As summer slowly starts to turn the corner, many of us are still stuck largely at home. With limited allowances for small social gatherings and most restaurants and bars still closed for dining-in, however, there’s been no better excuse all year for curling up on the couch and sinking your teeth in to a good film or television show.
It’s almost as though the content gods at Netflix predicted this when they sat down to plan out their release schedule. All month long, the streaming service will be dropping quality Originals, with new seasons of shows we know and love, and fresh cinematic ventures into uncharted territory. From capers to comedies, from climate change to children who are half-deer, June will see Netflix splashing thrills, spills, and chills across your small screens.
The surprise sensation of lockdown Omar Sy (Lupin) is back, as are the genetically blessed singles on Too Hot to Handle. What’s more, as many Singaporeans prepare to suit up in pink and show their love for Pink Dot 2021 (12 June), there will be plenty of time to get in the spirit by watching the new season of Feel Good, from nonbinary comedian Mae Martin.
And if you’re in a viewing rut? Consider wading out of your comfort zone and into some of the truly off-the-wall content that Netflix is premiering: both dark fairytale Sweet Tooth and anti-romcom Good on Paper look incredibly promising.
June is also the time to focus on the green, with World Environment Day (5 June), World Oceans Day (8 June), and World Rainforest Day (22 June) all coming up. Accordingly, something special for the nature-lovers will be dropping: a lush David Attenborough documentary called Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet. Whether you prefer your pride to be rainbow or full of lions (or both), Netflix has something for you this June.
1 / 9
Sweet Tooth
An ambitious fantasy series based on the DC comic book series of the same name, Sweet Tooth gives its viewers a glimpse into a strange, new world. Dubbed “Mad Max meets Bambi,” the concept is based in a post-apocalyptic landscape years after a mysterious virus has ravaged the land. Gus (Christian Convery) is a part-deer, part-boy hybrid who lives a sheltered life in the woods until he befriends a nomadic loner named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie). Together, they’ll set out on a journey across the country to look for answers—as to Gus’ origins, Jepperd’s past, and the true meaning of home. But dark forces are hunting down these hybrid children, and Gus will have to use all his wits to navigate the dangerous world lying just beyond the forest’s edge.
Watch Sweet Tooth from 4 June.
2 / 9
Feel Good
Season 1 of Feel Good gave us Mae, a comedian and recovering addict based on the show’s creator, Mae Martin. The semi-autobiographical show follows Mae as she embarks on a new relationship with George (Charlotte Ritchie), furthers her stand-up career, and deals with her toxic family. It was hilarious, heartfelt, and devastating, and now it’s back for a second (and final) round. The first season’s end saw Mae and George reconcile, with the sense that things haven’t quite been resolved between the two of them. Season 2 will open with Mae in a Canadian rehab centre and George adrift in England. A gentle sendup of millennial culture, Feel Good is an immaculate, representative love story that will have you reaching for the tissues.
Watch the second season of Feel Good from 4 June.
3 / 9
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet
“The science is clear, and has been communicated for the past 30 years, and still we’re not moving in the right direction.” That’s the bleak message that was put forth in the first trailer for Breaking Boundaries, a doc set to have lauded naturalist David Attenborough and scientist Johan Rockström examine Earth’s biodiversity collapse. Can this crisis still be averted? That’s the question that remains at the heart of this project. Taking a hard look at the solutions that could be put in place to stabilise and protect Earth’s remaining resources, Breaking Boundaries does not promise to be an easy watch. What it will be, though, is necessary and informative. Barring going outside to plant a tree, this is the best thing you can do to celebrate the planet we all live on.
Watch Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet from 4 June.
4 / 9
Lupin: Part 2
Ready to dive back into Netflix’s most-watched French series? Heist drama Lupin is back for more, with its gentleman thief, Assane Diop (Sy), working to exact his revenge on Hubert Pellegrini. Avid fans of the show will remember that Season 1 ended on the huge cliffhanger of the abduction of Diop’s son, Raoul (Etan Simon), by Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre). Naturally, Diop is intent on finding both—hindered by the small detail that he is now the most wanted man in France. Pellegrini and Diop’s feud goes way back, beginning when Diop was just a child and Pellegrini set in motion a false accusation that led to Diop’s father’s death. Omar Sy is in peak form as the man hellbent on saving Raoul by any means necessary; whether he will do so remains to be seen.
Watch Lupin: Part 2 from 11 June.
5 / 9
Skater Girl
Set in the rural districts of Rajasthan, Skater Girl follows Prerna (Rachel Sanchita Gupta), a teenager who discovers a life-changing passion for skateboarding. It’s a rough road to follow her dreams of competing, though, as societal structures that demand a girl shouldn’t skate stand in her way. Also featuring veteran actress Waheeda Rehman, Skater Girl was written, directed, and produced by the LA-based Manjari Makijany, who is making her directorial debut. Strangely enough, after filming wrapped in late 2019, the leftover set in rural Khempur officially became the region’s first and largest skatepark. An exciting Hindi coming-of-age sports drama, the film promises to deftly handle its multiple genres.
Watch Skater Girl from 11 June.
6 / 9
Beyond Evil
As a brutal murder surfaces in a small town, the chase for the truth falls on two policemen, Lee Dong-sik (Shin Ha-kyun) and Han Joo-won (Yeo Jin-goo). Dong-sik, a detective-turned-sergeant at the Manyang Police Substation leads a quiet, bitter life until hotshot detective Joo-won is transferred to his station. As reluctant partners, they’ll stumble across a killing eerily familiar to Dong-sik, whose career was wrecked by a decades-old cold case resembling this new crime. To catch the killer, the two will have to break the law—and along the way, they’ll risk exposing their own deeply-buried secrets. No one is safe and everyone’s loyalty will be questioned in this thrilling K-drama, which was acclaimed by critics and fans alike when it first aired on Korean channels earlier this year.
Watch Beyond Evil from 15 June.
7 / 9
So Not Worth It
Literally translated as Hope the Earth Collapses Tomorrow, the new K-drama So Not Worth It is a chaotic and heart-warming series about students living together in an international university’s dormitory. Each comes from a multicultural background, and navigates life and love through their own personal lens and biases. Chipper Korean teaching assistant Se-wan (Park Se-wan) will have to wrangle the likes of American Jamie (Shin Hyun-seung), Australian-Korean Sam (Choi Young-jae), Thai Minnie (Minnie), and stateless Korean student Hyun-min (Han Hyun-min). Quarreling and bickering is practically guaranteed, but the students will come to rely on one another to muddle through and chase after their dreams.
Watch So Not Worth It from 18 June.
8 / 9
Good on Paper
If he checks all your boxes, check again. After years of putting her career ahead of love, stand-up comic Andrea Singer has stumbled upon the perfect guy. But is he everything that he appears to be? Good on Paper promises to be the latest addition to the anti-romantic comedy canon. A (mostly) true story from Ilize Shlesinger, who plays Andrea, the movie will also star the likes of Margaret Cho and Rebecca Rittenhouse. Kimmy Gatewood, a veteran TV director for shows like GLOW, Girls5eva, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, will be helming the production. Shlesinger has a long-running relationship with Netflix, which released five of her stand-up specials and hosted her sketch show in 2020, so it’s no wonder she’s chosen to partner with the service for her upcoming movie. Fingers crossed it’s not just a concept that sounds good on paper!
Watch Good on Paper from 23 June.
9 / 9
Too Hot to Handle
Too Hot to Handle is a dating game where sex singles meet and mingle in a tropical paradise—with the only catch being a $100,000 celibacy challenge. (That, and a host of other minute rules as a part of that challenge, each of which has a financial penalty. Kissing will cost you $3,000, sex $20,000, and so on.) While we still don’t know who has been cast in the second season, viewers can rest assured that, no matter how it plays out, Netflix has already renewed the show for a third season. In January, Variety reported the show was filming both seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back in Turks and Caicos. This also means that it was filmed in the throes of the pandemic, though we don’t yet know if social distancing will affect the way the game is played. Don’t gear up to binge-watch the full season just yet, either, as only the first four episodes are hitting Netflix on 23 June. The final six will be released one week later.
Watch the second season of Too Hot to Handle from 23 June.
