Eight summer film and TV releases that will inspire your next trip

Summer is all about escaping your daily routine, and this season's releases will have you ready to pack your bags.

If the arrival of longer, sunnier days doesn't inspire you to travel, leave it to this summer's upcoming crop of film and television series – where the settings become a silent character.

From friend retreats in a medieval Italian city to battles in the turquoise waters of the Peloponnese, here are eight new films and TV shows coming out this summer that will make you want to book your next holiday.

Based on the 1981 film of the same name, Netflix's The Four Seasons features a cast of comedic powerhouses – Tina Fey, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani and Kerri Kenney – playing a group of lifelong friends who holiday together each season of the year.

The show's first season took place in New York's foliage-studded Hudson Valley, as well as Puerto Rico's Palomino Island. In season two, which sees the group grieving the loss of their beloved friend (Steve Carrell), the crew returns to the Hudson Valley and also travels to the Jersey Shore and Italy. The trailer promises sandy Atlantic beaches, sweeping shots of historic squares, posing on Vespas and some of the worst-looking football ever shot for TV.

Season two of The Four Seasons premieres on Netflix on 28 May

Power Ballad is the latest film from Irish writer and director John Carney to showcase both his home city of Dublin and the power of song.

Carney's newest musical drama stars Paul Rudd as Rick Power, an American wedding singer living in Dublin who befriends former boy band member Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas). When Danny steals one of Rick's songs and it becomes a hit, Rick sets out for revenge – and to attain the recognition he's always wanted.

Viewers will be whisked away to modern-day Dublin, with scenes taking place throughout the city's pastel-coloured city centre. It also features the city's surrounding areas, like its Crumlin suburb, dotted with period red-brick homes, and Wicklow County, with its rolling Wicklow Mountains and grandiose medieval estates. Scenes in moody Irish pubs might just inspire your next pint of Guinness.

Power Ballad is released in UK cinemas on 29 May

House of the Dragon, the prequel to the widely acclaimed series Game of Thrones, is back for a third season, which will follow dragonrider Rhaenyra Targaryen's attempt to take the Iron Throne. Once again, the drama's mythical scenes will be shot in ethereal corners of the United Kingdom, namely the lush forests of southern England and the rugged coastlines and endless greenery of rural Gwynedd in Wales. 

Look for fantasy-stoking shots of Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), the Unesco-listed Dinorwig Quarry with its unique wall of slate, and the mystical "floating" St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, reimagined as House Velaryon's Driftmark Castle. The battles may be bloody, but the backdrops are sublime.

Season three of House of The Dragon begins on HBO Max on 21 June

Sorry, cousin – the story of acclaimed chef Carmy "The Bear" Berzatto returning to Chicago to save his family's hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop comes to an end this summer.

Ever since The Bear's June 2022 premiere, it has showcased Chicago's culinary supremacy, shining a light on iconic Windy City dishes like deep-dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches, as well as local institutions like Pequod's Pizza, Kasama and Firecakes Donuts, all against the city's steely skyline backdrops. 

As Berzatto adjusts to life outside of the kitchen – and his staff struggle to save his restaurant and earn a Michelin star – viewers can expect to hear their stomachs growl yet again, with hunger pangs that only a culinary holiday to this Midwestern city can quell.

The Bear's fifth and final season will be available on Hulu on 25 June

Jennifer Garner portrays food blogger Hollis Shaw in this film based on Elin Hilderbrand's 2023 eponymous novel. After the death of her husband, Shaw invites four friends from different periods in her life to spend a weekend in her stunning beach house on the island of Nantucket as she tries to fight her grief through food and friendship. 

Filming for The Five-Star Weekend took place on location and makes full use of this former whaling capital's cobblestoned 18th-Century town centre and wild beaches. Along the way, panoramas of windswept Atlantic heathlands and emotional moments in Hollis's coastal-chic kitchen. Prepare to crave a glass of wine overlooking the ocean.

The Five-Star Weekend is released on Peacock on 9 July

The much-anticipated live-action Moana is a musical adventure based on the 2016 animated film, where the titular Polynesian teen sets out to save her home island. Moana (Catherine Laga'aia) is joined on her nautical journey by the demigod Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, who voiced the character in the animated version. The pair sail through blue seas and explore lush tropical landscapes on their quest to return a stolen relic to the goddess Te Fiti.

Much of the film was shot on location on the island of O'ahu (with a little oomph from CGI), so expect incredible shots of dramatic beaches, towering palm trees and volcanic cliffs that will make you want to set sail, too.

Moana is out in cinemas on 10 July

Academy Award-winning director Christopher Nolan's take on Homer's timeless epic sees Matt Damon as the Greek warrior struggling to return home after the Trojan War. The supporting cast, including Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, is just as legendary.

The shooting schedule was an odyssey in itself. To minimise the use of CGI, much of the filming took place in stunning real-world locations across Scotland, Iceland, Morocco, Sicily and Greece – with a reported $250m (£186m) budget.

Some of the film's Greek and Italian shooting locations are believed to have inspired Homer himself, and though this (or whether the author even existed) has long been the subject of academic debate, the area's dramatic, volcanic coastlines do seem tailor-made for encounters with mythical creatures. Travel with Odysseus to the turquoise seas, white sands and ancient acropolises of Greece's Peloponnese region, where filming spots included Nestor's Cave, a seaside formation located above the horseshoe-shaped Voidokoilia Beach. In Sicily, shooting took place in the Aeolian and Aegadian Islands, particularly Favignana; known as "Goat Island" and, according to urban legend, the island of the Cyclopes.

The Odyssey premieres in cinemas 17 July

The Brits may have thought they'd got rid of Ted Lasso for good when he left London for Kansas City at the end of season three. But the world's most optimistic Yank football coach is returning to England this August. And this time, he'll be taking over AFC Richmond's new women's team.

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While the show's previous forays focused on Lasso's acclimation to his proper British surroundings, this season will find him navigating the leafy, well-heeled neighbourhoods of West London and revisiting old haunts, like the cosy "Crown & Anchor" (the real-life The Prince's Head Pub in Richmond) and his apartment at "9 1/2 Paved Court", found on the real, idyllic cobblestoned Paved Court just off Richmond Green. Will Ted have finally learnt not to embarrass himself down the pub?

Season four of Ted Lasso debuts on Apple TV+ on 5 August

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