Here's what's worth streaming in July 2026 on -2-

Marvel's surprisingly good and visually striking animated series "X-Men '97" (July 1) is back for its second season, with its heroes forced to find a way to reunite after being scattered across space and time to battle this season's big bad, the "first mutant" known as Apocalypse. For those who grew up with Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit and the gang back in the old days, "X-Men '97" is for you.

Disney (DIS) also has an exclusive episode of "The Simpsons" - "Simpsley" (July 3), which offers a take on "The Talented Mr. Ripley"; the 24-hour Fourth of July special "Disney Celebrates America" (July 3-4); a slew of NatGeo shark shows as "Sharkfest" kicks off (July 5); the animated shorts "Bluey Compilations" (July 8); the teen-fantasy musical "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland" (July 7); and "Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston" (July 23), as the actor explores the Roman volcanic ruins with a blend of scripted drama and documentary.

There's also a smattering of ABC, Hulu and ESPN programming, including new seasons of "Project Runway" (July 10) and "Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro" (July 14), the WNBA All-Star Game (July 25), NWSL games, Savannah Bananas and a concert livestream from Lollapalooza in Chicago (July 30-Aug. 1).

Play, pause or stop? Pause. While nothing necessarily must-see, there's a good balance of stuff for both kids and adults. And if you missed them, it's also a good chance to catch up on recent shows like "Wonder Man" and "Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord."

Paramount+ ($8.99 a month with ads, $13.99 a month Premium with no ads)

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (July 23), the USS Enterprise prequel featuring younger versions of the original series' characters, returns for its fourth season. Paramount (PSKY) announced last year that the series will end with a six-episode fifth season, which is already in production. But when that's done, there'll be no more "Star Trek" shows in the queue, which somehow seems weird. Trekkies shouldn't fret too much; at least two movies are in the works.

Paramount's also got the Fourth of July special "The Great American Block Party 250" (July 4), a new season of "Big Brother" (July 9), the financial-crime documentary "The Real Wolf of Wall Street" (July 14); and Season 2 of the comedy-drama "Diarra From Detroit" (July 29). There are also a ton of season finales, including "Dutton Ranch" (July 3), "Zatima" (July 7), "RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars" (July 17), "All the Queen's Men" (July 22), "Criminal Minds: Evolution" (July 23) and "The Chi" (series finale July 24).

For live sports, there's a full slate of WNBA, NWSL, golf and Big 3 basketball.

Double agencies: In a curious, move, Paramount dropped all 10 episodes for Season 2 of the spy drama "The Agency" at once in late June, going against the grain from the streamer's typical weekly release format. It's unclear why, and it doesn't really do any favors to the show, which is more of a slow-burn psychological drama than a ripping action show that's easy to binge through. Still, it's well worth a watch, with a terrific cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere. Also of note, Paramount recently added all five seasons of "The Bureau" - aka "Le Bureau des Légendes" - the original French series that "The Agency" was adapted from. It's exceptional, and worth checking out over the next couple months until Apple's "Slow Horses" returns to scratch that sad-spy itch.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. It's a case of diminishing returns: There are a lot of shows ending this month, but not much taking their place.

Hulu ($11.99 a month with ads, or $18.99 with no ads)

Revived last year after a 15-year hiatus, the animated comedy "King of the Hill" (July 20) returns with its 15th season, with at least one more on the way. It's a rare case of a revival that actually works, as Hank, Peggy and Bobby Hill have all grown older but not necessarily wiser. Its brand of gently offbeat Americana is pure comfort-watching.

Hulu's also got the aforementioned Fourth of July special "Disney Celebrates America" (July 3); a ton of shark shows for NatGeo's "Sharkfest" (starting July 5); a new season of "Project Runway" (July 10), with Tyra Banks joining the show as a recurring judge; and the ABC spinoff competition "Dancing With the Stars: The Next Star" (July 14). There's also "They Fight" (July 17), a movie about young boxers and their formerly incarcerated coach, starring Andre Holland, Wendell Pierce and Samira Wiley; Season 2 of the hit Korean assassin thriller "A Shop for Killers" (July 22); "Furious" (July 27), a twisty crime thriller series from Elizabeth Meriwether ("New Girl," "Dying for Sex") about an FBI agent (Emmy Rossum) pursuing a female serial killer; and Season 2 of FX's "Adults" (July 31), the sharply funny series about a group of codependent Gen Z roommates. Hulu will also livestream the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago (July 30-Aug. 1), featuring Charlie XCX, Wet Leg and Turnstile, among many others.

Catch up: The fifth and final season of "The Bear" dropped at the end of May, and while the series has never quite returned to the highs of its phenomenal second season, it manages to end on a mostly high note. While overly precious (seriously, what's the deal with Neil Fak?) and self-indulgent at times, when it finds its groove there's nothing else like it. At its core, "The Bear" is a vibes-based show, and its best moments have these characters we've grown to love (if you're not willing to take a bullet for Marcus or Tina, please leave the room now) desperately fighting against time, overcoming personal demons and absolute chaos in the kitchen, digging deep inside themselves - and somehow just absolutely nailing it. Those paths to personal triumphs and finding purpose can be so beautiful and inspiring and deeply satisfying to watch unfold, that it's easy to overlook the show's flaws.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. It's a slow month, so act strategically: The shows with potential - "King of the Hill," "Furious" and "Adults" - premiere toward the end of the month, so one could easily drop Hulu for a month and pick it up again in August without missing a beat.

HBO Max ($10.99 a month with ads, $18.49 with no ads, or $22.99 'Ultimate' with no ads)

It's an exceedingly light month for Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) HBO Max, with Chuck Lorre's "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" (July 23) the only new series of note. "The Big Bang Theory" spinoff stars Kevin Sussman as Stuart, a comic-book-store owner who accidentally falls into the multiverse with his friends (Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn and John Ross Bowie), where they encounter alternate-universe versions of some "TBBT" characters. Wackiness ensues.

Aside from that, there's the four-part documentary "The Man Will Burn" (July 9), following the organization behind the Burning Man festival; a ton of shark shows for Discovery's annual "Shark Week" (starting July 26); and A24 movies including the Stephen King adaptation "The Long Walk" (July 10), Sofia Coppola's Marc Jacobs documentary "Marc By Sofia" (July 16) and the intense wedding melodrama "The Drama" (July 31), starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson and a bonkers twist.

On the sports side is a full slate of Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Savannah Bananas and AEW.

There are also weekly episodes of Larry David's American-history sketch-comedy show "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," and "House of the Dragon," which, in its third season, proves that dragons can only take you so far, as it still rings emotionally hollow when compared to "Game of Thrones" and this year's "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" is taking a few week off but returns July 26.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. There's not much here, unless you're a "House of the Dragon" die-hard. Even then, you can save a few bucks by bingeing it all later on down the road.

Amazon's Prime Video ($14.99 a month with ads, $8.99 without Prime membership, both +$4.99 to avoid ads)

The new teen dramedy "Elle" (July 1) is a coming-of-age prequel to "Legally Blonde," with Reese Witherspoon's character Elle (played by Lexi Minetree) navigating the perils of high school in 1995. Do we really need a Legally Blonde Extended Universe? Nope. But it's recognizable IP and Amazon (AMZN) has had big success with YA series, so don't discount this becoming its next big hit.

There's also "Ghost in the Shell" (July 7), a new adaptation of the classic cyberpunk manga and anime, as well as Season 2 of the noirish animated "Batman: Caped Crusader" (July 31), which will introduce the Dark Knight's classic nemeses: the Joker and the Riddler.

On the slightly more original front, there's "Ride or Die" (July 15), an action/comedy series about two best friends - one of whom has been living a secret life as an assassin - going on the run across Europe. It still sounds generic, but has good actors in Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham.

Amazon's also got a full slate of WNBA and NWSL games, and a pair of Wednesday-night Yankees games in the New York City metro area.

Welcome to Stars Hollow: After 12 years, Netflix dropped "Gilmore Girls" on June 30, but Prime Video will pick up all seven seasons starting July 1. It'll also continue to stream on Hulu.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. "Batman: Caped Crusader" drew rave reviews in its first season, but everything else this month looks pretty "meh."

Need more? Catch up on previous months' picks at What's Worth Streaming.

-Mike Murphy

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07-04-26 1501ET

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