Summer TV: Recaps and what’s coming next

Spring is a time of great transition for students. As the school year winds down, finals loom over us; the weather distracts us, and our favorite shows are ending. But no matter how far apart our lives may take us, over the next three months, we will all have the same summer shows to look forward to watching and then discussing upon our return in September!

Awkward came back for its third season on April 16, and it takes the number one spot on this list. The show follows the misadventures of high schooler Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) as she tries to navigate her love life, her family drama and her reputation. This scripted MTV drama is known for its off-beat humor and viral one-liners (who hasn’t heard an impression of Sadie Saxton’s sarcastic “You’re welcome?”).

In case you are behind, here is a plot refresher (warning, contains spoilers!): the first season kicked off when Jenna hooked up with Matty (Beau Mirchoff), the hot boy in school who barely knew her name, and ended when she found out that her mom’s parenting was more unconvential than she ever realized. In season two, she officially transitioned her affections from Matty to Jake (Brett Davern), Matty’s best friend, since he is totally cool with acknowledging her existence in public. Jenna and Jake dated until Jenna realized that Matty was in love with her and would do anything to get her back.  After episodes of meditations and a Twilight-themed love triangle parody, she went back to Matty. What will Season Three have in store? Well, I’m guessing a lot more Matty-on-Jenna PDA, an exploration of Jake and Tamara’s budding romance and more refreshingly campy dialogue.

If you enjoy Awkward, chances are you’ll eat up Teen Wolf too. Both MTV dramas feature hot guys (whose hobbies include ripping off their shirts and confessing their undying love), high school drama and sassy one-liners. However, Teen Wolf adds werewolves and guns into the mix – nothing says suspense like the possibility of supernatural CGI fight scenes. So far, Teen Wolf has enjoyed two solid seasons. In the first season, we were introduced to Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), a sweet high schooler who just wants to play lacrosse and get a date, but ends up getting bitten by a rabid werewolf in the woods. He and his best friend Styles (Dylan O’Brein) hilariously try to find ways for him to control his powers so he won’t be vulnerable to the dangerous, loner werewolf Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) or rip Allison’s (Crystal Reed) face off during their first kiss. In the second season, we learn that Scott’s love interest Allison may be his greatest enemy since she comes from a long line of werewolf hunters and really doesn’t react well to being stood up on a date. In the end, Allison and Scott decide to put their differences behind them for the sake of love – this is MTV after all – and fight the season’s real villains, Allison’s grandpa and the human-lizard hybrid Kanima (because werewolves need to have enemies that are creepier looking than they are).  So, what will the third season bring? Hopefully we will learn more about what is going on with the Kanima and other semi-werewolf genealogies (but since actor Colton Hayes has officially left the show, this might be sidelined), witness the ripple effects of Allison’s change in loyalty and finally see Styles get a date. The new season premieres June 3, 2013.

In the same vein as Teen Wolf, although significantly darker, the supernatural thriller True Blood returns for a sixth season in June. HBO’s cult hit is promising more blood and more action than ever before, although there have been plenty of both in the past. Over the past few seasons we have followed Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), the innocent waitress, as she fell in love with a few vampires and developed her telekinetic powers. As of last season, her “true love” Bill (Stephen Moyer, Paquin’s real-life beau) had been changed into a hybrid vampire-god, who fans affectionately call Billith. Sookie’s frenemy/friends-with-benefits/vampire lover, Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) hooked up with his stepsister. Furthermore, her potential lover, werewolf Alcide, who totally had the hots for her, was brainwashed into finding her sexually repulsive (thanks to Bill) and has become the leader of his own pack (kind of). Therefore, Sookie’s love life is officially on the rocks. And Sookie’s best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) was trying to find her place in their weird world as she learned how to be a baby-vamp – which apparently includes brooding and flirting with Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten). However, adding in some sunshine and good news, especially for Sookie, evil vampire king Russell Edginton was defeated last season, meaning the show has no main villain for the upcoming season. This might provide an opportunity to introduce the mysterious Warlow, the vampire who killed Sookie’s parents, so Sookie can get some revenge (or get eaten, which is less likely but still possible, I mean the show has to end somehow). If you’re looking for some serious drama and some serious crazy to add a darker edge to your summer, tune into True Blood on June 16.

Showtime’s Dexter, the series featuring “America’s favorite serial killer,” entered its eighth and final season on April 18. This is sure to be a heart wrencher for longtime fans as the fate of their favorite anti-hero will be decided. So far, we have seen Dexter (Michael C. Hall) outsmart almost everyone in his life – from his family to his co-workers in the Miami Police Department – to protect his “hobby.” This mild-mannered blood-splatter analyst is a serial killer who hunts other serial killers in his free time. The show’s concept is arguably disturbing, but the moral ambiguity and continuous adrenaline high is what has kept viewers tuning in every week since 2006. This ultimate season should address his relationship with his sister, a cop who killed one of their colleagues to protect Dexter from being caught. It should also focus on his relationship with his children, especially if he is incarcerated, in order to tie up any other loose ends and ensure that the last episode provides viewers with a sense of closure.

If you like watching police officers with secret identities, the new kid on the block in AMC’s summer line-up, Graceland, may be the show for you. It promises to be a heart racing undercover cop drama featuring Les Miserables alum Aaron Tveit and other muscular men living under the radar in a California beach house. If it is starting to sound cheesy, don’t worry, I share your concerns. However, the trailer is gritty and name-drops some pretty hard-hitting agencies of the U.S. Government (the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and U.S. Customs all have members in the beach house). Sound interesting so far? Tune in June 6 to check it out.

If you’re looking for more new shows to watch, check out what the writers of Gossip Girl have dreamed up for ABC: Mistresses. Well, actually they’ve adapted it from a British series with the same name. But, if The Office is any indication of the succes of transfering a British concept to the American screen, this new soapy-drama could last several seasons. Mistresses is positioning itself as a mix of Sex and the City and Girls. It promises viewers a display of sisterhood and sexcapades that are the hallmark of modern TV representations of women’s lives and sexuality. Although I have my doubts about the depth and political correctness of this show, it does star Charm’s Alyssa Milano, which makes me excited to see it. If you are interested in enjoying a new guilty pleasure or judging some structurally chauvinistic TV, Mistresses airs June 3. Tune in!