June TV: Old Aussie favourites, series finales and Ricky Martin

Welcome to television streaming in June.

We’ve already been encouraged to sit down and chill out in front of our favourite television shows for the past three months, so it’s interesting to see what the providers are trying to tempt us with this month.

We can also see a bit of what could be the Binge effect, brought on by Foxtel’s new on-demand service.

Rivals like Stan and Amazon have dumped in whole series – Stan is taking the movie route, bringing us the virtual box sets of Jurassic Park (June 11) and Bridget Jones (June 8).

Amazon’s Prime Video drops complete seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Criminal Minds on June 5.

Stan and Amazon are also spruiking their comedy festivals, of sorts.

You can catch Stan’s Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival continuing every Saturday, while Amazon’s take debuts mid-month.

Meanwhile, Netflix brings us Floor is Lava (June 19), which is exactly what is sounds like: A game show based on the children’s at-home classic.

Newish player Disney Plus has a relatively short list of releases for June (the big ticket is the movie adaption of Artemis Fowl), which is one criticism screen industry insiders had early on in the piece.

Will Disney do enough to keep its audience, and attract new viewers?

But enough chatter – here’s some of the streaming highlights for the month ahead.

Packed to the Rafters – complete series (Amazon Prime, June 1)

Prime Video kicks off the month with a home-grown blast from the past.

Dave, Julie and the Rafter family first came into Australian living rooms in 2008, and before the pandemic put a stop to production, a reboot series was being filmed.

The reboot is slated to stream with Amazon when it’s complete.

But in the interim, the original is ready and waiting.

13 Reasons Why – season 4 (Netflix, June 5)

The culminating season to this controversial teen drama hits Netflix, where the secrets, lies and tough decisions don’t let up for the Liberty High senior class.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars – season 5 (Stan, June 6)

The fierceness that is RuPaul’s Drag Race hits Australian streaming screens in June, with a literal bang.

The one, the only Ricky Martin steps up as a guest judge for the season premiere of this all-stars season.

If Ricky ain’t enough, there’s a shake-up on the elimination process: Each week a contestant must face off in a mystery lip-sync battle.

They win, they pocket $10,000 and the ability to boot a bottom queen of their choosing.

If they lose, well, it’s not pretty.

Big Brother – season 12 (Channel 7, June 8)

Sonia Kruger hosts the 2020 edition of Big Brother Australia, 20 years after it first hit our screens.

The latest revelation is that there will be an eviction at the end of every episode, which makes for a pretty short run when you consider there’s 20 housemates to start with.

Filthy Rich and Homeless – season 3 (SBS, June 9-10-11)

As Australia’s homelessness demographic continues to grow, SBS returns with the third edition of Filthy Rich, aiming again to bring the issue to the fore of public consciousness.

It throws five high-profile Australians onto the streets so they can experience how 110,000-plus Australians live daily.

This three-part series runs over three nights.

Reality Z (Netflix, June 10)

It seems Brazil has discovered how to deal with an overload of reality television: Set zombies loose upon the sets.

At least, that’s possibly what the creators of Reality Z dream of.

This debut series sees an un-dead outbreak storming Rio de Janeiro, and the cast of a reality show must bunker down together on set. (Yes, it is in Portuguese, but there will be English subtitles.)

The Other Two – season 1 (Stan, June 18)

This series is brought to us from ex-Saturday Night writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, following two siblings who are trying to crack the secret of being successful adults.

Cary is an aspiring actor who just wanted to be cast as someone other than “Man at Party Who Smells Fart”.

His sister Brooke just wants to stop living pay cheque to pay cheque.

While they’re doing the hard yards, their teen brother becomes an internet sensation overnight.

This one has been drawing heaps of praise from the countries it has already streamed in.

LOL: Last One Laughing (Amazon Prime, June 19)

It’s reality TV meets stand-up comedy with Amazon’s home-grown offering.

It brings together 10 Aussie comedians (featuring Sam Simmons, Joel Creasey, Dilruk Jayasinha et al) and pits them against each other.

Their challenge is to make each other laugh while keeping a straight face themselves. Hosted by Rebel Wilson.

Yellowstone – season 3 (Stan, June 22)

Kevin Costner fronts the most-watched US cable show of last year, and for season 3, Aussies get access the same day as their American counterparts.

It’s heartily American, set on the largest ranch in the country.

In the third instalment John Dutton (Costner) faces unsolved murders and trust issues, while his ranch fends off fierce rivals and a nearby expanding township.