Summer TV Winners & Losers (2019)

Before the Fall TV season hits us like a sledgehammer, it's time to review this year's summertime fare and make note of the shows, networks and trends that enjoyed a certain "heat"... and those that left us (or, worse, Nielsen households) cold.

WINNER: The Bachelorette

Hannah Brown proved to be the franchise's best casting decision in years, navigating Season 15 with grace, humor and refreshing authenticity. Not only did she bring in solid ratings, but Brown's finale decision to end things with Jed Wyatt and stay single was a welcome break from the series' typically contrived love stories.

WINNER: Big Little Lies

The HBO drama's second season divided critics but audiences turned up in droves, with each episode averaging 12 million viewers across all platforms (up from Season 1's 8.5 million). 

WINNER: Disney+

Though Apple TV+ sneaked in just under the wire with its own awaited launch date and (low) price point, Disney's streaming service had already firmly established itself as the upstart to beat, with a fair price and a robust, family-friendly (and geek-friendly) library of content.

WINNER: HBO

With Euphoria, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Los Espookys and a buzzier second season of Succession, the pay cabler has demonstrated that it can draw a crowd, acclaim and watercooler chatter even in Game of Thrones' wake. 

WINNER: Jane the Virgin

Ah, friends: We knew the final episodes of The CW's telenovela-flavored comedy would make us cry, and it didn't disappoint, delivering a massively satisfying series finale that brought the laughs and the waterworks.

WINNER: Orange Is the New Black

The emotionally and politically charged seventh and final season was a fine return to form for the prison dramedy, which deftly contrasted the relative ease with which Piper was able to reacclimatize into civilian life with Taystee, who remained unjustly incarcerated for murder.

WINNER: Stranger Things

Like a big-screen blockbuster, Netflix's sci-fi sensation dominated the July 4th weekend with a supremely bingeable Season 3. If you spent the holiday weekend inside watching, you weren't alone: Nearly 20 million accounts allegedly devoured the entire season in just a few days. 

WINNER: Yellowstone

The only repeat winner we allowed onto this year's list, Paramount Network's Western proved the case for getting its Season 2 order after just four airings by improving its average audience by 14 percent and boosting its demo performance by a full 55 percent.

LOSER: Designated Survivor

Despite (or because of?) an edgier creative overhaul for its Netflix incarnation, the political drama got unceremoniously vetoed for a second time.

LOSER: The Hills: New Beginnings

Considering how boring this follow-up turned out to be, perhaps the rest should have remained unwritten.

LOSER: Love Island

Though CBS will argue (and has) that its adaptation of the international format delivered a "solid, consistent core audience" that engaged in "nontraditional viewing," you simply must imagine they expected beefier linear tune-in (and higher than a 0.5 demo rating) for something that was occupying its airwaves every. single. weeknight.

LOSER: Veronica Mars' Logan Fans

SPOILER ALERT!...? Logan Echolls diehards got their hearts broken along with the titular PI when the Hulu revival unexpectedly offed the bad boy-turned-upstanding military man. 

WINNER: Underdog Comedies

It was a good summer to be a Little Sitcom That Could. A.P. Bio and One Day at a Time both received un-cancellations (by NBC's upcoming streaming service and Pop TV, respectively), delighting their devastated fans. Schitt's Creek meanwhile snagged its first-ever Emmy nominations (four total) ahead of its upcoming sixth and final season.  

WINNER: ABC Game Shows

ABC's nostalgia-sparking Card Sharks and Press Your Luck, along with Holey Moley, all averaged a 0.6 demo rating or better, landing them higher than scripted noobs Grand Hotel and Reef Break.

LOSER: Teen Choice Awards

From technical difficulties to a truly unnecessary "California Gurls" cover, this year's ceremony wasn't just a loss for teens — it was a loss for democracy.

WINNER: The Handmaid's Tale

Praised be the creative rebound! The third season of Hulu's dystopian drama offered up shocks (Nick's back story, Serena's fakeout), a horrifying jaunt to the nation's capital (Washington Monument, o where art thou?) and — most importantly — a newly empowered June, who got a giant and long-overdue win in the season finale. 

LOSER: Fear the Walking Dead

Season 5 of the AMC drama undermined its admirably altruistic new tone with dialogue that was mind-numbingly repetitive and a Big Bad who wasn't really bad at all. And if we never hear about Al's collection of tapes again, it'll be too soon. 
 
 
 

LOSER: What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage

Though we applaud its original premise and producer/host Fred Savage's commitment to the bit, this after-show for a faux genre-TV show was, at most, a solid SNL sketch.

LOSER: Big Brother

Creatively, this latest season has been a snooze, with each new twist failing to make any sort of impact on the game. (Remember when three houseguests won secret powers... and literally nothing happened?) Even more concerning, though, is CBS' ongoing habit of casting unpleasant houseguests, prompting yet another summer of racist, sexist and derogatory remarks.

WINNER: Are You the One?

An unforgettable crop of candid contestants made this MTV experiment — the reality dating show's first season with an entirely sexually fluid cast — a total success.