“UnREAL” (Season 2)
Startdate/Slot: June 6th/Mondays 10pm, Lifetime
Synopsis: The “Bachelor“-style reality TV show “Everlasting” gets a new suitor in the form of a pro footballer, while behind the scenes the machinations between superlatively devious frenemies Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn (Constance Zimmer) reach a whole new level.
What You Need To Know: The unexpected critical TV hit of last year came from the most unlikely of quarters: a Lifetime channel show about the manipulation, backbiting and prima donna antics that go into the making of so-called “reality” TV. But the real surprise of season one of “UnREAL” was its triumphal feminism, delicious biting wit, and the creation of not one but two of the most compelling female TV antiheroes we’ve ever had in Quinn and Rachel — for which we can thank the razor-wire writing of showrunners Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer“) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, on whose short film the show is based. Insanely addictive and extremely clever beneath its cheerful veneer of cheese, “UnREAL” is maybe our most anticipated second season this year — if for some insane reason you’re not familiar with the show yet, season one is streaming on Hulu at the moment, and you have a massive, giddy treat in store.
“O.J: Made In America” (Documentary Miniseries)
Startdate/Slot: ABC will air the first part on June 11th, while ESPN will show the rest on June 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th.
Synopsis: Five-part documentary examining legendary NFL star O.J. Simpson, the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, O.J’s trial, and its place in American history.
What You Need To Know: The timing couldn’t be better for “O.J: Made In America” — “The Jinx” and “Making A Murderer” have proven that there’s a mass audience for true-crime documentary series, while FX’s “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson” proved to be a thrilling dramatization of the case that surpassed everyone’s expectations. So this new ESPN “30 For 30” spin-off, directed by Ezra Edelman, should be a big talking point, especially if the review for the nearly eight-hour series are correct: if you thought there was nothing more to be said here, you were very, very wrong. Kevin’s review calls it an “epic and essential film” that puts the case in context without “creating an apology or easy explanation for Simpson’s downfall” and ultimately “tells a story that seems too devastating to be true, but made all the more bracing because all of it actually happened,” and that should be plenty of reason to tune in even if you feel O.J-ed out at this point.
“Braindead” (Season 1)
Startdate/Slot: June 13th/Mondays 10pm, CBS
Synopsis: Fresh-faced Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) starts an exciting new job as a low-level Capitol Hill staffer only to discover that aliens have come to earth and consumed the brains of a growing number of Washington power players.
What You Need To Know: Perhaps the disappointing, damp-squib ending to the otherwise stellar 7-season run of Robert and Michelle King‘s “The Good Wife” can be chalked up to the husband and wife team having their attention fixed elsewhere: “Braindead,” the first show in their 3-year deal with CBS is an ambitious mix of political satire, genre sci-fi and fairly goofy comedy sees them slightly out of the comfort zone of their most famous creation. That said, their excellent legal drama of course had its own insidery political insights, and was always at its most impressive when turning on a dime with storylines that seemed taken from that morning’s newspaper, so the potential for “Braindead” to be both scathing and topical is certainly there. And God knows, with a national capital under threat of invasion by a tiny-handed Jaffa cake in a wig, the alien takeover aspect starts to look not just plausible, but possibly quite desirable.
“Animal Kingdom” (Season 1)
Startdate/Slot: June 14th/Tuesdays 9pm, TNT
Synopsis: After the death of his mother, 17-year-old J (Finn Cole from “Peaky Blinders”) moves in with the criminally-minded Cody family which is led by his grandmother Smurf (Ellen Barkin).
What You Need To Know: Based on David Michod‘s terrific film of the same name, this new TNT series (from showrunner Jonathan Lisco, though Michod produces) transposes the action of the Australian crime-family epic to a Southern California town, but preserves the basic premise: a relative innocent getting pulled into a very fucked-up family’s criminal endeavors. Also featuring plum roles for Shawn Hatosy, Scott Speedman, Ben Robson and Jake Weary, most of the attention, however, will be on Ellen Barkin’s turn as Janine “Smurf” Cody — a role so chewy and massive it broke out Jacki Weaver, who played it originally, in the US and earned her an Oscar nomination. The poster and advance marketing materials are somewhat hilarious in their po-faced griminess, but the trailer suggests the show is solid, if a tiny bit over-faithful to the beats and arcs of the film that spawned it. Now the only question is if we need another TV show about white-trash criminals sweating it out in the balmy south.
“Orange is the New Black” (Season 4)
Startdate/Slot: June 17th/Netflix
Synopsis: Litchfield Women’s Correctional Institute has been turned into a private enterprise and the inmates (comprised of possibly the best and most diverse ensemble cast on the small screen) have to come to terms with the new stresses that involves.
What You Need To Know: With the announcement that ‘OINTB’ has been renewed for a further 3 seasons, the future of Netflix’s flagship Original Series (from showrunner Jenji Kohan) is assured, but it does mean that all eyes are on Kohan’s fourth season, to see what she does with all that creative freedom. We were huge fans of season 3, but there’s no denying that it lacked the punchiness of season 2’s arch-villain arc ( Lorraine Toussaint‘s indelible Vee) and with Kohan herself suggesting that this season goes darker and more cynical place, it will be interesting to see how the show develops. No matter what, we’re excited to be back with that extraordinary cast, including Taylor Schilling, Kate Mulgrew, Uzo Adoba, Taryn Manning, Laverne Cox, Samira Wiley, Dascha Polanco et al. Netflix is notoriously cagey about releasing viewership numbers, but count us in (and also count us out of action otherwise that whole weekend while we binge).