The Best TV Shows and Movies New to Netflix, Amazon and More in June

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Every month, subscription streaming services add a new batch of movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are the titles we think are most interesting for June, broken down by service and release date. Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice.

Movies New to Netflix

‘The Departed’
Starts streaming: June 1

There’s so much double-crossing in this gangster movie, it’s almost hard to keep track of who’s a crooked cop and who’s a criminal. Martin Scorsese directs an absurdly formidable cast — including Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg — through this complicated story set in Boston. Scorsese shows a lot of love for the setting, from the Massachusetts State House to the dive bars where the gangsters hang out. Now, if only the actors could only get those Boston accents down …
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‘The King’s Speech’
Starts streaming: June 2

Need proof of the therapeutic power of curse words? When King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry Wallace Simpson, Edward’s stammering younger brother Albert (Colin Firth) was thrust into the royal spotlight. Albert’s struggle to conquer his speech impediment is the subject of this Oscar-winning film from Tom Hooper, and his often-raucous sessions with an unconventional speech therapist (a twinkling performance by Geoffrey Rush) give the movie its heart. Unfortunately, the hilarious scenes of Albert learning to swear like a sailor saddled the period piece with an “R” rating, a decision that was widely derided.
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‘Cutie and the Boxer’
Starts streaming: June 14

Zachary Heinzerling’s wonderfully eccentric documentary focuses on two married Japanese artists — Ushio and Noriko Shinohara — and their long struggle for recognition from the New York art scene. For all the avant-garde trappings of their work, the couple’s marriage is based on traditional gender dynamics. Ushio, who creates paintings by dipping boxing gloves into pigment and then punching the colors onto his canvases, is the star. Noriko is his “free secretary, free cook, free assistant,” as she puts it. But Noriko turns out to be rather talented as well, and a joint exhibition highlights the fractures in their relationship. The movie is a remarkably unsentimental portrait of a marriage.
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‘In Bruges’
Starts streaming: June 16

The medieval Belgian city of Bruges is a dissonant setting for this first feature by the playwright Martin McDonagh. In this violent tale, two Irish gunmen (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) badly screw up a contracted hit and are ordered to lie low in Bruges by their employer, a raving psychopath named Harry (Ralph Fiennes). Gleeson, playing a seasoned hard man beginning to mellow, and Farrell, as a likable but dangerous loose cannon, are a surprisingly persuasive duo, aided by fantastic (and filthy) dialogue. A cult classic.
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‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
Starts streaming: June 26

Picking up where “The Force Awakens” left off, “The Last Jedi” opens as Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger with a heroic destiny, delivers a light saber to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in a remote corner of the galaxy. He casually tosses it off the cliff behind him. So begin the necessary heresies of writer-director Rian Johnson, whose 2017 entry in the “Star Wars” series drew ire from some fans for violating orthodoxy, but does an important service by refusing to be confined by it. Luke’s misgivings about the legacy of the Jedi burden a Resistance already overmatched by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order, but “The Last Jedi” isn’t as pessimistic as it sounds. Johnson is still intent on delivering a gee-whiz space adventure, and the emotions at play only make the finale more thrillingly operatic.

TV Shows New to Netflix

‘Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth’
Starts streaming: June 1

“Star Wars” fans, this one’s also for you. Esteemed mythology professor Joseph Campbell sat down with Bill Moyers for a conversation that became a six-part public television series in 1988, and most of it was taped at George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch. The pair discussed many topics, among them the mythological influences on Lucas’s original film trilogy, the stages of a classical hero’s journey and the importance of ancient beliefs in modern times. It makes for a riveting conversation.
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‘Marcella’ Season 2
Starts streaming: June 8

Anna Friel returns as London police detective Marcella Backland, a dogged investigator whose work is complicated by domestic strife and occasional spells of memory loss. The second season covers a new case — involving a string of horrific child-murders — while the heroine’s personal issues persist. She’s mired in a custody battle with her ex-husband and is increasingly concerned she’s having violent episodes during her blackouts. Cocreated by the Swedish writer Hans Rosenfeldt (best-known for his series “The Bridge”), “Marcella” is one of the UK’s grimmest crime series … which is saying something, as British cop shows generally don’t spare the bleak.—

‘Sense8: The Series Finale’
Starts streaming: June 8

Netflix abruptly canceled this mind-bending sci-fi show after its second season, then relented, allowing the show’s co-creator Lana Wachowski to try to wrap up the story with a two-hour finale. Given the complexity of “Sense8” — it has a big cast, numerous international locations and arcane mythology — it might be tough for Wachowski and her collaborators to tie everything up in a neat bow. But then a lot about this one-of-a-kind series has been impressively unreasonable, from its pricey cinematic polish to its heady mix of politics, sensuality, spirituality and superheroes.
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‘The Staircase’
Starts streaming: June 8

True-crime aficionados should be familiar with “The Staircase,” the gripping mini-series that first aired in the U.S. in 2005. It follows the trial of the crime novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife and is one of the shows responsible for kicking off the current craze of pulpy docs about dastardly deeds. But Peterson’s story didn’t end with the original run. The documentarian Jean-Xavier de Lestrade has continued to follow the case and has appended a few new chapters to the mini-series, which will be added to Netflix along with the “Staircase” episodes that came before.
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‘Portlandia’ Season 8
Starts streaming: June 10

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s beloved sketch comedy show ended its eight-season run in March. The final season had send offs for some of its long-running characters as well as some new parodies of coastal hipsters and was littered with guest stars like Rachel Bloom, Tracee Ellis Ross and Aidy Bryant. Bonus for “Westworld” fans: Tessa Thompson and Shannon Woodward pop up to provide some romantic sparks.
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‘Marvel’s Luke Cage’ Season 2
Starts streaming: June 22

The second run of “Luke Cage” arrives with relatively little hype, for a Marvel series. But in a way this suits this show, which is the least fantastical and most grounded of the “Defenders” franchise. Season 2 will move “Luke Cage” closer to the “Power Man” comics of the 1970s, in which the hero fought the low-level criminals and mob bosses that other super-types ignored, alongside a support team unafraid to go fist-to-fist with any crook.
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‘GLOW’ Season 2
Starts streaming: June 29

Children of the ’80s might remember the “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” as a syndicated source of grappling beauties in spandex and silly comic sketches. This Netflix original series goes behind the scenes of this haphazard operation, following a struggling actress turned wrestler (Alison Brie) as she adapts to the circuit’s peculiar culture and the eclectic personalities of her fellow performers. The first season was a delight, serious when it needed to be and silly when it could be. This new season opens as the women grapple with the consequences of achieving some local fame.
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‘Nailed It!’ Season 2
Starts streaming: June 29

A different kind of cooking competition, “Nailed It!” presents novice bakers with impossible challenges, asking them to recreate fancy, professionally designed cakes and other pastries. The second season brings back the host Nicole Byer and the head judge Jacques Torres, both of whom help shape the way the game plays out, whether by helping or distracting the contestants. The emphasis here is on comedy more than culinary prowess, although watching ordinary people ruin complicated recipes can actually be instructive. It’s a “dos and don’ts” demonstration that’s heavy on the latter.
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Also of interest: “101 Dalmatians” (June 1), “He Names Me Malala” (June 1), “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” (June 1), “Thor: Ragnarok” (June 5), “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (June 15), “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 14 (June 16), “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Season 5 (June 17), “Cooking on High” Season 1 (June 22), “Kiss Me First” Season 1 (June 29), “Supergirl” Season 3 (in June, date to be determined), and “iZombie” Season 4 (in June, date to be determined).

New Netflix Original Comedy Specials

‘W. Kamau Bell: Private School Negro’
Starts streaming: June 26

In the decade since W. Kamau Bell released his first comedy album, he’s carved out a niche as one of the modern era’s most politically astute stand-up comics, commenting on racism and activism onstage and on TV and podcasts. His new set, “Private School Negro,” covers the fears and follies of the Trump era, as well as the contradictions of a culture where people seem more “woke” than ever and yet are still fighting the same decades-old battles.
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Also of interest: “Hannah Gadsby: Nanette” (June 19).

New to Amazon Prime Video

‘The Age of Innocence’
Starts streaming: June 1

Martin Scorsese would seem an unlikely director for a big screen adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel about the elaborate social norms and behavioral codes of upper crust of New York society in the 1870s. But Scorsese effectively brings out the violence of societal strictures that would prevent Ellen Olenska (a luminous Michelle Pfeiffer) from divorcing her philandering husband. Daniel Day-Lewis plays a lawyer who, despite his engagement and then marriage to her cousin, is smitten by Ellen and her ignorance of society’s unspoken rules. The movie won an Oscar for its costume design, and it’s a gorgeous study of an emotional repression that is accepted even by those it most painfully torments.
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‘Escape From Alcatraz’
Starts streaming: June 1

Aside from all the times he directed films himself, Clint Eastwood’s best movies were helmed by Don Siegel, all the way up to their fifth and final collaboration, “Escape from Alcatraz.” Based on a true story, this two-fisted 1979 action-adventure is refreshingly nonjudgmental, pitting hardened criminals against a vindictive warden (played with maximum sneer by Patrick McGoohan), and then reveling in all their schemes and counter-schemes.
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‘Saturday Night Fever’
Starts streaming: June 1

In this ’70s classic, Tony Manero (John Travolta) tries to transcend his working-class Italian-American roots by being the best on the dance floor, but he’ll need the best partner if he wants to win a club’s dance contest. Don’t skip out on the movie’s memorable disco scenes, leisure suits and city grime.
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‘Lady Bird’
Starts streaming: June 3

In her solo directorial debut, Greta Gerwig considers the possibility that loving another person might not be so different from simply paying attention to them. Saoirse Ronan gives a virtuoso performance as a high-school teen who is learning this through trial and error. Lady Bird (as she calls herself) falls for boys (Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet) who don’t — or can’t — love her, neglects her loyal best friend (Beanie Feldstein) as she seeks to break into a cooler social circle and bickers nonstop with her loving but prickly mom (a glorious Laurie Metcalf). Gerwig stocked virtually every scene with bull’s-eye lines. Don’t miss.
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‘Precious’
Starts streaming: June 9

Lee Daniels’s harrowing study of inner-city anomie is a parade of breakout performances, chief among them that of first-time actor Gabourey Sidibe, who plays an illiterate teen mom longing for a better life and being told at every turn that she can never have one. Lenny Kravitz exudes unexpected warmth as a gentle male nurse, and Mo’Nique won an Oscar for her ice-cold portrayal of the girl’s abusive mother. The biggest surprise, though, is provided by Mariah Carey, who’s completely convincing as a tough but compassionate social worker. Stock up on even more tissues than you expect to need.
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‘Goliath’ Season 2
Starts streaming: June 15

David E. Kelley is one of the kings of the TV legal series — ”L.A. Law,” “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal” — and he returned to the genre in 2016 with this substantial series starring Billy Bob Thornton as a dissolute former big-shot lawyer who happens onto a big case. Thornton won a Golden Globe last year for the role, and Nina Arianda also shines as his eventual co-counsel.
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Also of Interest: “2 Days in the Valley” (June 1), “Beowulf” (June 1), “The Disaster Artist” (June 1), “House of D” (June 1), “The Natural” (June 1), “The Running Man” (June 1), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (June 1), “Suits” Season 7 (June 18), “Shutter Island” (June 26), and “A Very English Scandal” (June 29).

New to Hulu

‘Brokeback Mountain’
Starts streaming: June 1

Ang Lee’s Oscar-bedecked adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story offers multiple layers of melancholy. There’s the overarching sadness of the impossible love between two neo-cowboys (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) in Wyoming; the misery of one of the men’s wives (Michelle Williams) trying to confront her husband about this forbidden relationship; the oblivious disregard of the other man’s wife (Anne Hathaway); and the confirmation of Ledger’s singular talent, which was snuffed out by his death three years later at the age of 28. He and Williams fell in love while making this film, and soon had a child together.
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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’
Starts streaming: June 1

The first installment of director Peter Jackson’s ambitious adaptations of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novels was a resounding cultural event in 2001. The movie’s scale was truly epic, its digital effects were groundbreaking, and its large cast of characters — especially the diminutive Hobbits led by Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) — was instantly embraced by fans around the world. All together, Jackson’s “Rings” trilogy won 17 Oscars. A lot has happened in the world of movies over the past 17 years, but “Fellowship” is still a sumptuous experience. Let’s hunt some orc!
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‘My Left Foot’
Starts streaming: June 1

Daniel Day-Lewis collected his first Oscar for best actor for portraying Christy Brown, an Irishman who refused to let cerebral palsy stop him from living life. Although he could only fully control his left foot, Brown still met with success as a writer and artist, and his triumph in the face of adversity inspired millions. Day-Lewis went all in for this performance, having carefully studied Brown’s mannerisms and behavior in order to get every last facial tic down pat. And although this portrayal underscores Brown’s courage, self-sufficiency and determination, he’s no goody two-shoes: Day-Lewis plays the man as a spirited cad.
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‘Punch-Drunk Love’
Starts streaming: June 1

After releasing the three-hour opus “Magnolia,” director Paul Thomas Anderson scaled back and made a very weird movie with a tiny cast. “Punch-Drunk Love” stars Adam Sandler as a troubled schmuck with too many overbearing sisters, a terrible rage streak and a newfound obsession with collecting pudding. At least he’s found a meaningful relationship with a kind woman (Emily Watson). If you’ve only known Sandler as a goofy comedian, seeing him in this drama will most likely prove surprising. Except for the rage part — that’s somewhere in all of his roles.
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‘Trainspotting’
Starts streaming: June 1

This dark and very profane study of a group of heroin addicts living in Edinburgh was a breakout film for director Danny Boyle, and provided a powerful career jolt for actors Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller. Adapting a book by Irvine Welsh, Boyle finds a lot of humor in the horror of the addicts’ and friends’ daily lives, including a rather putrid deep dive down the worst toilet in Scotland. (Warning: You won’t be able to get out of your head once you see it.)
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‘Rick and Morty’ Season 3
Starts streaming: June 23

After a 20-year hiatus during which it was not much missed, a Szechuan sauce was suddenly restored to McDonald’s menus late last year to great excitement. This decision came in response to a petition started by fans of the surreal animated sci-fi show “Rick and Morty” after it mentioned the sauce in one of its episodes. Needless to say, the boozy mad scientist named Rick and his teenage grandson, Morty, have extremely enthusiastic fans. Season 3 sees the pair on adventures that range across various galaxies and levels of reality, also involving Morty’s parents and sister. Sauce, unfortunately, not included.
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Also of interest: “2 Days in the Valley” (June 1), “Apollo 13” (June 1), “A Beautiful Mind” (June 1), “Bull Durham” (June 1), “Escape from Alcatraz” (June 1), “Hellboy” (June 1), “The History Boys” (June 1), “House of D” (June 1), “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (June 1), “The Running Man” (June 1), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (June 1), “Cloak & Dagger” (June 8), “Precious” (June 9), “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” Season 2 (June 14), “Sirens” (June 15), “Baby Mama” (June 16), and “Shutter Island” (June 26).

New to HBO

‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’
Starts streaming: June 1

With his Oscar-winning screenplay for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” William Goldman created a new kind of Western — one in which the heroes cracked wise, fought dirty and ran away. The pairing of Paul Newman (Butch) and Robert Redford (Sundance) was dreamboat heaven in 1969, and the actors’ amiable chemistry set the standard for decades of buddy comedies to come. Great waterfall leap, too.
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‘Fletch’
Starts streaming: June 1

Forget the plot — you should watch “Fletch” for Chevy Chase’s wisecracking attitude and surreal asides. (His Fletch tells a woman that he just ordered lunch. “You ordered it here?” she asks. “Well, I knew this was where my mouth would be,” Fletch replies.) He is an indefatigable investigative reporter, flipping from one implausible undercover identity (beach junkie, surgeon, basketball star) to another to foil a murder, or something. The story is very silly, but Chase was a star in 1985, and this became one of his biggest hits.
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‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’
Starts streaming: June 1

Jessica Lange’s fourth feature made her a full-fledged movie star. The screenplay by David Mamet gives a sex-bomb update to Lange’s character, Cora, the scheming wife played by Lana Turner in the 1946 adaptation of the same James M. Cain novel. Along with the noir staples of betrayal and murder, there’s an unusually graphic kitchen-table sex scene that triggered pundit speculation about whether the sex was actually real. This seems unlikely, but the scene remains very steamy.
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‘Blade Runner 2049’
Starts streaming: June 2

Reviving “Blade Runner” for modern audiences seemed like a risky idea, running up against the impossible standards of a cult favorite — and the fact that mainstream audiences didn’t swarm theaters for the 1982 original in the first place. Director Denis Villeneuve couldn’t solve the second problem, but “Blade Runner 2049” does extend and enrich the mythology of this noir-soaked future dystopia, where androids known as replicants are rebelling against their human masters. The ace cinematographer Roger Deakins brings the rainy Los Angeles of the original back to life while also adding brilliant new bursts of color, particularly when the action shifts to Las Vegas.
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‘Succession’ Season 1
Starts streaming: June 3

The children of New York media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) are unhappy to learn that their 80-year-old father has decided not to relinquish the reins of his family-controlled international conglomerate after all. How to nudge him out? His sons (Alan Ruck, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin), daughter (Sarah Snook) and their significant others get embroiled in various schemes in order to circumvent Roy’s wishes. It all gets very messy, of course, and very fast.
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Also of interest: “The Devil Wears Prada” (June 1), “Dolores Claiborne” (June 1), “Duplicity” (June 1), “The Full Monty” (June 1), “Identity” (June 1), “Mr. Mom” (June 1), “Napoleon Dynamite” (June 1) and “X2” (June 1).

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Charles Bramesco, Monica Castillo, Gilbert Cruz, Noel Murray and Scott Tobias contributed reporting

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