10 New Summer Shows Just Like Your Fall & Winter Favorites (PHOTOS)
If you liked: Making a Murderer
Watch: When They See Us
Like Netflix sibling Making a Murderer, the scripted When They See Us focuses on allegations on wrongful conviction but ends much more decisively: The five men were exonerated of the 1989 rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park, albeit 25 years later. Ava DuVernay’s four-part Netflix series stars Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, and Felicity Huffman.
When They See Us, Streaming now, Netflix
If you liked: The World’s Best
Watch: The Big Stage
If you take CBS’s The World’s Best and take away the competition element (and the A-list judging panel), you get this CW reality show, which features everyone “from singers, jugglers, ventriloquists, and quick-change artists to stand up comedians, acrobats, aerial dancers, animal acts, and so much more,” according to a press release.
The Big Stage, Friday, June 7, 9/8c, The CW
If you liked: Riverdale
Watch: Euphoria
One of the first entries in HBO’s post-Game of Thrones era is Euphoria, a drama which stars Zendaya and “follows a group of high school students as they navigate drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love, and friendship,” not unlike a certain CW drama we know.
Euphoria, Sunday, June 16, 10/9c, HBO
If you liked: Jane the Virgin
Watch: Grand Hotel
Take the posh Miami hotel setting of The CW’s Jane the Virgin, keep the long-hidden family secrets, but nix the magical realism and the heartwarming romance, and you might end up with ABC’s Grand Hotel, a soapy upstairs-downstairs drama starring Demian Bichir and Roselyn Sanchez, produced by Eva Longoria, and based on a Spanish drama series.
Grand Hotel, Monday, June 17, 10/9c, ABC
If you liked: Hawaii Five-0
Watch: Reef Break
If you like your crime procedurals set in tropical paradises a là CBS’s Hawaii Five-0, you might like Reef Break, which stars Unforgettable alum Poppy Montgomery as a reformed thief working as a fixer for a governor and becoming “enmeshed in fast-paced, high octane adventures and island intrigue” in this “character-driven cocktail of crime, surf, sex, and sunshine.”
Reef Break, Thursday, June 20, 10/9c, ABC
If you liked: MasterChef Junior
Watch: Family Food Fight
Based on the Australian show of the same name, this ABC show sees eight families trotting out their homespun culinary chops for a chance at a $100,000 prize. It should be perfect for fans of FOX’s MasterChef Junior — which, coincidentally, Graham Elliot also judges.
Family Food Fight, Thursday, June 20, 9/8c, ABC
If you liked: Temptation Island
Watch: Love Island
Thought FOX’s reality show Temptation Island was steamy? Get ready for CBS’s Love Island, a stateside adaptation of the controversy-ridden British format. In this dating show, viewers vote which of the attractive and lustful singles advance toward the cash prize.
Love Island, Tuesday, July 9, 8/7c, CBS
If you liked: Suits
Watch: Pearson
Chances are, if you’re a fan of USA’s Suits, you’ve already set your DVR for its USA spin-off, Pearson. The show focuses on Gina Torres’s powerhouse lawyer, Jessica Pearson, as she moves to Chicago, starts working for the mayor, and navigates the city’s murky political scene.
Pearson, Wednesday, July 17, 10/9c, USA
If you liked: Gotham
Watch: Pennyworth
New EPIX drama Pennyworth goes even further back in Batman pre-history than FOX’s Gotham, focusing on the title butler as he starts working with Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father, in 1960s London.
Pennyworth, Sunday, July 28, 9/8c, EPIX
If you liked: Veronica Mars
Watch: Veronica Mars
This one’s a cheat, since fans last saw Veronica Mars on the small screen more than a decade ago, when a fledgling CW canceled the series in 2007. Still, the Hulu continuation of the Neptune neo-noir is too exciting to exclude, picking up as the former teen detective (played by The Good Place‘s Kristen Bell) investigates the killings of spring breakers in the seaside town.
Veronica Mars, Friday, July 26, Hulu
Summer is no longer the doldrums of the television year.
Sure, many of your favorite series are on hiatus, but the networks are hardly away on vacation during these warmer months. In fact, we’ve rounded up 10 summer TV recommendations based on shows that aired during the conventional TV season.
Click through the gallery above to see the new (and newly revived) shows that might make you forget about the outside world and just stay on your sofa for the next few months.
