New Netflix anime, Heartstopper, thriller finales, and more new TV this week

Like almost every other week of the summer, it’s another big week for TV. Thoughts and prayers for your watchlist.

On a bittersweet note, this week does mark the finales of a few shows that might free up some spots in your TV rotation: The Righteous Gemstones, on HBO and Max, ends its third season, along with Apple TV Plus’ throwback thriller Hijack.

But then again, plenty of new and exciting shows drop (sometimes in full) this week. Netflix sweetheart Heartstopper returns for season 2, showing Nick and Charlie what happens after they finally figure their feelings out. Reservation Dogs returns to Hulu for a third (and sadly final) season, with just a few episodes (but all very strong ones). And Rose Byrne is back at it with Physical, trying to usurp a reigning queen of fitness blocking her business (played by Zooey Deschanel!).

All in all, a very thrilling week in television. Here are all the significant TV premieres and finales this week.

New shows on Netflix

Bastard!! season 2

Genre: Heavy metal dark fantasy anime
Release date: July 31, with all the episodes
Showrunner/creator: Kazushi Hagiwara (manga)

In season 2, shit is really about to hit the fan: The Dark Rebel Army expands its power all while making plans to resurrect the god of destruction. The Kingdom of Metallicana is attacked by the Dark Rebel Army. And so Tia Noto Yoko must make a big decision — should she resurrect the ancient great wizard who once conspired to rule the world (and is sealed within her childhood friend)?

Heartstopper season 2

Genre: YA romance
Release date: Aug. 3, with all the episodes
Showrunner/creator: Alice Oseman
Cast: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Olivia Colman, and more

Love is in the air in season 2 of Heartstopper, with Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) finally together-together. Of course, not all is sunshine and rainbows — together, Nick and Charlie will have to navigate how to come out as a couple, how to handle certain assholes around them, and how to care for their own nascent relationship. Which is all before we get into the whole thing between Elle and Tao; things get spicy in season 2!!

The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 part 2

Genre: Legal procedural
Release date: Aug. 3
Showrunner/creator: David E. Kelley
Cast: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Angus Sampson, and more

If there’s one thing we know about The Lincoln Lawyer, it’s that Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is going to practice law out of his car (a Lincoln — you get it). Part 2 will continue the story after part 1’s cliffhanger back in early July: Mickey getting attacked by two men in the parking lot on his way to his car to get a contract.

New shows on Hulu

Reservation Dogs season 3

Genre: Prestige comedy
Release date: Aug. 2, with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi
Cast: Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor, and more

The Rez Dogs are stranded in California! And maybe even facing bigger concerns once they’re back in Okern, as they stare down threats like college considerations, community healing, conspiracy theories, and more.

Breeders season 4

Genre: Comedy
Release date: July 31 with two episodes on FX; streaming the next day on Hulu
Showrunner/creator: Simon Blackwell
Cast: Martin Freeman, Daisy Haggard, Oscar Kennedy, Zoë Athena, Jessie Williams, Alun Armstrong, and Joanna Bacon

It’s Breeders’ fourth and final season, picking up with where we left Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) in season 3 — on the brink of splitting up. Now, the two face big parental challenges, like (as the season’s synopsis says) their eldest son dropping a bombshell at Christmas dinner. Family, amirite?

Cruel Summer season 2 finale

Genre: Twisty YA murder mystery
Release date: July 31
Showrunner/creator: Bert V. Royal
Cast: Sadie Stanley, Lexi Underwood, Griffin Gluck, Sean Blakemore, KaDee Strickland, and more

There’s still time to catch up on the twisty intrigue of Cruel Summer season 2. The anthology series jumped to a new story in its second season, following a cast of teens across three separate points in the year (the summers before and after their senior year, and the winter during it) to figure out: Who killed Luke? And did he maybe deserve to die?

New shows on Max

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty season 2

Genre: Sports history drama(tization)
Release date: Aug. 6, with one episode
Showrunner/creator: Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht
Cast: John C. Reilly, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel, Gaby Hoffmann, Rob Morgan, and Adrien Brody

Season 2 of Winning Time is here just before the buzzer (not really — but it has been a while!), chronicling the professional and personal triumphs of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. This season follows the period just after the 1980 Finals, from 1980 to 1984. Yes, sports fans: That means the first rematch of the era’s greatest basketball stars, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

The Righteous Gemstones season 3 finale

Photo: Jake Giles Netter/HBO

Genre: Comedy (mostly)
Release date: Aug. 6
Showrunner/creator: Danny McBride
Cast: Danny McBride, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, Walton Goggins, and more

Sunday (the lord’s day) will also see the season 3 finale for The Righteous Gemstones, meaning there’s about to be a dearth of things like naked fights and high-minded dick jokes. With just nine episodes, it feels like it’s gone too soon; prayers up for season 4.

New shows on Prime Video

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Genre: Family drama
Release date: Aug. 4, with three episodes
Showrunner/creator: Sarah Lambert
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and more

Alice Hart (Alycia Debnam-Carey) comes from a violent upbringing and finds herself suddenly orphaned after her parents die in a mysterious fire. As a result, she goes to live with her grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) on a flower farm — and suddenly, Alice’s life changes quite dramatically.

New shows on Apple TV Plus

Physical season 3

Genre: Historical drama
Release date: Aug. 2 with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Annie Weisman
Cast: Rose Byrne, Rory Scovel, Dierdre Friel, Paul Sparks, Zooey Deschanel, and more

It’s the final season of Physical, and Sheila (Rose Byrne) is finding her spot at the top of the exercise food chain challenged by fitness celeb Kelly Kilmartin (Zooey Deschanel), who manages to get in her head (an already precarious place for Sheila). Who will win the crown for ’80s fitness queen?

Hijack season 1 finale

Image: Apple

Genre: Plane thriller
Release date: Aug. 2
Showrunner/creator: Jim Field Smith
Cast: Idris Elba, Archie Panjabi, Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Eve Myles, Neil Maskell, and more

We needed a solid thriller show, and Apple TV Plus delivered with Hijack, the Idris Elba vehicle that was way more fun than it needed to be. But every plane has to land, and Hijack is no exception. So, who wins in a fight: Elba’s Sam Nelson, or the troupe of terrorists holding the plane hostage?