Four to watch this week...
Fire Island (Cert 15, 105 mins, streaming from June 3 exclusively on Disney+) Timed for release during Pride Month, Fire Island is a romantic comedy written by actor Joel Kim Booster and directed by Andrew Ahn, which unfolds in the LGBTQ+-friendly community located off the southern shore of Long Island.
Drawing inspiration from Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, the film centres on Noah (Booster) and best friend Howie (Bowen Yang), who arrive on Fire Island for an annual summer getaway with close-knit pals.
This year could be the coterie’s swan song – mother hen Erin (Margaret Cho) is about to lose her vacation home on the island, where the group have always stayed and made lifelong memories.
Noah has his eyes firmly set on wooing Dex (Zane Phillips) but he initially focuses on helping socially awkward Howie overcome his insecurities and find a partner.
A handsome stranger called Charlie (James Scully) shoots adoring glances at Howie, kindling potential romance as disparate groups of friends collide and petty rivalries are set aside in the name of solidarity.
Ms Marvel (6 episodes, starts streaming from June 8 exclusively on Disney+)
A month after the concluding episode of Moon Knight, another colourful hero comes to the fore in a six-part fantasy adventure created by Bisha K Ali as part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Available in weekly instalments, Ms Marvel continues to lay narrative groundwork for the 2023 summer blockbuster The Marvels by chronicling the coming-of-age story of Muslim American teenager Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).
She is a self-described megafan of Captain Marvel and an avid writer of fan fiction, who lives in Jersey City with her parents Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff ).
Kamala feels like a misfit at school, even with the support of good friends Bruno Carrelli (Matt Lintz) and Nakia Bahadir (Yasmeen Fletcher), and she nurtures a crush on a boy called Kamran (Rish Shah).
Her sense of alienation eases when Kamala inherits superpowers like the heroes she has always idolised but the teenager quickly learns that life doesn’t instantly improve when you stand further apart from your peers.
The Boys – Season 3 (8 episodes, starts streaming from June 3 exclusively on Prime Video)
Superheroes continue to gleefully abuse their powers in the third series of the Emmynominated comedy adapted from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic books.
An animated spin-off,
The Boys Presents: Diabolical, whetted appetites for the return of the titular band of renegades comprising Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Female (Karen Fukuhara), Frenchie (Tomer Capon), Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) in the aftermath of showdowns with Homelander (Antony Starr) and Stormfront (Aya Cash).
Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) appears to be in the pocket of powerful conglomerate Vought International, which controls corrupted superhero group the Seven, but the politician’s motives are ambiguous.
Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles from Supernatural joins the throng as “the original superhero” Soldier Boy, who proudly fought for justice in the Second World War.
The first three episodes are available on June 3 and the story twists and turns in weekly instalments until July 8.
Physical – Season 2 (10 episodes, starts streaming from June 3 exclusively on Apple TV+)
Rose Byrne reprises her role as ambitious housewife Sheila Rubin in a comedy drama created by Annie Weisman set in sun-kissed 1980s San Diego, which limbers up in weekly instalments.
In the first series, Sheila became hooked on the adrenaline rush of aerobics as the art of keeping fit made the lucrative transition to videotape.
Her journey of self-discovery and empowerment continues across 10 episodes with Sheila successfully launching her first fitness video.
Fierce new rivals threaten her plans to build a fitness empire and work pressures test the strength of Sheila’s marriage to husband Danny (Rory Scovel).