New to SoHo in July

A new Keeley Hawes thriller based on a classic novel that’s been turned into two movies will premiere next month on Sky’s SoHo channel.

The Midwich Cuckoos, which was filmed as Village of the Damned in 1960 and 1995, is a seven-part adaptation of John (The Day of the Triffids) Wyndham’s 1957 sci-fi novel.

It stars Hawes as a psychotherapist in a village where, at 9.47pm, every person suddenly and inexplicably falls unconscious – only to wake up 12 hours later and discover every woman of child-bearing age is pregnant.

The Guardian dismissed it as a “pedestrian remake … given the times we live in, it’s a hugely wasted opportunity” and the Independent a “bland, faithless, reimagining”.

But The Times thought it “a lush, bingeable treat, even though it sometimes moves at a glacial pace” while The Spectator argued “the slow burn works precisely as it’s meant to: by quietly but insistently cranking up a feeling of anxiety … definitely seems on the brink of delivering something both mysterious and special.”

Adapted by The Night Manager’s David Farr, Midwich co-stars Max Beesley and will screen 9.30 Sundays from July 10.

Also new will be Mind Over Murder (9.30 Fridays from July 1), an HBO Max investigation series about six people who are imprisoned for a gruesome 1985 murder in small-town Nebraska.

When modern DNA proves their innocence after they have served a combined 75 years in prison, they fight for justice to be served.

The rest of July’s premieres will be fresh from Neon:

The Lazarus Project (7.30 Sundays from July 3): George is introduced to a top-secret organisation that has the ability to turn back time to save the world. When his girlfriend suddenly dies, George is faced with a tough choice.

Irma Vep (9.30 Tuesdays from July 12): Reeling from a recent breakup, a disillusioned Hollywood actress arrives in Paris to immerse herself in the coveted role of Irma Vep in a remake of Les Vampires.

The Rising (8.30 Wednesdays from July 20): Neve Kelly is horrified to learn that she’s dead. Determined to find her killer and get justice, Neve takes advantage of her new supernatural abilities to go where the police can’t.

The Girl Before (8.30 Saturdays from July 23): Jane gets the opportunity to live in a beautiful house designed by a man who holds his tenants to a rigid set of rules. Later, Jane learns of the previous tenant’s tragic fate.

Animal Kingdom (9.30 Saturdays from July 30): The Cody boys discover that they can’t outrun their pasts. With their empire expanding, a cold case investigation sets off a series of events that will put them all in jeopardy.