Rueben's Ramblings

Here is the list of the programming options to expect on TV this coming week:

On July 5, the new 6-part drama The Beast Must Die will debut on AMC+ online. After learning the police investigation into the fatal hit and run of her young son Martie has been dropped, Frances Cairnes (Cush Jumbo from The Good Fight) takes matters into her own hands. Posing as a novelist researching a new murder-mystery, Frances ingratiates herself with the family of George Rattery (Jared Harris from Chernobyl), the man she suspects is responsible, and sets a plan in action to kill him.

NOTE: This series will then debut on network TV on AMC at 10 PM.

The box office movie Black Widow will air a special presentation on Disney+ starting on July 7. Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johanasson) finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. The cast includes David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle and Ray Winstone.

NOTE: The premier access to the movie will be available on July 9.

Also on July 7, the animated series Monsters at Work will debut online on Disney+. Set after the events of Monsters, Inc., the city of Monstropolis is making the transition to be fuelled by the sound of laughter. Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman from Superstore and Drop Dead Diva), a recent Scare Major graduate from Monsters University, working as a mechanic in the Facilities Team, dreams of working alongside his idols, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman). Other voices will be provided by John Ratzenberger, Jennifer Tilly, Mindy Kaling, Henry Winkler, Lucas Neff, Alanna Ubach, Aisha Tyler, Bonnie Hunt and Curtis Armstrong.

The reboot of Gossip Girl will debut online on HBO Max on July 8. Heading back to the Upper East Side, the series focuses on a new generation of New York private school teens being introduced to social surveillance nine years after the original blogger’s website went dark. Kristen Bell, once again, voices Gossip Girl with well-known actors Donna Murphy, Elizabeth Lail and Laura Benanti appearing in the show alongside mostly newcomers, including Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak and Savannah Lee Smith.

Also on July 8, season 14 of the long-running Canadian family drama Heartland will premiere on UPtv at 7 PM.

The third season of Virgin River will get underway starting on July 9 on Netflix.

On July 9, the box office film The Water Man will debut on Netflix online. Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy ventures into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. The film stars Lonnie Chavis, David Oyelowo, Rosario Dawson, Maria Bello, Alfred Molina and Amiah Miller.

Also on July 9, the return of Leverage – known now as Leverage: Redemption – will premiere on IMDb TV online. Eight years after the original series, Sophie (Gina Bellman), Parker (Beth Riesgraf), Eliot (Christian Kane), and Hardison (Aldis Hodge) are going after the rich and powerful. Now, they’re joined by Harry (Noah Wyle), a corporate lawyer looking for redemption after realizing he’s been on the wrong side of the table his entire career, and Hardison’s sister Breanna (Aleyse Shannon), who has a knack for computers, robotics, and getting into trouble. The world might have changed, but the crew is still here to steal what the bad guys take back and provide…leverage.

NOTE: The first 8 episodes will air now with the latter 8 episodes set to air later this year.

On July 10, the Christmas in July made-for-TV movie Crashing Through the Snow will debut on Hallmark Channel at 9 PM. Maggie (Amy Acker from Person of Interest and Angel) and her ex-husband, Jeff (Kristian Bruun from Orphan Black), have always been friends first. When Jeff’s new girlfriend, Kate (Brooke Nevin), spontaneously invites Maggie along to their Christmas getaway in Aspen, she jumps at the chance to spend a Yuletide holiday away with her two daughters. Although Maggie feels like a third wheel crashing their Christmas, she’s not alone as Kate’s hapless brother, Sam (Warren Christie from Alphas and Batwoman), shows up unannounced with a plan. Always seeming to live in Kate’s shadow, Sam, for once, wants to come out ahead, and he convinces Maggie that, together, they can compete with Kate and make this Christmas the best one ever. Neither of them is adequately prepared for the blended family challenges that lie ahead or the feelings they develop for one another.

The season finale of season two of Riviera will air at 7 PM on Ovation TV on July 10.

On July 11, the season premiere of the 4th season of Unforgotten will air on PBS at 9 PM; while that same night the season finale of Run the World will air on Starz at 8:30 PM followed by the season finale of Little Birds at 9:30 PM; and also on July 11, the 5th season premiere of Animal Kingdom will air on TNT at 9 PM.

Lastly also on July 11, the 6-episode limited series The White Lotus will debut on HBO at 9 PM. The series follows the vacations of various hotel guests over the span of a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees and the idyllic locale itself. The ensemble cast includes Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Molly Shannon, Steve Zahn, Jon Gries, Jake Lacy, Brittany O’Grady, Alexandra Daddario and Jolene Purdy [among others].

Mark your calendars!