What to watch during Philly’s heat wave: ‘The Lion King,' ‘Veronica Mars,’ ‘Queer Eye,’ and more

The Philadelphia area is currently experiencing some of the hottest weather we’ve had in years, which means there’s only one thing to do: Stay inside and get caught up on the TV and movies you’ve missed.

With the National Weather Service having extended an excessive heat warning to all of New Jersey, Delaware, and Eastern Pennsylvania until 10 p.m. on Sunday, you ought to have plenty of time to hang out away from the heat.

Here, we’ve rounded up a few TV and film options that ought to keep you occupied, either at home or at the movies, where you can take in plenty of complimentary, industrial-scale air conditioning. Check out our picks below:

It’s been more than a decade since UPN/CW ended Veronica Mars’ initial TV run, and five years since the crowd-funded film came bout. But today, the streaming service brought back the teen mystery drama for a fourth season. Now, the entire series, which stars Kristen Bell, is available for viewing on Hulu during this weekend’s oppressive weather.

» READ MORE: ‘Veronica Mars’: Let Hulu’s revival send you back to beginning

The Fab Five have been sighted around Philly filming for season five of Queer Eye lately, but we’ll have to wait until next year to get a glimpse of exactly what they did in town. For now, though, you can check out the newly premiered season four of the show, which has the show back in Kansas City for one more run of makeovers, on Netflix.

» READ MORE: TV picks: ‘Grantchester,’ ‘Suits’ (and a spin-off), ‘Queer Eye’ and more

If you’re OK with subtitles, this Austrian dark comedy, which is available on Netflix, could be the perfect opportunity to escape your understandably overheated mindset. Described by creator David Schalko as “Dallas for psychos,” the series follows a billionaire in need of a new liver, and decides to get one by bribing his dysfunctional family into finding him one by any means necessary.

» READ MORE: Extreme Netflix-ing: 5 under-the-radar shows to get you away from ‘The Office’

If you haven’t caught up on season three of Netflix’s Stranger Things by now, this weekend’s awful heat is a good chance to take a trip into the Upside Down. Set in the summer of 1985, the latest season has everything from Russian spies, to inter-dimensional demons, to New Coke, and ought to help you stay cooler than series’ cold-loving Mind Flayer.

» READ MORE: This interview with ‘Stranger Things’ star David Harbour won’t spoil a thing

In case HBO’s Chernobyl didn’t ramp up your fears about the end of the world enough, the network is back with another apocalyptic drama. Set in the near future, Years and Years follows a British family as political and economic instability, plus scary technological advancements and climate change, rock the world — just what you need when it’s 100 degrees out.

» READ MORE: Liked ‘Chernobyl’ and 'When They See Us’? HBO’s ‘Years and Years’ sees more trouble ahead.

Yes, it’s essentially a photo-realistic re-imagining of Disney’s classic animated Lion King from 1994. And yes, as Inquirer film critic Gary Thompson points out, it’s “less of a full-on musical”. But there is one important thing to note about this year’s The Lion King: You can see it in a movie theater, and movie theaters have great air conditioning.

» READ MORE: Copycat: ‘The Lion King’ is a rehash, but it’s also air-conditioned

Stuber throws it back to the much cooler days of the ’80s and ’90s, when buddy comedies ruled the cinema with simple plots and lots of bickering. This one stars Kumail Nanjiani a rideshare app driver who gets paired up with an undercover cop played by Dave Bautista, and must take his passenger to increasingly dangerous, investigation-related stops, lest his rating on the app drop.

» READ MORE: Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani talk about their smokin’ ’80s action comedy revival ‘Stuber’

Wild Rose follows wannabe country singer Rose Lynn Harlan as she attempts to realize her dream of making it in Nashville. The problem, however, is that she’s starting from Scotland, recently did a prison stint due to a heroin distribution conviction, and is a single mom with two young kids. That’s a lot worse than it being a little bit hot outside, right?

» READ MORE: ‘Wild Rose': A country singer from Glasgow dreams bigger than she should in a movie that’s better than it could have been

Hereditary director Ari Aster’s latest horror film, Midsommar, takes place during a pagan summer solstice festival in Sweden, so it won’t get you out of the heat, conceptually speaking. However, between the viscera, disconcerting sexual encounters, and psychedelic imagery, it will probably having you thinking more about how unsettled you are inside than how hot the weather is outside.

» READ MORE: ‘Midsommar’: ‘Hereditary’ director returns for some sunny-side up horror

The latest update Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise takes Peter Parker and the gang on a European vacation to locales like Venice, Prague, and Berlin, where the film’s heroes take on Water and Fire Elemental baddies. It may seem like some of same superhero fodder we’ve seen in the MCU in the past, but, hey, pretending you’re anywhere else but Philly is welcome right now.

» READ MORE: 'Spider-Man: Far From Home’: Peter Parker’s European vacation is kind of fun