Summer TV Is Not Just For Reruns Anymore

Cushing

By: Bill CushingJune, 2015

There was a time when summertime meant reruns on TV for 3 months. That is no longer the case. Now summer is a whole new TV season. New programming from all directions will appear over the next few weeks and take you through the summer months. Let’s take a look at some of the new shows that I’m recommending your check out this summer.

Ballers – Sunday June 21st at 10 pm on HBO. Ballers is a look at the business and pleasure of the sports world, told through the eyes of a former NFL star turned top agent played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Kind of reminds me of a sports version of ‘Entourage.’

The Brink – Sunday June 21st at 10:30 pm on HBO. Another show HBO is premiering this summer is a dark comedy called The Brink. In this show the Secretary of State (Tim Robbins) must work with a junior foreign office lackey (Jack Black) and a Navy fighter pilot (Pablo Schreiber) to avert global nuclear war following a coup in Pakistan. Yes this is a comedy.

Humans – Sunday June 28th at 9 pm on AMC. William Hurt stars in this sci-fi series. This series takes place in the near future, and centers on an ordinary family that buys a lifelike android servant. But their new purchase may be more than it appears.

Sense8 – Friday June 5thth on Netflix. Netflix newest series is also a venture into the world of sci-fi. Eight strangers around the world — a Chicago cop, an Icelandic DJ, a Kenyan bus driver, a Korean businesswoman, a Spanish actor, an Indian scientist, a Berlin thief and a San Francisco hacker — discover they share a strange connection, and become hunted by a mysterious group. This is a highly anticipated show for sci-fi fans, mainly because it comes from the Wachowski brothers, the writers and directors of The Matrix films.

Scream – Tuesday June 30th at 10 pm on MTV. Based on Wes Craven’s horror film franchise. Scream follows an entirely new set of attractive teenagers, played by Willa Fitzgerald, Bex Taylor-James and John Karna among others, as an incidence of viral video-related cyberbullying leads to murder in the small town of Lakewood, which in turn starts to bring the town’s buried secrets to light.

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – Thursday July 16th at 10 pm on FX. This comedy series marks Denis Leary’s return to FX where he starred for 7 seasons in the Emmy-winning drama Rescue Me. This time Leary stars as Johnny Rock, the lead singer of a legendary early ‘90s band known as The Heathens, who broke up the same day their one and only album was released. Now, Johnny is a washed-up has-been who’s out of money and looking to get the band back together.

There are also quite a few returning shows that will be coming back this summer. Here are a few that you should check out.

True Detective – Sunday June 21st at 9 pm on HBO. This is season 2 of the show that featured Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the critically acclaimed first season. This season will feature a whole new cast. This season the story will center on a highway patrolman (Taylor Kitsch) who discovers a horrific murder scene, kicking off a chain of events that will bring in two LAPD detectives (Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams), a dirty businessman (Vince Vaughn) and billions of dollars.

Orange Is The New Black – Friday June 12th on Netflix. Netflix brilliant women’s prison dramedy takes season 3 in a different direction this year. This season will center on the possible sale or shuttering of Litchfield Women’s Correctional. Not to worry though, the show has already been renewed for a 4th season, so it doesn’t look the show is going anywhere.

Ray Donovan – Sunday July 12th at 9 on Showtime. Katie Holmes joins the cast for season 3. She’ll play a wealthy and shrewd businesswoman who uses ‘fixer’ services” that are being provided by Liev Schreiber’s title character.
So as you can see, there is no shortage of things to watch this summer. Enjoy and don’t forget your sunscreen!

Bill CushingDo you have any questions about TV? Email me at BillsTVTalk@gmail.com. I will answer all of your questions and will feature some of the questions I receive in a future column. Follow Bill on Twitter @TVNewsandNotes and on Facebook at TVNewsandNotes for daily up-to-the-minute TV news and discussion. www.tvnewsandnotes.com