Summer TV
Getting the biggest buzz from critics is Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" starring Edie Falco as an overworked, unappreciated, pill-popping nurse trying to survive in our crippled health-care system.
It's summertime and the viewing is easy. Couch potatoes don't have to settle for reruns in the coming weeks. With more than 50 new and returning series, this could be the biggest summer in TV history.
New comedies, dramas and reality shows will heat up the small screen.
NBC even has a couple of rare summer miniseries: "Merlin" (Sunday and June 14) follows magician Merlin and Prince Arthur as young rivals in Camelot. "The Storm" (July 19 and 26) is about what happens when a high tech weather control device malfunctions.
Some series already have started, such as the sizzling USA thriller "Burn Notice," which opened a new season on Thursday with blacklisted spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) still taking on bad guys in Miami.
Getting the biggest buzz from critics is Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" starring Edie Falco as an overworked, unappreciated, pill-popping nurse trying to survive in our crippled health-care system.
Read on for a selective list of summer TV treats:
NEW SUMMER SERIES
"The Listener" (debuted Thursday, NBC): A paramedic (Craig Olejnik) helps people via his telepathic abilities.
"Mental" (debuted May 26, Fox): A brash hospital psychiatrist (Chris Vance) with an unorthodox bedside manner helps patients and irritates his superiors.
"Nurse Jackie" (Monday, Showtime): Edie Falco stars as a hard-working but flawed nurse in a dark, cynical comedy set in a hospital where doctors are not heroic.
"The Philanthropist" (June 24, NBC): James Purefoy stars as a billionaire playboy turned vigilante do-gooder. Neve Campbell is in the cast.
"Hawthorne" (June 16, TNT): Jada Pinkett Smith is a dedicated nurse in this medical drama.
"Hung" (June 28, HBO): Thomas Jane ("The Punisher") stars in this adult comedy as a disillusioned middleage guy who seeks to change his fortunes by using his best physical attribute.
"Warehouse 13" (July 7, Sci Fi): Two federal agents work at a top-secret facility that collects and stores supernatural objects.
"10 Things I Hate About You" (July 7, ABC Family): This comedy inspired by a teen movie based on "Taming of the Shrew" becomes a weekly series set in a high school.
"Drop Dead Diva" (July 12, Lifetime): A vapid model killed in a car accident returns in the body of a smart, plus-size attorney (Brooke Elliott). Also in the cast is Margaret Cho.
"Dark Blue" (July 15, TNT): Dylan McDermott ("The Practice") leads a crack team of undercover agents in this thriller from Jerry Bruckheimer.
"Ruby & the Rockits" (July 21, ABC Family): Patrick Cassidy plays a former teen idol whose life is disrupted when his brother and former band member (played by real-life brother and former idol David Cassidy), drops off a teenage daughter Ruby (Alexa Vega). The series was created by Shaun Cassidy.
RETURNING SCRIPTED SERIES
• "Army Wives" (Sunday, Lifetime)
• "The Closer" (Monday, TNT)
• "Raising the Bar" (Monday, TNT)
• "Weeds" (Monday, Showtime)
• "True Blood" (June 14, HBO)
• "Saving Grace" (June 16, TNT)
• "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (June 22, ABC Family)
• "The Cleaner" (June 23, A&E)
• "Eureka" (July 10, Sci Fi)
• "Entourage" (July 12, HBO)
• "Leverage" (July 15, TNT)
• "Monk" (July 18, USA)
• "Mad Men" (TBA in August, AMC)
• "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (August, HBO)
NEW REALITY SERIES
"Dance Your A## Off" (June 29, Oxygen): Hosted by plus-size actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, it is the first show to combine a dance and weight-loss competition.
"Hammertime" (June 14, A&E): Having made and lost a fortune, MC Hammer (aka Stanley Burke) is living not-so-large with his wife and seven kids.
"Great American Road Trip" (July 1, NBC): Seven families compete in challenges at various American landmarks.
"Dating in the Dark" (July 20, ABC): Three couples go on real "blind dates" where they interact over the course of several days in complete darkness (viewers still catch almost everything thanks to producers using night-vision technology).
"More To Love" (July 28, Fox): A chubby bachelor courts "average-looking" women.
RETURNING REALITY
• "Ice Road Truckers" (debuted May 31, History)
• "Brooke Knows Best" (Sunday, VH1)
• "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" (Monday, Bravo)
• "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels" (Tuesday, A&E)
• "America's Got Talent" (June 23, NBC)
• "Moment of Truth" (July 29, Fox)
• "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (June 26, Fox)
• "Project Runway" (Aug. 20, Lifetime)
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