In an increasingly distant TV universe, summer used to mean countless reruns, trashy reality shows and scripted series that weren’t good enough to make the in-season cut.
Now, the post-Memorial Day schedule is packed with nearly as much original programming as the cooler months. Summer 2016 brings series in a mix of genres; some are returning favorites and some are new shows that find surprising people in even more surprising places.
Here is our handy guide to 11 of best reasons to stay inside on summer nights.
‘Roots’
May 30 through June 2, History, A&E and Lifetime
Despite the legacy of this historic miniseries, there is now an entire generation of viewers who have never seen the epic story of Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland of Gambia and transported to Colonial America, where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, his descendants face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in US history, including the Revolutionary and Civil wars, slave uprisings, and, eventually, emancipation. “Roots” has some big names in it, like Forest Whitaker and Laurence Fishburne, but all eyes are likely to be on newcomer Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte.
‘UnREAL’
June 6, Lifetime
The chaos surrounding the production of a dating competition program, “Everlasting,” is the subject of “UnREAL.” Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer star as producers Rachel Goldberg and Quinn King, who cast Darius Hill (B.J. Britt) as the show’s first African-American suitor. Freakouts in the control room, angry calls from the show’s creator, Chet (Craig Bierko), and ratings-grabs keep the show moving along.
‘BrainDead’
June 13, CBS
This dark satire from the creators of “The Good Wife” takes government gridlock to a new level. When Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) returns home to Washington, DC, to work for her brother, Sen. Luke Healy (Danny Pino), on Capitol Hill, she is caught in the midst of two huge problems: The government has stopped working due to budgetary disagreements, and mysterious bugs are eating the brains of a growing number of Congress members and Hill staffers. The show co-stars Aaron Tveit and Tony Shalhoub.
‘Animal Kingdom’
June 14, TNT
In this adaptation of the 2010 film, 17-year-old Joshua “J” Cody (Finn Cole) moves in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Headed by tough matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody (Ellen Barkin) and her right-hand man, Baz (Scott Speedman), who runs the business and calls the shots, the clan also consists of Pope (Shawn Hatosy), the oldest and most dangerous of the Cody boys; Craig (Ben Robson), the tough and fearless middle son; and Deran (Jake Weary), the troubled, suspicious “baby” of the family.
‘Orange Is the New Black’
June 17, Netflix
In Season 4, Litchfield has been turned into a for-profit prison. That means crowds everywhere — in the cafeteria and the showers. There are certainly more guards, and they appear to be quite brusque with the women. Trailers for the new season show Taystee (Danielle Brooks) working with the warden, answering phones; Maria Ruiz (Jessica Pimentel) threatening Piper (Taylor Schilling); and, in another scene, a shot of guards in riot gear arriving. No wonder Piper says she’s starting to feel unsafe in prison.
‘Ray Donovan’
June 26, Showtime
Ray (Liev Schreiber) confessed to murdering a Catholic priest last season — the priest who sexually abused him and brother Bunchy (Dash Mihok). In the Season 4 premiere, he finds a professional boxer and fellow abuse survivor in need of his assistance. Abby (Paula Malcomson) receives a medical diagnosis that threatens to upend the Donovan family. In the aftermath of the Minassian shootout, Ray becomes embroiled with an enigmatic art dealer (Embeth Davidtz) who has ties to the Russian mob. Hiding out in Nevada, Mickey (Jon Voight) plots a heist against a formidable casino owner.
‘Match Game’
June 26, ABC
Alec Baldwin steps into the shoes of Gene Rayburn, who hosted this quiz show from 1962 through 1982. Two contestants attempt to match the answers of six celebrities in a game of fill-in-the-blanks. It’s going to be hard to top the sarcasm of original celeb contestants (Betty White, Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Fannie Flagg and Richard Dawson), but Baldwin has been known to mouth off now and then.
‘Roadies’
June 26, Showtime
Cameron Crowe, director of the rock-music movie “Almost Famous,” goes back to the world of rock ’n’ roll in “Roadies.” Starring Luke Wilson as the road manager for the Staton-House Band and Carla Gugino as the production manager, the series explores the relationships in these instant, traveling families. Keisha Castle-Hughes (“Game of Thrones”) co-stars.
‘The $100,000 Pyramid’
June 26, ABC
Michael Strahan continues to put his old morning show with Kelly Ripa in the rearview mirror. In addition to his duties on “Good Morning America,” Strahan will host the revival of this classic game show. One of TV’s all-time-greatest association games, “Pyramid” features 10 episodes with $100,000 up for grabs each week, when some of today’s hottest stars team up with players from across the country to take on the timeless war of words.
‘Mr. Robot’
July 13, USA
This year’s surprise Golden Globe winner for best drama returns for a second season, picking up after FSociety’s hack on the multinational company Evil Corp. Elliot Anderson (Rami Malek), the cyber-security engineer who became involved with FSociety, tries to account for his whereabouts in the three days following the hack. Elliot’s “dad” (Christian Slater) somehow returns.
‘Shooter’
July 19, USA
Ryan Phillippe stars as Bob Lee Swagger, an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Omar Epps (“House”) plays Isaac Johnson, an ex-Marine and former commanding officer of Swagger. Now a Secret Service agent, he solicits Swagger’s expertise for a clandestine operation that has disastrous results. The series is based on the 2007 film of the same name that stars Mark Wahlberg.