, July 3

Shaggy, Hot Shot 2020
Release date: Friday, July 10

Summer Walker, Life On Earth
Release date: Friday, July 10

Ellie Goulding, Brightest Blue
Release date: Friday, July 17

Machine Gun Kelly, Tickets To My Downfall
Release date: Friday, July 17

The Chicks, Gaslighter
Release date: Friday, July 17

Alanis Morissette, Such Pretty Forks in the Road
Release date: Friday, July 31

Brandy, B7
Release date: Friday, July 31

Victoria Monét, Jaguar
Release date: Friday, July 31

Books

On The Come Up by Angela Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip-hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.

But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labelled a hoodlum at school and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral… for all the wrong reasons.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age 16, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper
Available: Thursday, July 7

Michele Harper is a female, African-American emergency room physician in a profession that is overwhelmingly male and white. Brought up in Washington, D.C., in a complicated family, she went to Harvard, where she met her husband. They stayed together through medical school until two months before she was scheduled to join the staff of a hospital in central Philadelphia, when he told her he couldn’t move with her. Her marriage at an end, Harper began her new life in a new city, in a new job, as a newly single woman.

The Party Upstairs by Lee Conell
Available: Thursday, July 7

A debut novel that unfolds in the course of a single day inside one genteel New York City apartment building as tensions between the building’s super and his grown-up daughter spark a crisis that will, by day’s end, change everything.

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