Summer TV: The New Shows That Excite Us
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American Woman (Paramount Network)
Premieres Thursday, June 7 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Alicia Silverstone stars as a '70s Beverly Hills mom who ditches her cheating husband and dips her toe back in the dating pool, entering a strange world of uninhibited sex and free-flowing pharmaceuticals. (And shag carpet.) (Watch trailer.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: The wild '70s sexcapades are kitschy, frivolous fun — the TV equivalent of a summer beach read — and it's about time someone put Silverstone's plentiful charms to use in a weekly series. (No, we're not counting Miss Match.)
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Castle Rock (Hulu)
Premieres Wednesday, July 25 (three episodes)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Set in Stephen King's titular fictional town, the psychological thriller explores unsettling events in Castle Rock, Maine, particularly the appearance of a strange man (Hemlock Grove's Bill Skarsgård) at Shawshank State Prison. (Watch trailer.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: Skarsgård — best known for his chilling turn as It's Pennywise — is appropriately creepy as Shawshank's inscrutable visitor, and the mysteries introduced in Castle Rock's pilot episode set the stage for a spine-tingling summer binge.
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Marvel's Cloak & Dagger (Freeform)
Premieres Thursday, June 7 at 8/7c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Based on the Marvel duo of the same name, the series follows Tandy (played by Olivia Holt) and Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph), a pair of troubled teenagers bound by a tragic past, a daunting destiny and newfound superhuman abilities. (Watch a sneak peek.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: In as much as this is absolutely a Marvel series — Easter eggs abound, so prepare to give your remote's pause button a workout! — it also feels like something different, something fresh. For once, you don't need to leave your living room to catch the superhero event of the summer. (Our apologies to Ant-Man and The Wasp.)
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Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Amazon)
Premieres Friday, Aug. 31 (all eight episodes)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: John Krasinski (The Office) follows in the (big-screen) footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine as the titular CIA analyst, who in this incarnation is embarking on his first-ever field assignment, having uncovered a pattern in terrorist communication. The cast also includes Abbie Cornish (Klondike) and Wendell Pierce (The Wire). (Watch teaser trailer.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: Episodes aren't yet available for review, but the trailer that premiered during the Super Bowl, coupled with the intensity Krasinski has since displayed in A Quiet Place, suggests a small-screen spy thriller we have to see.
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Love Is ___ (OWN)
Premieres Tuesday, June 19 at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Inspired by creators Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil's real-life love story, the drama follows the whirlwind relationship between successful TV writer Nuri (Michele Weaver) and aspiring scribe/director Yasir (Black Lightning's Will Catlett). (Watch trailer.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Akils' courtship makes for an incredibly specific and intensely romantic tale set against the backdrop of '90s Hollywood. And Weaver and Catlett are so magnetic, it's easy to understand why Nuri and Yasir would fall for each other after just one date.
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Pose (FX)
Currently airing Sundays at 9/8c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: In 1987 New York, young LGBT men and women navigate their personal and professional lives against the backdrop of underground ball culture.
WHY WE LIKE IT: With a cast that features many gay and trans actors, Pose offers an authentic, but uplifting, snapshot of the LGBT community's hopes and struggles. Plus, the ball scenes — led by scene-stealer Billy Porter — are outrageously fun.
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Reverie (NBC)
Currently airing Wednesdays at 10/9c (previous episodes available on Hulu)
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Sarah Shahi plays Mara Kint, a former fed who now uses her hostage negotiator skills to extract people from all-too-enjoyable virtual-reality fantasies.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Whereas the premiere was heavy with exposition, Week 2 and future episodes that TVLine has sampled propel Mara head-on into her otherworldly ventures, as she quickly learns to adapt for each assignment (gasoline and a match, anyone?). All the while, she is further and further unhinged at home, where she is haunted by the "derealization" of her murdered niece. It's the definition of escapist summertime fare.
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Sharp Objects (HBO)
Premieres Sunday, July 8 at 9/8c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Amy Adams stars as Camille Preaker, an unstable reporter who returns to her Missouri hometown to investigate a gruesome double murder — and encounters plenty of her own family turmoil along the way. (Watch trailer.)
WHY WE LIKE IT: Episodes aren't available for review just yet, but we have reason to believe Sharp Objects will be a highlight of the summer. An A-list cast that includes Adams, Patricia Clarkson and Chris Messina? Subject material from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn? Direction from Big Little Lies' Jean-Marc Vallée? All signs point to a dark and addictive thriller.
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Succession (HBO)
Currently airing Sundays at 10/9c
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?: Brian Cox (Deadwood) plays Logan Roy, an aging patriarch who refuses to step down as head of his international media conglomerate, setting in motion major conflicts between him and his four children.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Succession could be written off as a show about greedy people being awful to one another — and that's not entirely inaccurate. But it's also a sharply written, well-acted ensemble drama that examines the deep flaws and vulnerabilities in each member of the Roy family.