From 'Breaking Bad' to 'The Newsroom': 10 summer TV shows I'm looking forward to most
Aaron Sorkin, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Louis CK highlight an interesting lineup
"Louie," "The Newsroom" and "Bunheads" are three of the summer shows I'm looking forward to most.
The summer TV season technically began last Thursday, with the premieres of "So You Think You Can Dance" on FOX, "Duets" and "Rookie Blue" on ABC and "Men at Work" on TBS, among other things. There are going to be dozens and dozens of shows premiering on broadcast and cable between now and Labor Day, but the quantity won't always be matched by quality. I'm not running to set my DVR to record FOX's dating show/"Voice" rip-off "The Choice," nor the new season of "Franklin & Bash," nor a lot of other new and returning summer offerings.
But this summer will also bring with it the return of two of the very best shows on all of television, new series from two of my favorite TV writers of the last decade, and a revival of one of the biggest hits of my childhood, among other things.
I'll be watching far more than these 10 shows, but these are the ones whose premieres I'm most looking forward to seeing, for one reason or another.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupI'm not clicking through
May 29, 2012 at 12:14PM EST Reply to CommentHow about you write an actual column contained on one page instead of transparently trying to get 1000% more page views with a photo gallery? What is this, Bleacher Report?
velocityknown Why do you care? If you like this blog, just read the article. If not then just don't say anything. Come on now.
May 29, 2012 at 12:24PM ESTI did, but I'm usually doesn't do it. This seems to be the standard practice on HitFix
May 29, 2012 at 12:29PM ESTTJ Hitfix does this a lot, don't they? Though I can't remember seeing a lot of these on Alan's blog.
May 29, 2012 at 12:32PM ESTThey are super annoying, but still--interesting list.
Dryden I'm with you. I rarely click on the obvious gallery articles and I won't recommend/share them, either. They are a hassle and I'm disappointed HitFix has been increasing the number of them over time.
May 29, 2012 at 1:05PM ESTvelocityknown Are you being serious right now? It's a hassle to move your mouse over and click a button?
May 29, 2012 at 1:17PM ESThttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJtBRdWTgWU
Dryden I am serious, but that's not my reason for disliking them.
May 29, 2012 at 1:27PM ESTBrian Yea, its pretty rediculous, especially when you consider the high monthy fee they charge....oh, wait, what was that, you are saying its actually free, and that complaining about free content makes you a total douche? My bad.
May 29, 2012 at 1:30PM ESTthe minister Hitfix has to make money, and galleries serve up a lotta ads.
May 29, 2012 at 1:51PM ESTIt could be worse. Dan and Allan could have moved to the Huffington Post like Mo Ryan (and no, I'm not a Tea Partier. But that site is absolutely fucking heinous.)
typical Sometimes you just have to do what the bosses want.
May 29, 2012 at 2:02PM ESTYes, Alan is better than this.. but then again, as we (and those that hired him) he is better than this site.
What Shitfix lacks in functionality and a user-friendly site they at least had the smarts to hire Alan.
Brian Hitfix might make money, but none of it is coming out of your pocket.
May 29, 2012 at 2:04PM ESTsepinwall Oh, good lord, people.
May 29, 2012 at 3:34PM ESTA)We do depend on advertising and pageviews to survive. This work ain't free.
B)I hate empty clicks as much as the next web surfer, but Fienberg established a philosophy from the start of the site that the galleries have actual thoughtful content on each page, so you're spending a lot more time reading than you are waiting for each page to load. In the handful of galleries I've done, I've tried to stick to that. Nobody seemed all that angry when I took this exact approach for the Dan Harmon piece last week. (Or maybe they just liked looking at the picture of Annie letting her hair down in "Debate 109," so they didn't remember to do the same kneejerk complaints.)
C)If galleries really are an affront to your sensibilities, then you are under no obligation to click through them. But I don't do them very often, and only do them on occasions where they tend to lend themselves to it. Without the gallery format, that Sutton Foster "Bunheads" pic would be very small and horizontally-cropped in an article, and who wants that?
D)Did I forget to mention that you pay for absolutely none of the content I produce, and that the money to allows me to do this work has to come from somewhere?
J Galleries normally are an affront to my sensibility, but this one was short enough and had enough content/click that it worked well.
May 29, 2012 at 5:38PM EST"Copper" looks intriguing.
DAG I, for one, would not object to a gallery of 'what do these four pictures have in common'.. Still miss that from the old days.
May 30, 2012 at 12:07AM ESTMiles The load times for this type of content is also insanely long, in addition to it being an obvious money grab. I'm not even viewing the gallery, not because I think it's tacky (it definitely is), but because it's just as functionally shitty as HitFix's comments section.
May 31, 2012 at 11:53AM ESTINB4 snide comments about me using the comment feature to say this.
lbj Came here to say/complain about the same thing. It's free, no one is forcing you to click through, money has to come from somewhere, yada yada. This gallery garbage still sucks.
May 31, 2012 at 8:20PM ESTGreg
May 29, 2012 at 12:32PM EST Reply to CommentI thought Wilfred was indeed a one-joke series. Most situations were either about Wilfred forcing Ryan to do something bad or Ryan suspecting Wilfred did something really bad. So formulaic and repetitive.
Mulderism I watched most of Wilfred last season but couldn't stand it anymore. I hate that $%*^ dog.
May 29, 2012 at 1:38PM ESTVery unenjoyable.
the minister Totally with ya. Not fun, not that interesting.
May 29, 2012 at 1:49PM EST
May 29, 2012 at 3:54PM ESTOaktown Girl Agree with Mulderism. It's a shame, too, because I rather like Elija Wood (though I like him better with longer hair than he has in this show). But I can't stand putting up the unfunny, unlikeable behavior of that damn dog the entire episode until he does something (or reveals something) halfway decent at the very end.
May 29, 2012 at 9:49PM ESTTJ
May 29, 2012 at 12:36PM EST Reply to CommentI'm not sure when it's coming back (presumably before Labor Day), but I'm looking forward to more Switched at Birth. I started watching it with my wife, more or less as something to balance out Mad Men and Archer, but we both really got into it.
The first batch of episodes had some great and some really kinda crummy moments. The second batch was more consistent, but had fewer of the really great moments. Still, it's really a pretty smart show, and well written and acted.
Greg I'm not sure, but I think it's only coming back on 2013.
May 29, 2012 at 1:08PM ESTGeorg Kindlund
May 29, 2012 at 12:53PM EST Reply to Commentwhat is the premire date for strike back?
Hatfield Not soon enough!
May 29, 2012 at 3:51PM ESTPatty
May 29, 2012 at 1:14PM EST Reply to CommentI'm low vision and these photo galleries don't adjust to Zoom or other low vision settings.
Nick
May 29, 2012 at 2:33PM EST Reply to CommentI'm going to need to see lots of high praise to bring myself to try Bunheads and Dallas but absolutely with you on the rest. Yet again, summer proves to be just as exciting as any television season.
Also very much looking forward to the final season of Damages, Alphas on Syfy (especially after ending the first season in a pretty ballsy way), and my guilty reality pleasures - Hell's Kitchen and Big Brother.
asarael
May 29, 2012 at 2:35PM EST Reply to CommentI have to agree with I'M NOT CLICKING THROUGH, you're better than this Alan. This type of gallery "articles" are an affront to the internet and have no place on your blog. Won't be reading this one.
Col Bat Guano Your high standards for free content are duly noted.
May 29, 2012 at 5:23PM ESTBrian The sense of entitlement people have regarding things they pay nothing for astounds me.
May 29, 2012 at 5:30PM ESTasarael Exactly. It's free content, so I don't feel obligated to read it when you make it tedious to do so. If 10 clickthroughs for one article don't bother you, then fine -- good for you. But don't expect everyone to be happy with it, regardless if it's free. This is horrible, e-tabloid style article-writing and Alan is better than this.
May 29, 2012 at 7:31PM ESTsepinwall So if I had presented this exact same written content all on one page, it would suddenly cease to offend you? Because I wrote plenty of pieces exactly like this in my newspaper days. The method of presenting them was just different to reflect the medium.
May 29, 2012 at 8:03PM ESTasarael "So if I had presented this exact same written content all on one page, it would suddenly cease to offend you? "
May 29, 2012 at 11:30PM ESTYes. Of course. These types of articles are the DRM of the blog world. Obviously I understand that they are there to make money but all they do is add an extra level of annoyance to the reader, who ends up just completely ignoring the content -- which is the exact opposite of what the content creators want.
It just makes prospective readers go to other places for free content. Personally I appreciate Alan's work so it's not like I'm just going to never come here again, but any newer readers who stumbled on this article would be almost assuredly put off, and I doubt they would be likely to return if this type of article writing was their first impression of your blog.
Col Bat Guano Your superior knowledge of what everyone on the internet wants is impressive....and self-important.
May 30, 2012 at 10:58AM EST
May 30, 2012 at 1:54PM ESTAnd not the format, apparently.
Will
May 29, 2012 at 2:57PM EST Reply to CommentTeen Wolf Season 2! ... Who said that? *looks behind and side-to-side*
Fine. You caught me. So stoked. Trust Your Instincts! This June!
smg77
May 29, 2012 at 3:16PM EST Reply to CommentUgh...is this "gallery pretending to be an article" mess going to be a regular thing on hitfix?
erika_herzog
May 29, 2012 at 3:57PM EST Reply to Commentuh, Alan didn't ask us what we think, boys and girls, like usual, so..... :-)
i am sort of meh on the gallery thing but hitfix's technical problems are more of a burden / annoyance than the gallery usage.
i'm more into the content than being loyal to any branded website (unless they do it really well, which to be fair, do any websites provide a clean, user-enjoyable experience anymore?)...... will follow the content wherever it goes.
Hatfield
May 29, 2012 at 4:24PM EST Reply to CommentCome for the content, stay for the whiny sense of entitlement!
Oaktown Girl Ha! Nice.
May 29, 2012 at 9:57PM ESTThe only thing I'll continue to "whine" about here is the text box for comments being so small. It doesn't lend itself to the kind of responses Alan's blog posts invite, which are usually thoughtful and more than 2 or 3 sentences (for posts on Mad Men, "Rewinds" such as Deadwood, and the like). It's just too difficult to edit and proofread what you write.
At the very least, if they can't increase the size of the text box, please add a "preview button". I'm no techie, but that shouldn't be too difficult or costly to do, should it? In the meantime, Eat My Typos.
Tom M @Oaktown Girl - I had the same issue as you regarding the size of the text box, then I noticed (and this might just be a feature of the computer/browser I'm on, and if it is, totally disregard, as I am not super computer-literate) that if you click on and drag the little thing in the bottom-right corner of the text box, you can make the dimensions of the text box just about as long top-to-bottom or wide end-to-end as you'd like.
May 30, 2012 at 3:04PM ESTI hope that helps you out! :)
Oaktown Girl Tom M - Hey, that works! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
May 30, 2012 at 9:04PM ESTThe little thing that lets you re-size the text box is almost invisible on my ancient computer, so I never even saw it.
A thousand thanks once again for your help!
Rev. Slappy
May 29, 2012 at 5:02PM EST Reply to CommentBunheads sounds like Miss Patty: The Series, so I'm in. And Kelly Bishop is sublime.
sangs
May 29, 2012 at 5:11PM EST Reply to CommentLooking forward to a few of these. But hey, don't kill "Franklin & Bash!" It's mindless summer fun and nothing more. 1000 times more interesting than that "Falling Skies" dreck.
JOSEP
May 29, 2012 at 5:23PM EST Reply to CommentWhere's Alphas?
Malik Yoba's Bodyguard I'll second that.
May 30, 2012 at 3:22PM ESTWar Chief Shake Zula Somehow, I don't think Sepinwall and Feinberg like that one enough to feature it. Which is disappointing to me because that show became REALLY good down the stretch last season.
June 5, 2012 at 7:37PM ESTWar Chief Shake Zula I don't think either Fienberg or Sepinwall liked that one enough for them to include. Which is disappointing to me because it got REALLY good down the stretch last year.
June 5, 2012 at 8:00PM ESTCraig
May 29, 2012 at 6:06PM EST Reply to CommentA Bunheads promo was part of the preshow at Rave Cinemas last month. I did the Marvel Marathon leading up the Avengers at midnight, and by the third time that Bunheads spot came up between films, I wanted to cover my ears and scream "la la la!" to drown it out. The tone of the actress interviews was so obnoxious. "Gee golly, this quirky (but not TOO quirky!) group of friends has someone EVERYONE can relate to!" I didn't watch Gilmore Girls, and I've heard it's good (at least in a "guilty pleasure" type way), so maybe this was just a badly-edited promo. But, urgh.
KobraCola
May 29, 2012 at 6:23PM EST Reply to CommentAll of these look interesting except for perhaps the first 2. But Alan, what about Workaholics?? I remember when you did a podcast on the show, you said you laughed a few times but you might be a bit old for it. I think it's geared more towards my demographic, but it definitely came into its own gradually in Season 1 and then completely in Season 2. I highly recommend you give it another shot, even if some of the jokes seem a bit juvenile. The Catherine Zeta-Jones song is already an all-time classic IMO.
Rick
May 29, 2012 at 6:33PM EST Reply to CommentIf Alan would have posted the all the photos in one post, there would be people complaining, "Stop putting so many large photos in one post! The page takes forever to load!!"
Anyway, back to the content of the article. I noticed not one of the shows listed was on network TV. Sigh.
George
May 29, 2012 at 6:37PM EST Reply to CommentWas AE Longmire Pilot any good?
Sareeta
May 29, 2012 at 7:13PM EST Reply to CommentI forgot about Strike Back. I need to finish the first season. I had fun with what I saw of it.
Copper has a really interesting premise, but for some reason, I have a hard time getting into most BBC shows. The difference is I think this one is a BBC America series, so that may or may not help.
And of course, I'm looking forward to Breaking Bad.
I didn't know about Bunheads, so I may check it out since I enjoyed Gilmore Girls.
Some Bloke Here's a protip: push through with Strike Back. Before watching the S01E10, make sure to get before hand and leave enough time to immediately watch S02E01 (S02 is also known as Strike Back: Project Dawn).
May 30, 2012 at 5:04PM ESTI can't wait for season 3 to start.
Also Breaking Bad will be awesome.
Elevation
May 29, 2012 at 10:16PM EST Reply to CommentI'm sure The Newsroom won't be pretentious or self-loving in the least.
Yeah Alan
May 30, 2012 at 12:12AM EST Reply to CommentThe galleries are not on the top of the Sepinwall sins we once rehashed over twitter.
They are a bit annoying when trying to quickly read an article on my bberry. But nothing to whine about. He doesn't do them often.
I never bother with the other Hitfix galleries anymore - I have found they aren't worth the time.
SpyTV
May 30, 2012 at 12:25AM EST Reply to CommentI really appreciate the free content. We wamt to read the (free) content, but half the time these galleries just won't load, like now!
EtoileNoire
May 30, 2012 at 1:57AM EST Reply to CommentWith the exception of Wilfred - which I hated - and Dallas, all of these shows look interesting.
erika_herzog
May 30, 2012 at 4:45AM EST Reply to Commentyay - AWKWARD. love.....! it's hard to explain to folks why i like this show on MTV that is also not in my demographic but it's really charming and fun. perfect summer TV.
clicked through the slideshow thingy. had no idea about two shows, so i'm glad i did.... POLITICAL ANIMALS and COPPER.
POLITICAL ANIMALS has Ciarán Hinds -- psyched as i am a huge slut for anything he does (LOVE him!). COPPER looks so good.... yummy TV for the summer.
Jill
May 30, 2012 at 11:56AM EST Reply to CommentI'm very much looking forward to Dallas, Breaking Bad and Copper.
I liked "Gilmore Girls," but not enough to get involved in another ASP show. She let GG get away from her, and the last season was so disappointing, so yeah, I can do without "Bunheads."
I absolutely love "White Heat" that's currently airing on BBC America now and have loved everything on Dramaville, since I started watching it with "The Hour" last August.
I love the new USA show "Common Law," so I'm looking forward to more of that and other returning USA Network summer shows, as well as TNT's "Franklin and Bash," and "Rizzoli and Isles."
Jill I also can't wait for "Political Animals."
May 30, 2012 at 11:58AM ESTDan
May 30, 2012 at 12:05PM EST Reply to CommentWell, at least this time the ads didn't try and force us to install a video codec that nobody wants to use and only screw up our computers with garbage...
The violent advertisements on this site is the reason I've finally decided to install Adblock Plus. You went too far so now you get no ad money from me...
Evan
May 30, 2012 at 4:14PM EST Reply to CommentReally looking forward to the return of Breaking Bad, but some of these new shows and some of the ones I missed from last year, sound intriguing. I looking forward to the Newsroom, Copper, and Political Animals. I've watched a little of Louie and Wilfred, and I'm thinking that I'm gonna get caught up on those as well.