Modern television viewers tend take it for granted that original programming will always be around no matter what time of the year. They may be correct in that assumption now, but it wasn’t always true.
Just a few years ago, Summer TV was a barren wasteland of reruns and reality shows. With the advent of original programming on cable and streaming services, even Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS have new series on this summer.
But the bulk of the best new television content is still coming from cable. HBO alone is debuting three of the summer’s most anticipated shows on the same night later this month. And there’s a lot to like if you’re into action, comedy, suspense, and other genres this summer. There are even two promising new sci-fi dramas on Syfy! It’s been a long time since anyone could say that.
With the summer season about to fully get under way, CraveOnline has assembled a list of the 15 new and returning TV series that you should make time for this summer. There may be fewer options than in the fall, but almost any TV fan can find something to enjoy on this list!
Summer 2015 TV Preview
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Dark Matter
Network: Syfy
Series Premiere: 6/12/15
Remember when Syfy had the best genre series on television? Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie do, and they’re making their return to the network after their long stints on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Universe.
Dark Matter is based on the comic book created by Mallozzi and Mullie that follows the crew of the starship Raza as they awaken from stasis without any memory of who they are or why they’re in space. The only thing that is clear is that they’re dangerous to others, and perhaps to themselves as well...
The trailers for Dark Matter look very enticing and they captured a darker tone than most of Syfy’s recent original series. Hopefully the actual show can live up to that expectation.
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Killjoys
Network: Syfy
Series Premiere: 6/19/15
After years of Earth-bound shows, Syfy is debuting its second space based series of the summer with Killjoys. Hannah John-Kamen (Black Mirror), Luke Macfarlane (Brothers & Sisters) and Aaron Ashmore (Warehouse 13) co-star as a trio intergalactic bounty hunters who are stuck in the middle of a multi-planet war.
Lost Girl creator Michelle Lovretta is overseeing Killjoys in partnership with Temple Street Productions, the production company behind Orphan Black.
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True Detective
Network: HBO
Season Premiere: 6/21/15
The first season of HBO’s True Detective was the only series that came close to unseating Breaking Bad at last year’s Emmy Awards. If the second season is even half as good as the first, then HBO will have one of the best series on TV yet again.
For season 2, True Detective is bringing in an all-new cast led by Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, and Vince Vaughn in a brand new mystery from series creator Nic Pizzolatto.
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Ballers
Network: HBO
Series Premiere: 6/21/15
One of HBO’s signature traits is its ability to lure movie stars to television. Case in point, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is currently peaking as a movie star... but now he’s headlining Ballers, his own comedy series on HBO.
Johnson will play a former professional football player named Spencer Strasmore who reinvents himself as a mentor for current and former football players. Johnson displayed amazing comic timing even back when he was a full time wrestler for the WWE.
On this series, Johnson will get to play off a talented cast that includes Rob Corrdry, Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Donovan Carter, Troy Garity, Jazmyn Simon, and Arielle Kebbel.
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The Brink
Network: HBO
Series Premiere: 6/21/15
Neither Jack Black nor Tim Robbins are the movie stars that they used to be, but they could be in for a HBO fueled career revival.
The Brink is a new dark comedy series about a potential doomsday scenario as Secretary of State Walter Larson (Robbins), Foreign Service officer Alex Talbot (Black), and other characters become stuck dealing with a crisis in Pakistan that may have disturbing implications for the fate of the world.
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Mr. Robot
Network: USA
Series Premiere: 6/24/15
USA is looking for a little harder edge with Mr. Robot, its newest drama series. The pilot episode was previewed on CraveOnline and other outlets earlier this month, but the gist of it is that a highly skilled programmer (and part-time cyber vigilante) named Elliot (Rami Malek) is recruited to take down his own corporate employers by Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), an underground hacker and anarchist.
This isn’t The Matrix, but there are men in black who follow Elliot around and make him question his sanity. No matter which way Elliot falls, he’s heading into danger.
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Falling Skies
Network: TNT
Season Premiere: 6/28/15
Season 4 of Falling Skies was a bad joke that nearly ruined the series. Personally, I blame the writers for making the aliens into cliche sci-fi villains (complete with monologuing!) and for squandering any goodwill that Falling Skies still had left after the three seasons.
There’s a great premise in Falling Skies that’s been buried under a ton of crap. The fifth season will be the end of the road for this show. Hopefully Falling Skies can recapture what made it good in the first place.
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Humans
Network: AMC
Series Premiere: 6/28/15
The horror genre has worked out pretty well for AMC with The Walking Dead and its upcoming prequel series. Humans marks AMC’s first real sci-fi show, which is based on the Swedish TV series Real Humans.
Humans takes place in a world where androids are commonly held gadgets called Synths. Every family of means has a Synth of their own to act as a robotic butler. But some of the Synths are developing very humanlike traits. That means it probably won’t be long before some of the Synths start to rebel against their human masters.
William Hurt headlines the cast of Humans, which includes Colin Morgan, Katherine Parkinson, Gemma Chan, Emily Berrington, Rebecca Front, Tom Goodman-Hill, and Danny Webb.
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Scream
Network: MTV
Series Premiere: 6/30/15
Speaking of horror on TV, Scream is heading to MTV as a new weekly series filled with beautiful, nubile teens who will inevitably be endangered and killed by the new Ghost Face.
None of the cast members from the four Scream movies will be returning, but Wes Craven is on board as a producer alongside series creator, Jill Blotevogel; who actually has experience with one of the last TV slasher shows, Harper’s Island.
Teen Wolf proved that MTV can do genre drama, so in theory, this could work out nicely.
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The Strain
Network: FX
Season Premiere: 7/12/15
While HBO was busy killing vampires with campiness in True Blood’s final season, FX made the vamps scary again in The Strain. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s adaptation of their novel series depicted New York City’s slow fall into the vampire apocalypse.
For season 2, Eph (Corey Stoll), Nora (Mia Maestro) and their surviving allies attempt to use science to battle the Master and his vampire horde. And if they can’t find a cure, then they’ll settle for a bioweapon...
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Strike Back
Network: Cinemax
Season Premiere: 7/31/15
This summer is the end of the road for Strike Back. Series stars Philip Winchester and Sullivan Stapleton both landed new dramas on NBC after they finished filming the last season of Strike Back. But first, their characters Scott and Stonebridge have ten more episodes to kick ass on a global scale.
This year, the guys are joined by guest stars Michelle Yeoh, Max Besseley, Tim Mcinnerny, Dustin Clare, and more as Scott and Stonebridge race around the world to put down another terrorist plot.
Strike Back is just the best damn action show on TV. Enjoy it while you can.
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Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
Network: Netflix
Series Premiere: 7/31/15
File this under “I can’t believe this actually exists.”
Wet Hot American Summer was a cult comedy film back in 2001 that had a cast who went on to become big stars. 14 years later, the entire cast — including Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, H. Jon Benjamin, Elizabeth Banks, and more — agreed to return for a prequel series on Netflix set before the feature film.
This time, the cast will be joined by Jon Hamm, Kristin Wiig, Chris Pine, and other famous faces over the course of eight half-hour episodes. This is madness! But I’ll take it.
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Fear The Walking Dead
Network: AMC
Series Premiere: August
It was inevitable that AMC would spin a show out of The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic is one of the most popular series on television. Fear The Walking Dead has a lot to live up to.
Fear The Walking Dead actually takes place at the very beginning of the zombie apocalypse as Los Angeles and civilization itself begin to unravel in the face of an unrelenting terror. Kim Dickens and Cliff Curtis headline this series as Madison and Travis, a couple who attempt to keep their family alive.
But this is still The Walking Dead, so expect plenty of main character deaths even in the shortened, 6 episode first season.
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Blunt Talk
Network: Starz
Series Premiere: 8/22/15
Aside from his voiceover work in American Dad, Patrick Stewart hasn’t headlined a TV series since the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation 21 years ago!
But now Stewart is reteaming with American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane and Bored to Death creator Jonathan Ames for Blunt Talk, a new comedy series on STARZ. Stewart is set to play the title character, Walter Blunt; a former British TV reporter who moves to Los Angeles to host his own talk show.
Stewart is an actor’s actor who can make almost anything good. If MacFarlane and Ames give Stewart enough to work with, this could be the first breakout comedy for STARZ.
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Continuum
Network: Syfy
Season Premiere: ?
Continuum is a criminally underrated Canadian sci-fi drama that stars Rachel Nichols as Kiera Cameron, a cop from the future who becomes stuck in the present with radical terrorists from her time.
This show actually had Kiera’s worldview evolve to the point where she is actively fighting against the 1% dominated timeline that she comes from. Continuum narrowly avoided cancellation after its third season, but it will only have a 6 episode fourth season to wrap everything up.
You should binge Continuum on Netflix to catch up to the present season. It’s worth it.
