From a high-octane spy thriller with Keeley Hawes, to tribal drama with Jason Momoa and a rom-com from Lena Dunham, this is your ultimate guide to this summer’s scorching telly

Suranne Jones plays the British Prime Minister in upcoming Netflix thriller Hostage(Image: PA)

From gritty crime thrillers and psychological dramas, to comedies, documentaries and entertainment, telly is set to be as scorching as the weather this summer. There’s lots of top returning telly, including Wednesday and Only Murders In The Building, with The Bear, Squid Game and The Gilded Age already back and pulling in top ratings. But it’s no silly season when it comes to telly this year, there are brand new bingeable shows too. So don’t move too far from the small screen – here is our sizzling hot guide.

The Assassin, Prime Video, July 25

Starring Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore, this spy drama is set to be the thriller of the summer. Keeley plays Julie, a retired hit-woman living a secluded life on a remote Greek island. However, her quiet existence is interrupted by the arrival of her estranged son, Edward (Highmore), from England, desperate for answers about his father. Before long, things take a deadly turn when Julie’s past catches up with her and they are forced to go on the run together. It’s a fight for survival, testing a dysfunctional relationship to its limits.

Freddie Highmore and Keeley Hawes star in The Assassin, coming soon to Prime Video(Image: Prime Video)

The Count Of Monte Cristo, U&Drama, early August

This eight-part mini-series starring Sam Claflin and Jeremy Irons is based on Alexandre Dumas’s classic novel of the same name. Falsely accused of treason, Edmond Dantes (Claflin), a young sailor, is imprisoned without trial in the Chateau d’If, a grim island fortress off Marseille. After many years of captivity, he finally escapes and assumes the identity of the wealthy and enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo. With his newfound resources, he embarks on a journey of revenge on those who have wrongly accused him.

Mix Tape, BBC2 / BBC iPlayer, July

If you know what a mix tape is, you’re definitely at the age where you’ll appreciate this nostalgic four-part romantic drama. It follows Daniel (Jim Sturgess) and Alison (Teresa Palmer) as they move between their teenage romance in 1989 Sheffield and the modern-day reality of their adult relationships living on opposite sides of the world. The pair reconnect through a song from their shared past and explore their burning curiosity to understand if this is the love, and the life, they were meant to have. Listen out for an absolutely cracking 80s soundtrack.

Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy star in Hostage, coming soon to Netflix(Image: PA)

Hostage, Netflix, August 21

Suranne Jones plays the lead in this British political thriller that you’ll definitely want to binge. She plays the British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton, while Julie Delpy plays the French President Vivienne Toussaint. An international summit between the two leaders in London goes terribly wrong when Abigail’s husband is kidnapped and Vivienne is blackmailed. The two political leaders both face unimaginable choies, forced into a fierce rivalry where political futures and lives hang in the balance. They must work together to uncover the plot that threatens them both.

King & Conqueror, BBC1 / iPlayer, August

This stars James Norton, which is all the information you need to know to tune in. He plays Harold, Earl of Wessex, in this eight-part historical epic, alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William, Duke of Normandy, Emily Beecham as Edith Swan-neck and Clémence Poésy as Matilda, as well as Eddie Marsan as King Edward and Juliet Stevenson as Lady Emma. It’s the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years. Expect big battles, betrayal, rage and Succession-style family dynamics.

Necaxa, Disney+, Summer

Created by the producers of Welcome To Wrexham, this spin-off sees Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria set out to reignite the soul of one of Mexico’s oldest football clubs, Club Necaxa. The documentary series follows Eva, enlisting the help of fellow owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, fresh off their headline-making revival of Wrexham AFC. It chronicles a turbulent time, marked by staff shake-ups, career-defining injuries and the relentless grit of a team determined to defy expectations and deliver hope to its city of Aguascalientes in Mexico

Ladies In Black, U&Drama, July 12

This stylish six-part Australian import, inspired by Madeleine St John’s bestselling book, is set in the 1960s and follows the lives of women working at a fictional department store in Sydney. At a time of huge social change, they must navigate love, ambition and identity. Miranda Otto, who plays the head of model gowns, Virginia, says: “I loved the book and thought the TV series was a great chance to take the story further.” Also stars Clare Hughes, Debi Mazar, Jessica DeGouw and Azizi Donnelly. Expect glamour, gloss and girdles.

Eddie Karanja in Washington Black, Disney+

Washington Black, Disney+ July 23

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, this follows the 19th-century odyssey of George Washington ‘Wash’ Black, an eleven-year-old boy born on a Barbados sugar plantation, whose scientific mind sets him on a path of unexpected destiny. When a harrowing incident forces Wash to flee, he is thrust into a globe-spanning adventure that challenges and reshapes his understanding of family, freedom and love as he navigates uncharted lands and impossible odds. Stars Ernest Kingsley Jr, Sterling K. Brown and Tom Ellis.

The Narrow Road To The Deep North, BBC1 / BBC iPlayer, July

A heart-wrenching and epic saga which weaves together several stages in the life of surgeon Dorrigo Evans, played by Europhia and Saltburn star Jacob Elordi. From the passion of his first love and his life as a prisoner of war in occupied Burma, to his later years as a revered surgeon and reluctant war hero, it’s an intimate study of a complex man. Based on Richard Flanagan’s novel, the adaptation also stars Odessa Young as his young lover Amy, and Ciaran Hands as the older Dorrigo.

Jason Momoa stars in Apple TV+ drama Chief Of War(Image: Apple TV+)

Chief Of War, Apple TV+, August 1

Who else could play Hawaii’s ferocious warrior than Hawaiian-born American movie star Jason Momoa? On a normal day, he looks like a warrior. Based on true events, this saga follows what happens with Hawaii’s four kingdoms divided by war. Warrior Ka’iana (Momoa) embarks on a mission to unite his people as an existential threat approaches their shores. Expect stunning scenery, epic battles, a fight for peace and Jason with his shirt off… He says: “It’s a story rooted in my home, my culture, and my heart.”

Created by and starring Mark Gatiss, he plays Gabriel Book, who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane, London, in 1946. But he has a side hustle, helping the police to solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders. And his close association to the force is not without its dangers. For although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie (Bridgerton’s Polly Walker), Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal. Also starring Daniel Mays and Joely Richardson, this is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.

In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations where cyborgs and synthetics (humanoid robots with AI) exist alongside humans. But the game changes when hybrids are introduced – the first prototype is named ‘Wendy’. When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat. It’s a new dawn in the race for immortality.

Megan Stalter plays Jess in Too Much, Netflix

Too Much, Netflix, July 10

From Lena Dunham, the creator of Girls, and the producers of Love Actually, there is already a heavyweight reason to watch this rom-com. Jessica (Megan Stalter) is a New York workaholic in her mid-thirties, reeling from a broken relationship that she thought would last forever. She takes a job in London where she plans to live a life of solitude like a Bronte sister. But when she meets Felix (Will Sharpe) – a walking series of red flags – she finds that their unusual connection is impossible to ignore.

Untamed, Netflix, July 17

A gripping character-driven mystery-thriller that follows Kyle Turner (played by Eric Bana), a special agent for the National Parks Service who works to enforce human law in nature’s vast wilderness. The investigation of a brutal death sends Turner on a collision course with the dark secrets within the park and in his own past. Sam Neill stars as the chief park ranger in Yosemite, while Lily Santiago plays an ambitious young, former Los Angeles cop, and Rosemary DeWitt is Turner’s ex wife.