The 2023 Paste Summer TV Guide: 25 Shows to Watch

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The 2023 Paste Summer TV Guide: 25 Shows to Watch

We may call this the Summer TV Guide, but really, it’s perhaps more accurately the June TV guide. There are great shows premiering before and after that, but really, June is an explosive month of premieres. Thought Peak TV had reached its apex? Think again!

Below, we’ve assembled the 25 summer TV shows we’re the most excited about, both new and returning. And on that note, it’s interesting that the majority of shows are returning, or revivals, rather than new. Eligible series have to have a premiere date between May 23rd and August 31st, although as mentioned before it’s really All About June.

Keep in mind too that if the writers’ strike continues into the summer months, some of these premieres may get pushed to fall since most productions (the ones we respect, anyway) have ceased. But as we continue to support the writers (and possibly the directors and actors too, if they also decide to strike!) we can simultaneously appreciate the work they’ve done so far with these great series.

Naturally, as soon as we set our editorial deadline more networks dropped premiere dates, including the return of Only Murders in the Building on August 8th. So below we have the 25 summer TV shows you can’t miss—but it’s also only the start:

Clone High

 

Status: Revival

Network/Streaming: Max

Premiere Date: Tuesday, May 23

The beloved cult animated series from creators Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Bill Lawrence aired in 2003 on MTV and quickly incited an international incident with India for its depiction of Ghandi. Also, audiences didn’t really get the satire around a high school that is raising clones of famous historical figures for future military use. Clone High eventually found its audience though after it was canceled, so this revival is another modern TV miracle. The new season picks up with the clone students waking up after being frozen for 20-years, making them “a horny science experiment” with a learning curve. —Tara Bennett


Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai

Status: New

Network/Streaming: Max

Premiere Date: Tuesday, May 23

It’s been 30-years, but we finally get new, official Gremlins mythology courtesy of this animated series. Secrets goes back in time to 1920s Shanghai to see how Mogwai came to connect with humans, specifically young Sam Wing and his family. Beautifully rendered, with respect for the live-action films, and a dark sensibility, Secrets is a smart way to get ambitious with the lore and appeal to a new batch….err, generation. —Tara Bennett


I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Netflix

Premiere Date: Tuesday, May 30

The cult-hit sketch show returns with, well, God only knows what new niche catchphrases and mayhem for its third season. Just when you think Harley Jarvis can’t be beat, we get Dan Flashes. You thought Hot Dog Man was funny? Let me introduce you to the Little Buff Boys! Could Coffin Floppers get a new season on Corncob TV? Will Tammy Craps make a comeback? Anything is possible, but it’s probably not going to be anything we can imagine until we experience it as a collective fever dream from Tim Robinson’s wonderfully crazed brain. “Look, I’m not trying to be funny, not trying to get a laugh. I don’t want anybody to have the worst day of their job. But….” —Allison Keene 


Nancy Drew

Status: Returning/Final Season

Network/Streaming: The CW (cwtv.com)

Premiere Date: Wednesday, May 31

Before the final death knell tolls for what was once a paradise for young adult TV, The CW’s Nancy Drew is coming back for one last mystery. Having premiered in 2019, Nancy Drew has been a staple in The CW’s line-up, following the titular Nancy (Kennedy McMann) as she solves supernatural mysteries around her small Maine hometown. Surrounded by her friends Nick (Tunji Kasim), Bess (Maddison Jaizani), George (Leah Lewis), and Ace (Alex Saxon), the fourth and final season will find Nancy dealing with more mysteries, alongside more interpersonal drama. After all, being supernaturally forced to stay away from your will-they-won’t-they love interest isn’t ideal, but Nancy has an incredible support system to get her through it. Nancy Drew has always felt more grounded and mature than other CW offerings like Riverdale, and it will be incredibly sad to see this show prematurely end, especially in favor of corporate shake-ups and live airings of golf. But despite the sadness that comes with it, we can’t wait to see just what kind of supernatural shenanigans and maddening mysteries our favorite teen sleuth will solve one last time. —Anna Govert


Joe Pickett

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Paramount+

Premiere Date: Sunday, June 4

Season 1 of Joe Pickett got on like a house on fire, which is fitting considering how the events centering on the titular game warden (Michael Dorman) and his family played out. So now that the rough-and-tumble characters eking out a hard-scrabble existence in the Wyoming wilderness have been established, expect Season 2 to bring out the big guns.

While Pickett, in performing his regular duties as game warden, previously cracked a circle of corruption that would have brought a multinational energy conglomerate into his small town, he’s still a long way away from some of the crazier moments in the original book series. (At one point, the EPA orders a drone strike of Hellfire missiles that ignites a massive forest fire. Here’s hoping we get to see that in future seasons!)

The source material from author C.J. Box is well worth catching up on in its own right, as is Season 1 if you haven’t seen it yet. And thanks to the modern resurgence of Westerns on TV, now’s a perfect time to be a Pickett fan.  —Dave Trumbore


Cruel Summer

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Freeform/Hulu

Premiere Date: Monday, June 5

Besides sharing a name with one of Taylor Swift’s greatest songs, Freeform’s Cruel Summer has many things going for it in its second season premiere. The first season, which followed the mysterious disappearance of Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt)—and where each episode showcased the events of the same day across three different years—was a breakout hit for Freeform when it debuted in 2021. It saw viral success, and became Freeform’s most-watched series seemingly overnight. Now in its second season, Cruel Summer is back, but this time, with a different story to tell. Not long after it was renewed, it was revealed that Cruel Summer would become an anthology, and Season 2 will now take place in the Pacific Northwest during three different Y2K years, and catalog the love triangle between Megan (Sadie Stanley), Isabella (Lexi Underwood), and Megan’s best friend Luke (Griffin Gluck). With more mysteries to unfold, new players, and an entirely new game, Cruel Summer Season 2 has big shoes to fill, but will surely be just as great the second time around. —Anna Govert


It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: FXX/Hulu

Premiere Date: Wednesday, June 7

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is returning for its record-setting 16th season after a fantastic (and surprisingly emotional) stint in Ireland. Season 16 will see the Gang back in Philly, ready as always to deal with modern problems in the most arcane and obtuse ways possible. It’s interesting that even as the show’s cast has gone on to great heights (network comedies, big-budget movies, directing, buying Welsh soccer teams) they all remain committed to Paddy’s Pub and the continuing stories of these awful—but highly entertaining—characters. The show has had its comedic ups and downs over the years, but has been on a great run of late; here’s hoping Season 16 is another win for our never-say-die scoundrels. —Allison Keene 


Based on a True Story

Status: New

Network/Streaming: Peacock

Premiere Date: Thursday, June 8

After a murder takes place right under their noses, three people come together to start a podcast about said murder, utilizing the medium America has become obsessed with when it comes to consuming true crime, and getting themselves caught up in the mystery. In this new season of Only Murders—I mean, Based on a True Story, Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina, and Tom Bateman put their money where their mic is to solve a murder in their neighborhood. Taking place in LA, Cuoco and Messina play a married couple with a baby on the way, and they see LA’s newest serial killer as an opportunity to get rich quickly and save their marriage in the process. In their attempts at true crime virality, their ultimate goal is one thing: get the actual serial killer on their podcast, no matter how dangerous of a path this leads them down. Comparisons to Hulu’s juggernaut comedy aside, Based on a True Story looks like a great time (especially with a trailer that feels reminiscent of Cuoco’s dark comedy triumph The Flight Attendant), and claims it will take an even more satirical and critical stance on America’s true crime obsession—I’m already obsessed.—Anna Govert


Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Paramount+

Premiere Date: Thursday, June 15

Star Trek is no stranger to franchise expansions and spinoffs, but Paramount+ has taken things to a whole new level with their ever-growing roster of Star Trek series. The best one, so far, is Strange New Worlds, anchored by the excellent Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew (including a young Mr. Spock, played by Ethan Peck) on the USS Enterprise. You don’t need to be steeped in lore to enjoy this prequel of sorts to the Original Series, although there are plenty of Easter eggs for longtime fans. But regardless of your general level of Star Trek knowledge, Strange New Worlds offers up compelling, unique, emotional, even (gasp) fun! weekly adventures that take full advantage of the series’ episodic nature. They go, boldly, and we can’t wait to follow along with their latest journey.  

Speaking of which, in a Star Trek first, Strange New Worlds will again live up to its name when Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Bradward Boimer (Jack Quaid) from the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks will be transformed into live-action for a crossover episode. Yes, the voice actors will suit up in Starfleet uniforms for an episode teased as a mix of animation and live-action, directed by Jonathan Frakes. Beam. Us. Up! —Allison Keene and Tara Bennett


Outlander

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Starz

Premiere Date: Friday, June 16

With some of the shows on this list, I can say I’m genuinely excited to see them return. Others I’m more curious about. I always enjoy Outlander, and as someone who hasn’t read the books, it’s been nice to not have certain events or storylines to anticipate or dread ahead of time. That said, we’ve spent a lot of time with the Frasers now, much of it fraught, and too much of it in colonial America for my personal tastes. And yet, I’m curious to see where things go next for Jamie and Claire. No matter what other nonsense the show gets up to, the chemistry between Catriona Balfe and Sam Heughan is the rarest of air, and I will not give up watching until their characters’ love story is complete (and it’s not over yet! This season will be split into two parts, but the show has been renewed for Season 8). Though the American Revolution beckons, but I’m naively hoping for a final Scottish charge. —Allison Keene 


The Righteous Gemstones

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: HBO/Max

Premiere Date: Sunday, June 18 (Just in time for Father’s Day…!)

Your mileage may vary on your general reception to the Gemstones, but after a middling first season, I felt the show made huge strides to become one of TV’s best current comedies in Season 2. A mega-church Succession, if you will. In Season 3 we’ll see if Jesse (Danny McBride) can step into his father’s shoes and lead the flock out of corruption (or further into it) with Zion’s Landing and the church’s other sundry ventures, while the family-at-large appears challenged by a new fundamentalist group (led by a zealous Steve Zahn) that loves God and guns. The Lord only knows what Baby Billy (Walton Goggins) has been up to meanwhile, but I don’t know how it will ever beat the moment his son was born in a port-a-potty. The show’s greatest strengths come in its understanding of exploitative churches and how these Prosperity Gospel charlatans help themselves first before (or if) they help anyone else. Bless their hearts, and may they get their just desserts. —Allison Keene 


Secret Invasion

Status: New

Network/Streaming: Disney+

Premiere Date: Wednesday, June 21

In Disney+’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe offering of the year, Secret Invasion boldly asks: has your favorite character been a Skrull this whole time? The alien species, which first debuted in 2019’s Captain Marvel, is able to shapeshift into anyone of their choosing, putting on a nearly-undetectable mask of the person they are attempting to replace. Now, over a decade into the MCU, the rug is going to be pulled out from under Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) as they investigate a, well, invasion right under their noses. Featuring the MCU debuts of Olivia Coleman and Emilia Clarke, we can only hope that this series does not add to the MCU fatigue slowly creeping up on so many of us. Promising a spy espionage thriller by way of Disney+, Secret Invasion seemingly circles back to Captain America: The Winter Soldier vibes for an action romp that will surely change the MCU as we know it. —Anna Govert


The Bear

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Hulu

Premiere Date: Thursday, June 22

The surprise hit of summer 2022, The Bear returns after its extremely stressful first season, about a young high-level chef who returns home to take over his family’s Chicago dive following the death of his brother. Messy curls and white t-shirts have never been so en vogue than when sported by Jeremy Allen White’s short king / kitchen rat Carmy, who fights the past—professionally and personally—through those explosive first episodes. The Bear could have ended there as a miniseries, but I’m cautiously hopeful that the show will return just as compellingly claustrophobic in Season 2. At the very least, I’m confident that it will once again prove that a man’s best accessory is an apron. —Allison Keene 


Warrior

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Max

Premiere Date: Thursday, June 29

Criminally underseen martial arts extravaganza Warrior finally returns with a new season on Max in June, continuing a story that first aired in 2019 and 2020 on Cinemax, before HBO stepped in to rescue the production and fund a long-delayed third season. We’re all lucky they did, as Warrior can boast what is probably the best pure action choreography and fight scenes on the small screen today, stuff we haven’t seen on this level since AMC’s likewise underappreciated Into the Badlands. The stylish bloodletting is backed up by outstanding production design and period clothing in bringing 1870s San Francisco to life, in a story that mimics the sprawl and multicultural dramatic heft of peak Game of Thrones, with viewpoint characters from seemingly every social strata and political allegiance all struggling to push the city into the future. Star Andrew Koji returns as now-seasoned Chinese immigrant Ah Sahm, drawn ever deeper into the criminal underground and faction warfare of Chinatown, as he grapples with his new status as a folk hero following Chinatown race riots, and new threats to his adoptive family in the Hop Wei tong present themselves. All that, and the return of one of TV’s most thrilling theme songs; what’s not to like? —Jim Vorel


Black Mirror

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Netflix

Premiere Date: June TBD

You know the world is in bad shape when a series known for being incredibly dark and chillingly accurate to our real world had to take a few years off to let us all just breathe. Well, the dark times are still going, but Black Mirror is returning anyway sometime this June. While the details of the new season are being kept mostly underwraps, this newest batch of episodes will feature a stacked lineup of stars including Aaron Paul, Anjana Vasan, Annie Murphy, Auden Thornton, Ben Barnes, Clara Rugaard, Daniel Portman, Danny Ramirez, David Shields, Himesh Patel, John Hannah, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Michael Cera, Monica Dolan, Myha’la Herrold, Paapa Essiedu, Rob Delaney, Rory Culkin, Salma Hayek Pinault, Samuel Blenkin, Zazie Beetz, and more. Four years after Season 5 released, Black Mirror Season 6 is coming back to a world that is totally changed, one pandemic and many other political and social movements later, and it will be so interesting to see how the show, and its audience, have adjusted to the times. —Anna Govert


The Afterparty

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Apple TV+

Premiere Date: Wednesday, July 12

One of the key series that really made Apple TV+ must-see streaming TV, The Afterparty took a well-worn drama setting (class reunion) and a classic murder plot (the death of the party’s host) and made it feel entirely fresh. Leaning hard into its weekly release schedule, each episode was not only presented from a different party goer’s POV, but the entire style of the show changed based on who was front and center. It also managed to have a marvelously satisfying finale. With another stellar cast lined up and a new crime to solve for its new season, let’s hope lightning strikes twice. —Allison Keene


What We Do in the Shadows

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: FX/Hulu

Premiere Date: Thursday, July 13

In June of last year, FX renewed their vampire mockumentary hit What We Do in the Shadows for a fifth and sixth season, with the first installment now nigh. Providing incredible vampiric shenanigans that feel like they should be more fitting for a spooky October release, What We Do in the Shadows is actually the perfect summer romp, filled with lighthearted laughs and heartfelt storylines, making for the best kind of summer appointment viewing. After making a number of our best of 2022 lists last year (and flooding the Internet with more incredible Matt Berry pronunciations), it’s no doubt that WWDITS will continue to be just as delightful, hilarious, and heartfelt when it returns very soon. —Anna Govert


Justified: City Primeval

Status: Revival

Network/Streaming: FX/Hulu

Premiere Date: Tuesday, July 18

There are few TV shows that end on their own terms and even fewer that craft perfect finales that stick with us for years and years. Justified is such a one, with its now-iconic ending of “we dug coal together” that said it all. To return to the story is a gamble, and yet, perhaps worth the risk. Something that might make it all actually work, besides the return of Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, is that the Kentucky storyline is done. Raylan is back in Miami, where he started the series, and where so much of his time is spent in Elmore Leonard’s novels. What will remain the same, though, is that our dear, charming marshall will still be hunting lowlifes and bringing them to justice as only he can. —Allison Keene


Minx

After a Mid-Production Renewal Reversal

Status: Returning (to a new network)

Network/Streaming: Starz

Premiere Date: Friday, July 21

After being unceremoniously dumped by HBO Max, the feisty and provocative series Minx finds a new home on Starz for its second season (And it is perhaps better suited there; Starz has always been equal in its nudity, whereas HBO often trolls with comedic male genitalia but rarely allows it used dramatically—or for a centerfold). But I digress; Minx is back! And that is great news. Because though the show may draw viewers for its racier aspects, its biggest strength is in showing the highs and lows of being a woman working in media. Though it takes place in a (fictionalized) past, its themes are regrettably relevant today. Plus, there’s a strong will-they-won’t-they that has played out perfectly so far. What more do you want? —Allison Keene 


Praise Petey

Status: New

Network/Streaming: Freeform/Hulu

Premiere Date: Friday, July 21

An adult animated series airing in a later time slot, Annie Murphy voices the lead character, a New York City “it” girl who finds her world upended and out of social favor. But her dad swoops in with an offer: modernize his small-town cult. The show’s pedigree is insanely good, as it’s created by former SNL writer Anna Drezen and executive produced by Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Dustin Davis. Did we mention John Cho, Stephen Root, and Christine Baranski are also part of the voice cast? —Tara Bennett


Heels

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Starz

Premiere Date: Friday, July 28

As a network, Starz is greatly underappreciated. It takes chances on series other networks might not, especially ones fronted by women and people of color. Though Heels ostensibly stars two men and is about male wrestling, its true strength comes in the form of Crystal (Kelli Berglund), who went from a love interest to the beating heart of the show. But Heels is also about the people and stories that aren’t usually featured in TV shows; rural denizens who unabashedly love wrestling, and those who are devoted to making those shows happen, entertaining their fans at (almost) any cost. Both Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig were fantastic in the first season as brothers at odds with one another over who gets to play the hero and who is the villain, often in opposition to their real-life personas. But the fluidity of those notions both in the ring and outside of it make for excellent stories, which only scratch the surface of the work Heels is doing to make the series feel fully lived-in and compellingly drawn (like with the aforementioned Crystal!) A true underrated gem, it’s worth the effort of one more subscription to see how this next chapter plays out. —Allison Keene 


Good Omens


Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

Premiere Date: Friday, July 28

By all rights, a second season of Prime Video’s Good Omens should not exist. And, to be fair, there’s a real chance we might wish it didn’t, should it fail to live up to the heights of its predecessor, which was the sort of pitch perfect adaptation that didn’t particularly stick to the letter of its source material, but got the spirit of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s beloved novel of the same name exactly right. (And gave us hours of Michael Sheen and David Tennant bickering on top of it all.) The second season, which will send bookish angel Aziraphale and caustic demon Crowley on another ineffable celestial adventure, will be a new experience for all of us, considering Season 1 pretty much covered everything in the original novel, including and up to Armageddon itself. But, if we’re going to believe in miracles from anywhere, we could back a worse horse than this hopeful little weirdo story about faith and hope and love that passeth every kind of understanding. Forget Ted Lasso, I want to believe in this. —Lacy Baugher-Milas


Reservation Dogs

Wonderfully Funny and Charmingly Casual

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Hulu

Premiere Date: Wednesday, August 2

One of TV’s most unique and affecting series—that’s also utterly hilarious—ended its second season in a reflective mood. Our Oklahoma teens made their way to California, at last, and said goodbye to their precious friend. Yes it all came on the heels of a number of disasters (including no sense of how they might make it home), but in the end that mattered less than the simple fact that they were together. Reservation Dogs is an informative look at modern Indigenous culture that never once feels like TV vegetables. It’s vibrant, inclusive and pointedly exclusive, and haunting. Led by four outstanding young actors, whatever the future holds for our Rez Dogs will be bright. —Allison Keene


Heartstopper

Status: Returning

Network/Streaming: Netflix

Premiere Date: Thursday, August 8

Boy meets boy, boys become friends, boys fall in love—boys are back for Season 2! Heartstopper, last year’s big, queer breakout hit for Netflix, is returning for the first of its two-season renewal. Picking up from last season’s glorious portrayal of both queer pain and queer joy, Heartstopper’s second season will likely swing in an even darker direction, taking cues from the original graphic novels written by Alice Oseman. Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke), alongside their friends Elle (Yasmin Finney), Tao (William Gao), Tara (Corinna Brown), and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), will pick up in the aftermath of the first season, with Nick and Charlie now navigating a relationship in the midst of high school heartache, backed by what will likely be another incredible soundtrack and the now-staple animated flourishes. —Anna Govert


My Adventures with Superman

Status: New

Network/Streaming: Adult Swim / Max

Premiere Date: TBD

Jack Quaid voices a twenty-something Clark Kent / Superman in this new series that charts the young superhero adventurers working at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. The show promises a series that’s lighter in tone and focuses on new friends Clark, intrepid reporter Lois Lane (Alice Lee) and photojournalist Jimmy Olsen (Ishmael Sahid). And, they lean into the Clark / Lois romance. For those wondering, this does not tie into James Gunn’s upcoming Superman reboot. —Tara Bennett


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