June Premieres Across the Board

When it comes to original movies and series to stream in June, HBO GO has some impressive offerings. The content provider is offering six original movies in the sixth month of the year, as well as the premieres of four new series and three returning series. To be fair, that’s less than what Netflix is offering in June, but HBO’s lineup looks more intriguing. By comparison, Amazon Prime and Hulu both offer a pinch of premieres. If streaming services are to be judged by their original content, I’ll say that HBO GO should take the lead in quality over quantity this summer. Let’s take a closer look…

HBO GO’s June Lineup

I’m proud to admit that HBO has a strong June lineup. Since Solid Signal is an AT&T Authorized Dealer, and HBO is owned by ATT, it feels like we’re part of this great, big extended family of companies slugging it out in our respective marketplaces. Whenever any one of these companies does well, it feels good for everyone on the “home team.” I definitely got these same warm and fuzzies when I found out what’s coming to HBO in June.

As I said, there are six new shows premiering on HBO this month. There are also seven series, including four premieres. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you’ll know that I’m jazzed up to see the second season of Big Little Lies. I was blown away by the first season so much that I went out and bought the novel. When Mrs. Buckler and I heard of a second season, we became even more excited because it wasn’t supposed to happen. Check out the trailer:

HBO Has Another Edge…

… And it can be summed up in two words: theatrical premieres. HBO snags recently-released films before the other streaming services. Mrs. Buckler and I are too busy to line up babysitters so we can drop a small fortune at the movie theater, so we patiently wait for the latest films to come to the small screen. We’re always pleased to catch these shows on HBO, and the channel came through again with this month’s lineup:

  • Bad Times at the El Royale (6/1)
  • The 15:17 to Paris (6/4)
  • A Star is Born (6/8)
  • The Hate U Give (6/15)
  • The Old Man & The Gun (6/22)
  • Robin Hood (6/29)

Whether its original programming or the latest hit movies, premieres are the name of the streaming game these days. When it comes to June premieres, HBO has them while the others seem like they’re scrambling to keep up.

Netflix Originals This Month

It should come as no surprise that Netflix is premiering the most original content this month. By my count, the big red streaming service is releasing 48 new shows, 29 of which are films and the other 17 are new series. On the one hand, that’s rather impressive. On the other hand, my colleague Stuart Sweet might be right about the economics of Netflix. Is the network, as he put it, full of “poorly-produced and inconsistent garbage?”

Even though Netflix is rolling out nearly 50 premieres, its returning shows that I’m excited about. This month, we get the fifth season of Black Mirror. More importantly, there’s the second season of Dark. This German sci-fi thriller series debuted on December 1, 2017. After Mrs. Buckler and I binge-watched the first season, we wondered if it would get renewed. After nearly two years, we’ll get to see what happens to the people of Winden, whose town has a time tunnel hidden in a cave. Check out the trailer:

Another example from Netflix is Malibu Rescue: The Series. This is a spin-off of the 2019 film of the same name. Having never heard of it, I immediately did my research. At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a corny, pre-teen Baywatch. Then I saw that Ian Ziering is in it. You know, that dorky dude who played Steve Sanders on Beverly Hills, 90210. If he’s involved, this is definitely a turkey that I plan to avoid at all costs. The rest of Netflix’s June line up is chock full of returning seasons of Netflix original series and curated ones.

Hulu Originals in June

There are literally a couple of premieres this month over at the green streaming service. The first is a Dr. Ruth documentary, which I’m more than happy to not go into details about. (If you were alive in the 1980s, then you probably already know about her and her what she specialized in.) The other premiere is of a series called The Weekly, of which I know nothing about because I couldn’t even find a trailer. Oh, and there’s episode nine of Into the Dark: They Come Knocking, whatever the heck that is.

In my opinion, Hulu continues to ride on the success of its dystopian (and depressing) series, The Handmaids Tale. Season three premieres this month along with the rest of this somewhat paltry lineup:

  • Ask Dr. Ruth: Documentary Premiere (6/1)
  • The Weekly: Series Premiere (6/3)
  • The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 3 Premiere (6/5)
  • Into The Dark: They Come Knocking: Episode 9 Premiere (6/7)

Amazon Prime Originals in June

Amazon Prime unleashes three premieres this month. One of them, Chasing Happiness, seems to be a documentary of the Jonas brothers’ musical success. (I just can’t. Not the trailer, not a summation. Nothing.) I couldn’t find any official trailers for Amazon’s other two premieres: Final Life and Tokyo Alice. I’m guessing if you know what these shows are about and they are your thing, then you’ll watch them. The rest of us might be left scratching our heads. At any rate, here’s what’s new from the world’s biggest online book store this month:

  • Chasing Happiness (6/4)
  • Creative Galaxy, season three (6/4)
  • Absentia, season two (6/14)
  • Documental, season three (6/21)
  • Final Life (6/21)
  • Tokyo Alice (6/21)

Streaming for Cord-Cutters

All this talk about streaming sometimes makes me forget that I’m actually a cord-cutter at heart. That’s right, folks. “Mr. Streaming Saturday” has a big ol’ antenna atop his roof. That’s because I live a bit outside the city limits, and by “a bit” I mean more than 30 miles. This large, outdoor antenna helps me pull in all my local channels from the Detroit market. Are you wondering how we stream here at the Buckler family compound. We stream our favorite shows and series using our AirTV Player.

Of course, we’re able to add our favorite streaming services – HBO GO, Netflix, and Amazon Prime – as well as 30+ channels on the Sling TV package. What we love best about our AirTV Player is that it integrates with our TV antenna. This lets us keep all those great free TV channels and integrates them onto our menu. I definitely recommend the AirTV Player to anyone who wants to cut the cord and stream. Solid Signal carries the AirTV Player and our techs can answer your questions about it. Just give them a call at 888-233-7563.

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.