Hawt Summer Television

Before I had cable and before cable had an endless array of networks, summer television-- for lack of a better word-- sucked. Either reruns of shows you already watched during the previous mainstream seasons or crappy test shows that hardly ever got picked up by a Primetime network.  

Now, however, the Summer Season is becoming almost as important in terms of programming content as the Fall. Networks want to keep viewers tuned in with fun reality TV and more supernatural programs. Here are few of the options ready to record in my DVR.

Vampires, werewolves, witches, sex, and violence accented with a fabulous soundtrack: the perfect ingredients for one hell of a show. Yes, I've read some of the books (I'm starting #5 for my summer reading list... post to come later) and both are different but equally great. Check out "True Blood" on HBO starting June 26th and the "Sookie Stackhouse books" by Charlaine Harris.

This show is all about analyzing facial expressions and body language to solve crimes and catch lying criminals. Sounds somewhat interesting, but when you add a quirky, slightly insane character played by the underrated Tim Roth, this is a program you can easily get sucked into.  Unfortunately "Lie to Me" has been moved to Fridays in the summer at 9/8c starting June 10th-- Fridays and Summers being the two death sentences for a syndicated show.  Ah well... can't wait for the box sets!

Masterpiece Mystery-- a PBS program I've obsessed over since I was a kid-- is now hosted by the wonderful Alan Cumming (previously the elegant Diana Rigg) and contains the best British actors portraying the best British detective characters. David Suchet as Poirot, Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple, and Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox as Inspector Lewis and DS Hathaway: the best people to spend Sunday nights with at 8pm on PBS.  Also, come the Fall, keep your eyes and ears open for Series 2 of Sherlock Holmes: a modern day take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective and a visual feast!

On to Reality TV...

Ah "The Bachelorette"... what can I say? I love the overly dramatic, totally unrealistic romantic setting of 25 men trying to win the heart of one woman (this season it's Ashley Hebert-- see above photo). The drama, the romance, the 'villain,' the epic trips-- it's FUN! The one thing I must admit about this season: Ashley is ANNOYING... and kind of clueless. In case you're curious-- Mondays on ABC at 7pm.

NBC's "The Voice" has proven to be a surprisingly entertaining show with the blind auditions, battle rounds, and coaching provided by 4 of the biggest stars in the music industry.  Some of the talent is absolutely incredible, but the pretend bickering between the judges gets old and isn't amusing.  It's drama free and perfect for anyone who appreciates live performances by great vocalists. Tuesdays @ 9/8c

And now... my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE reality show and one of my favorite TV shows ever: So You Think You Can Dance!!! I can't tell you how much I look forward to this every year.  Because I have no dance ability whatsoever, the art form fascinates me beyond words. The expression of emotion and telling stories through music and body movement is utterly beautiful and even though it's surrounded by stage lights, a huge audience, an overly exuberant host, and judges, none of it matters when you're watching the performances. They just picked the top 20 tonight-- now the fun begins.

And the premiere I'm looking forward to the most this summer:

I haven't read the books so I'm jumping into this blindly, but the promos have me intrigued. Young adult angst in a supernatural setting: can't get more entertaining than that!

What shows do you watch in the summers?