If you’ve been having trouble keeping up with all the latest TV shows, you’re not alone. Critics and other industry professionals have had a hard time learning about and cataloguing – let alone watching – all the new and continuing series the networks have to offer. Yet each year brings a whole new crop of series. So to make things a little easier, here are 10 summer TV shows you have to watch this season.
10 summer TV shows to watch
‘Pose’ (6/3)
Even if you don’t know Ryan Murphy’s name, you’ve seen his work. He created hit series like “Nip/Tuck,” “Glee” and “American Horror Story” for Fox and FX, and he recently signed a massive new deal with Netflix. But before the deal takes effect, Murphy’s latest, “Pose” premieres Sunday, June 3 on FX. “Pose,” which boasts the largest cast of transgender actors in regular roles, is a dance musical about New York’s ball culture, luxury and literal scenes in the ‘80s. Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek, Billy Porter and Charlayne Woodard star.
‘Dietland’ (6/4)
If you ever thought you wanted to watch a show combining dieting and body image struggles, the publishing industry, vengeful feminism and the #MeToo era, then AMC’s “Dietland” is tailor-made for you. From “UnREAL” executive producer Marti Noxon and author Sarai Walker, “Dietland” follows Plum Kettle (Joy Nash), a beauty magazine ghostwriter working for editor Kitty Montgomery (Julianna Margulies), as she struggles with her self-worth and sexual assault.
‘Cloak & Dagger” (6/7)
Freeform will follow up on Hulu’s successful “Runaways,” a TV adaptation of Marvel’s teenage-centric comic book series, with “Cloak & Dagger” on June 7. Rather than following along with a group of outcasts, however, this show sticks to Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt), otherwise known as Cloak and Dagger. Hailing from different backgrounds, the two teens discover they both have superpowers after running into each other and falling in love.
‘Sense8’ (6/8)
Despite boasting a vocal fanbase, The Netflix science-fiction drama about eight disparate people from across the globe who share a strong psychic connection has struggled. It was canceled due to poor ratings in 2017, but Netflix succumbed to public pressure and the Wachowskis, who created the series, revealed a two-hour finale would air on June 8.
‘Luke Cage’ (6/22)
Almost two years have passed since “Luke Cage” season 1 premiered on Netflix. The third of Marvel’s four “street-level” heroes to get their own series, the story of Mike Colter’s bulletproof black man struck a chord with viewers. So why so much time between seasons? Luke had to join forces with “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and “Iron Fist” in “The Defenders,” a miniseries pitting the four heroes against a greater foe.
‘GLOW’ (6/29)
As soon as Netflix first previewed “GLOW,” a show dramatizing the actual professional wrestling series “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling,” everyone went bananas for it. Whether this was due to Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin’s casting as frenemies duking it out in the ring, comedian Marc Maron’s playing the group’s misogynist leader or the exaggerated ‘80s color scheme doesn’t matter. “GLOW” hit it big when its first season premiered last year, and with season 2 due June 29th, its reentry into the ring is about to do the same.
‘Sharp Objects’ (7/8)
Before “Gone Girl,” author Gillian Flynn wrote “Sharp Objects,” a 2006 novel about a reporter’s hunt for a serial killer in her hometown. A new miniseries adaptation starring Amy Adams as reporter Camille Preaker is set to premiere July 8 on HBO.
‘Insecure’ (8/12)
A month later, HBO will continue dominating the summer TV landscape with the third season premiere of “Insecure,” co-creator and star Issa Rae’s dramedy about the black female experience in the modern world. Created with Larry Wilmore and co-starring Yvonne Orji, Natasha Rothwell and Amanda Seales, “Insecure” has already pleased critics and audiences alike for two seasons.
‘The Innocents’ (8/24)
Back in mid-April, the first trailer for something called “The Innocents” debuted on the Netflix YouTube channel. Aside from Guy Pearce’s bearded, bespectacled Halvorson speaking to another man from behind a screen, viewers knew little about the new series. Turns out the program is about two teenage lovers, June (Sorcha Groundsell) and Harry (Percelle Ascott), who run away from their repressive families. Soon after June discovers she possesses a wild supernatural ability, and that the pair is being hunted by mysterious forces.
‘Jack Ryan’ (8/31)
Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford and Christopher Pine have all taken a crack at author Tom Clancy’s CIA analyst character, Jack Ryan, in numerous films. On August 31, John Krasinski of “A Quiet Place” and “The Office” will adopt the mantle in a new Amazon series simply titled “Jack Ryan.”
