Manhattan (WGA America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veG28euSbMA
The show is set against the backdrop of the infamous Manhattan Project, however it looks that the show is going to focus more on the scientists and their families who must all live together while it is being completed. I think the result is going to be a very interesting Mad Men-esque series that is going to make for some wonderful character drama.
Extant (July 9; CBS)
Halley Berry returns from a solo space mission to find herself pregnant… enough said. This is a show that has been shrouded in so much mystery, which could be a good and bad thing. However, the fact that CBS gave the series a straight to series order is a good sign. I’m interested in seeing how the show maintains its main storyline if it gets past a first season. The secondary story lines involving their son and the conspiracy surrounding her immaculate conception may be enough, but it will take a lot of work. However, with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer I can see this series becoming a great summer series for CBS.
The Strain (FX)
Amazing science fiction director. Check. Phenomenal source material. Check. Charismatic and talented lead. Check. FX’s new series is looking to be one of the best entries in both the vampire and zombie craze. The series tells the story of mysterious zombie like virus that turns victims into zombies. I’m not even going to say more because if basically speaks for itself.
The Leftovers (HBO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shn1mPejr_4
I’m obsessed with this show and it hasn’t even premiered yet. It is based off of the novel of the same name in which a “rapture-like” event which causes 2% of the world population to mysteriously disappear. It’s not some catastrophic event, but it’s still a post-apocolyptic world in which the people who are left over (get the title now?) must suffer. It makes for so many storytelling options and character dramas. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS SHOW!
Legends (August 13; TNT)
Have we finally found a project that Sean Bean won’t die in? I honestly don’t know what to think of this series. However, it looks damn compelling. Sean Bean stars as an FBI agent who is a deep cover operative in several missions, or at least I think. This series is holding back so much, but my first impression looks like a mix of The Bourne Identity and something different entirely. Either way, the trailer was enough to get me interested.
What show are you excited for this summer? Sound off below!
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.