Let the summer television season begin
Once considered a rerun graveyard, summer is now a time for lots of new network TV programming — never so much as this year, when more than 20 new shows start.
If Fox’s sun-drenched Southern California soap opera “The O.C” proved anything with its premiere last August, it’s that there are audiences for new dramas in the summer. So the network has followed up by creating what it calls a full-fledged season starting this month.
The courtroom drama “The Jury” debuted last Tuesday, to be followed Monday by a Hawaiian variation on “The O.C.” set at a resort hotel, “North Shore.”
As for comedy, “Method and Red” stars hip-hop’s Method Man and Redman as rappers who move into a rich neighborhood, while Andy Richter returns for another try at sitcoms, starring as an overburdened father in “Quintuplets.”
Both start Wednesday, along with the sequel to the Fox reality hit “The Simple Life,” starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. “The Simple Life 2: Road Rules” takes the heiresses, who previously had a “Green Acres” turn by staying with an Arkansas family, on the road.
Another reality show that’s part of the summer Fox lineup comes from Mark Burnett, who made his mark with “Survivor” and “The Apprentice.” “The Casino,” which starts Monday, promises an inside look at the inner workings of a gaming mecca, the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.
One Fox reality show that won’t make it to the screen is “Seriously Dude, I’m Gay,” from the producers of “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance.” The network pulled it off the schedule after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation called the show, about two straight guys trying to pass as gay, an “exercise in systematic humiliation.”
But reality programming remains big — especially in summer, when such hits as “Survivor” to “American Idol” had their first proving ground.
NBC already has brought back two summer reality shows, “For Love or Money” and “Last Comic Standing.” Starting Monday, “The Next Action Star” from producer Joel Silver is a competition among 14 hopefuls who have to endure stunt training, acting lessons and a weekly competition to stick around to star in the NBC movie “Hit Me” — which will be the series finale Aug. 11.
And on June 21, another season of “Who Wants To Marry My Dad?” tries to find a worthy bride, through lie detectors and other stunts, for a 47-year-old father, aided by his three daughters.
ABC is offering a seven-episode series looking into big-city law enforcement. “NYPD 24/7,” from the producers of “Hopkins 24/7” and “Boston 24/7” in previous seasons, starts June 22.
Starting June 30, “The Two Timer,” from the creator of “The Bachelor,” follows a 26-year-old named Chris through a succession of women.
Even ABC News gets into the act when Diane Sawyer anchors a five-episode series called “Weddings Gone Wild: Anything for Love”which concentrates on stories of couples planning their big events. It starts Monday.
CBS chief Les Moonves maintains he’s above all this, saying that reruns of “CSI” and “Without a Trace” do better than first-run reality shows.
Still, the network plans several hours a week of its own summer reality shows. “Big Brother 5,” which begins July 6, will be broadcast three nights a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
A new season of “The Amazing Race 5” also begins July 6 for a weekly run. Coming later this summer from CBS is “The Will,” a reality series from the producer of “The Bachelor” in which a head of household gives away his assets to one of his heirs.
New programming is set to start on cable as well, beginning with the fourth season of the critically acclaimed “Six Feet Under” on HBO tonight. Also returning are new seasons of “Monk,” starting Thursday on USA Network, and “Nip/Tuck” on FX beginning June 22.