Those of us who still watch TV on television -- as opposed to curating our own playlists from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and so on, via laptops and tablets – may have noticed that TV seasons aren't what they used to be.
In recent years, TV networks have been striving for Total New Show Domination all year long. Sure, the Fall TV Season is still a big deal, but new shows start throughout the year.
The idea that the summer TV season is one big snooze in a hammock, a nobody-cares festival of reruns, and cheesy reality shows is as antiquated as "My Mother the Car" (look it up, young'uns.)
Once again, summertime viewing is upon us – even if the calendar insists some of the shows premiere while it's still spring. The schedule is as crowded as the rest of the year, because nowadays, summer TV means three things: 1) the return of hot-season favorites; 2) new experiments; and 3) cheesy reality shows, which remain as much a part of summer as post-hike Poison Ivy attacks and mosquito-bombed barbecues.
To help you plot out your summer viewing strategy – hey, sitting in front of the TV in air-conditioned splendor may sound pretty good when (or if) we get to those late July-early August hot spells – here's a rundown of new and returning summer show premiere dates. No sunscreen required.
May 25
"Texas Rising": 10-hour miniseries about circa-1836 Texas, the birth of the Texas Rangers, and such historic characters as Sam Houston and Mexican General Santa Anna. (History)
"American Ninja Warrior": The new season. (NBC/8)
"The Island": New reality survival show. (NBC/8)
"Grace of Monaco": Nicole Kidman stars as Grace Kelly, in a film that takes place six years after the star married Prince Rainier and became Princess of Monaco. The movie was originally intended for a theatrical release. (Lifetime)
May 26
"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader": Jeff Foxworthy returns with more quiz questions. (Fox/12)
"America's Got Talent": More goofy auditions. (NBC/8)
"I Can Do That": Marlon Wayans hosts, as celebs try to master new skills. (NBC/8)
May 27
"The Briefcase": A reality series with an unusual premise: families that could use a financial break are given a briefcase full of money, and given a choice: keep it all, or share some or all of it with another family (CBS/6)
"Bullseye": Kellan Lutz hosts a new physical-and-smarts competition show. (Fox/12)
May 28
"Aquarius": David Duchovny stars as a Los Angeles homicide detective in 1967 Los Angeles, on the trail of Charles Manson. (NBC/8)
May 31
"Halt and Catch Fire": Season 2 of the '80s-set drama about the early days of personal-computer development. (AMC)
June 1
"Devious Maids": Season 2. (Lifetime)
"UnREAL": Shiri Appleby stars in a drama about "Bachelor"-like dating show. (Lifetime)
"The Whispers": New drama about children whose imaginary friends may not be imaginary. (ABC/2)
"So You Think You Can Dance": Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo join Nigel Lythgoe as judges in the new season. (Fox/12)
June 2
"Pretty Little Liars": More secrets and lies as the new season begins. (ABC Family)
"Royal Pains": A new season of doctoring begins. (USA)
June 4
"Hannibal": The deeply creepy, stylish series returns. (NBC/8)
June 5
"Sense8": The Wachowskis created this new science fiction drama. (Netflix)
June 6
"Power": Season 2 of the drama about a New York City club owner who's also caught up in the drug trade. (Starz)
June 8
"Major Crimes": Season 4 debuts. (TNT)
"Murder in the First": The homicide detective drama returns for Season 2. (TNT)
June 10
"Skin Wars": The body art reality competition series returns for Season 2. (GSN)
June 11
"The Seventies": Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman produced this follow-up to their documentary series about the 1960s. (CNN)
June 12
"Orange Is the New Black": More time behind bars, as Season 3 arrives. (Netflix)
"Defiance": The futuristic drama returns. (Syfy)
"Dark Matter": The crew of a spaceship wakes up with no memories of who they are or what they're doing aboard the craft in this new series. (Syfy)
June 13
"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell": Susanna Clarke's novel is adapted in this new miniseries about magic, set in the era of the Napoleonic Wars. (BBC America)
June 16
"Rizzoli & Isles": The duo are back for a new season. (TNT)
"Proof": Jennifer Beals in a new drama about a doctor investigating cases of reincarnation. (TNT)
"Clipped": New ensemble comedy about young people working in a barber shop. (TBS)
"Tyrant": Season 2 of the drama about life in a dangerous Middle Eastern country. (FX)
June 18
"The Astronaut Wives Club": New drama about the women holding down the fort while their husbands took to the skies. (ABC/2)
"Mistresses": More melodrama as the new season begins. (ABC/2)
"Complications": Jason O'Mara stars as a doctor who mates a fateful choice, and finds that actions have deadly consequences. (USA)
June 19
"Killjoys": New adventure about space-hopping bounty hunters. (Syfy)
June 21
"Celebrity Family Feud": Steve Harvey hosts. (ABC/2)
"BattleBots": Robots compete. OK, then. (ABC/2)
"The Last Ship": Season 2 of the adventure drama about a ship's crew trying to find a cure for an apocalyptic virus begins. (TNT)
"True Detective": A new season, and cast – Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn and Taylor Kitsch – in a new crime story. (HBO)
"Ballers": Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in a new comedy as a former star athlete who now guides other players in business, and other off-the-field challenges. (HBO)
"The Brink": New satirical comedy about politics, an international crisis, and the not-so-inspiring people in charge. (HBO)
June 23
"Another Period": Before the Kardashians, there were the stupid rich Bellacourts, who are the satirical center of this new comedy set in the Gilded Age, in Newport, Rhode Island. Natasha Leggero, Riki Lindhome, Christina Hendricks, Michael Ian Black, and Jason Ritter star. Ben Stiller is an executive producer. (Comedy Central)
June 24
"Suits": The snappily attired and crisply bantering legal eagles and the rest of the gang return for a new season. (USA)
"Mr. Robot": Thriller about a cyber-security engineer who's also a hacker. (USA)
"Big Brother": It's never going to go away. (CBS/6)
June 25
"Boom!": New quiz show that combines trivia with "ticking slimebombs." (Fox/12)
"Under the Dome": In which all involved take on the biggest challenge yet – making Season 3 better than the snoozy Season 2. (CBS/6)
"Rookie Blue": A new season of crime-solving, and personal complications. (ABC/2)
"Graceland": Season 3 begins. (USA)
June 26
"What Happened, Miss Simone?": Documentary about the late singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone. (Netflix)
June 28
"Falling Skies": Noah Wyle and the rest return for the final season. (TNT)
"Humans": New, eight-part drama about what happens when humans and robots get a little too close for comfort. The cast includes William Hurt. (AMC)
June 29
"Teen Wolf": Still wolfy, and back for a new season. (MTV)
June 30
"Zoo": James Patterson's thriller about animals going after humans comes to TV. The cast includes James Wolk (Bob Benson on "Mad Men.") (CBS/6)
"Scream": TV series inspired by the movie. (MTV)
"The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail": Season 2, featuring guests including Matt Braunger, Ron Funches, and Fred Armisen, begins. (Comedy Central)
July 1
"Extant": Last summer's biggest disappointment – it started out so promising, then went nowhere – returns for Season 2. Let's hope things shape up this time around. (CBS/6)
July 2
"Food Fighters": Adam Richman host another season of home cooks vs. professional chef culinary battles. (NBC/8)
July 6
"Penn and Teller: Fool Us": More magic competition as the new season starts. (The CW/3)
July 7
"Hollywood Game Night": Jane Lynch hosts a new season of celebrity competition and folderol. (NBC/8)
July 8
"Key & Peele": The Peabody Award-winning duo are back for more sharp, funny sketch comedy. (Comedy Central)
"Why? With Hannibal Buress": The talented stand-up comic offers thoughts about current events, interviews, and comedy. (Comedy Central)
July 9
"Dominion": More battles among the angels as a new season begins. (Syfy)
July 10
"Masters of Illusion": Dean Cain hosts a magic showcase. (The CW/3)
July 12
"Ray Donovan": Liev Schreiber is back to clean up more Hollywood messes. (Showtime)
"Masters of Sex": Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan return to continue the saga of pioneering sex researchers Masters and Johnson. (Showtime)
"The Strain": More horrific vampires and ghastly doings are on store as Season 2 begins. (FX)
July 13
"Running Wild with Bear Grylls": A new season of outdoor adventures with Grylls and celebrities. (NBC/8)
July 16
"Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll": Denis Leary as a rock 'n' roller who's seen better days. (FX)
"Married": Judy Greer and Nat Faxon return for Season 2 of comedy about marital non-bliss. (FX)
"Geeks Who Drink": The bar trivia game becomes a TV series, executive produced by Zachary Levi ("Chuck.") (Syfy)
July 17
"Wet Hot American Summer": The 2001 cult comedy with the killer cast lives again a new series, with members of that terrific cast -- including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Ian Black, and David Hyde Pierce – back for more. (Netflix)
July 19
"Welcome to Sweden": Greg Poehler (Amy's brother) returns for Season 2 of the fish-out-of-water-in-Sweden comedy. (NBC/8)
July 22
"Last Comic Standing": More stand-ups compete for the spotlight. (NBC/8)
"Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!": Oh, yes! It's the third exercise in ridiculousness, this time set in Washington, D.C., the Eastern Seaboard and Florida. Ian Ziering and Tara Reid return, joined by David Hasselhoff, Mark Cuban, Ann Coulter, Michelle Bachmann, Jerry Springer, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. (Syfy)
July 28
"Face Off": More special-effect makeup wizardry. (Syfy)
July 30
"Review": Andy Daly returns for a second season of edgy comedy as "life reviewer" Forrest MacNeil. (Comedy Central)
July 31
"Cold Justice": Nonfiction series featuring experts trying to crack cold cases returns for a new season. (TNT)
"Cold Justice: Sex Crimes": New spinoff of the above. (TNT)
August 3
"Significant Mother": The new set and filmed-in-Portland comedy about a restaurateur (Josh Zuckerman) who finds out his divorced mother and his best friend are dating. (The CW/3)
August 4
"Playing House": The comedy returns for Season 2. (USA)
August 5
"America's Next Top Model": Yet another season. (The CW/3)
"Mr. Robinson": New comedy starring Craig Robinson ("The Office") as a musically minded substitute teacher. (NBC/8)
"The Carmichael Show": Stand-up comic Jerrod Carmichael stars in a sitcom based on his own family and relationships. (NBC/8)
August 20
"Documentary Now!": "Portlandia" co-creator and costar Fred Armisen and his old "Saturday Night Live" castmate Bill Hader star in a six-episode comedy consisting of faux documentaries. (IFC)
August 22
"Blunt Talk": Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy") produces this new series starring Patrick Stewart as a British broadcaster who comes to Los Angeles to host a windbaggy show. (Starz)
"Survivor's Remorse": Season 2 of the comedy about a pro basketball star dealing with the fallout of success. (Starz)
August 25
"Public Morals": Edward Burns stars in, writes and directs a new '60s-set drama about police working in the New York City vice division. (TNT)
"Legends": Sean Bean's FBI agent with a talent for disguise returns for Season 2. (TNT)
-- Kristi Turnquist
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