It’s hot outside this July (at least on our side of the hemisphere), which is why I’m super excited that there’s just so much great Jewish and Jew-ish TV coming this month that I can watch in my airconditioned home. There are shows and documentaries featuring Jewish legends like Gloria Steinem and Judge Judy, a new Lena Dunham show that’s I’m already so obsessed with and even a documentary about a notorious Jewish serial killer. Truly something for everyone this month.
July 2: “Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print” (HBO Max)
The revolutionary feminist Ms. Magazine, and the Jewish women behind it, like Gloria Steinem and Letty Cottin Pogrebin, are the subject of this fascinating documentary. The film shows what it meant to be a trailblazing print magazine writing about women’s issues beyond domestic tips and fashion. The program also touches on how feminism changed and evolved even within the magazine itself. A highlight is when Cottin Pogrebin recalls some of the hate letters the magazine got: “My wife isn’t doing the dishes anymore, my wife is refusing to have sex when she’s tired.”
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes, for Jewish icons
July 3: “Palmach – Rising” (Izzy)
All 95 episodes of this award-winning teen show about young people joining the Palmach will be airing daily on Izzy starting July 3. The Palmach was the pre-state Jewish brigades that were part of the Haganah and later became some of the founding forces of the IDF. The show starts in 1946 with two orphaned siblings from the Netherlands, Emil (Abraham Arenson) and Elinor (Naya Bienstock), who make their way to British Mandate Palestine and join a secret base of the Palmach. Isareli supermodel Yael Shelbia, and Israeli actors Alona Sa’ar (“Dismissed”) and Yadin Gellman (“Image of Victory), also star in this show.
Judaism rating: 3/4 couch potato latkes
July 10: “Too Much” (Netflix)
One of the best shows of the year is almost here. Lena Dunham made this show about a loud complicated messy Jewess, Jessica, played by Megan Stalter (“Hacks”) who moves to London for work after a bad break-up with a Nice Jewish Boy (Michael Zegen of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”). There, she meets a British musician (Will Sharpe) who just might end up being her bashert. The show might just have the best TV dog of all time, and as a bonus, Rhea Perlman as the glamorous saucy bubbe of our dreams.
Judaism rating: 3/4 couch potato latkes, for Lena and Rhea
July 10: “Off Road” (Netflix)
Israeli TV legends Lior Raz (“Fauda”) and Rotem Sela (“Baker and the Beauty”), star in this new reality travel show in which the two explore remote destinations one can only reach in a jeep. The two come from very different backgrounds: Raz loves the rugged outdoorsy nature of a 4×4 trip while Sela is taken completely out of her comfort zone. And while their friendship is tested, it ultimately seems to come out stronger in this six-episode series.
Judaism rating: 2/4 couch potato latkes
July 18: “I Love You Forever” (HBO Max)
Cazzie David’s directorial feature debut is a tragicomedy about a toxic relationship that stars Sofia Black-D’Elia as Mackenzie, a law student who enters into what she thinks is a relationship with her dream person only to realize she’s living a nightmare. Jon Rudnitsky and David herself star as Mackenzie’s roommates, Lucas and Ally.
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes, for hot young Jews
July 18 (Part 1) & July 25 (Part 2): “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” (HBO)
This two-part documentary offers an unprecedented look into the life of Jewish Grammy-winning “Piano Man” Billy Joel, with never-before-seen performances and home videos. It was directed by Emmy-winners Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin who also worked together on “Jane Fonda in Five Acts.” The show will go through the chronology of Joel’s life, exploring his complex relationship with the father who left him, his love life and career, and feature interviews from his ex-wives Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee, daughter Alexa Ray Joel, wife Alexis Roderick Joel and musical legends like String, Springsteen and even Jewish singer Pink.
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes
July 25: “Justice on Trial” (Prime Video)
In the eight episodes of this new show, Judge Judy Sheindlin, known for adjudicating small claims cases on her TV show for decades, enters a whole new TV legal ballpark. The judge, who worked in New York City’s court system for decades before becoming a TV star, puts the justice system itself on trial, readjudicating the verdicts of eight landmark court cases, “whose verdicts impact the daily lives of 340 million Americans,” according to a press release. In the show Judge Judy “and her expert legal team re-create the trials from notorious cases where the letter of the law dictates that ‘justice’ doesn’t always feel ‘just.'”
Judaism rating: 2/4 couch potato latkes, for Judy and some tikkun olam vibes
July 25: “Happy Gilmore 2” (Netflix)
Thirty years after the cult hit “Happy Gilmore” came out, golfer Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) comes out of retirement to help pay for ballet school for his daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler, of “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” and Jewish Taylor Swift covers fame, and yeah, Adam’s real life daughter). This sequel features OG stars like Ben Stiller, who returns as janitor Hal B, and new stars, like Benny Safdie and, yeah, Taylor’s BF Travis Kelce.
Judaism rating: 2/4 couch potato latkes, for Adam, Sunny and Ben
July 30: “Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes” (Netflix)
This three-episode Netflix special, the fourth of a series about infamous serial murderers from Jewish documentary filmmaker and producer Joe Berlinger, follows the story of the nation’s perhaps most notorious Jewish serial killer. Son of Sam, aka David Berkowitz, spread fear through the streets of late 1970s NYC, killing six and wounding 11 people with a .44 caliber; he was the subject of one of the city’s greatest manhunts. This special features never-before-heard recordings pertaining to the case, and a look into Berkowitz’s inner thoughts during his reign of terror.
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes
