STREAMING SATURDAY: If You’re Not Watching Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones’ long-awaited season seven premieres on Sunday, July 16 on HBO. If that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other great series to stream!

On the one hand, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to watch Game of Thrones. It’s only one of the most amazing fantasy series available on TV. On the other hand, I understand that fantasy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some people just can’t wrap their minds around a world where dragons and magic spells are commonplace and chain-mail and short swords are considered fashion accessories. I get it. If you’re one of those people, there are plenty of interesting shows for you to stream that don’t involve sword fights and political intrigue within the five kingdoms.

Netflix’s Friends From College
Debuting on July 14, Friends From College looks to be exactly what the show’s name promises – a series about a group of friends reuniting after their lives took separate directions after college. While the trailer doesn’t reveal too much, I believe this is going to be one of those series that tries to tackle series subject matters – disillusionment with one’s career, infidelity, etc. – and gloss it over with physical gags and raunchy humor. If you’re a fan of programming that never lets itself get too serious, Friends From College could be your jam. Bonus: The ensemble cast includes Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele) and Fred Savage (The Wonder Years).

Amazon Prime’s Original Series
If you stream Amazon Prime Video, the streaming service’s original series and movies can be a great counter to all that Game of Thrones hype. On July 28, the first season of The Last Tycoon debuts. Starring Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), this original series is set in 1936 Hollywood and is based off the F. Scott Fitzgerald book of the same name. If period dramas are your thing, The Last Tycoon looks to be a rather promising series for discerning streamers.

Are you a fan of British horror/drama in the vein of Penny Dreadful? You might enjoy Amazon’s newest series, The Living and the Dead. The series revolves around psychologist Nathan Appleby (Colin Morgan) and his wife Charlotte (Charlotte Spencer). After having recently moved to Nathan’s family estate, the couple soon begins to believe that the farm is subject to several supernatural happenings. The first series of the BBC’s The Living and the Dead becomes available for streaming on July 28 and features six, one-hour long episodes.

Okay, I know I said that some people aren’t down with the whole swords and sorcery thing, but what about your kids? If you have young children who are fantasy buffs, Game of Thrones is highly inappropriate for that age group. That doesn’t leave them with many choices in that genre… until now.  The first season of Amazon’s animated series Niko and the Sword of Light debuts on July 21. It looks like a comic-book type tale of an unlikely hero destined to do battle with the forces of evil. Why not bite the bullet – or the battle axe – and watch this show with your kiddos? There’s plenty of fun to be had enjoying wholesome family entertainment.

Hulu Has Options…
When it comes to TV series, Hulu has plenty of choices for you to stream this July. The streaming service’s offering kick off with the debut of the first season of Pure. Originally airing on CBC Television, Pure focuses on Noah Funk (Ryan Robbins), a Mennonite pastor who works undercover within an organized crime network to put an end to the drug problem in his community. Hulu acquired the series on April 12 of this year. It became available for streaming on July 7. Pure’s first season consists of six, hour-long episodes.

By the time you read this, the first season of The Bold Type will be available to stream. The series was inspired by the life of Joanna Coles, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. Starring Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, and Meghann Fahy, The Bold Type kicks off with a two-hour episode. The series centers upon three friends who all work for a global women’s magazine based in New York City. Sex in the City fans looking for the latest take of that formula might find The Bold Type entertaining. It debuted on Hulu on July 12.

Hulu is set to debut two more TV series this month. The first is NBC’s Midnight, Texas, while the second is Somewhere Between, an ABC series. Any Hulu users looking for a compelling series that’s not Game of Thrones has plenty of choose from during the seventh month of the year.

Happy Streaming, Streamers!
As you can see, there are plenty of compelling TV series to stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. This is in addition to the many movies and other original content on each of these streaming services. There’s also a plethora of content available on mainstream streaming services such as DIRECTV NOW, HBO, and others. And what about the “fringe” streaming services such Crackle, Popcorn Flix, TubiTV, and Sling TV? Those platforms have plenty to choose from as well. Personally, I don’t know why anyone would intentionally want to miss Game of Thrones, but I’m sure there are a few out there. (*Cough, Stuart Sweet, *Cough) Come July 16, I’ll be enjoying Game of Thrones… but I can definitely see me getting into some of these other series, as well.

About the Author

Jake Buckler
Jake Buckler is a cord-cutter, consumer electronics geek, and Celtic folk music fan. Those qualities, and his writing experience, helped him land a copywriting gig at Signal Group, LLC. He also contributes to The Solid Signal Blog.