In June, the America staff offered what we think is a pretty comprehensive list of summer reading suggestions. So to follow it up, we thought we would give a list of our favorite picks for things to watch this summer. Our watchlist is just about as hectic as our summer reading recommendations, with a compilation of film and television, new and old, that we’re sure will light up your screens this summer.
“House of the Dragon” (streaming on Max)
“Game of Thrones” is so far outside my wheelhouse when it comes to genre that I was sure I wouldn’t like it. But when my fiancé convinced me to binge-watch the whole series with him last winter, I couldn’t deny it: The storytelling is really excellent. Universally disappointing ending (which had miraculously never been spoiled for me) aside, I was glad I invested the time and energy it took to watch the series.
“House of the Dragon,” a prequel about the Targaryen dynasty set almost 200 years before the dramatic events of “Game of Thrones,” released its first season in 2022. I caught up so I could be ready for the weekly episode releases of the second season this summer. The show has much of what people loved about its predecessor: a great ensemble cast, scintillating family drama, a succession battle and, of course, dragons.
But perhaps what I like most of all about watching this new season of “House of the Dragon,” and why I recommend it, is the fun experience of tuning in at 9 every Sunday night to watch one episode at a time, just as it’s released—and then to discuss with friends who watched it too. It’s an approach to TV viewing that is slowly becoming extinct. In our streaming era, we all watch on our own time and tend to binge-watch more than we pace ourselves or process a story bit by bit. Opportunities for sharing monocultural events in TV and film are few and far between.
The first seven episodes of Season 2 have already been released, so catch up on those and then experience the excitement of sitting down at the end of a fun summer weekend to watch the latest installment—and call your friends the next day to see what they thought.
-Molly Cahill, associate editor
“Super 8” (streaming on Paramount +)
“Super 8” is a moody, moving and completely fun Steven Spielberg homage where small town ‘80s kids with shaggy hair hustle off from noisy clattering breakfast tables and hop on bicycles with banana seats to solve supernatural problems the adults around them are invariably messing up. (Spielberg himself co-produced the film, which was directed by J. J. Abrams.)
“Super 8” takes off when young teens making a movie (on a Super 8 camera) witness a cataclysmic train crash. The stunning and, well, cinematic wreck unleashes nefarious army men searching for culprits, covering things up, hunting down a monster and, basically, being nefarious.
There is real menace in the film, and pain—it carries its themes honestly. About six storylines are woven throughout the narrative. Comedy, tragedy, adventure and romance all twist lightly against one another in a way that never feels forced, only authentic. The budding romance between Dakota Fanning and Joel Courtney is one of the most exquisite you’ll ever see on film. The final moment of the film is a stunner, wrapping everything up with a poignance most screenwriters can only dream of. “Super 8” is a movie about the making of a movie that is ultimately the making of a superb movie.
-Joe Hoover, S.J., poetry editor
“The Chosen” (streaming on Amazon)
I was a late adopter of “The Chosen,” the popular, crowd-funded TV series based on the life of Jesus Christ and his disciples. Friends would tell me how great it was, but I didn’t believe it. I’ve just seen too many Christian productions that, it seems to me, exploit our religious beliefs for profit.
But eventually, I succumbed to peer pressure and watched the first episode with my family. While I didn’t like their portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, I was utterly transfixed. It is hard to describe the feeling that came over me when Jesus finally appears on screen at the end of the episode to meet Mary.
“The Chosen” is neither a strict historical or Scriptural version of the Gospels. It takes poetic license to flesh out details about the lives of the first Christians that may or not be true. But in the end, the show is about my favorite person and those he chose to be his disciples. It may not be for everyone, but my family watches it together and then discusses it. Watching challenges us to live more Christian lives. I highly recommend giving it a try.
-J.D. Long García, senior editor
“Office Space” (streaming on Hulu and Peacock)
When America’s Jesuitical podcast team interviewed Ethan Hawke earlier this year, I told our younger editors that Hawke’s 1994 movie “Reality Bites” was a Gen-X staple back in the day. Alas, I had forgotten that despite a star-studded cast, it’s not a very good movie—it’s actually a horrifically cringey movie—and my colleagues were unimpressed. To redeem myself, I recommended the true ur-text of Gen-X culture, Mike Judge’s 1999 film “Office Space.”
To my relief, “Office Space” holds up upon rewatching. It is in fact a great movie, and a perfect summer flick. Starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston, it is a satire of a work culture of ubiquitous identical cubicles in ubiquitous identical office parks, but also a gentle mockery of the very victims of that dehumanizing environment: the young men and women enduring soul-crushing corporate jobs, terrible Boomer bosses and an apparently vanishing chance at the American Dream.
That sounds grim, I know. But “Office Space” is hilariously funny from beginning to end, and full of memorable quotes and characters. We have all had a boss like Bill Lumbergh; we all need a neighbor like Lawrence; and perhaps we’ve all felt once or twice at the office like Milton. And you’d better return his Swingline stapler, because Milton will still set the building on fire.
-James Keane, senior editor
“John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA” (streaming on Netflix)
“John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA” is a love letter to the titular city that also brings the late night TV genre into the 21st century. Comedian John Mulaney serves as the host of the program and brings his refreshing, albeit random style of comedy to the program. Mulaney is joined by actor and comedian Richard Kind as his sidekick, and in each episode he brings on “expert” guests as well as a star-studded list of comedians.
Unlike the politically entrenched shows that dominate the late night TV scene, “Everybody’s in LA” focuses on aspects of the city rather than the political story of the night, with such topics as ghosts, coyotes and helicopters. Comedy and media today are so often politicized I found the show to be incredibly feel-good and refreshing. Although I have never been to L.A., I felt I got a sense for the chaos and beauty of the city through the show’s comedy.
In a world where each day can feel so very serious, John Mulaney takes a step back from it and gives us a look into a sillier version of reality. A reality where Jerry Seinfeld can sit on the same couch as a coyote expert and have a conversation on the phone with a viewer about which car they drive. Is this random? Yes. But is there beauty to be found in it? Also yes.
-William Gualtiere, intern.
“Tootsie” (available for rent on AppleTV or Amazon)
As one of the oldest editors at America (which is something of a shock since when I began here I was the youngest) I’ve taken it upon myself to introduce the O’Hare Fellows (our post-college-graduate-year-long-interns) to the wonders of 1980s movies. Some selections have proven more successful than others. A few years ago, I screened “Working Girl” for the O’Hare Fellows and a few others, mainly to show them what life in the corporate world was like. It was not exactly a hit. A scene where Harrison Ford brings an inebriated Melanie Griffith to his apartment and sleeps in the same bed with her, but chastely, was supposed to show him as a “good guy.” It garnered the precise opposite reaction: “How awful! He should just have taken her to a hotel!”
“Tootsie,” however, the 1982 comic masterpiece directed by Sydney Pollack, was a much bigger hit with the America crowd. I had my doubts: How would the story of an out-of-work actor (played by Dustin Hoffman, who would go on to lose out on an Oscar for Best Actor to Ben Kingsley for “Gandhi”) come across in an era of enhanced attention to gender roles? But in fact, in the America House media room, we had viewers from their 20s to their 80, and everyone was laughing. And laughing frequently.
It’s hard not to enjoy a movie with Dustin Hoffman (playing on his own reputation for being an exacting Method actor), Bill Murray as his loopy roommate and—my personal favorite—Teri Garr as his beleaguered and frequently unhinged girlfriend.
If you’d like a fun scoot into the mores, humor and fashion of yesteryear and are looking for a fun summer film, why not see how Michael Dorsey becomes Dorothy Michaels and learns a little about women, and men?
-James Martin, S.J., editor at large
“Mr. Bean’s Holiday” (available for rent on AppleTV or Amazon)
Those who are looking for absurdist, escapist summer fun will find it in the chaotic journey of Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean through France, from Paris to Cannes. Mr. Bean wins train tickets to Cannes at a raffle to raise money for repairs in a London church, and hilarity ensues. From his horror at the seafood platter of Paris’s iconic restaurant Le Train Bleu to his bicycle chase with a chicken farmer, “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” offers both a charming portrait of France and a heartwarming—if painfully awkward!— protagonist. Bean’s social gaucherie is amusing enough in England; add the perennial cultural misunderstandings between the British and French and his exploits ascend to a new level of rip-roaring hilarity.
Some movies seek to provoke reflection, inspire deep feelings or impart a profound message; “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” is not obviously among them. Yet I couldn’t help being moved by the final scene. After crashing a film premiere in Cannes (the result of his encounter with a French actress portrayed by Emma de Caunes), Mr. Bean spots the beach through the back door of the theater.
His whole odyssey throughout the film is the result of a touchingly sincere and simple desire: to go to the beach! He yearns for nothing more than to take in the Mediterranean’s azure waters and lush beaches. When he strolls out of the theater and walks across a four-lane highway (on which the traffic stops for him as though encountering a latter-day Moses) to arrive at the beach and an expression of pure joy washes over his face as Charles Trenet’s “La Mer” plays in the background, I feel as though all is right with the world.
In the end, Mr. Bean’s utter contentment and sense of satisfaction brings to mind the Ignatian sense of consolation. It warms my heart to see awkward, ungainly, quirky Mr. Bean feel such unbridled happiness—and dare I say an experience of God’s grace?—in such a beautiful setting.
-Connor Hartigan, intern
“Route 66” (streaming on Amazon)
Having ended several streaming subscriptions, I have not been watching much new content on TV this summer. Instead, I am honoring the tradition that warm weather means reruns—and I mean old reruns, from before I was born. And I discovered that Amazon has all four seasons of “Route 66,” which ran on CBS from 1960 to 1964 and followed two buddies (Tod and Buz in the first few seasons, then Tod and Glenn) as they drove across the United States and got involved in all kinds of people’s lives: Robert Duvall as a drug addict trying to go straight in Boston; Ethel Waters as a dying jazz singer trying to reunite her band in Pittsburgh; Suzanne Pleshette as a woman accused of murdering the man who sexually harassed her; a family of ranchers trying to survive a drought in Utah; and dozens of others over 116 episodes.
I love the format of having completely different stories and settings every week (filmed on location), which is pretty much unthinkable these days because it doesn’t fit the binge model. And it’s inspiring to follow two heroes who emulate the good Samaritan and who have a particular affection for the vulnerable and stigmatized members of every community they visit. The biggest problem with the show? In almost every episode, Tod and Buz “solve” a problem by punching someone out, sometimes with very little provocation. This usually wins the respect of everyone else in the episode, even the poor guest star sprawled out on the floor, but I would not recommend it as a counseling technique. If “Route 66” is ever rebooted, let’s make it more pastoral and less pugilistic.
-Robert David Sullivan, production editor
“St. Elmo’s Fire” (streaming on Hulu)
When my mother first showed me “St. Elmo’s Fire,” I hadn’t yet graduated from college. At the time, I didn’t understand why it was one of her favorite movies. Sure, it was funny and dramatic and full of the hottest stars of the era; the cast includes Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson among others. But I didn’t quite get why my mother connected to it so much. She told me, “You’ll understand when you’re older.” I didn’t buy it at the time; this was during that particular phase of youth when I thought I knew everything about everything. I’d soon be disabused of that notion.
“St. Elmo’s” features the trials and tribulations of a tight knit group of friends who have just graduated from Georgetown University. Their stories post-grad remain eminently relatable: One is constantly flitting from job to job, one is a writer simultaneously too inexperienced and cynical to actually write, one changes political parties to work for a Republican senator because it pays more. It’s cathartic to watch for everyone who has ever gone through the harrowing experience of graduating from college and were forced to pretend to be a grown-up while still feeling like a child, along with all of the romantic and interpersonal foibles that come along with that particularly torrid phase of one’s life. It’s a movie that wasn’t particularly well-received at the time, but it has aged well. It’s one of my favorite movies and I watch it at least once a year; it was a great help to me in the immediate aftermath of my graduation, and it remains a wonderful reminder both of days gone by and all that I’ve managed to grow from since.
Plus, it’s got an absolutely amazing soundtrack by David Foster.
-Kevin Christopher Robles, studio manager
“Hacks” (streaming on Max)
My 25-year-old son turned me onto this hilarious three-season series featuring the very talented Jean Smart, who plays a well-known stand up comedian (Deborah Vance) fighting to stay relevant in her early 70’s. She employs Ava Daniels (played by Hannah Einbinder) as her new young writer in the hopes of capturing the younger generation and resurrecting her career after losing her longtime gig in a Las Vegas casino.
What I found most striking was the constant banter between these two characters, some good, some very painful, some just hysterical, as they famously take each other down with constant barbs, jokes, honesty, true confessions and, at times, plain meanness. Deborah and Ava certainly form a very tight bond, but still strive for their own success in a dog-eat-dog Hollywood world. That being said, it is very entertaining as Deborah’s ensemble of people keep her dynasty in check, and try to shield her from some very raw truths.
The other characters are perfectly suited for their parts, from her very “nice and forgiving” manager, Jimmy, to his not so great assistant that we grow to cherish, Kayla. She may be my favorite as she bumbles her way to be Jimmy’s right hand, and ultimately Saves the Day.
Besides the belly laughing (which I for one really need these days) Hacks explores the reality of getting old, the challenges ahead, and the pain of looking back on what might have been. Are you too old to entertain the public? Are you too old to lead? “Hacks” message certainly resonates in our current political presidential crisis.
There are scenes that are priceless, and I challenge you not to tell your friends about Hacks. The story is one of facing certain realities, the acceptance of what cannot be changed, but the determination to hold onto what deeply matters to you.
-Lindsay Chessare, advertising
“STEVE! (martin) a documentary in two pieces” (streaming on Apple TV+)
I watched the new Steve Martin documentary on Apple TV+ to learn more about my friend and colleague James Martin, S.J. Well, that’s not 100 percent true, but watching “STEVE!” did help me to understand what it was like to grow up as a smart, funny teenager in the 1970s. Because if you were so lucky (I wasn’t born until 1975), you got to watch Steve Martin in his prime (“Well excuuuse meeee!!”), before he abandoned stage comedy and went all-in on the movies. That’s where I first met Steve (“My Blue Heaven”!), and it wasn’t until I watched “Freaks and Geeks” many years later, and spotted a Steve Martin poster on Sam Weir’s door, that I got an inkling of how big Steve Martin really was. So watch “STEVE!” to see Steve in the throes of youth (though mostly still with gray hair), but especially to see him, years later, get choked up while remembering a key scene in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” with his friend and costar, the late, great John Candy.
-Tim Reidy, deputy editor in chief
“Simone Biles Rising” (Streaming on Netflix)
Unable to get enough of the Olympics from the prime-time NBC schedule, I switched over to this documentary series that follows the greatest gymnast of our time (and, in my opinion, all time) in the years leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympic games. Interviews with sports journalists, coaches and former gymnasts provide context for Biles’s experiences in the sport, but Biles’s own voice is the one that truly shines throughout. It’s clear that she has had time to reflect on the experience of suffering from the twisties in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and it’s inspiring to see how she has used that difficult experience to help others and how she has been supported by her friends, family and teammates along the way.
Simone Biles’s physical feats are far beyond what most humans can accomplish, but her mental health struggles, while also unique in many ways, will prove relatable for many viewers. Biles offers honesty and candor while discussing her time in foster care, the isolating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. The series shows that her strength as an athlete comes as much from training her mind as it does from training in the gym. New episodes are expected this fall.
-Kerry Weber, executive editor
