If you thought summer was the time to turn off your small screen and soak in some rays, think again. In fact, this June and July is shaping up to be one of the hottest on record thanks to a slew of sizzling new shows joining an already crowded field of returning favourites such as ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, QUEEN SUGAR and a little under appreciated gem called GAME OF THRONES. Here are six shows premiering this summer that you should be sure not to miss.
1) I’M DYING UP HERE
Premiere Date: June 4, 2017 (Showtime)
Although Jim Carrey’s I’m Dying Up Here has already premiered this past week, it should definitely be at the top of everyone’s watch-list, and it’s absolutely not too late to catch up. Before the days of the internet, the most treasured aspects of any aspiring comedian’s world were: venues to perform at; rather than a video camera set up in their bedroom; a full house, rather than viral videos; and laughs, rather than views on YouTube. In I’m Dying Up Here, Carrey throws us into the lives of those tackling the Los Angeles stand-up scene in the 1970s, and explores the challenges of persevering even when no one’s laughing.
2) GLOW
Premiere Date: June 23, 2017 (Netflix)
“In this world, there are good guys and there are bad guys, and I will not be bullied into submission,” confidently recites aspiring actress Ruth Wilder at an audition, only to be met with a jarring: “You’re reading the man’s part,” from a displeased casting director. Embarrassed and startled, Wilder apologizes and proceeds to read for the correct, woman’s role in the same scene: she takes a breath and knocks on the desk in front of her: “Sorry to interrupt, your wife is on line two.” In Liz Flahive’s Glow, Wilder stumbles upon an untraditional opportunity for stardom: women’s wrestling, or, in other words “GLOW”: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, where she must work alongside 12 other Hollywood-misfits, and come to learn about these women’s lives both inside and outside the arena.
3) GYPSY
Premiere Date: June 30, 2017 (Netflix)
When you visit your therapist, you are told any information exchanged will remain strictly confidential…but that doesn’t necessarily mean your therapist will remain detached from the information you share. For therapist Jean Holloway (portrayed by actress Naomi Watts), empathy seems to take on an entirely new, more intrusive and hazardous meaning in Lisa Rubin’s Gypsy. Like you become attached to the characters in your favorite book, Holloway becomes entranced by the stories of her patients’ lives, and begins to develop dangerously close relationships with the individuals her patients describe to her.
4) FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE
Premiere Date: July 14, 2017 (Netflix)
A group of friends from Harvard, now in their 40s, reunite after Ethan (Keegan-Michael Key) and Lisa (Cobie Smulders) move back to New York. Balancing present day problems with a world of nostalgia and “what-could-have-beens,” these oftentimes complicated relationships with one another present some new and interesting challenges in the lives of these six: from old grudges to former romantic entanglements.
5) ROOM 104
Premiere Date: July 28, 2017 (HBO)
“1 Room. 12 Different Stories. Infinite Possibilities.” The teaser says it all. The Duplass Brothers’ Room 104, is an anthology series that documents the various events that occur in a single American motel room. With each new occupant comes a new, rich story, and you never know who will come, who will go, and how. You can also expect to spot some familiar faces such as Transparent’s Amy Landecker, Parenthood’s Mae Whitman, and The Night Of’s Poorna Jagannathan. Anyone can enter Room 104, and anything can happen, so you’ll have to enter Room 104 yourself this summer to discover exactly what stories will unfold.
6) SNOWFALL
Premiere Date: July 5, 2017 (FX)
Set during the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles circa 1983, Snowfall follows a group of interesting individuals, including: Franklin Saint, a young street entrepreneur; Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata, a Mexican wrestler; Teddy McDonald, a CIA operative; and Lucia Villanueva, the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican crime lord. Snowfall examines the radical impact the epidemic has on each of these individual’s specific predicaments, as well as the culture surrounding them.