This summer, my husband and I are beating the heat by putting on our own personal popcorn-and-popsicles film fest, which I’ve dubbed the 2024 Heckert Summer of Chillers & Thrillers—I want explosions, I want silliness, I want Kurt Russell wearing an eye patch for no clear reason. But when I’m not delving into the far corners of Amazon Prime and Netflix, these are the Southern-tinged movies and series I’ll be watching.
Sounds Like…a Hit
Hit Man, Netflix
Leading man of the moment Glen Powell teamed up with his fellow Texan (and G&G Interview subject) Richard Linklater to tell the true tale of a professor turned fake hit man, out June 7. Though this action takes place in New Orleans, the real thing happened in Houston, as chronicled by the indelible Skip Hollandsworth in this 2001 Texas Monthly story.
Chip (and Joanna) off the Old Block
Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse, Max
It’s been more than a decade since the Chip-and-Joanna juggernaut known as Fixer Upper debuted, and to mark the occasion, the Gaineses are turning their tools to a 1960s Waco, Texas, lake house. The double episodes began June 2 on their Magnolia Network and HGTV, with immediate streaming on Max and Discovery+, and two more will drop each of the next two Sundays.
Be! Aggressive! Be, Be! Aggressive!
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Netflix
Hard Knocks, shmard shmocks. If you want to see real gridiron grind, tune in June 20 to this docuseries following the 2023–2024 Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders from tryouts to the final drive of the season.
Grab a Turkey Leg and Tune In!
Ren Faire, Max
The Yorks and the Lancasters are soooooo five hundred years ago. Today’s hottest medieval feud boils in Texas, where rival factions battle to take over the crown of the retiring King George, a.k.a. George Coulam, the (incredibly colorful) longtime ruler of the world’s largest “faire,” the Texas Renaissance Festival. Sirs and ladies of the court can watch the jousting unfold in the first episode of the three-part documentary, which debuted June 2, with the next two coming June 9.
True Colors
Origin, Hulu
It can’t ALL be Texas, which is why I’m pleased to report that on June 10, Ava DuVernay’s award-winning, star-studded adaptation of the Washington, D.C.–raised, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s life and book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents will finally be streaming on Hulu.
