Summer is coming, and you know what that means: finally having the time to enjoy your favorite shows. Or at least that’s what it means if you’re a true TV devotee, the kind of person who had no trouble catching the “Game of Thrones” pun this article opened with. This summer’s entertainment slate looks promising for the small screen. Here are ten upcoming TV premieres worth getting excited about.
— “Fear the Walking Dead,” premiere date unknown. This creatively titled “The Walking Dead” spin-off series is set in Los Angeles and stars Kim Dickens (“Gone Girl”) and Cliff Curtis (“Live Free or Die Hard”). The show will follow the collapse of civilization into the zombie apocalypse that “The Walking Dead” viewers have come to know and love.
— “Sense8,” premiered June 5, 2015. Andy and Lana Wachowski, the writer-director siblings behind such mind-bending films as “The Matrix” and “Cloud Atlas,” took their talents to Netflix. This science fiction series revolves around eight strangers who find they have become “Sensates,” their minds linked by a mysterious and dangerous force.
— “Orange is the New Black,” returning June 12, 2015. This summer, orange is the new back. The hit Netflix series, created by “Weeds” originator Jenji Kohan, is returning for a third season of off-kilter comedy and emotionally affecting drama. With three well-deserved Emmys already to its name, there’s no reason to think this show isn’t on its way to winning a few more.
— “Deutschland 83,” premiering June 17, 2015. This tense historical thriller is set to become the first German-language series to air in the States. The eight-part miniseries, set in Cold War-era Europe, follows an East German soldier who goes over the Berlin Wall and infiltrates West Germany, going undercover to spy on an opposing officer.
— “True Detective,” returning June 21, 2015. This crime anthology series’ first season earned acclaim across the board and helped catapult Matthew McConaughey (“Interstellar”) to the top of the Hollywood heap. For fans of this dark, thought-provoking show, the second season, starring Vince Vaughn (“Unfinished Business”), Colin Farrell (“Total Recall”) and Rachel McAdams (“Aloha”), can’t come soon enough. But not to worry — as we know, time is a flat circle.
— “Ballers,” premiering June 21, 2015. “Entourage” lovers are likely to find their new favorite show in this Dwayne Johnson-starring HBO comedy-drama series, which looks like a cross between “Entourage” and “Any Given Sunday.” Johnson (“San Andreas”), who plays Spencer Strasmore, an ex-athlete turned agent, has been on a hot streak that shows no sign of cooling off anytime soon.
— “Humans,” premiering June 28, 2015. AMC’s upcoming, eight-part sci-fi drama, adapted from a Swedish series, is set in an alternate universe where families hire frighteningly lifelike robotic servants known as “Synths” to help out around their homes. The show explores the dangerous allure of technology and the dark side of artificial intelligence.
— “Zoo,” premiering June 30, 2015. Based on a James Patterson novel of the same name, this harrowing CBS drama asks, “Animals once ruled the Earth. What if they decided to take it back?” James Wolk (Bob Benson on “Mad Men”) stars as a young scientist tasked with finding the cause of a series of vicious animal attacks against humans.
— “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” premiering July 17, 2015. The 2001 cult classic comedy “Wet Hot American Summer” was set on the last day of summer camp — now Netflix is turning back the clock with this prequel series set on the first. Many of Camp Firewood’s original inhabitants will return, including Bradley Cooper, Rudd and Poehler, along with plenty of new faces.
— “Difficult People,” premiering August 5, 2015. This Hulu original series, executive produced by Poehler, who is apparently everywhere, stars Billy Eichner (“Parks and Recreation”) and Julie Klausner (“Mulaney”) as a pair of irreverent (and presumably difficult) best friends. The up-and-coming Eichner, a.k.a. “Billy on the Street,” is a rising comic star.
What are you looking forward to watching this summer? Leave a comment and let us know!
