Summer TV Preview: Your Complete Guide to the Season's Premieres
Did you think that the fact that there was still sunlight out when you got home from work meant that you might have a chance at catching up on your favorite shows? That you might be able to have a dinner out that didn't involve an intricate discussion of plot lines and casting before Game of Thrones returns to HBO on July 16 or Marvel's The Defenders hits Netflix on August 18? The gods of Peak TV laugh at your ignorance as they also lay down a bounty of both new and favorite programming for the early parts of the summer season.
This May and June bring the return of Netflix's Master of None (out May 12) and the final season of BBC America's (Emmy winning!) Orphan Black (June 10). Plus, there's new shows like the Netflix documentary The Keepers (May 19) and revivals of classics like ABC's The Gong Show (June 22) and whatever David Lynch and Mark Frost have been brewing for Showtime's Twin Peaks (May 21)-and that's not even counting returning favorites like FXX's You're the Worst that haven't even announced their premiere dates.
So forget the swimsuits and the bike rides-did you ever even get your wardrobe ready for summer last year?-and embrace the comforts of the couch, your sweats and the warm, familiar glow of a screen.
May 5
The Mars Generation (Netflix) You know that Dad Joke about parties on the moon having no atmosphere? Yeah, this isn't like that. It's a documentary that follows a bunch of teenagers who are training at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center to be the first known humans to set foot on Mars.
Sense8 (Netflix) The second season of the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski's sci-fi series picks up with the Sensates very much together-both physically and mentally-and on the run from Whispers (Terrance Mann).
May 8
World of Dance (NBC) In need of another dance competition show? This one's judges are Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough, and NE‐YO. Jenna Dewan Tatum is host and mentor.
May 12
I Love Dick (Amazon) Creators Jill Soloway and Sarah Gubbins's series is both a delicious skewering of stereotypically pretentious and clueless artists and an examination of a topic often ignored by mainstream media: the female gaze. Also, Kevin Bacon owns being eye candy as the artist/cowboy subject of infatuation.
Anne with an E (Netflix) Breaking Bad alum Moira Walley-Beckett's retelling of Anne of Green Gables stars Amybeth McNulty as the imaginative heroine in this classic coming-of-age story.
Master of None (Netflix) Aziz Ansari's series continues its special brand of poking the taboo bear. The second season starts with his struggling actor character, Dev, still pursuing his passion for pasta making in Italy. Alessandra Mastronardi (Life, Lost in Florence) joins the cast as Francesca, a new friend Dev meets on his journeys.
May 16
Born This Way (A&E) The third season of this Emmy-winning docuseries will see these young adults born with Down Syndrome venture out of their comfort zones to explore job changes, new living arrangements and evolving romantic relationships.
May 17
Downward Dog (ABC) Based on the web series, Allison Tolman stars as a Millennial working out her own issues. The twist: It's told from the point of view of her dog, Martin. Yes, it's heartwarming.
May 19
The Keepers (Netflix) This year's Making a Murderer? This seven-part documentary delves into the unsolved murder case of a nun in 1969 Baltimore-and all its secrets left unspoken.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) Kimmy checks out college! Titus goes full Lemonade! Stunt casting! Hash browns?
12 Monkeys (Syfy) The mission to eradicate the plague that nearly wiped out human civilization gets personal for James Cole (Aaron Stanford) and Cassie (Amanda Schull) in the third season. Why? The destroyer of worlds-aka "The Witness"-is their unborn son. Uh oh.
May 20
The Wizard of Lies (HBO) Robert De Niro gives us the Bernie Madoff impression we've been waiting for since Richard Dreyfus did it in an ABC miniseries last year. This script is based on New York Times journalist Diana B. Henriques's detailed recounts of the case for her page-turner of the same name. (She also cameos in the film).
May 21
Dark Angel (PBS) Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt returns to the world of period dramas-but check your Mr. Bates accusations at this door. This time she's playing Mary Ann Cotton, Britain's first female serial killer.
Twin Peaks (Showtime) Pour some damn fine coffee and slice into a cherry pie because-as mairzy doats and dozy doats-Twin Peaks is back.
May 23
Casual (Hulu) Expect more awkward sibling interactions for the new season of Hulu's dark romantic comedy. "The show is weirdly a love story about people who cannot have sexual love," creator Zander Lehmann said in January at Television Critics Association. "I think you root for the two of them to be together in the sense that they should be happy together and they should be living fulfilling lives with each other in their lives, but you never want to cross too far into the world of the sort of strange and sexual because I think that's something that we sort of universally think is kind of it's gross."
May 24
Dirty Dancing (ABC) After all this time, why do people keep putting Baby in the corner? Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes star in this remake.
May 25
Love Connection (Fox) Andy Cohen fulfills what seems to have been his destiny: He's host of the revival of this pre-Tinder classic.
Beat Shazam (Fox) Oscar winner Jamie Foxx hosts this generation's Name That Tune-an interactive game show where teams race against each other to see who can be the first to identify a song.
May 26
Bloodline (Netflix) You commit one act of fratricide… All is starting to unravel for the Rayburns in the final season of this drama and no amount of Kyle Chandler dancing .gifs can stop it.
May 29
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW) The long-running improv show where points don't matter and Wayne Brady always sings on cue is back for a 13th season (its fifth on The CW with host Aisha Tyler).
Still Star-Crossed (ABC) A sequel to Romeo and Juliet? Well, if anyone can make it work it's Shonda Rhimes. Her ShondaLand production company is one of the producers. This story is based on Melinda Taub's book and focuses on Rosaline, Juliet's cousin who had a minor flirtation with Romeo before rejecting him.
May 30
House of Cards (Netflix) In case you'd like to imagine a fictional reality where a Machiavellian megalomaniac is in the White House.
America's Got Talent (NBC) Even after all these seasons, there's still some brave souls willing to risk public ridicule in the hopes of stardom. This season, Tyra Banks takes over Nick Cannon's hosting duties.
Animal Kingdom (TNT) Let's see just how much longer Ellen Barkin's Janine "Smurf" Cody can control her progeny in this adaptation of the Australian feature hit.
May 31
Kingdom (Audience Network) It's the third and final season of the MMA drama that also reminds you what Nick Jonas has been up to lately.
MasterChef (Fox) Aaron Sanchez (The Chopped star, not the baseball player) joins the judges panel for the eighth season of one of Gordon Ramsay's cooking competition series.
The Carmichael Show (NBC) The criminally underrated, envelope-pushing multi-camera comedy returns for its third season, where it will tackle "light" topics like rape, the Bill Cosby scandal, and the use of the n-word.
The F Word With Gordon Ramsay (Fox) The U.S. version of Gordo's long-running British hit and feuding foodie families will be filmed live.
Big Star Little Star (USA Network) The U.S. adaptation of the popular British game show counts So You Think You Can Dance's Cat Deeley as its host and features celebrities and their kids answering trivia questions about each other. No way this could get awkward…
June 1
Nashville (CMT) While Connie Britton's Rayna James and her fabulous hair are officially done for, Rachel Bilson, Empire's Kaitlin Doubleday, and Big Little Lies' Jeff Nordling have joined the nighttime soap, which moved from ABC last year.
June 2
Flaked (Netflix) How will Chip, Will Arnett's Venice, California-based self-help guru, be able to save himself now that he's alienated all of his friends and doesn't even have a guest house to sleep in? This season of the Mitch Hurwitz-produced comedy will see Chip struggling to climb back to the top.
June 4
Fear the Walking Dead (AMC) The zombie apocalypse is still infringing on what used to be known as the U.S.-Mexico border. New recruits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Emma Caulfield, who may or may not be this year's villain.
I'm Dying Up Here (Showtime) Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Al Madrigal, and Jon Daly are members of the ensemble in this behind-the-scenes look at standups trying to make it 1970s Los Angeles.
June 5
Shadowhunters (Freeform) Mortal Instruments fans finally get their Sebastian Morgenstern when Game of Thrones and Human actor Will Tudor joins the cast in the second half of the series adaptation.
Stitchers (Freeform) YouTube star Anna Akana joins the third season of this sci-fi/crime drama about people who are "stitched" into the memories of the recently deceased in order to solve murders.
June 7
Nightcap (Pop) It's the second season of this Ali Wentworth comedy about an overworked booker at a low-rated late-night show. And yes, this does sound a little like 30 Rock.
June 8
Queen of the South (USA Network) The second season of the drug cartel drama adds Bosch's Yancey Arias as a business partner of Joaquim de Almeida's reluctant Epifanio Vargas.
June 9
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix) You didn't think the ladies of Litchfield were going to let Poussey Washington's (Samira Wiley) death be in vain, did you? Nope. There's a riot.
Dark Matter (Syfy) Last season saw the destruction of the space shuttle EOS-7. This season will the survivors of that explosion struggling to stay alive.
Wynonna Earp (Syfy) The second season of this supernatural Western comic adaptation finds Melanie Scrofano's heroine (who, in case it wasn't obvious, is Wyatt Earp's great-great-granddaughter) and her posse preparing to fight an even bigger evil.
June 10
For Better or Worse (OWN) It's the final season for this Tyler Perry relationship comedy, but OWN is developing a spinoff of his TBS series House of Payne.
Orphan Black (BBC America) It's also the last season of this groundbreaking drama that has routinely tested the limits of how many personalities (and accents) one actress can portray on screen.
June 11
Celebrity Family Feud (ABC) Amy Schumer and George Lopez are among the celebs and their families who join host Steve Harvey in the new season of this game show.
American Grit (Fox) It's the second season of the reality competition where John Cena and a bunch of military vets recruit those who "either have lost their grit or never had it" in the name of finding change, getting ripped and maybe earning $250,000.
Claws (TNT) Niecy Nash and Carrie Preston star in this Rashida Jones-produced series about Florida women who are dealing with more than callous removals at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County.
Steve Harvey's Funderdome (ABC) Like a hybrid of Shark Tank and Who Wants to be a Millionaire's? "ask the audience" lifeline, this new series lets budding entrepreneurs compete for audience backing. As the title implies, Steve Harvey hosts.
$100,000 Pyramid (ABC) Michael Strahan returns to host this reboot of the classic series where celebs (or "celebs") help normals win cash.
June 12
American Ninja Warrior (NBC) After holding casting calls across the country, this popular sports competition show returns for a ninth season with more extreme obstacles and more dreams of achieving "Total Victory" at the national finals in Las Vegas.
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) Cat Deeley hosts and Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe judge the 14th season of this competition show where dancers between the ages of 18 and 30 must show off their footwork in everything from tap and ballroom to animation and breaking.
Superhuman (Fox) Everybody is good at something, right? For those who may not be able to sing or dance, there's this Kal Penn-hosted game show. It lets contestants who claim to be aces at memory, hearing, taste, touch, smell or sight prove it for the chance to win $50,000 and the title of SUPERHUMAN.
Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (NBC) This is NBC's other obstacle course challenge competition show, although this one requires teamwork as groups of five-two women, two men, and a mysterious captain (or "elite Spartan athlete")-fight the laws of gravity in the hopes of conquering a course and winning $250,000.
June 14
Blood Drive (Syfy) Not so much cookies and the American Red Cross as the way the show's title literally sounds, this new dystopian drama follows a former cop (Smallville's Alan Ritchson) who gets a dangerous new partner (Animal Kingdom's Christina Ochoa) and is forced to take part in a death race where the vehicles run on human blood.
To Tell the Truth (ABC) Just like in the classic version-except this one adds host Anthony Anderson's mom (aka Mama Doris) as a commentator-a panel of celebrity judges must try to decipher if a participant is lying. Prizes ensue for those who can fool the panelists.
June 16
The Ranch (Netflix) Part three of the dude ranch comedy picks up with Ashton Kutcher's Colt in a love triangle, Danny Masterson's Rooster in a committed relationship (albeit one off the reservation), and their parents Maggie and Beau (Debra Winger and Sam Elliott) attempting to be friends despite their divorce.
June 17
Turn: Washington's Spies (AMC) It's time to finish the fight. The fourth and final season of this Revolutionary War drama starts with Benedict Arnold (Owain Yeoman) taking his revenge on George Washington (Ian Kahn). While Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell) and his network of spies, the Culper Ring, have escaped Arnold's clutches, unintended consequences require him to seek revenge.
June 18
America's War on Drugs (History) This eight-hour miniseries will examine the costs of (and who has profited from) the longest "war" in our nation's history.
June 20
Queen Sugar (OWN) The second season of this popular Southern-set sibling drama has added Shots Fired's Yohance Myles as a likely love interest for Rutina Wesley's Nova.
June 21
Little Big Shots: Forever Young (NBC) A twist on the first series, where little kids showed off their talents on TV, this version focuses on seniors (or the "young at heart") and their gifts.
June 22
Boy Band (ABC) Because the world needs another boy band, this new reality competition show whittles down a group of hopeful and talented male singers until the audience gets to choose which five will ban together to become the next Beatles. Or One Direction. Or whatever the kids are listening to these days.
Hollywood Game Night (NBC) Host Jane Lynch has a lot more celebrity friends to invite over for elaborate dinner parties. In keeping with the NBC synergy, this season's guests include This is Us stars Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, and Justin Hartley and Superstore's Ben Feldman, Lauren Ash and Nico Santos.
The Night Shift (NBC) Because the most intense and high-risk cases always seem to always come out at night, it's unlikely that the doctors and nurses in this medical drama are going to get any downtime in Season Four.
The Mist (Spike) Based on the Stephen King story, this drama follows what happens to the inhabitants of a town in Maine after they're engulfed by a foreboding mist that's full of many inexplicable and bizarre threats.
The Gong Show (ABC) Yep. It's another reboot of the Chuck Barris-hosted classic, this time with Will Arnett serving as an executive producer. We're not sure if the Popsicle Twins will return.
June 23
GLOW (Netflix) "GLOW?" That's an acronym for Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Act like you know. Alison Brie stars in this based-on-a-true-story about a female wrestlers league in 1980s Los Angeles.
Playing House (USA Network) Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair's dark comedy is back for a third season, and it still pairs well with a Pinot Grigio.
June 28
Big Brother (CBS) Season 19 of host Julie Chen's long-running celebration of voyeurism starts off big with a two-hour premiere.
Younger (TV Land) Last season, Sutton Foster's Liza finally fessed up to coworker Kelsey (Hillary Duff) that she's actually 40-but hey, she's a pretty cool and hip 40. Fingers crossed that they can still be friends.
June 29
Battle of the Network Stars (ABC) Another revival of a game show of yore, this one also brings back "events" from that show like the Tug o' War, the Obstacle Course and the Dunk Tank as current and former TV actors are contractually obligated to have fun.
Zoo (CBS) You think you got problems? James Wolk's Jackson Oz lives in 2027 and it's a world where human population is on the decline as "the hybrids"-lab-made creatures intent on destroying what's left of us-are on the incline.
June 30
Killjoys (Syfy) Oh, the war is so on in the third season of this cult hit about futuristic bounty hunters who have sworn to reclaim both people and property.
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