Everything I Watched Last Month (June 2024)

And what I thought about it all!

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Back with another monthly watch list recap!

Once a month I send out a list of everything I watched the previous month to give you some ideas of things to add to your own watch lists, so I’m here to share the rundown of all of the stuff I watched in June.

Also note that I only include seasons of TV shows that I finished in any given month — if it’s still on or I’m still currently watching it, then I’ll include it when it’s over.

RELATED: Everything I Watched in May 2024

You’ll find that my reactions to things lean positive, because 1. I actively try to seek out stuff that I expect to be entertaining, has been well reviewed and/or has value to me — I’m not just going to watch the most popular show on Netflix because everyone else is if I don’t think I would like it — and 2. I’ve given myself more leeway recently to give up on shows that I’m not enjoying (here’s the list of all the shows I dropped last year). I used to force myself to finish things even if I hated them, which is truly unnecessary and a waste of time.

Keep scrolling for the list of everything I watched in June 2024 (and here’s the list from May if you want more ideas for things to watch):

The Valley (Bravo) 👍👍

The best debut season of a new Bravo show since “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” Admittedly, I wasn’t that excited for this spinoff, but the fantastic premiere episode made me eat my words immediately. This show overdelivered on its promise, with almost every episode bringing some of the messiest drama to be found on reality TV. Bring on season 2!

Buying London (Netflix) 👎

The trailer for this London-set real estate reality show made the show seem promising, but I was very underwhelmed by this one. I didn’t dislike many of the cast members, but I also finished the season having zero affinity for most of them — and not remembering any of their names. Maybe I'm experiencing some real estate reality show fatigue…

Under the Bridge (Hulu) 👍

Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough co-starred in this true crime story about the murder of a teenager in Canada, and it was incredibly well-done. While it lagged a little bit towards the end of the season, overall I loved this show and the central performances were fantastic.

Hit Man (Netflix) 👍

Glen Powell, the star that you are! He stars, co-wrote and co-produced this movie about a professor-turned-undercover-cop who gets too involved with a woman from one of his cases. It’s the exact kind of movie you hope to get to see in the summer — funny, charming, action-packed, a little convoluted but ultimately just fun to watch.

Am I OK? (Max) 👎

There were some cute moments in this Dakota Johnson-starring movie about a woman navigating newly coming out, but ultimately it kind of just never went anywhere. I couldn’t really tell what this one was going for. I still find her to be endlessly watchable, and I love her dry delivery, but there was something missing here.

Summer House - Season 8 (Bravo) 👍👍

The series’ most-watched season for a reason, season 8 of “Summer House” was the absolute show of the moment on Bravo this spring. It centered on Lindsay and Carl’s broken engagement, which resulted in compelling reality TV, but it wasn’t just them who made this season so impactful. The West and Ciara romance flameout, Kyle and Amanda’s latest marital struggles and the fun the cast had together overall gave the season a deep roster of storylines to keep us entertained and resulted in true water cooler TV. And then there was the reunion…!

Brats (Hulu) 👎

I was so excited for this movie, which centered on the “it” young actors in Hollywood from the ‘80s, most of whom were in at least one of John Hughes’ films. I was hoping it would chronicle their careers, friendships with one another and the media sensation around them following the notorious New York Magazine article about them that dubbed them the Brat Pack. Instead, what we got was a bizarre crusade from director Andrew McCarthy (who was in the group) trying to make you feel sorry for what they went through. Which, was… what exactly? He was trying to convince the viewer that the article resulted in a traumatic experience for all of them, but he didn’t do a good job at convincing us. You’re better off reading the Wikipedia article about the Brat Pack than watching this.

Top Chef - Season 21 (Bravo) 👐

Former winner Kristen Kish made her hosting debut on this latest season of “Top Chef,” replacing longtime host Padma Lakshmi. She had huge shoes to fill, and she filled them brilliantly well (so well, in fact, that she was nominated for an Emmy for her work!), but the rest of the season, unfortunately, was one of the weakest in recent memory. It just felt like the chefs were not up to par, so the judges always seemed to hate their food; the producers introduced a few ill-conceived twists; and the location (Wisconsin) didn’t help.

Queenie (Hulu) 👐

I wanted to love this series about a 20-something woman in London figuring her life out and, while it had its moments, it felt like it never gave its protagonist a break. She kept making ill-advised decision after ill-advised decision during most of the season, to the point where it felt unintentionally unrealistic at points. Dionne Brown was great as the lead, though, and some of the supporting characters were true scene stealers.

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (Max) 👍

This was one of the most deranged season’s of any show that I’ve watched in a while — and I very much enjoyed watching it. I was a total “Pretty Little Liars” obsessive when the original aired (and, yes, I watched through until the end), but I was initially skeptical of this spinoff series. Joke’s on me, though, because both seasons have been thoroughly entertaining, and kudos to everyone involved for leaning into both the camp and the horror aspects of the show. They aren’t afraid to take huge risks, and most of them pay off.

I Am: Celine Dion (Prime) 👍

One of the most heartbreaking music documentaries you’ll ever see complete with some of the most vulnerable, raw footage of an A-list celebrity you’ll ever see.

Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (Netflix) 👍

I downloaded this three-episode docu-series for my plane ride to Greece a few weeks ago after hearing so many people discuss it, and I understood the hype. It’s a wild story about a cult-slash-church-slash-TikTok-hype-house, and I thought that focusing on the two pairs of sisters involved was an effective way of telling the story.

Roger Federer: Final Twelve Days (Prime) 👍

I’m not going to lie: I wanted more from this one! It focused on the days around Roger Federer’s announcement that he was retiring from professional tennis, and it was interesting to see how that all went down behind the scenes, for sure, but something felt like it was missing here. Maybe it’s that I was craving a more comprehensive assessment of his career that this was never going to be? I’m not quite sure, but those emotional moments between him and Rafael Nadal were genuinely affecting, so it definitely had some memorable moments.

Black Barbie (Netflix) 👐

This Shonda Rhimes-produced documentary is a 90-minute oral history of the Black Barbie — why it took Mattel so long to introduce one, how the company’s few Black creatives pushed to both make it happen and then improve upon their offerings over the years and more. The first half of this was great, but the second half turned into a bit of a heavy-handed effort to teach the viewer a lesson, which didn’t quite work for me.

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix) 👍👍

An iconic show that I need about a million more seasons of. The producers of “Cheer” documented the cutthroat tryout process for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and the subsequent football season, introducing the viewers to a multitude of layered, complex characters like Kelli and Judy, the former DCC team members who now oversee the whole team, and Victoria, Reece and Kelsey, who all make the team and discuss a variety of issues they face that season. The DCC culture is intertwined with so many topics like wealth disparity and misogyny and race and religion and professional athletes, and I loved that the director presented all of it as-is to force the viewer to contend with how they feel about it all.