It’s summer time, and many of your favorite shows are on break. So what Summer 2016 TV shows should you be checking out? We have a few amazing selections for you!
We asked Hypable’s staff what TV shows they’re watching this summer that they think you’d be crazy to miss. Even though networks tend to put their weaker stuff on during the summer since less people are watching TV, in recent years we’ve seen many great shows emerge during the warmer weather months as networks seize the opportunity to get noticed.
Most of our selections here are new, but some are a little older. Our goal was to present you with fresh shows that you haven’t considered yet.
New Summer 2016 TV Show Recommendations
‘The Night Of’ – Sundays, 9 PM (HBO)
Fans of Making a Murderer, The Jinx, and True Detective (season 1 obviously) will absolutely love HBO’s newest drama The Night Of. The show is essentially one very long episode of Law & Order, diving deep into the world of a single crime. Watching episode 1 will have you hooked from the outset: The show introduces you to the crime, the victim, and the suspect in the first hour. And just when things are looking very grim for the suspect — who doesn’t seem to be the type of guy who would do it, though the viewer is certainly led to believe he did — he gets some good news that may just get him out this. That is, if his mistakes that occurred “the night of” don’t come back to haunt him.
Season 1 is eight episodes, and each season — should it be renewed — will tell the story of a different crime. We’ve only scratched the surface with season 1, but we’re already looking forward to the seasons ahead. – Andrew Sims
‘Match Game’ and ‘The $100,000 Pyramid’ – Sundays, 9 / 10 PM (ABC)
ABC has brought back two classic game shows: Match Game and The $100,000 Pyramid, this time hosted by Alec Baldwin and Michael Strahan respectively. Whether you used to watch the original shows, still watch the classic versions on Game Show Network, or you’ve never heard of either until now, these two game shows are complete delights to watch. Baldwin and Strahan are perfect hosts for these games, and their celebrity panelists (including Rosie O’Donnell and Sherri Shepherd, two of the best on either game show so far) make the shows tons of fun to watch. In Match Game, two players must try to guess what word or phrase celebrity panelists are using to complete a sentence. In $100,000 Pyramid, contestants are tasked with getting their celebrity team member to say a certain word. Thankfully, both shows are geared towards older audiences, so adult humor runs rampant. Try both of these — I promise you’ll laugh! – Andrew Sims
‘So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation’ – Mondays, 8 PM (FOX)
So You Think You Can Dance has been around for a while, but this season they’re switching things up by introducing us to “the next generation” of great dancers. This season, the contestants are kids between the ages of 8-13. The Top 10 are each paired with a SYTYCD all-star who they’ll be dancing with until they’re eliminated or they win!
Everything you love about SYTYCD is still there in The Next Generation, but it also has something extra. You’ll inevitably feel inadequate when you realize that these kids are 10 and they’re already better at dancing than you’ll ever be at anything, but you’ll also feel refreshed by their honesty and enthusiasm. I’ve found SYTYCD a little repetitive in recent seasons, but the talent of the kids along with the cool contestant/all-star relationship in The Next Generation has made it one of my favorite summer shows again! – Kendra Cleary
‘UnReal’ – Mondays, 10 PM (Lifetime)
Manipulation, sex, drama, celebrity, feminism, death! Do I have your attention yet? Because Unreal deserves your attention. If you didn’t start watching this show last summer, then lucky you. Now you have a season and a half to binge all in one sitting. The basic premise of Unreal might not be enough to get people hooked right out of the gate. But trust us on this one because it is so much more than a story about two women as they work in the cutthroat world of reality television.
It’s a story about whether or not you’ll sell your soul to get what you’ve always wanted. It’s about how women want to work with and uplift each other, but are manipulated and sold a false narrative by society to make sure infighting keeps them in their place. It’s about celebrity, fame, and persona and how each layer of identity makes it that much more difficult to truly connect to people. Season 2 premiered a few weeks ago, but the beauty of Unreal is that it’s the perfect show to have a summer fling with. It’s also beautiful because it’s so much more than that. So do your brain a favor and ditch The Bachelorette and replace it with this. You can thank me in the fall. – Brook Wentz
‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’ – Netflix
I’m fairly certain Voltron won’t be a show for everyone. However, I’m also fairly certain that a lot people will ignore this show simply because it exists in the cartoon genre. If you’re completely against animation and hate fun, then you’re right, this probably isn’t the show for you. But don’t write it off simply because it falls into a certain type of category. Voltron lives on Netflix and is written and produced by the same people who worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. So right off the bat you know this program is going to contain substance.
It’s what you would call a kid friendly show, but every adult in the room will be hooked for a variety of other reasons. From the rich characters, their interwoven relationships, to the fast paced rip roaring adventure, you’re definitely going to find yourself entertained. You may also notice a few of the voices that appear on screen as well. Especially those who watch The Walking Dead… If you’re still skeptical, let me assure you that the price of admission is low. The first episode is a little over an hour long and will give you a good idea if it meets your taste. Plus, the following ten episodes are only twenty minutes long a piece. One small warning though, this definitely feels like the first act in a larger story. Which means the ending is very… Cliffhangery. – Brook Wentz
‘Killjoys’ – Fridays, 9 PM (Syfy)
It may be more years than we’d like to count since Firefly was canceled, but let’s get real — we’re all still looking for a show to scratch that itch. That may be a tall order, but Syfy’s brash, funny Killjoys can handle the challenge.
The brash, funny space drama is set against a surprisingly complicated political backdrop, but don’t let that distract you. Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen) and her team (Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane as brothers Johnny and D’avin Jaquobis) work as bounty hunters — dubbed “killjoys” — in a star system called The Quad. Housed on a spaceship called Lucy (complete with a very opinionated A.I.) Dutch’s team fills warrants and navigates the delicate political balance of the system.
And we’re just getting started. Dutch’s former mentor, Khlyen, returns to her life and resumes his subtle manipulations (that involve a lot of murder) while D’avin is haunted by a military past riddled with disturbing holes. A doctor turns up on the team’s home base of Westerly who is a lot more than she seems, there’s a mining company with nefarious intentions, and even the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (which licenses and controls the Killjoys) may be keeping a lot more secrets than it should be.
But while mysteries may drive the story of Killjoys, it’s the characters who steal the show. With fast-paced wit and heartfelt connections, Killjoys hits the same sweet spot that Firefly dominated. (And there’s no need for Chinese profanity here — the Syfy channel is refreshingly accepting of old fashioned English cussing.) Fierce and thoughtful, dark and ridiculously fun to watch, Killjoys is the show we’re been waiting for. Happy hunting! – Michal Shick
‘Mr. Robot’ – Wednesdays, 10 PM (USA Network)
Mr. Robot enters its second season this summer, but is still fresher than a new tube of Aquafresh. It checks the box of everything you could want from a television show, and does so seamlessly. Never once does it feel like ticking boxes to meet a quota, instead being done with finesse and subtlety.
In terms of the story, Mr. Robot has drama and intrigue, laced with dryly humorous moments courtesy of the lead character, Elliot Alderson. At work, Elliot is a computer engineer, while at home, he’s a highly-skilled hacker. Elliot ends up being recruited into a group of hacker-activists whose aim is to take down a large corporation and eliminate people’s debts. This corporation also happens to be a client of the company Elliot works for. The story is engaging with twists and mysteries to keep you hooked episode to episode. It’s also so relevant and realistic to our current society that you can’t help but feel some of Elliot’s paranoia in your own daily life.
Then there’s the wealth of dynamic characters who, brace yourselves, are not solely comprised of straight white men. You have a person of color lead, interesting female characters, straight and gay relationships, and people of color secondary characters. What’s more, these characters’ stories are defined by their personalities and the story at hand, they don’t revolve around their race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Mr. Robot is a show that demands your attention and doesn’t belittle the viewer. It’s expected you can keep up and doesn’t slow things down to spell everything out for you. Sure, some of the tech talk might go over your head, but somehow you don’t mind not knowing the ‘how’ of everything, so long as you’re following the ‘what.’ It’s far from fluff TV but it’s sure to get you talking and keep you thinking for weeks on end. – Katie Awad
What Summer 2016 TV shows do you recommend?
Related: You need to be watching Netflix’s new series ‘Stranger Things’
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.