More reality than scripted this summer on network TV
Broadcasters have already begun rolling out some summer series, including ABC’s filmed-inPittsburgh comedy “Downward Dog,” which continues to debut episodes at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WTAE. Other broadcast network summer series include:
ABC
“Still Star-Crossed” (10 p.m. Monday): Sequel following what happens to the Montagues and Capulets after Romeo and Juliet die.
“Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” (9 p.m. June 11): Entrepreneurs go head-to-head to win over a live studio audience to fund their products or companies.
“Boy Band” (8 p.m. June 22): Singers compete to become members of a boy band.
“The Gong Show” (10 p.m. June 22): Revival of the 1970s classic with celebrities who evaluate a performer’s unique talent.
“Battle of the Network Stars” (9 p.m. June 29): Teams of current and classic TV stars compete in athletic games from the ’70s original series.
“Somewhere Between” (10 p.m. July 24): San Francisco news producer (Paula Patton) knows her 8-year-old daughter will be killed, but doesn’t know the details of how the crime will go down as she works to prevent it.
Returning: “The Bachelorette” (already premiered), “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m. June 11), “$100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m. June 11), “To Tell the Truth” (10 p.m. June 14), “Bachelor in Paradise” (8 p.m. Aug. 8).
CBS
“Candy Crush” (9 p.m. July 9): Live-action game show based on the mobile game.
“Salvation” (9 p.m. July 12): Suspense thriller about scientists who bring a Pentagon official (Jennifer Finnigan, “Tyrant”) evidence that an asteroid will soon hit Earth.
Returning: “Big Brother” (8 p.m. June 28), “Zoo” (10 p.m. June 29),
The CW
“Hooten & the Lady” (9 p.m.
July 13): Adventurer Hooten (Michael Landes) is joined by historical expert Lady Alexandra (Ophelia Lovibond) for a global treasure hunt.
Returning: “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (9 p.m. Monday [May 29]), “Masters of Illusion” (8 p.m. June 30), “Penn and Teller: Fool Us” (8 p.m. July 10).
“Love Connection” (9 p.m. Thursday, already premiered): It’s an all-reality summer on Fox, kicking off with this revival of the daytime dating show hosted by Bravo’s Andy Cohen.
“Beat Shazam” (8 p.m. Thursday, already premiered): Jamie Foxx hosts this competition that pits teams of two against one another as they attempt to identify songs. The winning team tussles with song identification app Shazam.
“The F Word” (9 p.m. Wednesday ): Gordon Ramsay hosts this live series, based on a show he’s done for years in the U.K., featuring cooking demos and food competitions.
“Superhuman” (9 p.m. June 11): Kal Penn hosts this test of ordinary people using seemingly superhuman abilities as they compete for a $50,000 grand prize.
Returning: “Masterchef” (8 p.m. Wednesday [May 31]), “American Grit” (9 p.m. June 11), “So You Think You Can Dance” (8 p.m. June 12).
NBC
“World of Dance” (10 p.m. May 30): New dance competition series hosted by Jennifer Lopez.
“Little Big Shots: Forever Young” (8 p.m. June 21): Spinoff hosted by Steve Harvey featuring young-atheart seniors.
“Midnight, Texas” (10 p.m. July 25): Based on a book series by the author of “True Blood,” this supernatural drama features a psychic (Francois Arnaud, “The Borgias”), an angel (Jason Lewis, “Sex and the City”) and a vampire (Peter Mensah, “True Blood”).
“Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update” (9 p.m. Aug. 10): A half-hour telecast with anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che satirizing the news.
“Marlon” (9 p.m. Aug. 16): Based loosely on the life of star Marlon Wayans, sitcom about a dad trying to coparent his kids with his more together ex-wife.
Returning: “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m. Tuesday), “The Carmichael Show” (9 p.m. Wednesday[May 31]), “American Ninja Warrior” (8 p.m. June 12), “Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge” (10 p.m. June 12), “The Wall” (8 p.m. June 22), “The Night Shift” (9 p.m. June 22), “Hollywood Game Night” (10 p.m. Aug. 7).
PBS
“My Mother and Other Strangers” (8 p.m. June 18July 16): A “Masterpiece” production set in Northern Ireland during World War II as an Irish woman finds herself drawn to an American soldier (2004 Carnegie Mellon University grad Aaron Staton, “Mad Men”) on a U.S. Army base.
“Prime Suspect: Tennison” (10 p.m. June 25-July 9): A “Prime Suspect” prequel about the early days of detective Jane Tennison (Stefanie Martini).
“The Story of China” (8 p.m. June 20-July 11): A 4,000-year history of the world’s oldest continuous state.
“Great Yellowstone Thaw” (9 p.m. June 21-July 5): Cameras capture the national park’s animals as the seasons change.
“Remember Me” (10 p.m. July 16): An elderly man (Michael Palin) witnesses a violent death on the day he moves into a nursing home.
“NOVA: Solar Eclipse” (9 p.m. Aug. 21): A chronicle of the day’s solar eclipse, the first to traverse the U.S. mainland in a generation.
Returning: “The Tunnel: Sabotage” (9 p.m. June 24), “The Great British Baking Show” (9 p.m. June 16), “Grantchester” (9 p.m. June 18), “Endeavour” (9 p.m. Aug. 20).
Channel Surfing
NBC renewed comedy “Trial & Error” for a second season. … HBO renewed animated comedy “Animals” for a third season. … “College-ish,” a spinoff of ABC’s “black-ish” following Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) as she heads to a college where Charlie Telphy (Deon Cole) works as an adjunct professor, was ordered by cable’s Freeform. ... Netflix canceled “The Get Down” after one season. ... Disney Channel’s “Andi Mack,” created by Mt. Lebanon native Terri Minsky, has been renewed for a second season. ... NBC canceled “Chicago Justice” after a single season... HBO has dropped its planned animated project with Jon Stewart that was supposed to have premiered last fall before the election. ... Mixed but mostly good news for Tuesday’s time slot premiere of filmed-inPittsburgh comedy “Downward Dog”: Demo ratings (adults 18-49) declined slightly compared to last week’s premiere, but the show was up by more than 1 million in total viewers, a positive sign for a new series that has to kick off a night of prime-time programming.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about summer series, “Jesse Stone” and local TV news graphics. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Dirty Dancing.” Read online-only TV content at http://communityvoices. arts-entertainment-living/ tuned-in.
Tuned In podcast has the week off.
TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook for breaking TV news.