Image: Photo courtesy of HBO

Summer TV Shows for 2019: New and Returning Series to Watch

By Maggie Parker

Remember when the start of summer meant the end of “good” TV until September? The warm weather was welcome, but reruns were rampant. Thanks to a constantly changing media landscape, those days are long gone. Now, some of the best series premiere in the summer, and that couch looks a lot comfier than a thin picnic blanket in a park without Wi-Fi (but if you can get a signal and the blanket is really soft, we can talk).

The summer is so stocked with superior television, deciding what shows to devote yourself too can seem a bit overwhelming. Our guide to summer TV streaming, binging, and DVR-ing will prep you for when Meryl, Demogorgons, and true crime start heating up your screen.

Summer TV Shows Returning in 2019

“Big Little Lies” Season 2

(NOTE: Spoilers for “Big Little Lies” Season 1 below)

Two words: Meryl Streep. As if the cast of HBO’s “Big Little Lies” wasn’t star-studded enough, the queen of the big screen is gracing the small screen with her presence for the show’s second season. Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, and Zoë Kravitz are all reprising their roles for the highly-anticipated (in fact, demanded) second season, which picks up after the death of Celeste Wright’s (Kidman) husband Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård). Along with the detective from Season 1, Streep’s character is trying to find out how Perry, her son, died. The Monterey Five juggle parenting, marriage, and friendship all while trying to keep track of their web of lies.

Where to watch: HBO

“Stranger Things” Season 3

It’s summer 1985 in Hawkins, and the “Stranger Things” crew thinks it’s time to unwind at the pool or county fair (hopefully without any extraterrestrial species this time). The summer fun doesn’t last long, though. Think “Sandlot” but replace the scary dog with bunch of Demogorgons. Throw in puberty and potential political corruption, and things could get messier than the Demogorgon-slime-oozing walls in Will’s house.

Where to watch: Netflix

“Younger” Season 6

If you need something light after those two shows, Season 6 of “Younger” will make you feel as youthful as a 26-year-old in a frilly dress. Or, if you’re like Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), a 40-year-old wearing a frilly dress to look like a 26-year-old. Season 5 left us with a lot of questions, and you can expect them to be answered in season six: Josh (Nico Tortorella) faces fatherhood, Charles (Peter Hermann) and Liza struggle with loyalty, and Kelsey (Hilary Duff) navigates life as a powerful publisher — and they all butt heads in the process. It’s basically a beach read but on TV, and that is a great thing.

Where to watch: TVLand

Other TV Shows Returning This Summer

• “Burden of Truth,” Season 2 premieres June 2, The CW
• “Luther,” Season 5 premieres June 2, BBC America
• “Fear the Walking Dead,” Season 5 premieres June 2, AMC
• “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Season 3 premieres June 5, Hulu
• “Black Mirror,” Season 5 premieres June 5, Netflix
• “Claws,” Season 3 premieres June 9, TNT
• “Pose,” Season 2 premieres June 11, FX
• “Orange is the New Black,” Season 7 premieres July 26, Netflix
• “Power,” Season 6 premieres Aug. 25, STARZ

Summer TV Shows Premiering in 2019

“City on a Hill”

The dream team is back in Boston. Yes, we’re referring to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And this time they’re fighting crime as co-producers of new series “City on a Hill.” In this fictional depiction of the “Boston Miracle” that resulted in a drop in crime and violence in the 1990s, Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge play a FBI veteran and an assistant district attorney, respectively, who team up to take down a family of armored car robbers and subvert Boston’s criminal justice system. We’d like to see them try. No, really, we would.

Where to watch: Showtime

“Alternatino with Arturo Castro”

“Narcos’” Arturo Castro is determined to prove “there is more than one type of Latino.” So, he’s doing a complete 180 with a sketch show on Comedy Central. In “Alternatino with Arturo Castro,” he’ll satirize characters ranging from a single millennial to a jealous bridesmaid to, ironically, a drug dealer. The show aims to might light of what it’s like to be a Latinx millennial in the U.S.

Where to watch: Comedy Central

“The Rook”

In “The Rook,” Myfanwy Thomas (Emma Greenwell) woke up surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies. No, not morning-after-a-wild-party dead…Real dead. And she has no idea why. In fact, she can’t remember anything. In this supernatural thriller co-starring Olivia Munn, Myfanwy embarks on a wild journey to regain her memories and figure out who is after her. One of the first things she discovers is that she is a high-ranking official in Britain’s secret service for people with paranormal abilities. As if things weren’t complicated enough. Consider us intrigued.

Where to watch: Starz

More TV Premieres to Catch This Summer

• “Songland,” premieres May 28, ABC
• “When They See Us,” premieres May 31, Netflix
• “Good Omens,” premieres May 31, Amazon Prime Video
• “The Weekly,” premieres June 2, FX
• “Perpetual Grace LTD,” premieres June 2, EPIX
• “American Princess,” premieres June 2, USA
• “NOS4A2,” premieres June 2, AMC
• “Los Espookys,” premieres June 14, HBO
• “Too Old to Die Young,” premieres June 14, Amazon
• “Euphoria,” premieres June 16, HBO
• “Reef Break,” premieres June 20, ABC
• “What Just Happened,” premieres June 30, FOX
• “The Loudest Voice,” premieres June 30, Showtime
• “South Side,” premieres July 24, Comedy Central
• “The Boys,” premieres July 26, Amazon Prime Video

Summer TV Reboots and Revivals

Nothing says summer like a blast from the past. These are shows you may have seen before, but they’re coming back completely reimagined for 2019. 

• “All That,” premieres June 15, Nickelodeon 
• “The Hills: New Beginnings,” premieres June 24, MTV
•  “BH90210,” premieres Aug. 7, FOX

Program availability may vary and air times are subject to change. Streaming services may require a subscription and sometimes an additional fee.