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The Jewish Stars of Summer TV

[additional-authors]
May 28, 2019
Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler; Photo by Scott Yamano/Netflix

In comedies, dramas, game shows, food series and talent shows, members of the Tribe populate the small screen this summer.

A dream vacation goes awry in Adam Sandler’s latest made-for-Netflix movie, the whodunit “Murder Mystery,” premiering June 14. Sandler and Jennifer Aniston find themselves on a billionaire’s yacht — accused of murder when the tycoon turns up dead. The caper comedy reunites the stars, who appeared together in “Just Go With It” in 2011.

Nineteen years after “Beverly Hills 90210” left the air, the 1990s teen drama is getting a very meta revival. Fox’s “BH90210” stars the original cast (minus Luke Perry, who died March 4) playing some-what fictionalized versions of themselves in a storyline that follows the efforts to reunite them for a new version of the show. Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris and Tori Spelling join Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Brian Austin Green for the six-episode run, which begins Aug. 7.

From left: Gabrielle Carteris, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering Photo by Brian Bowen Smith/Fox

Morgan Spector, who played the doomed Dante Allen on “Homeland,” joins Gina Torres in USA’s “Suits” spinoff, “Pearson,” as Chicago mayor Bobby Golec. Spector also is in this year’s HBO miniseries “The Plot Against America,” set in a fascist United States in which Charles Lindbergh defeated Franklin D. Roosevelt for president in 1940. Winona Ryder also is in the cast of “America”; she will return for Season 3 of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” on July 4.

Actress, producer and director Elizabeth Banks currently appears in  “Brightburn,” produces Hulu’s “Shrill” and is directing November’s reboot of “Charlie’s Angels,” in which she plays Bosley. This summer, she adds game-show host to her repertoire as the emcee of ABC’s revival of “Press Your Luck,” premiering June 12.

Fred Savage; Photo courtesy of Fox

Sandra Bernhard, who guest-starred as nurse Judy Kubrak in the debut season of “Pose,” has been promoted to a regular in the FX series’ second installment, which is set in 1990 and delves more deeply into the HIV/AIDS crisis. It premieres June 11. 

After emceeing the game show “Child Support” last year, Fred Savage is taking on a different kind of hosting gig with Fox’s comedy “What Just Happened??!” The premise involves an after-show chat fest for a fictional sci-fi series called “The Flare,” like “Talking Dead” does for “The Walking Dead.” It launches June 30.

James Maslow of “Big Time Rush” and “Dancing With the Stars” co-hosts with Elizabeth Stanton CW’s summer variety show “The Big Stage.” It showcases music, comedy, dance and acrobatic acts from around the world. It premieres June 7.

James Maslow; Photo courtesy of Associated Television International

Phil Rosenthal eats his way around the world in “Somebody Feed Phil,” returning to Netflix with 10 new episodes on June 7. On the same day, John Favreau, who wrote, directed and starred in “Chef” in 2014, returns to the food realm as co-host of Netflix’s “The Chef Show,” sharing culinary adventures with chef Roy Choi. Gwyneth Paltrow is among the guests in the series, which premieres June 7. Favreau also directed and produced the new CGI version of “The Lion King,” which hits theaters
July 19.

Chef Roy Choi, left,
Gwyneth Paltrow
and Jon Favreau; Photo courtsey of Netflix

Based on the Israeli series of the same name and premiering June 16, the HBO drama “Euphoria” centers on the secret lives of a group of teenagers. The cast includes Eric Dane, Austin Abrams, Maude Apatow and Leslie Mann. Rapper Drake is among the series’ producers, alongside writer Sam Levinson.

Israeli actor Angel Bonanni (“False Flag,” “7 Days in Entebbe”) joins the Amazon Prime series “Absentia” in Season 2 as a Boston police detective who helps the heroine (Stana Katic) in her quest for answers about the missing years of her past. Directed and produced by Israeli Oded Ruskin, “Absentia” premieres June 14.

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