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Summer TV season has arrived — here’s what you shouldn’t miss

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Summer TV season has arrived — here’s what you shouldn’t miss

Clockwise from top left: Little House on the Prairie; Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s The Weight Of The World); Cape Fear; House of the Dragon; The Bear; Ted Lasso.

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Netflix; HBO; Apple TV; HBO; FX; Apple TV

Summer is when people are trying to get away from screens — headed outside to enjoy weather and time off.

But in the modern age, TV never sleeps, so streaming and premiere television outlets have lined up a slew of attention-getting new and returning shows competing with vacations and sunny days over the next few months to pull in viewers and attention.

Fans can choose from remakes of classic films and TV shows like Cape Fear and Little House on the Prairie, the final season of FX’s fading dramedy The Bear, Larry David’s intriguing new HBO project made with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground productions and the return of a series many fans thought was over and done with — Apple TV’s hit comedy, Ted Lasso.

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Here’s a look at what’s coming when, and why it matters:

Cape Fear, Apple TV, June 5

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It’s tough to imagine an actor who could bring a creepier vibe than Robert DeNiro in 1991’s film thriller Cape Fear — playing a wiry, pathological felon who blamed his public defender for purposefully tanking his case. But Javier Bardem is that actor, raising the stakes for Apple TV’s modern streaming series with a deliciously wily performance as Max Cady — a man exonerated after serving 17 years in prison for murder. Amy Adams is Anna Bowden, the former public defender who defended Cady, but wound up marrying the prosecutor that put him away, raising all kinds of suspicion over how she handled his case. Lots of it is preposterous and heavy-handed, but Bardem plays Cady with more intelligence and sophistication than DeNiro’s version, dismantling his former lawyer’s perfect life with horrifying glee. Toss in as executive producers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese — who directed the 1991 version, itself a remake of a 1962 classic — and you’ve got a powerful combination.

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Earth, Wind & Fire: (To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World), HBO and HBO Max, June 7

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R&B stars Earth, Wind & Fire provided the soundtrack for Black America in the late 1970s — a hit machine which cranked out classics like “Shining Star,” “That’s the Way of the World” and “September,” courtesy of driven bandleader Maurice White. Tonight Show bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson — who has made a name as a Oscar-winning documentarian with groundbreaking films on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, the music of Saturday Night Live and Sly Stone — offers a relatively traditional look at the band’s story. He covers all the bases in the arc of White’s own story, from his roots as a drummer for jazz legend Ramsey Lewis, to his eventual death in 2016 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. But with on camera sources ranging from Barack and Michelle Obama to Stevie Wonder — who reveals how “Shining Star” inspired the writing of his hit, “I Wish” — Thompson still manages an enlightening, compelling story.

House of the Dragon Season 3, HBO and HBO Max, June 21

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This feels like a make-or-break season for HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff, following a lackluster collection of episodes last year which some critics — OK, me — lambasted for too little forward motion. Based on events in the Game of Thrones prequel novel Fire & Blood, this season focuses on a bloody civil war between two factions, the Blacks and the Greens, for rule over the fictional continent of Westeros. Early press indicates this season will feature lots of dragons and epic battle action, which seems necessary. It’s been two years since the second season, so that level of spectacle might be needed to remind viewers about this long-running franchise.

The Bear Season 5, Hulu, June 25

FX’s towering dramatic comedy will present its final season here, dropping its last eight episodes at once. It’s an opportune moment to conclude the story of driven chef Carmy Berzatto’s bruising efforts to build a Michelin starred restaurant from his family’s humble hole-in-the-wall Italian beef shack in Chicago. The show has a maddening habit of presenting standout episodes even during mediocre seasons. But critics have cooled on a show where the number of unspectacular episodes has grown and the latest plot twist — Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy deciding to leave the restaurant, forcing the family of workers he assembled to seek that Michelin star without him — feels perilously close to a Hail Mary pass thrown by writers running out of ideas.

Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America, HBO and HBO Max, June 26

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Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama (Rustin, Leave the World Behind), takes its biggest swing yet here — producing a sketch series from Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David. The show celebrates America’s 250th anniversary a little differently, offering seven episodes filled with sketches lampooning key historical moments, featuring David — whose history as a failed writer for Saturday Night Live might not inspire loads of confidence. Still, the Obamas have assembled an impressive track record as producers and David remains a quirky, effective comedic voice who could have easily sat back on his Curb laurels, rather than offering a bold counterpoint to the official celebrations of America’s history.

Little House on the Prairie, Netflix, July 9

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Gen Z viewers likely don’t know the original series which dominated ratings back in the mid-’70s and early ’80s, featuring Michael Landon as the patriarch of a family struggling to establish a home in Minnesota during the late 19th century. Netflix’s series returns to the largely autobiographical books written by novelist Laura Ingalls Wilder as inspiration, featuring the family struggling to stay together after moving to Kansas not long after the Civil War. The initial series debuted on NBC back in 1974, when family-oriented shows like The Waltons were still popular. But will today’s streaming audiences embrace a series which brings a modern lens to questions of slavery and white people moving into the American west?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Paramount+, July 23

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It’s one of TV’s longest-running science fiction franchises, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. But the future of Star Trek remains uncertain, as Paramount finishes production on two live action Trek series, with no new iterations yet planned for TV or film. This season of Strange New Worlds — centered on the adventures of the Starship Enterprise before the days of Captain Kirk depicted in the original series — is the second-to-last batch of episodes for the series, which will end with an abbreviated fifth season. Strange New Worlds has a bit to prove, coming off a third season largely considered a disappointment by many fans. Ultimately, producers have admitted the show will conclude with Kirk taking the captain’s chair — but it’s going to take a lot of attention-getting episodes to get there.

Ted Lasso Season 4, Apple TV, Aug. 5

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Many fans thought this series effectively ended after its third season back in 2023, when the show’s folksy lead character returned home to America after leading a British soccer team to success. But never underestimate TV’s urge to keep tapping into a hit — star and executive producer Jason Sudeikis found a new story to tell about Coach Lasso, who returns to lead a second division women’s football team in Britain. Over its first three seasons, the show emerged as one of Apple’s most successful series, with a slew of Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards. This fourth season will have to answer a new question: Can lightning strike twice for the same series?

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Lanterns, HBO and HBO Max, Aug. 16

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This series offers a chance to reinvent one of DC Comics most beloved superheroes for today’s TV scene, casting Friday Night Lights alum Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan — a grizzled hero with a power ring capable of creating any construct from the energy of his will. Jordan is a Green Lantern, part of a corps of intergalactic space cops handed the rings by a powerful group of immortal beings. That all sounds like a lot for a streaming TV series; initial teasers for the show focus on Jordan’s work training/vetting new Lantern candidate John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre. The two will work to investigate a murder on Earth in an uneasy alliance which feels an awful lot like the first season of HBO’s True Detective — balancing a gritty, authentic environment with a ring that allows flight, space travel and lots of superheroic adventures. This superhero nerd absolutely cannot wait to see where it all goes.

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Why your favorite international artist might be reconsidering their next U.S. tour

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Why your favorite international artist might be reconsidering their next U.S. tour

Here’s something American concertgoers might not know: before a musician from another country can take the stage in the U.S., someone has to file paperwork with the federal government on their behalf. And not just any paperwork — a petition, hundreds of pages long, stacked with press clippings, award documentation, testimonial letters from other artists, venue contracts, a detailed tour itinerary, and evidence that the artist is legitimately accomplished at what they do.

And that’s just to start the clock in a process that may take over a year to complete.

This is the reality for international artists — from musicians to painters, dancers to comedians — who want to come to the U.S. to share their work. It’s a complicated, expensive process that arts advocates say has long made the country a difficult place for foreign artists to access. But now, they say it’s gotten much worse.

The time it takes to process a visa has dramatically increased. The number of available interview slots at U.S. embassies is backlogged. Application costs have surged. And there’s an added layer of uncertainty: paperwork can be perfect, fees can be paid, and yet artists still can be turned away at the border.

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For U.S. audiences, all of this means a quiet loss of global cultural exchange.

What does the artist visa process look like?

To illustrate the nonimmigrant visa process for artists, let’s take Kongero, a small, Swedish folk a cappella group that completed its second U.S. tour last fall.

First step: File a petition.

The group’s booking agent planned the tour and gathered all the necessary documentation to file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to demonstrate that the group qualified for a P-3 visa, the category for culturally unique artists.

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What are your most cherished memories of the 2026 World Cup in L.A.?

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What are your most cherished memories of the 2026 World Cup in L.A.?

My favorite memory of the 2026 World Cup happened last month. By the late morning of June 18 in Koreatown, hours ahead of the Mexico vs. South Korea group-stage match, it was apparent that the neighborhood would be unrecognizable by kickoff.

I had heard rumblings about the Korean Festival Foundation’s watch party, but once I found out it would take place at Seoul International Park, I was almost dissuaded entirely. Although it is the beloved destination of my dog’s morning walks, its insignificant size and awkward location just off Olympic Boulevard didn’t seem appropriate for such a coveted event. So, I went to scout it out beforehand — and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. There were already about 100 to 200 fans in the park, about six hours before the first whistle; laughing, drinking, lending a hand to vendor setups.

My apartment is only about six-odd blocks from the park, but closer to the game, I noticed a gigantic wave of red, lavender and white jerseys already crashing toward the watch party. It took my roommates and me about 30 minutes to walk the half-mile at 4 p.m., squeezing past fervent fans to eke out a spot in front of one of the two humongous screens situated on either side of Irolo Street.

Unfortunately for us, all of the good vantage points were taken. A mass in front of both screens was impenetrable; smaller televisions hooked up to generators were already seized by 10 too many eyes; even the roofs surrounding the park were full of attendees much bolder and athletic than me. We settled on the soccer field in the park, where we could juggle a ball around a bit while watching the match on our phones (and thank you to my girlfriend’s dad for his Peacock subscription).

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The first half onscreen was mostly uneventful, but off-screen, I was able to witness a sort of camaraderie seen rarely in sprawling Los Angeles. People were swarming vendors from eateries all around Koreatown, dance circles formed around speakers blasting banda music, and “oohs” and “ahhs” at every missed shot were in perfect sync. Then, it happened: a goal in the 50th minute by Luis Romo of the Mexican side. The park and its surroundings exploded into a collective cheer that tickled my rib cage and resonated deep in my ear canal to the point I had to cover my ears. I can hardly remember if I joined the chorus, or if the excitement was so heavy that I just felt like an equal part of it.

Seeing my neighborhood in this light will stick with me much longer than the 1-0 result, or the fact that neither of these teams (both of which I partially rooted for) made it far into the tournament. But these memories, I believe, are what the World Cup is really about.

So tell us about your most cherished memory of the 2026 World Cup in L.A. so far. And remember, no moment is too small. We may feature it in an upcoming story.

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Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78, his family says

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Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78, his family says

Sam Neill arrives at the premiere of “Apples Never Fall” on March 12, 2024, in Los Angeles.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Sam Neill, a smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose career moved from art film to blockbuster as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” to playing Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill died on Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t specified.

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“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote.

Actor came to world’s notice with ‘Dead Calm’ and ‘My Brilliant Career’

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. His range was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping off Hunter’s finger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror “Event Horizon.”

In “Omen III: The Final Conflict,” he played Damien the Antichrist and he also played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in “The Tudors.”

The actor first came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong’s 1979 film “My Brilliant Career,” which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s “Plenty” and — again for Schepisi — in “A Cry in the Dark,” a film about the sensationalized aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.”

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