On Our Streaming Radar: The Morning Show, Tulsa King, Love Island Games, and Futurama’s Grand Returns | Art Attack | Houston | Houston Press

This week on streaming promises the return of some of our favorite familiar faces. Whether it’s the complicated and ever-compelling production of a morning news program, the gangster dealings and wax-on portrayals of a general in Tulsa, the sexy strategizing on a remote island, or hanging out with your favorite friends of the future—there’s a lot to be excited about. The Morning Show (Season 4)

An early hit for the Apple TV+ streamer was anchored by two giants in Hollywood, both in television and in film, Jennifer Aniston—most famous for her role as Rachel on Friends and a long run as a romantic comedy actress—and Reese Witherspoon, who rose to prominence with several films, none bigger than Legally Blonde in the early 2000s. When the two teamed together for The Morning Show, along with Steve Carell, it was a standout for, at the time, one of the least talked about streaming platforms.

Since then, The Morning Show has turned into an absolute behemoth and has anchored Apple and helped push it into the forefront in this new streaming television age.

Fourth seasons of shows in today’s climate are hard to come by. Keeping an audience engaged for that amount of time in the TikTokification of our culture is an impressive feat, and Season 4 of The Morning Show is being released this week.

I got a chance to talk to Charlotte Stoudt, the showrunner, writer, and executive producer of the show, and Mimi Leder, the director and executive producer, about their thoughts coming into this season. Stoudt explained that the show almost writes itself because of the turbulent era we’re living through. The world throws so much at us, she said, that “it’s really about subtracting and not saying all the things” and shaping it into a story the characters can carry. Leder agreed, pointing out that every storyline “really has to come out of the characters” and fit organically with who they are.

Also back this season are Billy Crudup, who plays Corey Ellison, and Mark Duplass as Chip Black. Crudup admitted that stepping into a multi-season show was a new experience for him. “Even in the beginning of the series, we only had two episodes,” he said, so plotting out an arc was difficult. What he discovered, though, was that “my job is really to follow the writers… if I have enough curiosity and vulnerability.”

Duplass took a more self-deprecating tack, joking, “It’s not a challenge for me because I have much less integrity than Billy does. I just wake up in the morning, learn the words, and say them.” But he also praised the writers for noticing dynamics—like the complicated push-and-pull between Chip and Alex—and leaning into them in ways that made the relationships richer as the show evolved.

The Morning Show Season 4 debuts with its first episode on September 17.

Tulsa King (Season 3)

Since Yellowstone captured national attention and popularity, the Taylor Sheridan universe has rapidly expanded more than—insert your favorite joke here—Starbucks has seasonal drinks, with shows like Landman, Lioness, 1883, and 1923. Sheridan has continued to build on his Texas-based empire, and returning for Season 3 is the Sylvester Stallone-led series Tulsa King.

Tulsa King follows Stallone’s character Dwight Manfredi as he gets out of prison and his old mob ties send him down to Tulsa, Oklahoma in order to start up some business. During his tenure, he gets into it with a biker gang, another rival mafia family, a weed dispensary, and even opens up his own honky-tonk. Season 2 ended with quite the cliffhanger, as Manfredi was taken captive, but Sheridan continues to prove his ability to stay relevant, present, and engaged in projects audiences actually want to see.

Tulsa King and Landman are two of my personal favorites to come out on Paramount+, a platform that has bet everything seemingly on Sheridan. And much like Howard Stern was for early adopters of SiriusXM, Sheridan alone is bringing a massive audience into Paramount+.

In Season 3, Manfredi’s criminal empire in Tulsa expands, attracting the attention of a dangerous new adversary: the powerful, old-money Dunmire family, with Robert Patrick joining the cast as Jeremiah Dunmire. He also faces Russell Lee Washington Jr., a former prison associate sent by the New York Renzetti family to eliminate him, played by Samuel L. Jackson. The new season, premiering September 21, 2025, introduces both Jackson and Patrick, with Dave Erickson taking over as showrunner.

Season 3 of Tulsa King officially begins September 18, and this earlier year Jackson’s character has already been announced as the centerpiece of a spinoff titled NOLA King.

Love Island Games on Peacock

Peacock has always been searching for its lane in the streaming wars, and after losing the rights to WWE Premium Live Events to ESPN earlier this year, staples like Love Island have become even more important—and more exploited.

There’s no question about it: Season 7 of Love Island USA was one of the most talked-about shows on the internet. It created viral moments, memes, and in its own way, launched a fresh wave of reality television stars who quickly parlayed their fame into mainstream opportunities—brand deals, acting gigs, and influencer partnerships. Standouts like Huda, along with the rest of the season’s breakout cast, have all managed to turn villa drama into viable careers.

But Love Island Games is more than just an American hit—it’s a global phenomenon. Much like MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge, the series now brings familiar faces from around the world together in Love Island Games. Season 2 is here, and it features returning stars ready to compete not only for romance but also for pride and bragging rights. From the U.S. side, fan favorites like Adriana Santos Marte, Andrea Carmona and Charlie Georgios headline the cast.

The formula is familiar: there will be steamy hookups, shocking recouplings, and fan-favorite contests like the Heartbeat Challenge. But this time, the stakes are raised with competitive events that force Islanders into alliances, rivalries, and strategy sessions. Instead of pulling someone aside for a quiet chat, contestants might be whispering about game plans.

Nevertheless, Love Island Games promises to be bingeable, addictive, and—true to form—social-media-ready. It’s sexy, it’s competitive, and it’s guaranteed to stir conversations well beyond the villa.

Love Island Games Season 2 streams this week on Peacock

Futurama (Season 13)

Is it strange to be nostalgic about the future? Well, coming up this week on streaming, Hulu continues its revival with the 13th season of Futurama.

Originally debuting on the Fox Network in 1999, then revived again in 2008, and finally for its third iteration in 2023 on Hulu, the series follows Philip J. Fry, who’s cryogenically preserved for a thousand years. He wakes up in the year 2000—or 2999, depending on how you read the timeline—and from there the adventure begins.

So the singular sentence to summarize the season, the sizzling season ahead reads: Bender is campaigning, rampaging out of control. A volcano is about to explode. Fry confronts a rival for Leela’s love. And Dr. Zoidberg is risen to heaven. The excitement might be too much. You’ve all been warned.

It’s a whole new season of Futurama. That tease alone is enough to get all fans of the sci-fi adult animated show excited. And if that wasn’t enough, Hulu has decided to ditch the week-to-week format for this season of Futurama and allow you to binge the show in its entirety.

So, you can figure out why Bender is battling a kaiju on September 15.