Summer TV isn’t the time of reruns anymore. Some of TV’s finest shows are released smack-dab in the middle of the year. Here are 7 summer shows you should stream, watch, or set your DVR to record. Stat!
1. Animal Kingdom on TNT
For those who miss Sons of Anarchy, this show is a perfect substitute. Ellen Barkin plays Smurf, the hot matriarch who pulls all the family strings. She’s beautiful, manipulative, and utterfly terrifying. No wonder she reduces her grown sons (Shawn Hatosy, Scott Speedman, Ben Robson, and Jake Weary) to act like little boys when it comes to going against her. This show is so fun to watch, it’s a crime.
2. Wrecked on TBS
TBS has seriously stepped up its original programming. First, with Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, then with Bee’s hubby Jason Jones’s series The Detour, and now with Wrecked. The third episode titled “Always Meant to See That,” where the survivors have to decide whether to watch Dumb and Dumber To or Selma (as what could possibly be the last film they ever watch), is hilarious.
3. Casual on Hulu
While Season 1 introduced us to this dysfunctional family through romance and casual hookups, season two finds Alex (Tommy Dewey), Valerie (Michaela Watkins), and Laura (Tara Lynne Barr) discovering more about themselves through friendships. Watkins is a stand-out this year, especially in the episode “Such Good Friends,” where Valerie discovers she has none.
4. UnREAL on Lifetime
Sophomore slump? No way. Somehow, UnREAL has managed to be even more interesting and captivating in season two, especially by doing something no real-life ABC dating show has ever done: cast an African American bachelor.
5. BrainDead on CBS
The world needs political satire right now, and this sci-fi political dramedy from the creators of The Good Wife fits the bill into law. Stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danny Pino, Aaron Tveit, and Tony Shalhoub.
6. Another Period on Comedy Central
The Bellacourt sisters (Natasha Leggero, Riki Lindhome) are single (they finally ditched their homosexual husbands) and ready to mingle. And Chair (Christina Hendricks) is awake from her coma (although, ironically, she’s limited to a wheelchair).
7. Maya & Marty on NBC
Saturday Night Live is in reruns this summer, but the comedy on Maya & Marty is all new (even if the faces aren’t). Come for the Jiminy Glick sketch, stay for the appearances from Amy Poehler, Will Forte, Larry David, and Ricky Gervais.