10 Biggest TV Premieres of April, May & June: ‘Loki,’ ‘Shadow and Bone’ & More
There’s nothing low-key about Loki’s success: The superhero show topped Parrot Analytics’ list of most in-demand series premieres of 2021’s second quarter by a long shot, just as its fellow Disney+ Marvel series WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did last quarter.
But not all superhero series fly to such heights. Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy ranked at No. 7 on the list, just above Sex/Life, an erotic Netflix drama that presumably cost a fraction of the reported $200 million price tag for Jupiter’s Legacy. Based on that not-so-Marvel-ous performance, “it is easier to understand why Jupiter’s Legacy was quickly canceled,” Parrot adds.
Here’s the full top 10, starting with an Emmy Awards darling.
10. Hacks
Emmy voters lavished nominations on this HBO Max comedy and three of its actors, including lead Jean Smart as a famed Las Vegas comedian who’s now just phoning it in and Hannah Einbinder as the “canceled” comedy writer she enlists to punch up her act.
9. Cruel Summer
With each episode chronicling the same date in 1993, 1994, and 1995, this Freeform series spotlights a popular girl who disappears one day—and the less popular girl who takes over her life.
8. Sex/Life
In case you didn’t hear about this Netflix show—and its watercooler-worthy full-frontal moment—Sarah Shahi stars as a suburban wife and mom whose ex-boyfriend keeps showing up in her fantasies and in real life.
7. Jupiter’s Legacy
In this Netflix superhero show—which the streaming company canceled in June—Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb are two Union of Justice members trying to get the next generation of superheroes to live up to their “Utopian” ideals. Based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely.
6. Star Wars: The Bad Batch
A spinoff of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this animated Disney+ series depicts the mercenary missions of the titular squad of elite clone troopers, with Dee Bradley Baker voicing almost all of the batch.
5. The Nevers
Once the brainchild of Joss Whedon—the scandal-plagued creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—this steampunk HBO drama follows the superpowered “Touched” humans upending life in Victorian London.
4. Sweet Tooth
After a global pandemic called the Great Crumble spawns human-animal hybrids, a half-deer boy sets off on an adventure in hopes of finding his long-lost mother in this Netflix series.
3. Mare of Easttown
Kate Winslet‘s Pennsylvania detective wields both handguns and hoagies in this HBO crime drama. The character, like many of her working-class neighbors, is caught in a painful cycle of loss and grief.
2. Shadow and Bone
The Grishaverse, a fantastical world from the mind of YA author Leigh Bardugo, hit Netflix in spectacular fashion, with Jessie Mei Li playing newfound “Sun Summoner” Alina.
1. Loki
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s god of mischief finally gets his own title! Tom Hiddleston brings the fan-fave character to the small screen with this alternate-timeline Disney+ show.
