82 reasons to stay indoors and watch TV this summer
You don’t need another reason to stay indoors this summer.
Some SPF 270 for whenever you do venture out, maybe. But not another excuse to avoid the sun altogether.
Still, television is offering you plenty of reasons — at least 82 by my count — to remain inside.
Cable is unveiling its hottest graphic novel adaptations with Cinemax’s “Outcast,” created by “The Walking Dead’s” Robert Kirkman, and AMC’s “Preacher.”
Cameron Crowe and Baz Luhrmann make their TV debuts with Showtime’s “Roadies” and Netflix’s “The Get Down.”
And Netflix and Hulu are bringing back three of their best with “Orange Is the New Black,” “Bloodline” and “Casual.”
At the other end of the spectrum, ABC is just throwing in the towel with a lineup anchored by a summer burnoff (“Uncle Buck”) and five game shows, including retreads of “Match Game,” “To Tell the Truth” and “The $100,000 Pyramid.”
And, because you simply can’t keep Las Vegas off television, this summer will provide another showcase for local magicians (The CW’s “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and “Masters of Illusion”), home cooks (Fox’s “MasterChef”), entertainers (NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”) and twin home renovators (HGTV’s “Brother vs. Brother”). In addition, the Strip will once again serve as a backdrop for the finals of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.”
Here’s a look at some of what to expect through August (as always, dates and times are subject to change):
Friday: Plenty of local magicians will make themselves appear on the performance showcase “Masters of Illusion” (8 p.m., The CW).
Friday: Comic Maria Bamford channels some of her dysfunctions into the semi-autobiographical “Lady Dynamite” (Netflix).
Sunday: A West Texas pastor (Dominic Cooper) is inhabited by a mysterious entity in the supernatural drama “Preacher” (10 p.m., AMC).
Monday: Real estate developer Jo Jo Fletcher looks for love on “The Bachelorette” (9 p.m., ABC).
Monday: Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie return to “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (9 p.m., The CW).
Tuesday: Gordon Ramsay kicks off a busy summer with the rehab series “Hotel Hell” (8 p.m., Fox).
Wednesday: Jason Patrick, Djimon Hounsou and Hope Davis star in the second season of the event series “Wayward Pines” (9 p.m., Fox).
May 26: “Nightline’s” Dan Harris is the new host of the game show “500 Questions” (8 p.m., ABC).
May 27: The Rayburn family, led by eldest son John (Kyle Chandler), is bonded by a terrible secret in the second season of “Bloodline” (Netflix).
May 30: Following in the footsteps of “MasterChef Junior,” the competitors get a whole lot younger — ages 8 to 13 to be exact — on “So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation” (8 p.m., Fox).
May 30: Jerry O’Connell guest stars in the fourth season of the summer soap “Mistresses” (10 p.m., ABC).
May 30: After months away at a retreat, Emma (Willa Fitzgerald) returns to Lakewood on “Scream: The TV Series” (11 p.m., MTV).
May 31: Simon Cowell joins the judging panel on “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC).
May 31: Maya Rudolph and Martin Short star in the sketch/variety series “Maya & Marty” (10 p.m., NBC).
May 31: Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is at the center of a major international arms deal in the third season of “Peaky Blinders” (Netflix).
June 1: Step back into the cage with the MMA drama “Kingdom” (9 p.m., DirecTV’s Audience Network).
June 1: “American Ninja Warrior” (8 p.m., NBC) takes the first step on its road to the Las Vegas finals.
June 1: Gordon Ramsay’s back, alongside the six Las Vegans who made the cut, for the premiere of “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox).
June 1: Drew and Jonathan Scott compete to buy, renovate and sell a Las Vegas home on “Brother vs. Brother” (9 p.m., HGTV).
June 1: Get admitted to the San Antonio Memorial Hospital emergency room with “The Night Shift” (10 p.m., NBC).
June 1: Ancient creatures known as “Hairypeople” try to fit in with their human brethren in the genre drama “Cleverman” (10 p.m., SundanceTV).
June 2: Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) reunite for the final season of “Beauty and the Beast” (9 p.m., The CW).
June 3: A man (Patrick Fugit) plagued by demonic possession teams with a West Virginia evangelist (Philip Glenister) to regain a normal life in “Outcast” (10 p.m., Cinemax), created by “The Walking Dead’s” Robert Kirkman.
June 5: Two brothers (David Schwimmer, Jim Sturgess) open an upscale restaurant in the Bronx in the drama “Feed the Beast” (10 p.m., AMC).
June 6: Say goodbye to “Rizzoli & Isles” (9 p.m., TNT) with the drama’s seventh and final season.
June 6: Executive producer Eva Longoria turns up on “Devious Maids” (9 p.m., Lifetime).
June 6: Detective Angie Tribeca (Rashida Jones) is back on the case in the procedural comedy “Angie Tribeca” (9 p.m., TBS).
June 6: Go back behind the scenes at a dating series with the return of the acclaimed “UnREAL” (10 p.m., Lifetime).
June 7: After a season of disastrous dates, siblings Valerie (Michaela Watkins) and Alex (Tommy Dewey) try to keep things “Casual” (Hulu).
June 11: It’s the end of the line for Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) with the final seven episodes of “Hell on Wheels” (9 p.m., AMC).
June 12: The crew of the Nathan James heads to Asia in the post-pandemic drama “The Last Ship” (9 p.m., TNT).
June 13: When her sister is suspected of murder, a young woman leaves Boston for London to try to clear her name in the soapy drama “Guilt” (9 p.m., Freeform).
June 13: Groups of five tackle a grueling obstacle course in “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” (10 p.m., NBC).
June 13: A young staffer (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) discovers that bugs are eating the brains of Washington, D.C., power players in the comic thriller “BrainDead” (10 p.m., CBS).
June 13: Capt. Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) is back in charge of “Major Crimes” (10 p.m., TNT).
June 14: A panel including Betty White will try to guess which of three people is being honest about who they are as Anthony Anderson hosts “To Tell the Truth” (8 p.m., ABC).
June 14: A hustler (Mike Epps) helps his brother (James Lesure) and sister-in-law (Nia Long) raise their kids in the movie adaptation “Uncle Buck” (9 p.m., ABC).
June 14: When his mother dies of a heroin overdose, a 17-year-old (Finn Cole) moves in with his grandmother (Ellen Barkin), the matriarch of a small-time crime family, in the drama “Animal Kingdom” (9 p.m., TNT).
June 14: A group of strangers is stranded on a deserted island in the comedy “Wrecked” (10 p.m., TBS).
June 16: Detective Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) continues to tangle with a young Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony) in “Aquarius” (9 p.m., NBC).
June 16: Tim Tebow joins returning host Mike Holmes in the home makeover competition “Home Free” (9 p.m., Fox).
June 17: Head back to Litchfield Penitentiary with the ladies of “Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix).
June 19: The killing of a professional football player sets the tone for more “Murder in the First” (10 p.m., TNT).
June 19: What better day than Father’s Day to welcome the return of “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (10 p.m., TV Land)?
June 19: French and U.K. detectives investigate when a politician’s body is found on the border in “The Tunnel” (10:30 p.m., PBS).
June 20: Come home to another dramatic season of “The Fosters” (8 p.m., Freeform).
June 20: Drew Barrymore and Blythe Danner guest star in the comedy “Odd Mom Out” (10 p.m., Bravo).
June 21: The seventh season of “Pretty Little Liars” (8 p.m., Freeform) is being billed as its most romantic yet.
June 21: A woman (Alice Braga) flees to America and begins trying to bring down the cartel responsible for murdering her drug-dealing boyfriend in “Queen of the South” (10 p.m., USA).
June 21: A sprawling Memphis megachurch is at the center of the soapy “Greenleaf” (10 p.m., OWN).
June 22: Check out the new houseguests on “Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS).
June 22: A prominent Boston family is tied to a string of murders in the drama “American Gothic” (10 p.m., CBS).
June 23: Homemade robots and their makers take center stage in “BattleBots” (8 p.m., ABC).
June 26: Steve Harvey hosts “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., ABC).
June 26: The game shows keep coming as Michael Strahan hosts “The $100,000 Pyramid” (9 p.m., ABC).
June 26: Ray (Liev Schreiber) rededicates himself to his family on “Ray Donovan” (9 p.m., Showtime).
June 26: Alec Baldwin will give it his “blank” as the host of “Match Game” (10 p.m., ABC).
June 26: Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino lead the cast of Cameron Crowe’s rock drama “Roadies” (10 p.m., Showtime).
June 28: Camp Stillwater is stalked by a “dark, ancient mythology” in “Dead of Summer” (9 p.m., Freeform).
June 28: The animal mutation that’s threatening the planet moves to phase two on “Zoo” (9 p.m, CBS).
June 30: The music of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s will be celebrated on the live performance show “Greatest Hits” (9 p.m., ABC).
June 30: Johnny Rock (Denis Leary) and the rest of his dysfunctional band of misfits are back in the comedy “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll” (10 p.m., FX).
July 1: Interplanetary bounty hunters return for more “Killjoys” (9 p.m., Syfy).
July 1: The crew of the Raza is embroiled in an intergalactic conspiracy in “Dark Matter” (10 p.m., Syfy).
July 1: When her marriage implodes, a London detective (Anna Friel) returns to work after a 12-year break in “Marcella” (Netflix).
July 1: Splash around with the second season of “Marco Polo” (Netflix). What’s that? It’s based on the explorer not the game your kids play in the pool? Never mind.
July 6: The future of Abuddin is up for grabs in the Middle Eastern drama “Tyrant” (10 p.m., FX).
July 10: John Turturro stars in “The Night Of” (9 p.m., HBO), an eight-episode drama exploring a politically charged murder in New York.
July 11: The Rio headliners are once again looking to be amazed by their fellow magicians, alongside new host Alyson Hannigan, on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (8 p.m., The CW).
July 12: Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner continue to be “Difficult People” (Hulu).
July 13: With Mike (Patrick J. Adams) in prison, the staff of Pearson Specter Litt begins rebuilding the firm on “Suits” (9 p.m., USA).
July 13: A family’s 5-year-old son is diagnosed with autism in the drama “The A Word” (10 p.m., SundanceTV).
July 13: The consequences of the fsociety hack will be explored in the second season of “Mr. Robot” (10 p.m., USA).
July 15: School’s out for summer on “East Los High” (Hulu).
July 15: In 1983, an Indiana boy vanishes into thin air in “Stranger Things” (Netflix), starring Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine.
July 17: Former NFL superstar Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson) continues his climb as a financial manager in “Ballers” (10 p.m., HBO).
July 17: Danny McBride and “Justified’s” Walton Goggins star as feuding administrators in the comedy “Vice Principals” (10:30 p.m., HBO), from the creators of “Eastbound & Down.”
Aug. 2: “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” alums look for another chance at love — or whatever passes for love on these shows — in “Bachelor in Paradise” (8 p.m., ABC).
Aug. 12: Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge”) looks at the rise of hip-hop, punk and disco through the eyes of a group of South Bronx teenagers in the 1970s-set “The Get Down” (Netflix).
Aug. 24: Go inside a Neapolitan crime organization in the drama “Gomorrah” (10 p.m., SundanceTV), Italy’s most popular series.
Aug. 28: The surviving humans are cut off from federal help and left to their own devices to battle the strigoi in the return of “The Strain” (10 p.m., FX).
Aug. 31: Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) continue to struggle with their dysfunctional relationship in the dark comedy “You’re the Worst” (10 p.m., FX).
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @life_onthecouch
