Let the Summer Shows Begin!

So, the regular television season is over. Now, instead of moping over reruns until fall, we can dive right into the fun-fun-fun of the cable summer series! Here are a few to keep watch for:

Mental - Fox, May 26. This show really tries to be a the unloved bastard child of House and The Mentalist. The unfortunate title doesn’t help matters any. At least the British star (Chris Vance) of this show gets to keep his accent! Mental follows the doctors of a mental hospital in LA, particularly their quirky boss (Vance’s character). It’s heart is in the right place, but it really just tries too hard. 

The Listener – NBC, June 4. Craig Olejnik stars as a telepathic paramedic who uses his paranormal abilities to secretly help his patients. I’m getting vibes of The Ghost Whisperer even now! The Listener show has already completed a 13-episode season run in Canada. We’ll see how American audiences receive it. It might do well — the aforementioned Ghost Whisperer is going into its fifth season this fall. Or it might go the way of another supernatural sleuth show, Moonlight, and end up in the dustbin. 

The Closer – TNT, June 8. This cheerful crime dramedy left off with the marriage of Brenda (Kyra Sedgewick) and Fritz (Jon Tenney). Now entering its fifth season, The Closer manages to mix very serious plots with lighthearted humor– and get away with it.

Eureka – SyFy, July 10. Cut short midway through its third season, Eureka finally gets to air the back 10 episodes. This series is a fun, thoroughly enjoyable mix of sci-fi, cop show, comedy, and family drama, and its return is long overdue. Staring Colin Ferguson as the normal guy who finds himself sheriff of the tiny but extraordinary town of Eureka. 

Leverage – TNT, July 15. I absolutely love this Robin Hood-esque show, where a group of crooks of various types, led by one honest (if alcoholic) man (Timothy Hutton), steal, swindle, and otherwise outfox (generally wealthy) badguys. It’s like The A-Team, only with fewer guns and explosions and far more technical savvy. It features a quirky, but not obnoxious, ensemble who make their sometimes outré characters believable. 

Project Runway – Lifetime, August 20. One of the few reality shows I tolerate, Project Runway has been the unfortunate victim of corporate warfare which includes a lawsuit from former network Bravo. In season six, now at a new network and a new city (they moved from New York to LA), hosts Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn can mentor yet another round of aspiring fashion designers.