Summer 2016: What’s on TV
Stay in with new seasons of Orange is the New Black and Amazing Race Canada
Think of summer and you think primarily of outdoor activities, not TV watching. But that hasn’t stopped networks and streaming services from trying to lure you back to your screens, big and small.
There are plenty of new shows on summer schedules and they’re not all light and bright.
Along with the reality fare and game shows come new wannabe prestige dramas like HBO’s The Night Of and Netflix’s The Get Down. And there’s comedy to be had too.
Here’s a sampling of what’s ahead arranged by date, including some returning shows, with a smidgen of what’s already started.
All times are p.m. unless otherwise noted, but double check your local listings since schedules can change. Saturday, June 25 Lemonade (HBO at 9): You may have already heard or seen Beyoncé’s visual album, considering it was released in April, but this is HBO Canada’s turn to air the one-hour film, which the Star’s Vinay Menon described as “a work of blistering genius.” Sunday, June 26 Dancing on the Edge (PBS at 8): Eight-part drama follows the fortunes of a black jazz band in 1930s London, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor ( 12 Years A Slave) and Matthew Goode ( Downton Abbey). Celebrity Family Feud (City at 8): Season 2 of the game show spinoff sees host Steve Harvey kibitzing with teams of celebs as they guess the answers to survey questions. The $100,000 Pyramid (CTV at 9): It’s a new version of the classic game show in which stars team up ordinary mortals to guess phrases using verbal clues. Michael Strahan, late of Live With Kelly, hosts. Zoo (CTV at 9): Season 2 of this when-animals-attack drama returns with the critters creating deadly environmental phenomena so as to make the planet uninhabitable. Match Game (CTV at 10): Another rebooted game show in which contestants try to match celebrities’ answers to fill-in-the-blank questions. The show is hosted by Alec Baldwin ( 30 Rock). Roadies (TMN at 10): Filmmaker Cameron Crowe ( Almost Famous) gives us his first original series, a drama about the unsung heroes of the rock world who put the show on the road. The new series stars Luke Wilson ( Enlightened) and Carla Gugino ( Wayward Pines). June 28 The Amazing Race Canada (CTV at 8): Canada’s favourite homegrown reality competition is back with 10 new teams, including the reigning Mrs. Universe and her dad. June 29 You, Me & The Apocalypse ( Global at 10): A foul-mouthed priest (Rob Lowe) and unhinged white supremacist (Megan Mullally) cope with the end of the world. July 1 Killjoys (Space at 9): Season 2 begins with the interplanetary bounty hunters, having failed to rescue their colleague D’avin (Luke MacFarlane), heading to an outlaw-only barter town to try to steal a high-tech shield. Dark Matter (Space at 10): Season 2 of Space’s most watched new series returns with the crew of the spaceship Raza embroiled in an intergalactic conspiracy. Marco Polo (Netflix): The famous title explorer (Lorenzo Richelmy) is back for new adventures in 13th-century China in Season 2. July 5 Motive (CTV at 10): The homicide team must make pivotal choices about their futures as the Canadian crime drama returns for its final episodes. July 10 The Night Of( HBO at 9): This adaptation of a U.K. series follows one New York City murder case from start to finish, and stars John Turturro ( Barton Fink) and Riz Ahmed ( Four Lions). July 13 Mr. Robot (Showcase at 10): Season 2 of the hacker drama begins with Elliot (Rami Malek) trying to recall what happened during a massive hack and E-Corp still up to no good. July 15 Stranger Things (Netflix): It’s back to the ’80s with this small-town, supernatural drama about a boy who vanishes into thin air, starring Winona Ryder ( Show Me a Hero) and David Harbour ( Suicide Squad). July 17 Ballers ( HBO at10): Former football superstar Spencer (Dwayne Johnson) is back for Season 2 of this sports comedy. Vice Principals (HBO at 10:30): This dark comedy sees two high school VPs, played by Danny McBride ( Eastbound & Down) and Walton Goggins ( Justified) in an epic battle to become the next principal. July 19 Degrassi: Next Class (Family at 9:45): Season 2 of the teen drama picks up with everyone dealing with the aftermath of last season’s school lockdown. July 23 Looking: The Movie (HBO): The cancelled series about three gay friends in San Francisco wraps up with a two-hour film. July 31 Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (Space at 8): It’s the cheesy sequel to the movie series about flying sharks with oodles of D-list celebs in the human cast. Aug. 2 Bachelor in Paradise (City at 9): Speaking of cheesy, an assortment of former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants gather at a Mexican resort to drink, hook up and maybe even find love. Aug. 12 The Get Down( Netflix): Film director Baz Luhrmann ( The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!) aims to make magic with this series about the birth of hip hop, punk and disco in 1970s New York City. New and returning, and already begun Outcast (HBO Canada, Fridays at 11): It’s the latest from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman about a young man (Patrick Fugit, Gone Girl) plagued by demonic possession. Feed the Beast (AMC, Tuesdays at 10): This drama about best friends (David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess) who open a restaurant in the Bronx hasn’t had critics asking for seconds. Barbarians Rising (History, Mondays at 9): This miniseries tells the tale of the fall of the Roman Empire from the viewpoint of warriors like Hannibal and Attila. Still the King (CMT, Sundays at 9): Billy Ray Cyrus stars in this surreal dramedy as a one-hit wonder who reinvents himself as an Elvis impersonator. World Broadcast Premiere Ride With Norman Reedus ( AMC, Sundays at 10): Everyone’s favourite Walking Dead actor, a.k.a. Darryl, takes viewers on a few motorcycle excursions. Brain-Dead (Global, Mondays at 10): Larky horror drama from Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King about a Capitol Hill staffer who discovers that a parasite is eating the brains of lawmakers. Animal Kingdom (Bravo, Tuesdays at 10): Based on a 2010 Australian film, Ellen Barkin stars as the matriarch of a Southern California crime family. Canadian actor Scott Speedman ( Underworld) is her right-hand man. To Tell the Truth ( City, Tuesdays at 10)” A reimagination of the classic game show with Anthony Anderson ( Black-ish) as host and celebrity panellists like Betty White ( Hot in Cleveland) and NeNe Leakes ( The Real Housewives of Atlanta). American Gothic (Global, Wednesdays at 10): This drama series is set in Boston and follows a prominent family that learns that one of their own may be the city’s notorious Silver Bells Killer. UnREAL (Lifetime, Mondays at 10): This reality TV satire is back for a second season with Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn (Constance Zimmer) plumbing new depths in their quest for ratings. Orange Is the New Black (Netflix): Litchfield Penitentiary is packed to the rafters with the addition of new inmates, which ratchets up the tension among the women in Season 4. Greenleaf (OWN, Wednesdays at 10): Oprah Winfrey co-stars and executive produces this drama set in a Memphis megachurch, described as Empire in choir robes. 19-2 (Bravo, Mondays at 10): In the third season of this Canadian crime drama, the squad is back and trying to pick up the pieces after learning that one of their own was a pedophile.