fb-pixelWhat to watch on TV this summer - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

What to watch on TV this summer

Idris Elba in “Luther.”BBC/© BBC

You’ve already binged through “Sense8” and season three of “Orange Is the New Black” on Netflix. You aren’t interested in the countless game shows and reality contests that the networks consider “light summer entertainment.” And you don’t have the stomach for the heavy-handed “Chinatown” wannabe that is season two of “True Detective.” Still, you’ve got long summer nights, a mess of vacation time, and many viewing hours to fill. Don’t worry. We’re here for you, with 20 or so alternatives: old series and miniseries gems that are worth digging up and polishing off.

“American Masters”

This long-running, Emmy Award-winning series profiling actors, artists, athletes, authors, comedians, dancers, and organizations who have made an impact on the culture has had a stellar and wildly eclectic last few seasons. Full episodes are available on the PBS website, including excellent examinations of the lives and careers of people as disparate as Billie Jean King, Mel Brooks, and Alice Walker. For music fans, the installments on Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Hamlisch are not to be missed. (SR)

“The Awesomes”

When he is not hosting “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” the New Hampshire native has a secret identity as executive producer and star of this delightful Hulu original animated series chronicling the adventures of a band of misfit superheroes, whose comically tragic motto could be “The Awesomes: Our bar is lower.” Adding to the fun in the first two seasons — there will be a third — is a voice cast dotted with other “Saturday Night Live” alums, including Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, and Taran Killam. (SR)

Advertisement



“Better Off Ted”

This cynical, satirical, and often uproarious corporation-skewering sitcom, available on several streaming platforms, ran for only two short seasons on ABC. But its execution, casting — particularly stars Portia de Rossi and Wellesley native Jay Harrington — and sharp writing remain as cutting as ever, as the employees of the behemoth Veridian Dynamics scheme all day while trying to relocate their humanity when they are off the clock. (SR)

Advertisement



“Black Mirror”

A scene from “Black Mirror” on Netflix.Netflix

This British anthology series on Netflix is the closest thing we have to Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone.” Each episode is completely different from the one before it, but they all tap into the ways that high-tech alters our minds, our bodies, and our culture. Acted and filmed to perfection, the drama can be blackly satirical, terrifying, and altogether damning. It will transport you to another, similar world, and then make you think. (MG)

“Bloodline”

This dark and twisty Netflix original drama — which recently got an order for a second season — puts its all-star cast (Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Linda Cardellini, Norbert Leo Butz, Sam Shepard) to good use in a dysfunctional family drama. Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn gives an Emmy-worthy performance as the prodigal son who returns to wreak havoc on the idyllic lives his parents and siblings were pretending to have. (SR)

“Bob’s Burgers”

FOX

While it got off to a slightly rocky start, and its louder (“Family Guy”) and more legendary (“The Simpsons”) animated siblings on Fox tend to get more attention, the quieter, kookier Belcher family — dad Bob, mom Linda, son Gene, and daughters Tina and Louise — grew into very funny characters, adept at wringing laughs as they run the family burger joint. The first five seasons are available on several streaming platforms; we suggest starting with the terrific episode that musically mashed up two of our favorite ’80s movies into “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl.” (SR)

Advertisement



“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”

It’s all right there in the title of this Crackle original series. Jerry Seinfeld hosts this easygoing show in which he takes fellow comics and comic actors for a ride in a vintage car — Jon Stewart got a Gremlin, Chris Rock a Lamborghini — and then sits down with them for a cup of Joe. In the midst of the sixth season, Seinfeld is, unsurprisingly, a funny and smart interviewer and his subjects — from “Seinfeld” pal Julia Louis-Dreyfus to David Letterman, Louis C.K. to Amy Schumer — clearly enjoy spending time with him. (SR)

“Extras”

Many of us know about the British “Office,” but Ricky Gervais’s follow-up comedy gets a lot less attention. “Extras,” though, is a worthy two-season series that brings us inside the world of the people who populate crowd scenes in movies. It’s a cringe comedy, but a lot cheerier and more colorful than “The Office,” with guest stars from Kate Winslet to David Bowie playing warped versions of themselves. By “The Comeback”-like second season, Gervais’s Andy does find some fame, which takes the story in wonderful new directions. Stephen Merchant is great as Andy’s agent, and Ashley Jensen is endearing as his best friend. (MG)

“Hustle”

This playful, lighthearted British series is about pros and cons. It’s a kind of serialized version of “Ocean’s Eleven,” with a team of glamorous con artists finding their marks and pouncing. It’s flim-flam with a wink. The cast, including Robert Vaughn (Napoleon Solo!) and Jaime Murray (Lila on “Dexter”!), is just fine; the real fun is in the clever plot twists, the way the show fools even the audience along the way. Also fun: the honor among thieves. Start at the beginning; the later seasons aren’t as consistent. TNT created its own version of “Hustle,” with “Leverage,” but failed to muster the same sophistication and sparkle as this giddy bit of gamesmanship. (MG)

Advertisement



“In Treatment”

When I heard that a TV series would attempt to re-create therapy with an almost real-time approach, I was skeptical. But “In Treatment” isn’t just a successful evocation of the sessions in the life of a therapist played by Gabriel Byrne; it’s a brilliant three-season drama built on what could pass as a long series of fine one-act plays. It’s a nexus of moving and fascinating character studies of clients looking for help and the man who tries to help them. Each half-hour episode is packed with beautiful writing, subtle camerawork, and top-notch acting (by Byrne, then-newcomer Mia Wasikowska, Debra Winger, Dane DeHaan, Irrfan Khan, and others). (MG)

“The Larry Sanders Show”

Before “30 Rock,” this classic ruthlessly satirized the cutthroat ways of the network TV world, our obsession with Next Big Things, and the insecurity and vanity of famous people.
The focus is on the late-night TV wars, with Garry Shandling as the paranoid host who is obsessed with ratings
and keeping his job. Celebrities from Jon Stewart and David Duchovny to Carol Burnett play versions of themselves, and Jeffrey Tambor (who went on to “Arrested Development” and “Transparent”) and Rip Torn kill it as members of Larry’s staff. (MG)

Advertisement



“Luther”

You cannot watch this series unless you like to be pulled to the end of your seat by dramatic tension and fear. The “Prime Suspect”-ish show is a character drama about John Luther (the remarkable Idris Elba, above), a detective recovering from a breakdown. It’s also a chilling crime series with horrific murder cases and eerie suspects. And it’s a portrait of one of the best cat-and-mouse games ever on TV, between Luther and murder suspect Alice, played to creepy perfection by Ruth Wilson (“The Affair”). (MG)

“Masterpiece” gems

Long before “Downton Abbey,” PBS was making beautifully filmed, absorbing, exquisitely acted stories of life in other times. Some of my favorites over the years still resonate. “To the Ends of the Earth” follows a young 19th-century aristocrat (Benedict Cumberbatch) on a perilous sea voyage to Australia. “The Way We Live Now” of 2001 is a top-notch adaptation (by Andrew Davies) of Anthony Trollope’s classic, a novel about people, trust, and money that continues to resonate. David Suchet stars as Augustus Melmotte, a financier who anticipated Bernie Madoff by over a hundred years.

Really, there are too many to name (shoutout “The Lost Prince” and “Wives and Daughters”). But two other PBS miniseries stand out in my memory. “The Virgin Queen” from 2005 gives a fresh and operatic spin to the oft-told story of Elizabeth I, the queen who resisted the pressure to marry. Anne-Marie Duff is unforgettable, first as a bratty royal and later as a miserable elder whose white face and orange hair give her a sad-clown-like aspect. And if you like Dickens’s stories (shoutout to “Little Dorrit” of 2008), you have to see the “Bleak House” of 2006. About a soul-sucking legal case and the many lives it changes, the miniseries was precisely adapted by Andrew Davies. Every major and minor character is brought to life by a cast that includes Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, and Carey Mulligan. (MG)

“Spartacus”

Caveat: This Starz series about the famed gladiator is not a “great” show in the “golden age of television” sense. This is a sexy (bordering on soft-core), sinful, and sweaty swords-and-sandals romp that isn’t afraid to bare a lot of flesh and spill a lot of blood — often in slow motion. But amidst all the R-rated grappling, groping, and gladiating beats the heart of a smart look at power dynamics, the gulf between the haves and have-nots, the perils of enslavement, and of judging books by their covers. A great cast, including Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, elevates the drama. (SR)

Spectacle: Elvis Costello With . . .

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer sits down for in-depth chats with friends and peers. After Costello did a smashing job pinch-hitting for David Letterman in 2003, it wasn’t a big surprise that the brainy rocker was such a good fit as a host for this two-season series, available on DVD and streaming on Amazon. But his long chats — and occasionally, performances — with the likes of James Taylor, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Bono and the Edge of U2, Tony Bennett, and Sting are lively and illuminating. (SR)

“The Corner”

This grim, darkly poetic miniseries was No. 1 on my year-end list in 2000. It’s a bracing portrait of the lives of junkies in a hollowed-out Baltimore neighborhood, and it was co-written by David Simon, who went on to greater glory with “The Wire.” The acting here, by Khandi Alexander, T.K. Carter, and Sean Nelson, is riveting and realistic, and director Charles S. Dutton is wise and patient enough to let the characters’ humanity emerge slowly, without stylistic gimmickry. In a way, “The Corner” was a pioneer of the “slow drama” that has come into vogue since “Breaking Bad.” Like “The Wire,” “The Corner” is about the life-and-death forces at war in the inner city, but it also brings an intimacy to the people stuck there. Don’t go near this one if you’re looking for summer escapism. (MG)

“The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling”

This miniseries, based on Henry Fielding’s novel, doesn’t mimic the rollicking 1963 film version starring Albert Finney. Instead, it uses its six hours to follow the emotional facets and class issues of our hero’s lively adventures. As Tom, Max Beesley is gentle and low key, letting all the broader, bawdier, morally demented characters around him — played by a number of pros, including Samantha Morton and Lindsay Duncan — shine. It’s smart, light, and satisfying. (MG)

Veronica Mars

Kristen Bell in “Veronica Mars.” Patrick Ecclesine/The CW

We stretch back to the early aughts for this dynamite drama about a teenage Sam Spade (“House of Lies” star Kristen Bell) who navigates the tricky path of a high school divided sharply between the ultra-rich and the working class. Outcast Veronica is a smart, tough, wry cookie, which works in her favor as she solves problems — for a fee — for her classmates, and engages in one of the best father-daughter relationships ever depicted on screen with Enrico Colantoni. When you’re finished with the three seasons, you can check out the 2014 big-screen continuation. (SR)

Warehouse 13

This Syfy original was the perfect summer series, mostly light, escapist fun as a team of researchers and federal agents tracked down supernatural artifacts and cracked their mysteries, thus saving the world time and again. The artifacts themselves had clever back stories — Mrs. O’Leary’s cowbell, for instance, could start fires, while Julia Child’s apron allowed the wearer to bake perfect pastry. The cast, including Saul Rubinek as hangdog leader Artie, Eddie McClintock as the ever cheerful Pete, and CCH Pounder as the enigmatic Mrs. Frederic, nimbly moved from slapstick to solemnity with ease. (SR)


Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert. Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeRodman.