#also the four most badass women in tv history are all teenagers???

[rigginsstreet]

Blair would ruin Nancy’s entire life by outing Karen’s extramarital jailbait affairs so goddamn fast please be serious right now

Katherine… well that’s self explanatory

[bakudomaster]

Charmed (1998 - Part 2)

[continued from Part 1]

STRUCTURE, WRITING & DEVELOPMENT

Charmed, like most of its supernatural contemporaries, mostly followed a villain of the week plot, with the sisters using their powers, spells or potions to overcome a demon or warlock. At the time, it was a very trendy theme to follow: thanks to media like The Craft, audiences were starting to shake of the moralistic panic that boomed in the 80s and explored the occult through familiar lenses, such as that of high school girls or modern working women.

The showrunners at the time (Constance M. Burge, who was the one had developed the idea and Brad Kern, who would head up the show over its 8 year run) were very aware that the supernatural theme was trendy at the time. Both Buffy and Sabrina had their premieres in 1996 and had developed a loyal following by then. The vampire slayer aimed for very dark and mature themes, whilst the teenage witch went for a lighter and airier approach. The Halliwell sisters struck it straight down the middle between the two - though the show would incorporate themes of death and frequent danger, it would also make use of heartwarming family moments and a dry sense of humor.

The writers used a very clear motto when coming up with scripts - these were sisters that happened to be witches, not the other way around, something mentioned in season 8′s bonus featurette. As important as magic was, it was not allowed to completely overshadow the various hurdles the Halliwells faced away from the cauldron - careers, boyfriends and family issues all had a significant hand in developing their characters.

Seasons 1 & 2 had a very simplistic formula, though it was a bit shaky. It can be forgiven when you consider that the show was doing trial and error in its own way, seeing what worked and what didn’t. Many of the memorable episodes come from these seasons as the writers laid down the history and mythology of the Halliwells.

Season 3 is where the real action began. Swinging in a much darker direction and taking the risk of an overarching plot, viewers were introduced to Cole Turner and his plot to kill the sisters whilst falling in love with Phoebe, Leo and Piper getting married and Prue continuing to power through life like the badass she was; all of which culminated in the season finale where the eldest witch was killed off. Many of the episodes stand out for their consistently solid writing, the outstanding acting and the dead on sarcastic humor.

After this, it was understandable that many fans and even the network was worried that the show would lose its momentum. Shannen Doherty was arguably the most famous person on the show - would the role of Prue be recast or would Phoebe and Piper carry on as a twosome? Would the show even come back?

All fears were allayed when the fourth season aired. Paige was no Prue, but her presence sent Charmed in a new, more offbeat direction. The same presence from the previous season continued, with the sisters battling the Source of All Evil for their very lives whilst having to deal with a new family members and burgeoning loves. Rose McGowan was refreshing and her being on the show caused the dynamic to change before it got too stale.

Charmed officially jumped the shark in season 5. The season long plot was eschewed in favor of episodic plots again, though they weren’t on the same level as the early seasons. The show also started to steer away from the traditional Wiccan feel. I feel the word ‘stereotype’ is inadequate here but I’m not sure of what else to use - leprechauns, genies, wood nymphs, mermaids; you name it, it was made into an episode. In essence, it became sillier and a parody of what the show had initially wanted to be.

The last three seasons were relatively mediocre. Though there are some good episodes here and there, it did not live up to the pinnacle of seasons 3 and 4. Overarching stories were back, but they didn’t mesh well with the lighter approach the show was going for. Character decay set in and ratings soon started to drop. Upon the renewal of the show for an eighth season, the lead actresses made it clear that this would be their last and did not want to continue further as the Power of Three. It was a decision that I imagine was hard, but fair. Charmed was no longer magical and in an age of rising reality TV (The Hills) and fascination with the obscenely rich (The O.C.), no spell in the Book could help.

Here are a list of episodes I recommend watching for various reasons:

The Witch Is Back - Melinda Warren, the witch who started it all, makes her first and last appearance on the show

Which Prue Is It Anyways? - watch for a different take on the Power of Three

Chick Flick - hilariously funny

Coyote Piper - a filler episode done right

Bride & Gloom - watch what happens when good girls go bad

Sin City - another filler done right

All Hell Breaks Loose - arguably, the best episode of the series & Shannen’s best performance

Hell Hath No Fury - Holly’s best performance

Charmed & Dangerous - the second best episode

Long Live The Queen - Alyssa’s best performance

Sympathy For The Demon - Rose’s best performance

The Power of Three Blondes - a very funny filler

Forever Charmed - the series finale

BULLSEYES & IMPROVEMENTS

What it got right:

The sense that no matter what you did or who you wanted to be, your family would always have your back

Darryl and his passive-aggressive snark at being dragged into the magical world time and again

The original spin on Wiccan principles & mythology in the first four seasons

The Book of Shadows & its artwork

Penny Halliwell - the grandma you always wanted

The awkward but fast connection Paige made with her sisters

Prue & Jack - proof that opposites attract

Cole’s arc during seasons 3 & 4

What it got wrong:

Wyatt - overpowered and seemingly out of nowhere, he was a bit unnecessary. Apparently, the writers made him this way to justify a baby being in the house with demons about to the network, but there are much better ways to get around this without giving him every single power

Future Chris - whiny, snotty and way too controlling. Also, Drew Perry is a very poor actor compared to the rest of the cast

Phoebe’s love life - apart from Cole, take any two of Phoebe’s love interests and tell me how they differ, I dare you

I’ve already mentioned the general silliness, but Seasons 5 & 6 takes the cake in this

Zankou - what could have been the smartest villain on the show was wasted due to too many storylines running about in season 7

Leo’s arc in season 7 - he doesn’t do brooding as well as Cole and it doesn’t make sense for his character

Darryl eventually turning against the sisters - it made no sense and it undid so many years of trust and friendship

Magic School - had this come in earlier seasons or just for an episode or two, it would have been a fun setting. The fact that it was  a very focal point post season 6 made it seem like a Hogwarts knockoff

Piper & Leo post season 4 - a very strong & loving relationship was marred by unnecessary trials. Really, he was made into an Elder in season 5 and had to leave home, but in season 6, he basically stuck around anyways, so what was the point? Just leave them together FFS!

CULTURAL IMPACT

Like many shows on the WB in the 90s, Charmed was very popular with the younger demographic even though its characters were about five years older than they were. Many resonated with the messages of family and female empowerment to the point of making a show a cult classic, even though it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as Buffy or Angel. Up until

Unfortunately, the environment on set was not ideal. Rumors of feuds between Shannen and Alyssa were plenty abound, causing the gossip machine to speculate that the latter’s rise in popularity was the result of the former leaving. Recently, Brad Kern was also exposed for being responsible for a very toxic & misogynistic work atmosphere. It’s a cruel irony, given the feminist tones the show cultivated.

Up until Desperate Housewives, Charmed had the honor of being the longest running TV show with all female leads. It was a truly imaginative show that made its own identity known. I haven’t watched the remake nor do I plan to - I have nothing against the new show and I’m sure it has it’s own highlights, but there’s only one Power of Three for me...

[... and that’s why we’ve truly been Charmed]

WHERE TO WATCH IT

Charmed is available for streaming on Netflix

[aion-rsa]

The Walking Dead: World Beyond Stars Talk Growing Up With Zombies

https://ift.tt/34hIA9c

To a certain generation of TV-watchers, zombies are an inevitability. AMC’s The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman’s comics of the same name, first premiered a decade ago. It was quickly followed up by its spinoff cousin Fear the Walking Dead and other zombie shows like Z Nation, iZombie, and Daybreak. 

Now the latest zombie effort in The Walking Dead universe, The Walking Dead: World Beyond is set to pay homage to the zombie-watching youth, let’s call them Generation Z (that’s not taken already, right?). World Beyond is a coming-of-age tale about a group of four teenagers who must find themselves amid the zombie apocalypse. Alexa Mansour and Aliyah Royale lead the quartet as the fundamentally different but unshakably close sister duo: Hope and Iris Bennett. 

Just like their characters, Mansour and Royale have grown up with The Walking Dead universe as an unavoidable fact of life. 

“They would have ‘Freaky Friday’ nights on AMC, and I would watch all the scary movies with my dad. So when Walking Dead came out, I became obsessed and then the nightmares started and I had to stop,” Mansour says.

Hope and Iris, however, aren’t afforded the opportunity to stop watching The Walking Dead universe as they’re deep into it. Alongside Elton Ortiz (Nicolas Cantu) and Silas Plaskett (Hal Sumpston), the pair take off from their relatively safe Campus Colony home in Nebraska to travel the walker-filled country in search of their long-lost father. 

We caught up with Royale and Mansour to talk about that journey, what it means to be a part of the Walking Dead franchise, and why walkers are now called “empties.” 

A big theme of this show is experiencing the world through the eyes of young people who barely remember a world without zombies in it. With that in mind, do you guys remember a world before The Walking Dead? How old were you when the series premiered and what has your history with it been like?

Aliyah Royale: It was actually something that my two older brothers were obsessed with. That Christmas, the calendar that they got was The Walking Dead themed. They followed the show the whole way through, so to find out that their little sister is now on it has been insane. I grew up knowing that there is this incredible show with these creatures that just terrify everyone, but that actually has an incredible storyline as well. But I was always too afraid to watch it! Walkers freak me out.

Alexa Mansour: I was a little older, I think I might have been like 12 or 13 years old, and I watched it the second that it came out. They would have ‘Freaky Friday’ nights on AMC, and I would watch all the scary movies with my dad. So when Walking Dead came out, I became obsessed and then the nightmares started and I had to stop. I would look forward to seeing Walking Dead at Universal Studios Horror Nights every single year, I was obsessed with it.

Aliyah Royale: That was the one I avoided, the one maze!

What’s it feel like to be a part of this enormous franchise now?

Alexa Mansour: Crazy. It’s just like, it has such a loyal fan base. This show is so many people’s worlds. Even when we were at New York Comic Con and they’re asking us questions about stuff that we wouldn’t even know. They’d read the comics religiously and all this stuff, and they’re so loyal to this show that it’s like, man, I really don’t want to disappoint any of these people.

Aliyah Royale: Yeah, you’re definitely walking into a fan base that is already so invested, at least 10 years worth of invested, in these stories, plus what the comic books gave us. So, I remember just walking onto that stage at New York Comic Con and being overwhelmed by the love in the room and the excitement. I think there was just this hope that was like, we are starting a new story. We’re starting a new chapter with these new characters. It’s also the hope of finding what happens with Rick, what do these three rings on the helicopter mean? Our show just gives so many answers to these people and giving them that opportunity is really awesome.

You guys play sisters on the show. What was it like when you first met each other, and how do you go about building up chemistry?

Alexa Mansour: I didn’t know if she was going to be my sister. I met her at the very, very, very last audition where I had to read with all the possible Iris’s. The person I thought that booked the show was not her, and I was not excited about the person because she was being very mean at the casting. But then I get to Virginia and I see Aliyah. Aliyah calls me, she’s like, ‘hey, I’m your sister!’

Aliyah Royale: She was like, “thank God!” We both have this witty, sarcastic nature to us, this language that only we speak, especially when everybody else is involved or around us. You can just tell that the relationship is so genuine. That relationship is there onscreen and offscreen.

One thing that your showrunner, Matthew (Negrete), mentioned was that he sees that one of the big themes of the show being trauma and how people overcome it, how do you play with that a bit with your characters? How are they working to overcome their traumas?

Alexa Mansour: I think Hope definitely tries to overcome her trauma by not even thinking about it. She masks all of her inner guilt and inner shame with rebelling against everyone and everything, just constantly getting in trouble. It isn’t until later in the season and throughout the season that she actually starts to try and face it head on and forgive herself for everything that’s happened.

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The Walking Dead: World Beyond Review (Spoiler Free)

By Ron Hogan

Aliyah Royale: “The night the sky fell”, which is what we call the official moment of the apocalypse hitting, we did not know what we were doing. We were kids. We were what, like five, six? But a lot of things happened that night. Hope and Iris lost people that meant everything to them. I think from that moment, whereas Hope is like, “You know what? eff this, I’m living for me now,” Iris came out of that experience more like, “I was afraid and that night I just lived in fear. For the rest of my life, I am going to make up for that by being everything I can to whoever needs me to be.” That’s who Iris was in this college campus community that they started to live in. It isn’t until she decides to go on the road with her sister and figure out who we actually want to be, and not just who we were forced to be after that night, that we turned into some really bad-ass young adult women. Watching that journey is really incredible.

Speaking of that journey – you guys start off in Nebraska, in Omaha, and then head off on an actual physical journey across the United States. I imagine that means you worked outside a lot. What’s that like filming out in the elements? And are you ever surprised how much Virginia can resemble the rest of the country, depending on where they’re traveling?

Aliyah Royale: Virginia is a special beast. I remember it was like 107 degrees, and it’s raining, and there is lightning in the sky. I’m like, “wait a minute, since when does summer have lightning storms?” Only in the South could I have seen something like that. It was crazy, especially being in those leather jackets, they’re very heavy and keeping our weapons on us. It was insane. Virginia is different.

Alexa Mansour: We got to the point that we tried to put on cooling vests that you would have to charge and fill up. If you didn’t do it long enough, then all they did was make even hotter because they had nothing cold in them. Then having boots and stuff and you’re trying to run through dirt. You got things chasing you, and you have like 50 pounds worth of bags on you. It was crazy. Then by the time we wrapped, it was what, like 10 degrees?

Aliyah Royale: Yeah, the day would start in the hundreds and by nightfall we’d be in the twenties.

Another interesting aspect of this show is that AMC has already announced that it’s going for two seasons, 10 episodes each. What is it like working on a show that you know has an expiration date for them? How does it inform your performances?

Aliyah Royale: For me it doesn’t. I still take the character day by day, episode by episode. I’m not looking forward in terms of “I hope Iris becomes this or hope her story ends like this.” No, moment by moment I’m playing this person and I want to live as that person. All I’m here for is to enjoy the ride. Playing this character has been the opportunity of a lifetime, however long or short I get to do it. It’s a blessing regardless.

Alexa Mansour: Yeah, it’s been so incredible to be a part of a production like this. I think regardless of whether it’s two seasons, 10 seasons, one season, half the season, we’re going to give it our all and do the best that we can.

What are you most excited for people to see once this season premieres?

Aliyah Royale: I love the “empties” (zombies) on our show. They get very creative with the way that they’ve decayed. There are these empties in Boston covered in all this moss. They’ve got nature growing all over them and they’re still sitting in these seats that they were in the night the sky fell. It looks so cool, 10 years later, this is how they’ve developed. They’re still slightly slowly moving. You can see their eyes moving, but they can’t actually move because of all the nature that’s entangling them in these seats. Just the way that our special effects team went to work on these empties, it’s next level.

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Alexa Mansour: The empties were insane. I remember getting freaked out a couple of times by seeing how realistic they looked. But this show proves how tough kids can be. I’m so excited for people to see how badass this whole team of kids is because we’re so used to seeing the adults on the show.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond premieres at 10 p.m. ET, Oct. 4 on AMC.

The post The Walking Dead: World Beyond Stars Talk Growing Up With Zombies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Summer TV Preview: 26 of the Best New and Returning Series to Watch!

Among ET’s 90 top picks for summer are our 26 most anticipated TV shows of the season.

Who says the best television is reserved for the fall, or even the spring, for that matter? Summer has proven to be a prime season for TV, with critically acclaimed shows (Mad Men), juicy reality (Survivor and American Idol) and surprise hits (Wayward Pines).

This summer is proving to be no different. The Bachelorette and World of Dancewill certainly provide us with our reality fix, while acclaimed shows like Insecure, Queen Sugar and Younger are all coming back with new seasons. But what will be our surprise hit? Ryan Murphy’s Pose? American Woman, from reality housewife-turned-producer Kyle Richards? Amy Adams in Sharp Objects? Or, perhaps, all of them! There are plenty of options to choose from.

The Bachelorette

Let’s do the damn thing! New Bachelorette Becca Kufrin is ready to find love again after being proposed to by Arie Luyendyk Jr. and publicly dumped on television. The premiere, featuring 28 suitors vying for Becca’s heart, is sure to be spicy, as the 28-year-old publicist will be unexpectedly reunited with a guy from her past. While the drama and tears will surely be flowin’, we’re so ready for Becca to reach peak happiness. Arie who?

Premieres: Monday, May 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC

Six

Olivia Munn makes her debut on the second season of the Navy SEAL drama, playing badass CIA officer Gina Kline. Highly intelligent and cunning, Gina has dedicated her entire life to the clandestine world of dangerous government assignments. Her latest mission? Hunting down a mysterious terrorist only known as the Prince, which becomes her most personal yet.

Premieres: Monday, May 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History

World of Dance

NBC

J.Lo, Ne-Yo, Derek Hough and Jenna Dewan are back and ready to find the latest talent in the world of dance! Already renewed for a third season, the super fun competition show will welcome another top-level talent to the fold, Julianne Hough, as a mentor for season two. Bring it on!

Premieres: Tuesday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC

Queen Sugar

OWN

When Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay are involved, you drop everything. The third season continues the Bordelon family’s fight as they try to save their family farm and father’s legacy as they navigate their own personal journeys. They soon find that their fight extends beyond their close-knit family to the community. Rutina Wesley, Kofi Siriboe, Bianca Lawson, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ethan Hutchison and Nicholas Ashe are back for more family drama.

Premieres: Tuesday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Netflix

It’s time to say goodbye to Kimmy Schmidt. The first six episodes of the fourth and final season of the quirky Ellie Kemper comedy launch this month (the seven remaining episodes will premiere at a later date) and we’re not ready to bid farewell to our favorite cult member-turned-HR manager. Joining the zany world are Busy Philipps, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Moynihan and Aidy Bryant, with familiar faces Jon Hamm, Amy Sedaris and Zosia Mamet also returning.

Premieres: Wednesday, May 30 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix

Pose

FX

Ryan Murphy is back at FX with Pose. Set in the 1980s, the eight-episode drama explores the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe and the downtown social and literary scene. Featuring the largest transgender cast in series regular roles in TV history, as well as the biggest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors for a scripted series, the ensemble also includes James Van Der Beek, Kate Mara and Evan Peters.

Premieres: Sunday, June 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX

Dietland

AMC

Don’t mess with Julianna Margulies. The Good Wife and ER alum returns to the small screen as red-haired glamazon Kitty Montgomery, the narcissistic boss of fashion magazine writer Plum Kettle (Joy Nash). Based on Sarai Walker’s 2015 best-selling novel and created by Marti Noxon (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, UnREAL), Dietland unveils Plum’s journey to self-awakening while exploring a multitude of issues faced by women today -- including patriarchy, misogyny, rape culture and unrealistic beauty standards. Plus, it’s sexy, provocative and oh, so juicy!

Premieres: Monday, June 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC

Younger

Team Charles or Team Josh? That is the ultimate question! The TV Land favorite returns for its fifth season, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Liza (Sutton Foster) as she navigates life and love in the Big Apple, most of the time pretending to be a younger, 20-something version of her actual self. Creator Darren Star hinted that a big premiere-ending bombshell will “change the equation for the entire series going forward.” Uh oh, what could it be?

Premieres: Tuesday, June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TV Land

Marvel's Cloak and Dagger

Freeform

Another Marvel show is heading to TV, and this one just might fill the void left by Hulu’s teen-centric Runaways. Cloak and Dagger tells the story of Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph), two teenagers from different backgrounds who find themselves with newly acquired superpowers -- Tandy can throw light daggers, while Tyrone can control darkness -- that are mysteriously linked to one another. We’re so in.

Premieres: Thursday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform

Nashville

The CMT drama prepares to bid adieu with the final eight episodes of the series, and we’re betting the drama is just ramping up for Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), Deacon (Charles Esten) and company. As the finale nears, the cast fondly remembered their six-season run, with Esten saying, “There was a magic in the very beginning. There will be magic in the very end."

Premieres: Thursday, June 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CMT

American Woman

Paramount Network

Inspired by the real-life childhood of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, American Woman follows Bonnie (Alicia Silverstone), an unconventional mother struggling to raise her two daughters after leaving her husband in 1970s Los Angeles. With the help of her best friends, Kathleen (Mena Suvari), and Diana (Jennifer Bartels), Bonnie and her pals are about to discover their own brand of independence in a world reluctant to give it to them.

Premieres: Thursday, June 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Paramount Network

Claws

TNT

The claws are out in Manatee County, Florida! TNT’s female-led nail-erific crime drama is back with Niecy Nash leading the charge as Desna and her trusty crew of women embrace the darker side of their shady side business. But they’re about to face some formidable foes in the form of dangerous Russian gangsters. Even so, we’re 99.9 percent sure that Desna and company are more than capable of showing who’s boss.

Premieres: Sunday, June 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TNT

The Bold Type

Freeform

Our favorite trio -- Jane (Katie Stevens), Sutton (Meghann Fahy) and Kat (Aisha Dee) -- returns for two more seasons, and the girls of The Bold Type are truly upping the ante with a two-hour sophomore premiere. There’s a lot to look forward to: awesome friendship moments with the core trio, blossoming romances and even some illegal activity. Oy vey, we’re counting down to the show's return!

Premieres: Tuesday, June 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform

The Affair

Showtime

Season four finds Noah (Dominic West), Helen (Maura Tierney), Alison (Ruth Wilson) and Cole (Joshua Jackson) in their own orbits, alienated from each other, spinning further and further away from where they all began. Each of them is involved in a new relationship, forcing them to decide if they’re ready and willing to leave the past behind for good. Sanaa Lathan joins the Showtime drama as Janelle, the tough-as-nails principal of the charter school where Noah teaches, with fellow new additions Ramon Rodriguez, Russell Hornsby and Phoebe Tonkin.

Premieres: Sunday, June 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime

Shades of Blue

NBC

J.Lo is a busy bee this summer! The woman who does it all leads the third and final 10-episode season of her police procedural as Detective Harlee Santos, whose “poetic” arc ends with “true redemption.” “Now looking at it with a little distance, playing Harlee strengthened me and helped me grow into a more self-assured woman,” the 48-year-old star said in April when the final season was announced. “It's crazy how some parts permeate your soul and change you forever and for that I am grateful.”

Premieres: Sunday, June 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC

Yellowstone

Paramount Network

Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who control the largest contiguous ranch in the country and must contend with constant attacks by land developers, clashes with an Indian reservation and conflict with America's first national park. From creator-director-writer Taylor Sheridan, the drama also stars Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Dave Annable and Cole Hauser.

Premieres: Wednesday, June 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Paramount Network

Marvel's Luke Cage

Netflix

A powerful new villain is about to rock Luke Cage (Mike Colter) to his core. After the events of The Defenders, Luke returns to Harlem as a hometown hero, but it isn’t long before his newfound celebrity status attracts unwanted attention from Bushmaster, who also happens to wield bulletproof powers. Elementary star Lucy Liu directed the season premiere.

Premieres: Friday, June 22 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix

GLOW

Netflix

Do we really need to sell you on GLOW? It’s divine, and that’s all you need to know. Plus, Alison Brie is a force to be reckoned with. But, if you still needed another season to tune in for season two, Brie recently teased that there might just be a scene or two with some major breakdance action. Sold.

Premieres: Friday, June 29 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix

Suits

Things are about to look very different in the world of Suits. The long-running legal drama said farewell to longtime stars Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams, but a new chapter is upon us with the addition of Katherine Heigl. The former Grey’s Anatomy star joins the high-stakes law world as attorney Samantha Wheeler, whom Gabriel Macht likened to Harvey Specter 2.0. “They're truly adversarial, but they sometimes mirror each other in their actions and their manipulative ways to accomplish what they need,” he teased to ET. “We'll see who's the better the poker player, who can kick more people in the knees."

Premieres: July on USA Network

Sharp Objects

HBO

Five-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams stars in the eight-episode limited series, Sharp Objects, based on the 2006 novel by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. Adams plays reporter Camille Preaker, who returns to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate the murders of two young girls, forcing her to face her personal demons. If the trailer is any indication of what lies ahead, this may be our new summer obsession.

Premieres: Sunday, July 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO

Heathers

Originally scheduled to debut in March, Paramount Network pushed back the launch of the Heathers TV reboot after the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting on Feb. 14. Loosely inspired by the 1988 cult classic with Shannen Doherty (she’s back as a new character!) and Christian Slater, this 10-episode black comedy is set in modern-day Westerburg High School and revolves around Veronica Sawyer (Grace Victoria Cox) as she deals with the school's most popular (and most vicious) clique, the Heathers.

Premieres: Tuesday, July 10 on Paramount Network

Trial and Error

NBC

Kristin Chenoweth takes over as the new lead on the sophomore season of Trial and Error: Lady Killer. The Tony and Emmy winner will play Lavinia Peck-Foster, an eccentric heiress known for her flamboyant outfits, large hats and hairless cat, who has not left the confines of Peck Gardens in ages. Lavinia calls on Josh Segal and Associates -- the team that got off Owl Murderer Larry Henderson (John Lithgow) -- to defend her after her husband is found stuffed into a suitcase in the back of her car.

Premieres: Thursday, July 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC

Making It

NBC

Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman are rollin’ up their sleeves for the six-episode competition series, where the most talented crafts makers from across the country will take on a variety of handmade projects in the hopes of impressing Poehler, Offerman and expert judges Simon Doonan and Dayna Isom Johnson. Honestly, we’re here for anything with these Parks and Recreation BFFs!

Premieres: Tuesday, July 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC

The Sinner

USA Network

Jessica Biel may not be returning in front of the camera, but she’s just as excited to be pulling the strings behind the scenes as an executive producer on the new season. Carrie Coon (The Leftovers, Fargo) joins returning cast member Bill Pullman as the new lead, playing Vera, a formidable yet mysterious woman who struggles between upholding the ideals of the community she leads and fulfilling her own desires.

Premieres: August on USA Network

Insecure

Issa new season for the hilariously honest HBO comedy. (See what we did there?) Issa Rae -- sorry, two-time Golden Globe nominee Issa Rae -- is reason enough to tune in for another season of realness as we pick back up with Issa, her bestie Molly (Yvonne Orji) and ex-boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis). Besides, we’re dying to know where exactly things are going to go after last season’s finale.

Premieres: Sunday, Aug. 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

Amazon Studios

John Krasinski stars as the titular action hero in Amazon Prime’s highly anticipated TV adaptation of the popular Tom Clancy novels in his first series regular role since Jim Halpert on The Office. The series reintroduces Jack as an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time and co-stars Wendell Pierce (Suits) and Abbie Cornish. More reason to spend a weekend in for a binge watch? It’s already renewed for a second season!

Premieres: Friday, Aug. 31 on Amazon Prime

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