ABC’s reimagining won for Peabody The Wonder Years returns for a long-delayed second season, set in the summer of 1969. A new comedy-drama catches up with the blue-collar heroes of the 1997 British hit. The Full Monty a quarter of a century later. An Oscar-nominated short documentary captures a father asking the same questions of his daughter on her 2nd to 18th birthday. A continuation of the nature documentary Our planet focuses on animal migrations around the world.
ABC/Matt Miller
The Wonder Years
Inexplicably kept off the ABC slate during the regular season, the charming Peabody-winning coming-of-age comedy returns for a summer run, reintroducing viewers to the Williams family as the classic Wonderful years (1988-93) is reimagined as the story of a black family in 1960s Alabama, seen through the eyes of teenage Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams). As the series opens, it’s the summer of 1969, and Dean has followed his “cool” musician father Bill (Dulé Hill) to New York City, where Bill pitches him songs. marvin gaye and paying little attention to the historic moon landing. They both feel like outsiders, which makes them suitable neighbors for Lonnie (guest star Tituss Burgess), who sings in drag under the name “Sybil Disobedience.” Back home, Dean’s mother Lillian (Saycon Sengbloh) is surprised by a visit from her sister Jackie (Phoebe Robinson), who gives Dean some advice about his strange love triangle upon the boys’ return home. It’s good to have these people back on TV.
FX/Hulu
The Full Monty
Life goes on, some 26 years later, for the working class heroes of the handsome dog of the 1997 UK hit. An eight-part drama from FX returns Full Monty characters from their South Yorkshire burgh, once again led by the charismatic Robert Carlyle as Gaz, who once urged his friends to join him in an infamous strip routine. They mostly keep their shirts and heads down in this sequel, which is set in the first episode by Gaz’s rebellious teenage daughter Destiny (Talitha Wing, a breakthrough) who inadvertently kidnaps a prize-winning dog. the British have talent contest, setting off a chain of funny but heartbreaking consequences. The entire season is available for binge-watching, but I’d take it slow. Sheffield is a difficult place to visit. You wouldn’t want to live there.
HBO
How do you measure a year?
A lovely Father’s Day curtain raiser, this Oscar-nominated documentary short (at 30 minutes) is an intimate and often heartwarming journey through time as a filmmaker. Jay Rosenblatt he trains his camera on his delightful daughter Ella, peppering her with questions (“What are dreams?” “What is power” “What are you afraid of?”) every birthday. He started the project when she turned 2 and made it an annual tradition until she was 18. We see Ella grow in amazing bursts, from a playful child to a lovely young woman eagerly embarking on her own life away from her family.
Netflix
Our planet II
Once again, Sir David Attenborough is our guide through the wonders of nature. In a four-part sequel to the 2019 documentary series, Our planet focuses on migration and how the movement of billions of animals at a time can change the balance of nature around the globe. The photography, as always, is stunning.
Hulu
Class of ’09
In the penultimate episode of the chilling FBI-meets-AI drama, we see the benefits of AI sifting through data to track down a serial killer and track down white-collar crooks in the current (2025) storyline. Tayo (Brian Tyree Henry) advocates for the new “system,” but in the future of 2034, after the AI aligns against anyone who questions it, Tayo’s attempts to stop it could destroy his career. In the 2009 storyline, Quantico trainees take their final test and learn where they are assigned, not always a happy discovery.
Apple TV+
Platonic
My new guilty pleasure is this middle-of-the-road buddy comedy starring Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen as Sylvia, married with kids and Will, newly divorced, rekindling their friendship after many years. More shock waves arise from their disparate lifestyles when Sylvia prepares to re-enter the legal workforce, while Will grooms her to be friendlier with Peyton’s free-spirited friend (Emily Kimball), a professional babysitter who is looking forward to celebrating her 26th birthday.
Inside Wednesday’s TV:
- Small town potential (9/8c, HGTV): Designer and real estate agent Davina Thomasula teams with her life partner and the contractor Kristin Leitheuser to help make people’s dreams of small town life in New York’s lush Hudson Valley a reality. They start by renovating an 1800s farmhouse, then convert an attic into an art studio.
- save my skin (9/8c, TLC): UK dermatologist Dr. Emma Craythorne is back for a fourth season to help patients with extreme skin conditions, including Emily, who has psoriasis all over her body.
- The island of temptation (9/8c, USA, simulcast on E!): Four new couples — including, for the first time, an engaged pair — test their commitment in the paradise of Kona, Hawaii, where they’re tempted to wander off with 16 hot singles . The premiere of the series followed the big d (10/9c), originally developed for TBS, in which six divorced couples head to Costa Rica to either rekindle their romance or find new love in the tropics. bachelorHosted by JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers.
- It’s always sunny in Philadelphia (10/9c, FXX): If all goes well, infamous South Philly dive bar Paddy’s Pub will be featured on Save Bar. But when do things ever go well for these bozos? They begin to believe they are cursed, and not just because of Mac’s (Rob McElhenney) creepy monkey paw.
- superstar (10/9c, ABC): A new installment of the celebrity docu-series explores the life and legacy of the R&B breakout Aliyahwhose life was cut short at age 22 by a plane crash in the Bahamas.