The Best Movies and TV Shows to Stream from July 2024

While maybe a bit quieter in comparison to other months, July 2024 featured a pretty diverse array of movies and TV shows, all premiering on streaming services like Netflix, Max, Prime Video, Hulu, and Disney+. This included some big direct-to-streaming premieres like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, not to mention more surprising new favorites like the genre-bending My Lady Jane and Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s Time Bandits — the sort of thing featured each week in Consequence’s Stream On newsletter. (Subscribe here!)

July also brought us several different sides of the music industry in an intriguing collection of documentaries: A three-part look at an epic-level Ponzi scheme, a powerful concert experience captured on film, a legendary artist attempting to regain what she’s lost, and the early days of an art form that’s now become an Olympic sport. Check out the best of July below, including the Pick of the Month selection! (All other entries are sorted alphabetically.)

Pick of the Month: Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (TV)

Directed by: David Terry Fine
Featuring: AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Chris Kirkpatrick, Michael Johnson, Patrick King, Erik-Michael Estrada
Streaming on: Netflix

It’s the rare true crime documentary that features boy band alumni as interview subjects, yet it’s guys like AJ McLean and Chris Kirkpatrick who provide essential insight into the rise and fall of Lou Pearlman, the mastermind behind Backstreet Boys and N*Sync whose business empire was eventually revealed to be a Ponzi scheme. The story, as told across three episodes, is fascinating — a real must-see for any survivor of the boy band era.

32 Sounds (Film)

Directed by: Sam Green
Streaming on: Criterion Channel

32 Sounds was instantly one of my favorite documentaries as soon as I saw it last year — it’s an incredibly nuanced look at, well, sound, while also packed with little human stories that will reach into your chest and squeeze your heart. (In a good way.) I won’t say much more about it, except to urge you to listen to the instructions at the beginning — if you have an easy way of watching the movie at home with headphones on, consider doing so.

Abigail (Film)

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, Giancarlo Esposito
Streaming on: Peacock

I really loved the previous horror-comedy by production team Radio Silence, the wild Ready or Not — their follow-up is one of those movies where a basic plot synopsis is a bit of a spoiler, but what I can promise you is a lot of blood and a stellar ensemble, with deliciously weird performances from Dan Stevens and Giancarlo Esposito. Maybe a bit more on the horror side of things than the comedy side of things, but still a fun time.

The Ark Season 2 (TV)

Created by: Dean Devlin, Jonathan Glassner
Cast: Christie Burke, Reece Ritchie, Richard Fleeshman, Stacey Michelle Read, Ryan Adams, Pavle Jerinić, Shalini Peiris, Christina Wolfe, Tiana Upcheva
Streaming on: Peacock

My beloved post-apocalyptic “everything goes wrong in space!” sci-fi drama is back! The ragtag crew of Ark One is once again struggling to survive impossible odds while searching for a new home for humanity. And you’d better believe that the bad situation these nerds were in at the end of Season 1 continues to be bad in the Season 2 premiere, with the same fearlessness towards killing off characters that made Season 1 such a ride.