What's worth streaming in July 2024: It's Peacock's time to shine, but Netflix is still golden

By Mike Murphy

Peacock has the Summer Olympics, but Netflix still has more to offer. Meanwhile, Apple raises its game for the bronze.

The Summer Olympics are about to take center stage as the must-watch event of the summer, and it's Peacock's time to strut.

Rival streaming services - with the notable exceptions of Netflix and Apple - seem to be clearing their decks so they don't have to compete for viewers with the Summer Games from Paris, which start July 26. That's good news for Peacock, which will carry 5,000-plus hours of Olympic programming.

The dearth of new shows is actually a welcome bit of relief, allowing some viewers to catch up on what they've missed, while giving others an opportunity to drop a service or two and save a few bucks.

And that's precisely where a strategy of churning - that is, adding and dropping services month to month - comes in. It takes some planning, but pays off in monthly savings. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of the month.

Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming and your budget - rating the major services as "play," "pause" or "stop," similar to investment analysts' traditional ratings of buy, hold or sell - and picks the best shows to help you make your monthly decisions.

Here's a look at what's coming to the various streaming services in July 2024, and what's really worth the monthly subscription fee:

Netflix ($6.99 a month for basic with ads, $15.49 standard with no ads, $22.99 premium with no ads)

Despite Peacock's Olympic bounty, Netflix (NFLX) wins the month again, on sheer mass.

"Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" (July 3), is the sequel movie that no one particularly asked for, but that everyone will watch. Forty(!) years after the action/comedy franchise began, Eddie Murphy - looking amazingly good at 63 - Judge Reinhold and John Ashton are back, and joined by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The plot is immaterial - wisecracks, car chases, wisecracks, shootouts, wisecracks, explosions - and history indicates it probably won't be very good, but it's almost guaranteed to be a hit on vibes alone.

Meanwhile, Netflix is leaning ever harder on its annoying habit of breaking up its most popular series, with the sixth and final season of "The Karate Kid" spinoff "Cobra Kai" being split into three parts. The first five episodes will drop July 18, with more in November and the remaining ones coming in 2025.

The legal drama "Suits" became a massive hit on Netflix last year, but viewers may not have even realized there was a season missing. That'll soon be rectified, as the ninth and final season, which had only been available on Peacock, will join Netflix on July 1. And Netflix may have its next binge-revival hit with all six seasons of ABC's "Lost" (July 1), the addictive drama about a group of castaways on a mysterious island that made its debut 20 years ago.

Netflix also has the third and final season of "Vikings: Valhalla" (July 11); "Exploding Kittens" (July 12), an animated series based on the popular card game; "Homicide: Los Angeles" (July 16), a new docuseries from "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf; Season 6 of the reality dating show "Too Hot to Handle" (July 19); "The Decameron" (July 25), a dark comedy that takes place during the plague epidemic of 1348; and the eighth and final season of the Spanish prep-school drama "Elite" (July 26).

There are also some top-notch sports docuseries, including "La Liga: All Access" (July 15), focusing on the most recent season of Spanish soccer's top level; "Receiver" (July 10), a deep dive into the lives of the NFL's top receivers, including Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson and George Kittle; and just in time for the Summer Olympics, "Simone Biles Rising" (July 17), about the world-champion gymnast, and "Sprint" (July 2), about the world's best sprinters, including Sha'Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson.

Catch up: Don't forget Season 2 of "Tour de France: Unchained," which dropped last month. It's a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at last year's race, with candid interviews with the top teams and riders that provide an inside look at their strategies, inner turmoil and, occasionally, glory. Consider it a primer for this year's Tour de France, which is currently underway.

Achtung!: For a fun, off-the-radar pick, try "Kleo," which drops its second season July 25. Jella Haase stars in this German thriller about a former East German assassin who, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is out for revenge against those who betrayed her. It's violent, twisty and darkly comic, a perfect summer watch. And while completely unrelated, it could very easily share a universe with the German spy series "Deutschland 83/86/89," which once streamed on Hulu but is now only available to purchase.

Play, pause or stop? Play. There's a reason why Netflix is dominating the streaming game: It offers something for everyone, month in and month out.

Peacock ($5.99 a month with ads, or $11.99 with no ads; prices will rise by $2 on July 18)

Now is the time to check out Peacock.

That's because of the cultural juggernaut that is the Summer Olympics from Paris, which start July 26 and run through Aug. 11. While casual fans should be satisfied with tuning into celebrity-heavy programming and prime-time highlights on NBC, die-hards will be looking to Peacock for live coverage of everything - more than 5,000 hours of live coverage of all 329 medal events. That's in addition to replays; a daily highlight show hosted by Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson; "Watch with Alex Cooper," an interactive watch-party show hosted by the popular podcaster; commentary from stars such as Snoop Dogg, Peyton Manning, Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon; and frankly creepy-sounding daily customized recaps "hosted" by an AI version of Al Michaels' voice.

American viewers should benefit from the time difference too. After three straight Olympics in Asia, with 12-hour-plus time differences, Paris is only six hours ahead of the East Coast, meaning the top events will be held in the morning and afternoon hours in the U.S.

With no shortage of dramatic storylines and thrilling competition, the Olympics are the must-watch event of the summer. And while Comcast's (CMCSA) NBCUniversal admitted its ambitious plans for Peacock didn't quite pan out at the Tokyo Games three years ago, executives are promising this time will be better. After spending $7.8 billion on rights fees for the Olympics through 2032, it'd better be.

And the Olympics aren't the only big sporting event Peacock has this month. The Tour de France is underway, and Peacock will have live coverage of all 21 stages, through July 21. This year's race should be a thriller, billed as a four-way battle between two-time winners Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, 34-year-old veteran Primoz Roglic and Tour rookie Remco Evenpoel. Peacock's coverage of the race is excellent, especially in the harrowing mountain stages. And even when there's a boring stage, the scenery is beautiful.

Sports aside, Peacock is wisely premiering some buzzy shows this month, including "Back to Black" (July 5), an Amy Winehouse biopic starring Marisa Abela ("Industry"); "Those About to Die" (July 18), an epic, sword-and-sandals gladiator series starring Anthony Hopkins as the Roman Emperor Vespasian and directed by Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day"); and a new season of the reality dating show "Love Island USA" (July 21)

It's also a perfect time to catch up on the recently completed season of "Top Chef," and Season 2 of the brilliant British comedy "We Are Lady Parts," about a group of Muslim women in a punk band. For newcomers, Peacock also had a deep library of movies and a ton of popular shows, like "30 Rock," "Parks a Recreation," "House" and "Yellowstone."

Price hike: You can save a couple of bucks by timing it right. Peacock is raising prices by $2 for new subscribers starting July 18, just ahead of the Olympics (the price hike won't take effect for current subscribers until Aug. 17). So if you just want to to pay for one month to watch the Summer Games, sign up sometime between July 12-17, so you won't miss the Closing Ceremonies.

Play, pause or stop? Play. Peacock is generally the weakest streamer, but now is its time to shine.

Apple TV+ ($9.99 a month)

Apple's (AAPL) got a surprisingly impressive lineup in July, while most other streamers are largely taking the month off.

"Sunny" (July 10), a darkly comic thriller series, stars Rashida Jones as a woman living in semi-futuristic Japan whose husband and son apparently die in a plane crash. But with the help of her domestic robot, she starts to unravel the mysterious truth behind their disappearance.

"Lady in the Lake" (July 19), the seven-part miniseries based on the bestselling novel by Laura Lippman, stars Natalie Portman as a suburban divorcee who finds a new purpose in life as a reporter investigating an unsolved murder in 1960s Baltimore, but digs up secrets some folks would rather let lie. Moses Ingram and Y'lan Noel costar, and series creator Alma Har'el promises a twist to the book's big twist.

There's also "Time Bandits" (July 24), a 10-episode reimagining of the 1981 Terry Gilliam movie about a kid who joins a ragtag band of thieves on adventures through space and time. Lisa Kudrow stars this time around, along with Kal-El Tuck, Tadhg Murphy and Charlyne Yi. It's helmed by co-showrunners Jemaine Clement ("What We Do in the Shadows") and Iain Morris ("The Inbetweeners"), and co-creator Taika Waititi ("Thor: Ragnarok"), and has the potential to be a lot of fun.

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07-01-24 1920ET

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