Believe it or not, it’s time once again to start gearing up for the year’s summer TV season. Here’s what the three major networks have in the works for the sunny months (all dates are subject to change).
ABC
Reality programming is a staple of the summer TV season, and this year ABC seems to be going with an “everyday American” theme for its packed reality schedule. They get the season going early on with “National Bingo Night” on May 18 at 9:00 p.m. The show is a game of chance in which a contestant tries his or her luck against a studio audience in the hope of winning money, trips and other prizes. ABC is stressing the interactivity of the game; viewers at home will be able to play along for an opportunity to win as well, and who doesn’t like to play Bingo?
NASCAR enthusiasts may be interested in “Fast Cars & Superstars – The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race,” which will have celebrities such as William Shatner, Jewel and Tony Hawk training for a race in the show’s finale. “Fast Cars” premieres June 7.
Like celebrity impersonations? Well, ABC’s got “The Next Big Thing,” a celebrity impersonation competition, in the works for May 30. Could this show be the next “Last Comic Standing”? Not likely – impersonations can only be funny for so long before they get old.
“The Ex-Wives Club” will have celebrity ex-wives (such as Shar Jackson and Marla Maples) helping other divorcees deal with their new lives. Lonely women might be the only demographic that could possibly enjoy this one.
It premieres May 28.
And yes, Shaquille O’Neal has his own show. In “Shaq’s Big Fat Challenge,” the basketball star will help a bunch of fat kids lose weight, premiering June 26.
It’s not all reality TV, though. The much-delayed “Traveler” stars Matthew Bomer, Logan Marshall-Green and Aaron Stanford as a group of college friends who must elude the FBI after they are mistakenly blamed for a terrorist attack. Running a serial drama during the summer can be risky (who wants to stick around for extended storylines when there are tanlines to work on?), but this show just might have what it takes to lure in the beloved 18- to 34-year-old demographic. Look for it May 30.
CBS
CBS doesn’t seem to have much in the pipeline for summer. One new show on the schedule is Mark Burnett’s latest venture, “Pirate Master,” which puts 16 people on a pirate ship while they search for $1 million in buried treasure. Other treasure-hunting shows have failed to catch on, but the recent success of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise may help “Pirate Master” find an audience. It will premiere May 31.
An American version of “Creature Comforts” will air June 4. The show combines stop-motion animation of animals with real audio recordings of regular people. The original British version is funny, so one can hope the U.S. version will be, as well.
“Big Brother” returns for another season of cabin-fever mayhem, with all new contestants this time. The voyeuristic reality show has proven itself a solid annual player in CBS’s summer lineup.
NBC
The strength of the Peacock’s summer schedule lies in its returning reality competitions. “America’s Got Talent,” “Last Comic Standing” and “The Biggest Loser” all return this year. Each of the three shows has a new host, with the highest-profile appointment going to Jerry Springer, the new host of “America’s Got Talent.” The premiere of “Talent” will air May 29. “Comic” will premiere June 13, and the premiere date for “Loser” has not yet been announced.
NBC’s only new show this summer is “Age of Love,” a dating show hosted by Kelly Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos. Not much is known about the show, but NBC calls it a “new twist on the reality dating show format.” We’ll just see about that when it premieres June 18. Hopefully, it will be more interesting (and more diverse) than
“The Bachelor.”
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