Television Summer 2012

Back by popular demand...

This thread is for discussion of the summer television season.



At the beginning of this thread, you will find the following:

Day by Day Schedule
Descriptions of New Scripted Programming

Generally, the information you'll find at the beginning of this thread will focus on scripted programs on most major broadcast and cable networks, as well as some unscripted programs on ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, and NBC, though other programming may be discussed.

This is an up-to-date view of the summer broadcast network schedule (with selected cable offerings added in), by time slot. This summer, I've decided to leave out the names of the shows that are just showing reruns. For the big five broadcast networks, I'll denote slots devoted to reruns for most of the summer with the symbol ®. I'll aim to note unscripted programming using this symbol: ¤.

Sunday
7:00-8:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________Fox: I Hate my Teenage Daughter (through June 17)
__________NBC:
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Secret Millionaire ¤
__________CBS:
__________Fox: ®
__________NBC:
__________TNT: Leverage
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition ¤
__________CBS:
__________Fox: ®
__________NBC:
__________A&E: »Longmire
__________BBC America: ®, then »Copper (starts August 19)
__________HBO: True Blood
__________Showtime: Nurse Jackie and The Big C, then ®
__________TNT: Falling Skies
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS:
__________NBC:
__________A&E: The Glades
__________HBO: »The Newsroom
__________Showtime: Borgias, then Weeds and Episodes
__________TNT: The Great Escape ¤

Monday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: The Bachelorette ¤, then Bachelor Bad ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________CW: ®
__________Fox: Hotel Hell ¤
__________NBC: America's Got Talent ¤
__________ABC Family: Secret Life of the American Teenager
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: The Bachelorette ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________CW: ®
__________Fox: Hell's Kitchen ¤
__________NBC: American Ninja Warrior ¤
__________ABC Family: »Bunheads
__________Syfy: Eureka
__________TNT: The Closer, then »Major Crimes
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC: ®
__________Syfy: Lost Girl
__________TNT: »Perception

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________CW: »The Catalina ¤
__________Fox: Hell's Kitchen ¤
__________NBC: ®
__________ABC Family: Pretty Little Liars
__________PBS:
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: »Trust Us With Your Life ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________CW:
__________Fox: Masterchef ¤
__________NBC: America's Got Talent ¤
__________ABC Family: Jane by Design
__________TNT: Rizzoli & Isles
__________USA: White Collar
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: »Final Witness ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC: ®
__________TNT: Franklin & Bash
__________USA: Covert Affairs

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: »Dogs in the City ¤
__________CW:
__________Fox: So You Think You Can Dance ¤
__________NBC:
__________ABC Family: Melissa & Joey
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________CW:
__________Fox: So You Think You Can Dance ¤
__________NBC:
__________TNT: »Dallas
__________USA: Royal Pains
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC:
__________USA: Necessary Roughness

Thursday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: »Duets ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________CW: »Breaking Pointe ¤
__________Fox: Take Me Out ¤
__________NBC:
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Wipeout ¤
__________CBS: ®
__________CW:
__________Fox:
__________NBC: Love in the Wild ¤
__________USA: Burn Notice
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Rookie Blue
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC: »Saving Hope
__________FX: Wilfred, and Louis
__________TBS: »Men at Work, then »Sullivan & Son
__________USA: Suits

Friday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS:
__________CW:
__________Fox: ®
__________NBC:
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________CW:
__________Fox: ®
__________NBC:
__________TBS: House of Payne
__________USA: Fairly Legal
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC:
__________USA: Common Law
__________Starz: Boss

Saturday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________Fox: Sports
__________CBS:
__________NBC:
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________Fox:
__________CBS:
__________NBC:
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC:
__________CBS: ®
__________NBC:

May 24 - Men at Work - TBS
Men at Work follows the misadventures of four buddies who work together at a magazine. Danny Masterson plays the recently dumped Milo, whose friends are determined to help him get back in the game. James Lesure is Gibbs, a photographer and successful ladies man. Michael Cassidy plays Tyler, a features writer who brings a dose of style and sophistication to the group. And Adam Busch is Neal, a somewhat nebbish reporter and the only one in the group with a steady girlfriend. Together, the four serve as each other's wingmen as they navigate work, friendship and women.


May 24 – Duets – ABC
“Duets” is a one-of-a-kind singing competition that takes the Superstars out from behind the judges’ panel and onto the stage. Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke set out on individual journeys across America looking for undiscovered talent worthy of being their protégés. Ultimately, each Superstar will choose two singers for their duet partners, and together the Superstars and their protégés will take the stage each week and perform in front of a live studio audience. In the end, only one duet will be at the top of the charts, and the winning amateur will receive a recording contract with Hollywood Records.


June 7 - Saving Hope - NBC
In "Saving Hope," when charismatic Chief of Surgery Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) at Hope-Zion Hospital ends up in a coma, he leaves the hospital in chaos -- and his fiancée and fellow surgeon, Alex Reid (Erica Durance), in a state of shock. Along with newly arrived star surgeon, Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies), Reid races to save Harris' life. As the action unfolds, the comatose Harris explores the hospital halls in "spirit" form, not sure if he's a ghost or a figment of his own imagination. Reid, along with her fellow doctors, press on to save his life and those of their other patients as they deal with the complicated and courageous decisions that are made in their daily struggle to keep hope alive.


June 10 - The Newsroom - HBO
This new series centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn) and their boss (Sam Waterston). Together they set out on a patriotic and quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal relationships.


June 11 - Bunheads - ABC Family
"Bunheads" is the tale of a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man, moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law's dance school.


June 13 - Dallas - TNT
Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray reprise their famous characters as J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing return to Southfork with secrets, schemes and betrayals. This time, they're joined by the next generation of Ewings, played by Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe, who take ambition and deception to a new level. Dallas also stars Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo and Brenda Strong.


June 19 - Sullivan & Son - TBS
Sullivan & Son takes place in a popular bar in a working-class Pittsburgh neighborhood. Filled with locals and regulars, the establishment serves as the unofficial "town hall" for the neighborhood. As the series opens, Steve Sullivan (Steve Byrne) is a successful corporate attorney from New York who brings his girlfriend, Ashley for a visit just as his Irish-American father, Jack Sullivan (Dan Lauria), and Korean mother, Ok Cha (Jodi Long ), are preparing to sell the bar and retire. Upon arrival, Steve reconnects with his best friend, Owen (Owen Benjamin); gets accosted by his long-suffering, under-appreciated younger sister, Susan (Vivian Bang); endures offensive comments from gruff barfly Hank (Brian Doyle Murray); and gets hit on by tipsy cougar Carol (Christine Ebersole). He even feels a rekindled romantic spark with his former sweetheart, Melanie (Valerie Azlynn).


July 9 - Perception - TNT
Perception is a fascinating new series about an eccentric neuroscience professor who is recruited by the FBI to help solve complex cases. Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Eric McCormack stars as Dr. Daniel Pierce, who possesses an intimate knowledge of human behavior and a masterful understanding of the way the mind works. Although Pierce's mind may be brilliant, it's also damaged as he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.


July 10 – Trust Us With Your Life – ABC
From the creators of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Mock the Week,” “Trust Us With Your Life” is a brand new studio-based improvisation series that redefines both the chat show and television improv formats. Hosted by Fred Willard (“Best in Show,” “Modern Family”), featured celebrities include David Hasselhoff, Ricky Gervais, Jerry Springer, Florence Henderson, Jack & Kelly Osbourne, Jane Seymour, Serena Williams and Mark Cuban. The exciting new format finds each celebrity reminiscing about key episodes that have happened in their lives, then brilliant improvisers acting out those moments which the celebrity has just described. These key moments in the life of the guest celebrity will be improvised as straight comedy or in game formats such as forward/rewind and sideways scenes. The tone of the show is friendly, funny and cheeky. Comedians on the show include Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”), along with Jonathan Mangum (“Fast and Loose”) as the main improvisers. They will be joined by guest starring performers such as Greg Proops and Nicole Parker. Eight episodes were shot in London for ABC.


July 10 – Final Witness – ABC
What if a murder victim could tell you about their final moments? The voices of the dead come to life in this true-crime series which offers a unique look at some of the nation’s most shocking murders. Each of the seven episodes will examine one case from start to finish, taking viewers inside the murder from the victim’s point of view. “Final Witness” is a compelling hybrid of documentary and drama, featuring interviews with real-life witnesses, prosecutors, law enforcement, family and friends, along with riveting scripted scenes with actors, thrusting viewers into the heart of each crime. Shot around the world at the actual locations, infused with an indie-band soundtrack and told like a feature film, “Final Witness” creates an unforgettable look at the human psyche at its darkest.


August 19 - Copper - BBC America
Set in 1860s New York City, the 10-part drama centers on Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones), an intense, rugged Irish-American cop working the city's notorious Five Points neighborhood. Corcoran is struggling to maintain his moral compass in a turbulent world, while on an emotional and relentless quest to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter. His friendship with two Civil War compatriots - the wayward son of a wealthy industrialist and an African American physician who secretly assists Corcoran with his detective work - takes him to the contrasting worlds of elegant Fifth Avenue and an emerging African-American community in rural northern Manhattan. The three men share a secret from their experience on the battlefield that inextricably links their lives forever.


August 13 - Major Crimes - TNT
This all-new drama series is ready to take television's favorite squad of detectives into bold new territory. Two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell will continue her role from The Closer as Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor. Major Crimes will focus on how the American justice system approaches the art of the deal as law-enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction.

So what are we watching in our home this summer? Good question.

While there are still a bunch of channels that haven't yet put out their full schedules, I've been doing threads like this (here and on other websites) for years, so I have a feel for comparisons.

There have always been folks bemoaning the current state of television offerings, etc. Depending on the year, there was always some new rationalization for such portents of doom. Year after year I'd reject those claims for what they were, just reflections of the inclination for some folks to see bad and ignore good - the sludge-colored glasses motif. Typically, those complaints were simply reactions to the increase in bad television, but neglected to acknowledge the overall increase in television offerings, which resulted in an increase in both bad and good television.

This year, though, for the first time, I believe that such negative appraisals are starting to become legitimate. This past fall was the first fall in the ten years that I have been posting television season discussion threads where there was truly less good television being offered. Please note that when I say "good" that I'm not talking about what's good with regard to my own personal criteria of "good", but rather I'm referring collectively to what I understand to be most definitions of "good". Even folks who think the only good television is competition reality series would note a degradation in the quality of the available offerings.

Turning back to my own personal assessment, it is not just based on my in-the-moment reflection about the past year. Rather, there was a numerical reduction in the number of series that we set up as Season Passes in our TiVo this year, starting in the fall. This numerical reduction continued throughout the Winter 2012 and Spring 2012 seasons, and manifests today in number of hours of DVR backlog. (It is important to note that that was not the case last summer; we recorded more series in Summer 2011 than in Summer 2010.)

Let me talk about backlog for a minute. I feel Summer is the main reason to build up backlog. Generally, there is substantially less new, original, scripted programming presented from late May through late September than from late September to late May.

Like most Americans, we fill much of that gap with a good amount of outdoors time: We generally watch almost a quarter less television over the Summer, attributable to spending more time on evening walks or hikes. In addition, some of that gap was filled with movies. We began avoiding movie theaters in 2006, coinciding with our switchover to HD at home. We spent summers catching up on the films we missed, capitalizing on Netflix.

In addition, in the same timeframe, we found it unnecessary to subscribe to HBO and Showtime. Netflix was a great source not only of films, but also the superlative television series that both pay-cable networks offered. Those series would stack up in our Netflix queue over the Fall, Winter and Spring, with our account remaining inactive for most of that time, and then we'd flick on Netflix in late May and catch up.

That still left a bit of gap. So my modus operandi was to build up backlog from broadcast and basic cable networks from September to May so that by the start of the Summer television season we'd have about 80 hours of television worth watching waiting for us. Combined with what we got from Netflix and what little new programming is offered over the summer, that would be enough to carry us through until late September.

This time last year we went on vacation somewhat worried about overflowing our DVR's storage (roughly 80 hours). Today, there is less than four hours of programming waiting for us. Admittedly, this is pretty close to the worst time of the year (excepting Summer): Several of our favorite series went on hiatus from late March through mid April, and are just returning to air now. However, it's still about an 80 hour difference in backlog, year over year, same to same. What happened?

I want to pull back on that number a bit, before digging into it deeper. I think about half of the backlog last year was programming that we ended up deleting without watching, programs that we recorded because we could, with little to no real intention of watching them: We recorded every episode of The Event, No Ordinary Family, Undercovers, and Blue Bloods and of those four series only watched two or three episodes (total) in the end. Instead of deleting the Season Passes when we lost interest, we just let the episodes pile up. By contrast, when we lost interest in series this year (Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, etc.), we deleted the Season Pass. So let's say that about half of the 80 hour difference was "real" - so we have 40 hours less backlog built up.

So we will be going into this Summer with less good stuff saved up, and less good stuff being offered.

There is one more drain on our Summer television experience this year. HBO has become a bit predatory in defense of their original television series. In the past, we had little to no problem picking up on HBO series "next summer". Over the last year or so, though, HBO has started placing obstacles in the way. They are delaying release of the video discs for their series, and not offering Netflix volume discounts any longer, resulting is far longer "Very Long Waits" for these discs. This looks like it will have some impact on us this Summer. At the top of our queue is Game of Thrones Season 1, and Disc 1 is still "Very Long Wait" as it has been since the discs were released. And True Blood Season 4 isn't even out yet.

It's apparently not just HBO, though, because we have the same problem with Torchwood: Miracle Day and Downton Abbey (for both Season 1 and Season 2). And we are two years behind with Secret Diary of a Call Girl. At this point, the only series we have clear shot at is Nurse Jackie Season 3, Boardwalk Empire Season 1, and John Adams from 2008.

I'm hoping that this is actually just a reflection of Netflix being conservative in their forecasts (or that the situation changes within the next month), because we were planning on front-loading our Netflix subscription this Summer, going to 4 discs at a time for June, 3 discs at a time for July, 2 discs at a time for August, and 1 disc at a time for September. We planned on doing things this way specifically because we will have no backlog to burn through. We're hoping that by front-loading Netflix for the Summer, that we'll develop a little backlog of Summer series so that we don't end up with an empty DVR too often this summer.

So having said all that, what are we watching this Summer? In order of where the series is in our Season Pass List:
- Eureka
- Glades
- The Closer
- Covert Affairs
- Mad Men
- Warehouse 13
- Haven
- Rizzoli & Isles
- Royal Pains
- Saving Home *
- Leverage
- Longmire *
- Lost Girl
- Perception *

In addition, we'll be recording the following series but without a really strong inclination to watch them unless we get desperate:
- Alphas **
- Common Law ***
- Killing **
- Major Crimes **

Finally, while their schedules aren't announced yet, we expect that History Detectives will be back this Summer, and we expect that Discovery and History Channel will each offer one interesting documentary type program this summer.

Hmmm... I wonder what all those asterisks are about? <grin>

* There are three new series we're picking up. Their descriptions appear above. Here's why we're watching them:

- Saving Hope - For us, this is all about Michael Shanks. I'm not sure, though, that Erica Durance could pull off being Michael Shanks' fiance. There's just too big of a difference in their relative gravitas to not have the latter horribly overshadow the former. Having said that, I still think this is going to be the best new series of the Summer. Or at least I hope it will be.

- Longmire - Again, it is cast that is attracting us to this show, in this case Lou Diamond Phillips and Katee Sackhoff. This show has a big advantage over Saving Hope in that it is on A&E (instead of NBC) so it much more likely to survive to return next year.

- Perception - Call this the dark horse.... on the merits, quite frankly, it has a chance to be better than either Saving Hope and Longmire. First, it actually has a better overall cast, including Eric McCormack, Rachel Leigh Cook, and LeVar Burton. Second, it has the best production team, led by Alan Poul. Third, it has the best premise, something close to a cross between Numb3rs, Lie To Me and House.

** There are two series that we've watched in past years that we're ditching this year, and one series that kind-of falls in the same category:

- Alphas - There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with this series; it just isn't that great.

- Killing - This show had an excellent premise and a seemingly great team to put it together but it just fell flat with us. I almost feel betrayed.

- Major Crimes - This is, of course, a new series, but it seems to be little more than a continuation of The Closer without Kyra Sedgwick. We just don't like Mary McDonnell that much - it just doesn't seem like a fair trade.

*** Common Law is an interesting animal. By all rights, it should be above Saving Hope in our list: We feel Michael Ealy's work in Sleeper Cell was the best single actor's performance, ever, on television, and Sonya Walger is a favorite as well. However, Common Law seems to be a comedy-drama, in USA's signature "lighter" motif, and we just don't see Ealy (or at least his excellent coming through) in a comedy.

So that's our plan for the Summer, here... How about you?

My must see TV this summer is definitely Saving Hope. It IS all about Michael Shanks. He is so good, and I am hoping this show catches on, though at the same time, I'm not sure how long him in a coma can work. That could change, though. Michael and Erica have worked together before, on Stargate SG-1 and on Smallville.

I have been cured of America's Got Talent, which was a must watch, but I can't stand the judges, especially now that Howard STern is one of them. No thank you. It's off my radar. I'm cured of it and American Idol both. Yippee.

I will be watching or DVRing these shows from the list above:

Saving Hope, of course ... WATCH! :}
So YOu Think You Can Dance
Secret Millionaire
Masterchef -- maybe, don't know. Watched S1, season 2 I started but got tired of it & don't think I finished - don't like the judges
Duets
Final Witness
....and I 'll probably watch the opener of Dallas just for curiosity sake but I don't see me watching it every week; I just want to know the set up

Otherwise, I'll be watching NASCAR. In Plain Sight ends in 2 weeks so that will be done.