With the Fourth of July coming up this week, as you gear up for the long holiday weekend, there are some great new shows and movies to watch to beat the heat. Whether you want to binge-watch a new series or catch this week’s big movie premieres, there’s a wide variety to choose from, including action movies, kids’ animated shows, blockbuster finales, and more.
Over on Netflix, Eddie Murphy is back as everyone’s favorite Detroit cop Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. And over on Disney+, a new series of Bluey “mini-episodes” will please your kids — and, let’s be honest, you, too.
Max kicks off the week with the release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Shark Week, which premieres on Discovery and Max and is hosted this year by John Cena, kicks off on July 7. On Prime Video, Space Cadet stars Emma Roberts as a hard-partying Floridian who becomes NASA’s next generation of talented astronauts. Space Cadet premieres on July 4. On Hulu, you can watch the new manga series Land of Tanabata.
Netflix will also have some great library titles coming, including all three Back to the Future films and the entire Lost series, while Paramount Plus will have all 10 Star Trek films (that is, everything before the J.J. Abrams reboot) coming on July 1. Read on to find out more about the featured titles.
read more: 50 TV shows to look forward to in 2024
Best New Shows and Movies on Streaming Services (July 1-July 7)
Netflix
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (July 3)
It’s been 30 years since the last Beverly Hills Cop movie came out – think about that, they invented cars that don’t even have exhaust pipes to stick bananas in! Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Detroit cop Axel Foley in this reboot that also features series newcomers Taylour Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon, with returning cast members Judge Reinhold, Bronson Pinchot, John Ashton and Paul Reiser.
“The Imaginary” is the latest film from director Yoshiyuki Momose, who spent most of his career as an animator at Studio Ghibli, where he worked on films such as “Porco Rosso” and “Spirited Away.” Featuring hand-drawn animation and a first-of-its-kind use of light and shadow, the film brings to life A.F. Harold’s 2014 children’s novel about a young girl and her imaginary friends.
Disney Plus
Bluey “Miniswords” (July 3)
If you were worried that “The Sign” was the end of new Bluey episodes, rest assured: there’s still plenty more to come. Seven all-new mini-episodes of Bluey will premiere on Disney+ on July 3 as part of the service’s “Red, White & Bluey” marathon, which runs through July 4th weekend. The new “mini-episodes,” each one between one and three minutes long, are the first in a series of three mini-episodes from Bluey’s creators (for a total of 20 over the next year). Yay!
Max
The latest addition to the MonsterVerse franchise, Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire, stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns and Fala Chen. The action-packed adventure follows Kong’s journey through an undiscovered layer of hollow earth to find his family, with help from Godzilla along the way.
Hard Knocks: New York Giants offseason (July 2)
“Hard Knocks: The New York Giants Offseason” takes viewers inside the New York Giants organization as the NFL team prepares to play its 100th season. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, the five-part series offers a look at general manager Joe Sean and the team’s front office and staff as they navigate the crucial offseason period from January through July 2024. It premieres on July 2.
Stars
Power Book II: Ghost, Season 4 Part 1 Finale (July 5)
The final season of Power Book II: Ghost is split into two parts, with this Friday marking the finale of Season 4, Part I. The show will return with new episodes on Friday, September 6. You can watch Power Book II: Ghost on Starz and the Starz app.
Prime Video
Emma Roberts stars as Rex, a Florida woman who accidentally joins NASA’s space program despite having no training. It would be crazy to see a Legally Blonde go into space, right? Space Cadet co-stars Poppy Liu, Gabrielle Union and Tom Hopper and will be available on Prime on the 4th of July.
Whatever role Jason Statham plays, he’s usually a man trying to move on from a dangerous, murderous past. In The Beekeeper, out this week on Prime Video, he plays Adam, a former assassin turned beekeeper who just wants to live a quiet life until he overcomes his thirst for revenge.
