Rueben's Ramblings

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

On July 6, the second season of Inspector Ellis will premiere online on Acorn TV.

The Roku Channel movie Summer Sparks will debut online on July 7. Set at Camp Evergreen, the movie follows Adam (Jesse Metcalfe), a single father arriving with his competitive son and Monica (Kathryn Davis), a single mom returning to her childhood cooking camp to share its traditions with her own kids. The camp hosts a summer cook-off where families compete in challenges for a prize: the winning family’s recipe is published in a real cookbook. As they navigate cooking mishaps, family dynamics, and the pressure of the competition, Adam and Monica bond over their shared experiences as single parents. Their growing connection adds a romantic spark to an already heartfelt summer.

On July 9, the Peacock drama The Five Star Weekend will debut online. The series is centered on Hollis Shaw (Jennifer Garner), a famed cook and best selling author known for her delicious recipes, impeccable taste and warm demeanor, who suffers a devastating loss. Unable to move forward, an unexpected death starts to expose the cracks in Hollis’s picture-perfect life – her strained marriage, her complicated relationship with her daughter and her growing pursuit of validation from her fans. In an effort to overcome grief and find herself again, Hollis gets the idea to host a weekend away at her house on Nantucket with three friends from different stages in her life: her childhood, her twenties, thirties, and one surprise fifth star. Set against a luxurious and coastal backdrop, the stars will mature in ways they could never imagine as boundaries are pushed and secrets are exposed. The cast includes Chloe Sevigny, D’Arcy Carden, David Denman, Gemma Chan, Josh Hamilton, Judry Greer, Regina Hall and Timothy Olyphant.

The reboot of Little House on the Prairie will debut online on Netflix on July 9. The close-knit Ingalls family builds a new life on the Western frontier, where the joys of nature and the struggle for survival are deeply intertwined. The cast stars Luke Bracey and Crosby Fitzgerald as Charles and Caroline Ingalls; Alice Halsey and Skywalker Hughes as Laura and Mary Ingalls as well as Jocko Sims, Meegwun Fairbrother, Ryan Robbins and Warren Christie.

On July 10, the finale of the Starz drama The Listeners will air at 9 PM and that same day, the finale of Star City will air online on Apple TV.

The Hallmark Channel holiday movie O Little Christmas Market will debut at 8 PM on July 11. An artist fights to save her town’s beloved Christmas market from a developer but a budding romance with the architect tied to the deal may help bring about a Christmas miracle. The movie stars Katherine Barrell and Stephen Huszar.

Lastly on July 12, the first two episodes of the new MGM+ drama The Westies will debut at 9 and 10 PM. This new series, set in the early 1980s centers on New York City’s infamously violent Irish gang when the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the Westies’ home turf in Hell’s Kitchen promises a financial windfall. Despite being outnumbered fifty-to-one by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia. The ensemble cast includes J.K. Simmons, Titus Welliver, Tom Brittney, Allen Leech and Sarah Bolger.

Mark your calendars!