As we finally make our way into the warm summer months, June brings a number of high profile premieres and returns.
Let’s bitch it out…
Forget summer BBQs, family vacations and pruning the garden, June is the official start of the summer TV season! We start, as always, with an overview of our continuing coverage:
- Sunday:
- Game Of Thrones (9pm EST on HBO) – Season finale June 14
- Penny Dreadful (10pm EST on Showtime) – Quick Take reviews
- Monday: The Bachelorette S11 (8pm EST on ABC)
- Tuesday: iZombie S1 (9pm EST on The CW) – Quick Take reviews – Season finale June 9
- Thursday: Between S1 (8pm EST on City TV – Canada; Fridays at 12:01am CENT on Netflix) – Season finale June 25
- Friday: Bloodline S1 (Netflix) – Talk Backs conclude June 12
- Saturday: Orphan Black S3 (9pm EST on BBC America) – Season finale June 20
And now for the new content:
Hannibal S3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhdK-iTjT6M
- Where did we leave off? Season two was an escalating cat and mouse game between Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). In the jaw-dropping season finale, the debonair anti-hero left pretty much everyone dead and dying on his kitchen floor, escaping with a surprising accomplice in Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) to Europe.
- Why should you care? It’s been more than a year since the last new episode of Hannibal aired and we are desperate to check back into the most beautiful, cinematic series on television. The performances are second to none, the writing is stellar and the series simply oozes atmosphere. This season Anderson’s icy therapist is a regular cast member (hurray!) and the series enters uncharted territory as the narrative adapts Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon. Expect serious nightmares to accompany the introduction of Richard Armitage’s Francis Dollarhyde and confusion over his romantic wooing of a blind woman (True Blood‘s Rutina Wesley).
- Who is covering it? cinephilactic will feast on the delectable murders each week
- Returns: Thursday, June 4 at 9pm EST on NBC
Sense8 S1
- What is it? After sharing a vision of a woman (Daryl Hannah) committing suicide, eight strangers realize that they have the capacity to access each other’s thoughts and abilities in this unique new sci-fi tale from the Wachowski siblings, Larry and Lana.
- Why should you care? Love them or hate them, the Wachowskis have crafted some of the most intriguing contributions to the genre in the last two decades. While not everyone is a fan of The Matrix sequels or this year’s ambitious, but flawed Jupiter Ascending, it’s hard to argue that the siblings are resting on their laurels. This new series (12 episodes drop all at once) was filmed on location in nine countries over 100 days and will undoubtedly tackle philosophical, spiritual and physical spectacles the likes of which are rarely seen on TV. It could be a huge hit or a hot mess, but we’re pumped to see how it comes together.
- Who is covering it? elrond99 will attempt to unpack the mystical philosophizing every Thursday
- Debuts: All episodes drop on Friday, June 5 at 12:01am CENT on Netflix
Orange Is The New Black S3
- Where did we leave off? Good question! S2 expanded its focus to explore many of the other characters in Litchfield beyond white milquetoast Piper (Taylor Schilling). This interest in broadening the scope took the series to new heights – Miss Rosa’s (Barbara Rosenblat) episode was particularly illuminating, as was Poussey’s (Samira Wiley). Unfortunately S2’s new villain, Vee (Lorraine Touissant), was frustratingly two-dimensional and seemed to exist solely to drive the majority of the season’s conflict. Thankfully that character ended up under a pair of tires in the finale.
- Why should you care? Despite our mixed feelings about the state of the second season, Orange Is The New Black remains one of the most compelling series on TV and the only one to feature women (of all kinds) in all of its starring roles. There’s plenty of stories left to explore at Litchfield and as long as Taystee (Danielle Panabaker), Sophia (Laverne Cox), Big Boo (Lea DeLaria), Nichols (Natasha Lyonne) and Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) are available to grace on our screens, we’re in. Plus Larry (Jason Biggs) is officially gone! Huzzah!
- Who is covering it? cinephilactic will do time every other Thursday (eps 1-4: June 18; eps 5-9: July 2; eps 10-13: July 16)
- Returns: All episodes drop Friday, June 12 at 12\:01m CENT on Netflix
Humans S1
- What is it? A new, expensive looking co-production between AMC & Channel 4 in the UK, this adaptation of the acclaimed Swedish series Äkta människor / Real Humans explores a world that finds robots performing menial tasks for humans such as child/elderly-care and garbage collection. Conflict brews over their autonomy: some humans fear them and create an anti-robot movement, others seek to give them rights and, in secret, a few robots become sentient and seek emancipation…no matter the cost.
- Why should you care? The original series is fascinating and explored a ton of topical social issues. The trailers released by AMC and Channel 4 suggest this new version has been fairly faithfully adapted, albeit with a less pronounced visual aesthetic for the bots. On the cast front, there’s an interesting mix of Brits and Americans, including Colin Morgan (Merlin, The Fall) in the former category and William Hurt in the latter. The one to keep your eyes on, however, is Gemma Chan, who is absolutely gorgeous and has one of the most prominent/tricky roles.
- Who is covering it? cinephilactic will welcome our new robot overlords each week
- Debuts: Sunday, June 28 at 9pm EST on AMC
Zoo S1
- What is it? A loose adaptation of the James Patterson novel of the same name, this CBS summer entry finds animals all over the globe turning on humans. Death and dismemberment presumably ensues as everything from birds to lions to household dogs take their revenge on homo sapiens.
- Why should you care? CBS’ track record for summer series hasn’t exactly been stellar *cough Extant cough* so this series could be touch or go. The premise sounds completely preposterous and the Patterson connection could be a boon or a detriment depending on your penchant for beach reads. The cast, surprisingly, is decent, including front man Josh Wolk (Mad Men), Cabin in the Woods‘s Kristen Connolly, Revolution‘s Billy Burke and Game of Thrones‘ Nonso Anozie. Of course, Extant also has a decent cast, so…
- Who is covering it? New contributor futura will attempt to muzzle the pets each week
- Debuts: Tuesday, June 30 at 9pm EST on CBS
Scream S1
- What is it? A weekly slasher series based on one of the most successful horror franchises in the last two decades, Scream depicts a series of brutal murders that follow in the wake of a cyberbullying incident at a small town high school.
- Why should you care? The series boasts a bevy of popular (and attractive, naturally) actors, including Bella Thorne (supposedly a big deal with the teenage set) taking over the notorious Drew Barrymore role. The question is whether there’s enough recognition and interest among the target teen audience for a remake of a nearly 20 year old franchise. It’s a toss-up: this could be the new Teen Wolf or the latest Eye Candy.
- Who is covering it? cinephilactic will track the body count each week
- Debuts: Tuesday, June 30 at 10pm EST on MTV
That’s it for us. What else are you watching? Will you watch with us? Sound off below.