When the sun isn’t out to play, we probably aren’t either. Rainy days in the warmer season call for summer movies and TV shows that we can watch when plans of being outside are flipped on their head. My recommendations in this post cover many genres and are included due to their high quality or their pure nostalgic essence. Is the rain on? Make a cuppa and start your summer movie night or afternoon-in with one (or more) of the following screen nuggets.
Note: I have provided information on streaming services that each movie and TV show is available to watch on, but this may vary based on your location.
Contents
- Summer Movies and TV Shows
- Summer Movies
- Lilo & Stitch (2002)
- The Notebook (2004)
- The Wild Robot (2024)
- Stand By Me (1986)
- Luca (2021)
- La La Land (2016)
- Mamma Mia! (2008)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- The Goonies (1985)
- Black Panther (2018) & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- The Lorax (2012)
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
- Dirty Dancing (1987)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
- High School Musical 2 (2007) & 3 (2008)
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
- Minari (2020)
- Moana (2016) & Moana 2 (2024)
- A Star Is Born (2018)
- Aquamarine (2006)
- Grown Ups (2010)
- Parasite (2019)
- Tangled (2010)
- Swallows and Amazons (2016)
- 50 First Dates (2004)
- The Florida Project (2017)
- Shark Tale (2004)
- Lady Bird (2017)
- The Parent Trap (1998)
- Finding Nemo (2003)
- Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
- Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
- Surf’s Up (2007)
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
- Baywatch (2017)
- The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
- Super 8 (2011)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- Summer TV Shows
- Big Little Lies (2017 – )
- Normal People (2020)
- H2O: Just Add Water (2006 – 2010)
- The White Lotus (2021 – )
- Bridgerton (2020 – )
- Stranger Things (2016 – 2025)
- Jane the Virgin (2014 – 2019)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (1999 – )
- Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
- Phineas and Ferb (2007 – )
- Warming Summer Movies & TV Shows
Summer Movies and TV Shows
As usual, I’ve got a whole range of cinema and television for you all. I’m talkin’ mainstream, international, animation, family, thriller, drama, musicals. I’ve really tried to cover as much ground as possible with this one, so as many tastes are catered to.
Not an easy task, let me tell you. Nevertheless, I went in hard and tried to include a variety of different summer movies and TV shows in this watchlist.
We all hope for good weather during the summer, especially if you’re like me and are based in a country with weather as topsy-turvy as Britain. As much as we’d like it to, the sun doesn’t shine all through the warmer season, so sometimes we need a good movie or TV show to stick on when being outside isn’t the best idea.
With that in mind, I have curated a summer movies and TV shows watchlist full of pieces that I recommend watching during the sunny season!
Summer Movies
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Let’s kick off this summer movies and TV shows recommendations list in the right way.
Truly one of my favourite movies growing up and still one that I return to regularly. I haven’t seen the live action adaptation of it yet, but I’m hoping it reflects the original’s charm at the very least.
A lonely young girl and a mischievous alien on the run find each other at the exact moment they each need a friend. Hilarity and heart-warming scenes ensue.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Level up your Lilo & Stitch movie night with my themed movie night menu, my lūʻau dessert cake or my Stitch celebration cake.
The Notebook (2004)
Have the tissues at the ready for this one, even if you’ve seen it before. This adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’s novel doesn’t just pull at the heartstrings, it shreds them.
Worth it, though.
An elderly man tells a woman suffering from dementia a beautiful love story that follows the coming together of Allie and Noah, who are then torn apart by forces around them, all because of their difference in social status.
Where to watch it: Netflix, Prime Video
The Wild Robot (2024)
I’m a sucker for beautiful animation and The Wild Robot does not disappoint. DreamWorks went all in with their adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestselling novel.
When a robot is stranded on an island following a shipwreck, survival in a harsh environment becomes a top priority. The intelligent robot finds a way to bond with the wild animals inhabiting the island and takes up caring for an orphaned gosling.
More of a late summer watch, but a lovely seasonal movie nonetheless.
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW
Stand By Me (1986)
A summer classic for my summer movies and TV shows watchlist.
A group of young boys become fast friends after hearing the general location of a local boy’s body and set out to find him. On their journey, they discover themselves, the true meaning of friendship, and what it means to stand up for what is right.
Where to watch it: NOW
Luca (2021)
Dive into summer on the Italian Riviera where a couple of young sea creatures disguised as humans sneak away from their underwater lives to spend their days on land, discovering what this part of the world has to offer whilst fighting to keep their real identities secret.
Watching this film instantly makes me want pasta and gelato.
Where to watch it: Disney+
La La Land (2016)
Another sob fest in my summer movies and TV shows watchlist, but it must be done. Stunning colour palette, great music, delicious visual storytelling techniques.
In the Californian sunshine, an actor and a jazz musician are drawn together time and time again while they work to make their dreams come true, discovering themselves and each other in the process, and proving just how powerful support for one another can be in life.
Where to watch it: BBC iPlayer, Prime Video
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Summer lovin’ in Greece? Yes please.
Based on the hit stage musical inspired by the music of Swedish pop sensation ABBA, Mamma Mia! is a fun, easy watch with a story about love, family, and why you’re never too old to be a dancing queen.
Where to watch it: Sky, Netflix, Prime Video
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
A summer movies and TV shows watchlist isn’t complete without some seasonal Studio Ghibli fun.
Arguably a real anime classic, too! After moving to the countryside during the summer, two sisters discover a magical forest full of friendly spirits.
Where to watch it: Netflix
Check out my Totoro iced cinnamon bread recipe for an adorable movie night loaf.
The Goonies (1985)
A group of kids that just don’t stop talking throughout the entire film, pretty much. It’s a good’n, though.
When their family homes are under threat, a group of kids set off to find pirate treasure in the hopes of being able to stay in their town together.
Where to watch it: Sky, Netflix
Black Panther (2018) & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Some of Marvel’s finest. I reckon Wakanda Forever feels more summer-y than Black Panther, but both are worth watching regardless.
I don’t need to provide an elevator pitch, surely? It’s Black Panther, friends. Epic superhero events guaranteed.
Where to watch it: Disney+
The Lorax (2012)
SAVE THE TREES!
Seriously, though. Dr. Seuss was ahead of his time writing a story about the real importance of trees and what could happen if we don’t take care of them.
This adaptation is a fun animation with a star studded cast, catchy tunes, and a wondrous explosion of colour all around.
Where to watch it: Sky, Netflix
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Still my favourite film to date, so naturally it features in my summer movies and TV shows recommendations.
I LOVE Top Gun: Maverick. Steven Spielberg was absolutely bang on with his statement that this film helped to save cinema.
Thirty years after the events of Top Gun, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is called back to Top Gun to teach the best of the best on how to fly an incredibly dangerous mission… and come home.
The colour palette alone screams summer. Don’t even get me started on the dogfight football scene.
Where to watch it: Netflix
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Another seasonal classic!
Set in a 1960s summer to a backdrop of 1980s music, Baby and her family vacation at a resort where she discovers that life has so much more to offer than she realised; subsequently finding her own sense of confidence and falling in love with a talented dancer.
Where to watch it: Netflix, ITVx, Prime Video
Pirates of the Caribbean
These films are the reason I want to be a pirate when I grow up. I return to them at least once a year. At World’s End was released on my birthday in 2007 and I was so happy about it that I hung a massive print of the official poster on my bedroom door. It stayed there for at least a decade.
I recommend the first three above all: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007).
In my humble opinion, these are up there with the best pirate films ever made.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Back when I was a student, this was one of the many films I made the trip to the cinema to see. I had a lot more time in those days and it wasn’t nearly as expensive. *sigh*.
A woman does everything in her power (and beyond) to push the local police to catch her daughter’s killer after they initially failed to do so, leaving justice something to be desired.
Another great colour palette and some powerful performances.
Where to watch it: Disney+, Prime Video
High School Musical 2 (2007) & 3 (2008)
You know I had to. A nostalgia trip like no other for my generation, let me tell you.
Whilst the second one is literally all about summer, the third one is in the lead up to graduation and just hits differently.
Where to watch it: Disney+
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
We continue on the nostalgia trip in this summer movies & TV shows watchlist.
Four best friends spend their first summer apart from one another. To help them stay connected as they travel down different paths, they pass around a pair of denim jeans that fits each one of them despite their differing shapes.
Where to watch it: Prime Video
Minari (2020)
A man moves to Arkansas with his wife and family to grow and sell Korean produce in the 1980s, but finds that there are obstacles around every corner ready to put their way of life at risk.
A really great, multi-language film with a beautiful backdrop.
Where to watch it: Prime Video
Moana (2016) & Moana 2 (2024)
More of Disney’s finest in my summer movies and TV shows recommendations list.
To save her island from a terrible curse, Moana follows in the footsteps of her ancestors and becomes a wayfinder. She answers the Ocean’s call and sets out to find the demigod, Maui, with the intention of convincing him to return the heart of Te Fiti and restore the balance of the natural world.
Moana 2? More magic, more badass feminine power, more fun.
Where to watch it: Disney+
A Star Is Born (2018)
Another tearjerker, friends, but worth it for the music.
A struggling singer finds fame, success, and love, with the help of a long-time rockstar whose inner demons are threatening to win the battle.
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW
Aquamarine (2006)
If you grew up watching this film every summer, let me know in the comments. What an ERA.
During their summer holidays, two best friends set out to make the most of their last summer together before one of them moves away. After a storm hits their seaside town, they discover a mermaid washed up in their swimming pool and make a deal to help her find true love before she is forced to marry the merman her parents chose for her.
I wanted nails that changed colour based on my emotions for years because of this movie.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Grown Ups (2010)
Easy, funny, silliness with Adam Sandler and his usual crew.
A group of friends reunite as adults to attend their former basketball coach’s funeral. They decide to make a weekend of it and spend a few summer days together reconnecting to their childhood together and showing a different kind of life to their families.
Where to watch it: Amazon Prime
Parasite (2019)
A summer movies and TV shows recommendation for the psychological thriller fans. This film is truly a masterclass in cinematography.
Set in the heat of a South Korean summer and the tensions of a starkly obvious social and economic class system, a working class family gradually invades the home of an upper class family and tears their lives apart.
Where to watch it: Netflix
Tangled (2010)
I will never not want to watch this Disney movie. It really feels like summer, this one.
Having spent most of her life locked away in a tower, Rapunzel takes her first opportunity to go and see the lights she’s been dreaming of seeing. With the help of notorious thief, Flynn Rider, she discovers a world beyond anything she knew.
Have a go at my Tangled brioche braid to create a delicious themed movie night snack!
Where to watch it: Disney+
Swallows and Amazons (2016)
Whilst holidaying in the Lake District, two different groups of children sail to an island and “wage war” on one another (take it lightly, these are kids playing a game). A man accuses them of a crime that they didn’t commit, taking their game to a different level.
Where to watch it: Prime Video
50 First Dates (2004)
A man falls in love with a woman he meets in a breakfast place, only to find out that she doesn’t remember him the next day. When he learns that she has short-term memory loss as a result of a car accident a year before they met, he does everything he can to win her heart and help her remember him.
Anyone else fancy some panclocks right now?
Where to watch it: Netflix, Prime Video
The Florida Project (2017)
By no means is this any easy watch, but it’s a very well made one.
Set with the backdrop of the tough living conditions on the outskirts of Walt Disney World in Orlando, The Florida Project is the story of a single mother and her six-year-old daughter who live full time in a budget motel that is managed by a man who supports them and those in a similar situation.
Where to watch it: Tubi, Prime Video
Shark Tale (2004)
An iconic movie from my childhood with a stellar cast.
Dreaming of the high life, a small league fish teams up with a shark to trick everyone into believing that he is a shark slayer and can protect them from being eaten. It’s not long before he discovers that fame and fortune come with a price, and he actually had it all back when he was a “nobody” working for a whale wash service.
Any film that has cinema legend Martin Scorsese voicing a puffer fish has my attention.
Where to watch it: Prime Video, Netflix
Lady Bird (2017)
Greta Gerwig made her mark with this one, I reckon.
A fiery and outspoken high-school senior tries to pave her own path in life ahead of her college years while yearning for a life outside of her hometown of Sacramento, California and away from her overbearing mother.
A milky colour palette with an indie film feel.
Where to watch it: NOW, Sky
The Parent Trap (1998)
If the original is your vibe, go for it. Personally, the 1998 version is a childhood favourite.
Estranged twin girls meet again at a summer camp and attempt to reunite their parents despite being in different countries.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Finding Nemo (2003)
Everyone knows the story of Finding Nemo, surely?
Then again, writing down the premise of this film makes you realise just how menacing the concept is. Still a great Pixar movie!
Where to watch it: Disney+
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
A love story among the super rich of Singapore with all the glitz and glamour and drama you could imagine.
It’s worth watching for the scenery alone. That, and the wedding scene.
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
I’ve tried to get a good mix of easy watches and more intense viewings in this summer movies and TV shows watchlist. Continuing on with the easy watches…
By all means start with the first one, but the second one is more appropriate; set in the summer holidays where the family find themselves going head to head with another to see who has the best vacation on the lake.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Surf’s Up (2007)
At the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, we are taken behind the scenes with exclusive interviews with the competitors and their loved ones as they gear up to compete.
I mean, it’s penguins surfing. Why not?
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW, Prime Video
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A family takes a cross-country trip to a beauty pageant, determined to enter their young daughter into it and get her into the finals.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Baywatch (2017)
Back on the bay with a new generation of devoted lifeguards. The head lifeguard clashes with a new hot-headed recruit until they have to put their differences aside when a drug problem threatens to ruin the peace in the bay.
Dwayne Johnson was my only motivation to watch this, but it’s an easy watch. Don’t take it seriously, friends.
Where to watch it: NOW, ITVx
The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
This is what dreams are made of in my summer movies and TV shows watchlist.
Lizzie and Gordo head to Rome for a school trip during their summer vacation and are swept up in the romance of the city. When Lizzie is mistaken for a famous Italian singer, she finds herself preparing for the performance of a lifetime.
Where to watch it: Disney+
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Serious question: what would you do if you found an alien in your back garden?
A young boy finds a stranded alien and makes it his mission to help him get home.
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Give me all the colour and cutesy Nintendo vibes. The visuals are something else with this one.
This one’s an origin story of brothers Mario and Luigi as they kick start their plumbing business. After setting out to save Brooklyn from a plumbing disaster, the brothers get sucked into a new magical world.
Where to watch it: Sky, Netflix
Super 8 (2011)
A group of friends witness a train crash while making a movie of their own in the summer of 1978 and soon suspect that it was no accident. A series of unusual events and disappearances follow, and investigations are undertaken to try and explain the unexplainable.
Where to watch it: Prime Video
Forrest Gump (1994)
I’m wrapping up the movies section of my summer movies and TV shows recommendations list with one of my all time favourites. It crosses seasons, but feels summer-y for the most part.
Spanning across two decades of U.S. history, this story is told from the perspective of an Alabama man with a low IQ, who lets his heart lead the way, especially when it comes to his lifelong love.
Where to watch it: Paramount+, Sky
Check out my Forrest Gump inspired homemade chocolates to level up your movie night numnums!
Summer TV Shows
Big Little Lies (2017 – )
A group of upper-class mothers feel their perfectly manicured world turned upside down when a single mother moves to their patch along the beaches of California and enrolls her child at the same prestigious school that their kids attend.
Not an easy watch by any means, friends, but a very well crafted one. HBO’s quality is so obvious with this one!
Where to watch it: Sky, HBO MAX, NOW
Normal People (2020)
I watched this during lockdown and I sobbed for so long, my head hurt for hours after. It’s an emotional tale based on the novel by Sally Rooney which will stay with you well after you’ve finished it.
A young man and young woman find each other during their school years and begin a journey of self-discovery and discovery of each other over the course of several years.
There’s a reason Normal People is raved about.
Where to watch it: BBC iPlayer, Prime Video
H2O: Just Add Water (2006 – 2010)
A nostalgia trip of the highest order. This Australian hit was huge when I was only just turning double figures. It was so popular that we had a fan club in my school!
My older sister still goes back to it for a rewatch when the summer months come round.
After visiting a mysterious island off the coast of their hometown, three teenage girls turn into mermaids and discover their tails come with magical gifts as well. There’s just one hitch: they have to keep their newfound powers secret by staying away from even a single drop of water when in public.
Where to watch it: YouTube
The White Lotus (2021 – )
One for the dark comedy fans.
Each season of Mike White’s show brings us characters holidaying in luxury resorts around the world; their activities over the week getting more out of hand as the days go on.
Aside from a handful of regulars, the cast changes with each new destination and big talent is always involved. Thankfully the likes of Jennifer Coolidge and Natasha Rothwell keep coming back for more.
Where to watch it: Sky, NOW
Bridgerton (2020 – )
Regency era summers full of balls, promenades, weddings, and taking tea?
Count me in.
Where to watch it: Netflix
Level up your Bridgerton viewing session with my themed menu or celebration cake recipe!
Stranger Things (2016 – 2025)
Supernatural forces and government conspiracies vs a group of kids in 1980s Indiana.
One for sci-fi and thriller fans. This is about as scary as I’ll go, friends. Stranger Things is so good that I push through. Season three is particularly summer-y.
Where to watch it: Netflix
Jane the Virgin (2014 – 2019)
After making sure she remains true to the word she gave her grandmother that she wait until marriage, a young Catholic woman living in Miami discovers she is pregnant following an accidental artificial insemination.
What I still really admire about this show is how it really celebrates the telenovella style. The way they integrated the typical characteristics of the style to blend in with the American aspects works really well.
That’s coming from someone (myself) that stays away from soap operas.
Where to watch it: Netflix, Prime Video
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999 – )
You can’t get more summer-y than a sponge and his ocean friends living under the sea, right?
The fact that this show is still going is a testament to its brilliance.
Where to watch it: Sky, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+
Check out my recipes for a SpongeBob SquarePants celebration cake and the iconic Triple Goofy Goober Sunrise Sundae.
Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
If you’re a fan of the 1970s music scene, this one’s for you.
Led by a talented cast including the likes of Riley Keough (Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s granddaughter, no less) and Sam Claflin, this one really celebrates the era and the world of rock music.
Where to watch it: Prime Video
Phineas and Ferb (2007 – )
Let’s wrap up this summer movies and TV shows watchlist with a cartoon with summer at its core.
Two brothers and their friends get up to all sorts of impressive and outlandish activities on each day of their summer vacation, much to the dismay of their teenage older sister.
I genuinely didn’t realise Phineas and Ferb was still going, but it is! Nearly two decades on and it’s still going strong. Crikey, that’s a long summer holiday…
Where to watch it: Disney+
Warming Summer Movies & TV Shows
There you have it, friends. My recommendations for summer movies and TV shows that make great watches when the weather isn’t playing ball.
Many genres and audience preferences have been covered in this post, but please feel free to add your own summer recommendations in the comments!
Check out my other seasonal recommendations here:
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