STAYING IN WITH THE SMALL SCREEN
VARIETY BREAKS DOWN A DOZEN SCRIPTED SERIES COMING TO TELEVISION THIS SUMMER
TELEVISION HAS BEEN A
year-round business for quite some time now, with everyone from traditional broadcasters to cable to newer streaming networks looking to hook the captive audience that prefers air conditioning and relaxation over frolicking outside during the hottest months of the year. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, some recent summer staples on the small screen, from FX’S “Pose” to HBO’S “Succession,” have been put on pause and won’t deliver new episodes imminently. But that is not cause for alarm, as there are plenty of other players who have their seasons in the can and are ready to provide entertainment over the next few months. HBO Max and Peacock alone are both launching with a slew of new scripted and unscripted series and library titles. To help you plan ahead, Variety has selected 12 scripted series to check out this summer. Ann M. Martin’s classic coming-of-age novel series “The Baby-sitters Club” has been adapted once again, this time for a 10-episode first season on Netflix. As in the beloved books, the action begins with young Kristy Thomas (played by Sophie Grace) starting the titular club, alongside a few friends. With almost 35 years between the first book being published and this new iteration of the story, showrunner Rachel Shukert says the show may evoke a “retro” longing for a simpler time. “You see this in Episode 1 when Kristy’s mom is looking for a baby-sitter for the first time, but all of these tools we have now, like the internet, make it seem much easier to find care for a kid, but also make it more complicated,” she says. “There’s a million websites that you have to remember passwords for and you have to pay to join, and there’s a text chain and no one gets back to you right away.” Kristy’s entrepreneurial know-how designs a club that meets at a set time so that parents can call one number and be assured they will be able to book a baby-sitter — and one young and fun enough to want to engage with the kids for whom they care for. But with adult actors including Alicia Silverstone, Mark Feuerstein and Marc Evan Jackson onboard to play the parents, the story is a multi-generational one, too.
‘BRAVE NEW WORLD’ Peacock Premieres July 15
‘I MAY DESTROY YOU’
‘LOVECRAFT COUNTRY’ HBO
Premieres in August
‘MUPPETS NOW’ Disney Plus Premieres July 31
‘SEARCH PARTY’ SEASON 3