It’s only about a month until TV fans begin to find out if their top shows made the cut for next fall.
As the anxiety rises, viewers begin to wonder why it is they haven’t seen a favorite program or two for a while. In many cases, it’s because the favorite program is on cable and is a summer series.
In many instances, those shows are on USA, home to several outstanding summer programs.
In hopes of alleviating some of the viewer angst out there, USA has announced the return dates of its favorites, and given the heads up for a couple of new offerings. Here’s the summer rundown in order of appearance. Write them down. Tell your anxious friends and ease their minds.
Burn Notice. Hard to believe, but it’ll be Season 7 for the spy thriller starring Jeffrey Donovan. Look for it at 8 p.m. June 6, when we find out details of the mysterious deal Mike struck on last season’s finale.
Also returning are Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless and Coby Bell. Recurring guest stars will include Adrian Pasdar, Jack Coleman and Stephen Martines.
Graceland. This new original series debuts at 9 p.m. June 6. It follows the adventures of a group of undercover agents from the FBI, DEA and U.S. Customs who all live in a house - their sanctuary - called Graceland.
The series stars Daniel Sunjata, Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Ferlito, Brandon Jay McLaren, Manny Montana and Serinda Swan.
Royal Pains. Season 5 premieres at 8 p.m. June 12. We pick things up with Hank (Mark Feuerstein) returning to the Hamptons and HankMed following brain surgery. Also on board are series stars Paulo Costanzo, Brooke D’Orsay, Francis Conroy and Reshma Shetty as the newly single Divya.
Necessary Roughness. Callie Thorne is back for Season 3 at 9 p.m. June 12. The new season picks up six months after the New York Hawks’ playoff run at the end of last season. We find TK (Mehcad Brooks) and Matt (Marc Blucas) reconsidering their futures with the franchise.
Look for John Stamos playing Connor McClane, the head of a powerful sports and entertainment management agency.
Covert Affairs. The spy series starring Piper Perabo returns for its fourth season at 8 p.m. July 16. The big news: Annie (Perabo) and her longtime best friend Auggie (Christopher Gorham) finally acknowledge their feelings for each other.
Joining the cast this season is Hill Harper (CSI: NY), who will play an ambitious CIA station chief based in Latin America.
Suits. One of the favorites at our house, Suits returns at 9 p.m. July 16. It’s Season 3 for Gabriel Macht as Harvey and Patrick J. Adams as Mike. And what will happen after Mike reveals to Rachel (Meghan Markle) his deep, dark secret that he never went to Harvard?
Summer Camp. From the folks who bring us Big Brother, this new reality series sends 16 adults from all walks of life to an idyllic lakeside retreat, where they will compete in wacky summer camp games. The series debuts in July on a date to be announced.
In the fall. Fans will have to wait until the fall for Season 5 of White Collar. In addition, a new unscripted show, The Choir, will follow choirmaster Gareth Malone “as he immerses himself in communities across the country and brings people together through the power of music.”
Church dating. GSN, the network that offers us The American Bible Challenge with host Jeff Foxworthy, is developing It Takes a Church, a reality show where parishioners compete to find a romantic partner for a member of their congregation. No air date yet.
Haint change. Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, which was set to return Wednesday, will now premiere at 8 p.m. June 12. New episodes of Haunted Collector will continue to air at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through June 5.
It’s … alive! And for those who missed the announcement, AMC’s The Killing has not been canceled. The network took a while to make up its mind, but the critically acclaimed, but viewer-frustrating, series will return at 7 p.m. June 2 with a two-hour premiere.
The Killing peeved many fans when the case was not solved at the end of Season 1. For my money, it was worth the wait.
The series returns Mireille (pronounced me-RAY) Enos as detective Sarah Linden, and Joel Kinnaman as detective Stephen Holder. New cast members are Peter Sarsgaard, Elias Koteas and Amy Seimetz.
And, yes, it’s a brand new case and, yes, it will be resolved over the season’s 10 episodes. Guaranteed. Series creator Veena Sud learned her lesson after Season 1.
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Weekend, Pages 32 on 04/18/2013