Queer.Horror.Movies

The curated portfolio of film journalist Joe Lipsett

The B*tch Watch: June 2017 TV preview

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June TV Preview

After a month of nearly all streaming shows, summer TV resumes its regular schedule with the debut of a wide variety of different kinds of scripted programming.

Let’s bitch it out…

Top Pick: New

As a mild Stephen King fan, I’ll freely admit that the short novella The Mist really hooked me on his brand of storytelling. The tale of a small (where else?) Maine town that is first beseiged by an oppressive fog and then giant, mutated creatures within gets the serialized treatment in the June 22 series (it was previously released as a great Frank Darabont film with a controversial ending in 2007). The first trailer emphasizes the human monsters who use the circumstances to advance their own insidious agenda. More recent trailers (like the one above) have focused on the gore and the creatures, so it will be interesting to see if the series marries its conflicts in a compelling way and if the extended runtime allows the series to explore things the film couldn’t address.

  • Runners Up: TNT’s nail salon/crime series Claws (June 11) looks like a perfect mix of camp and outrageousness. Meanwhile, the 80s period dramedy GLOW (June 23) could be a winner if the lady-wrestling series strikes the right tone. I’m also very curious about the Naomi Watts psychological thriller Gypsy (June 30).

Top Pick: Returning

Queen Sugar (June 20) was one of the most gorgeous-looking series on television last year (it made our Honourable Mentions list for Best New TV Series 2016). The heartfelt family drama is populated by a memorable cast of f*cked up characters you can’t help but root for and the New Orleans-set series stands out for its unique landscape and emphasis on strong female characters. I’m very excited to see where this exceptional night-time soap goes in season two (and also to seeing Ralph Angel on a weekly basis again).

  • Runners Up: Dark Matter (June 9), Younger (June 28) and Killjoys (June 30) are perennial favourites and part of a balanced summer TV diet. Meanwhile, it feels like it’s been ages since the holiday Grantchester special, so it’s a welcome return for the cop and the vicar on June 18. Finally, can’t wait to see where Preacher goes when it returns June 25 after literally blowing up its premise at the end of S1.

Top Pick: Wildcard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgpm_A-gick

How could any other series win the Wildcard slot but Blood drive? After watching the gonzo trailer for the dystopian exploitation series, it’s the only logical choice. The series, which looks bizarre, tasteless, confusing and gory, is just so crazy that it will either be one of the best guilty pleasure series of the year…or the biggest steaming turd to debut on the small screen in ages. Either way, I can’t wait to find out.

  • Runners Up: Can the final season of Orphan Black (June 10) maintain the creative resurgence that began last year? Will Orange is the new Black (June 9)’s condensed three day timeline prove problematic? Will CBS’ most ridiculous series Zoo (June 29) find a more sustainable premise in S3? And does anyone want to watch a behind-the-scenes series focusing on the 70s stand-up comic scene? We’ll find out when I’m Dying Up Here debuts on June 4.

Full List of New and Returning TV – June 2017

Friday, June 2

  • Flaked S2 (Netflix – 3am EST): Chip returns to Venice after a short exile and finds that he is persona non grata. No store, no friends, not even a guest house to live in, it’s a long road back to the way things were. All episodes available today

Sunday, June 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5oOCxX7RSI

  • Fear The Walking Dead S3 (AMC – 9pm EST): The families will be brought together in the vibrant and violent ecotone of the U.S.-Mexico border.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kye0QwGX9E

  • I’m Dying Up Here S1 (Showtime – 10pm EST): Set in LA’s celebrated, infamous stand-up comedy scene of the 1970s, the series delves into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit the hilarious, but complex business of making an audience laugh.

Monday, June 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS6SRtc2rqY

  • Shadowhunters S2B (Freeform – 8pm EST): After Valentine’s massacre at the Institute, the Downworlders want justice for their fallen comrades, but will they turn on the Shadowhunters who fought by their side? And where does that leave Magnus, Simon and Luke?

  • Stitchers S3 (Freeform – 9pmEST): The sci-fi series returns for S3.

Wednesday, June 7

  • Nightcap (Pop – 8pm EST): Details the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes of producing a late-night talk show.

Thursday, June 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BZ_r8a_G8k

  • Queen of the South S2 (USA – 10pm EST): Inspired by the global best-selling novel “La Reina Del Sur” by internationally acclaimed author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen of the South follows the journey of Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) and the sacrifices she must make not only to survive, but to make it to the top of the drug world. Where will she draw the line when her moral code and her destiny are at odds?

Friday, June 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzJATbm8U98

  • Orange Is The New Black S5* (Netflix – 3am EST): Set over three tense days, S5 immediately follows the events of S4 when the inmates rose up in the wake of Poussey’s death. All episodes available today.

  • Dark Matter S3* (Syfy – 8pm EST): Who’s dead? Who’s not? Our anti-heroes are left scattered and presumed to be dead as the corporations prepare for an all-out war. Buck up! We’re in for one hell of a fight, team!

  • Wynonna Earp S2 (Syfy – 10pm EST): Now that any paranormal entity can enter the Ghost River Triangle, Wynonna Earp and her crew – sister Waverly, Waverly’s girlfriend Nicole, centuries old Doc Holliday and Black Badge Agent Dolls – must defend Purgatory from a whole new slew of demons, ghosts, and assorted evils. Thankfully, Wynonna’s one-liners remain.

Saturday, June 10

  • Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse S6 (OWN – 9pm EST): For Better or Worse is returning for its final season. Don’t miss a single love-filled moment before we say goodbye.

  • Orphan Black S5* (BBC America – 10pm EST): The clone sisterhood has been through it all together. From assassinations, detrimental illnesses, monitors and accidental murders to suburban drug fronts, kidnappings, male clones and biological warfare – there isn’t anything this lot hasn’t experienced. But through it all, they’ve remained united in their love and mission to keep each other safe at all costs. They’ve sacrificed their families, the loves of their lives, and any true sense of normalcy, all for the chance to liberate themselves from forces much bigger than any one of them. This season, they must all fight for the family they’ve chosen, for a new future and ultimately, for freedom.

  • Idiotsitter S2 (Comedy Central – 8pm EST): S2 follows Harvard grad Billie in her role as the court-appointed guardian for mega-rich woman child Gene, who is heading off to College. Half of S2 airs tonight; the rest airs Saturday, June 17

Sunday, June 11

  • Claws S1* (TNT – 9pm EST): A midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a Central Florida nail salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures.

Wednesday, June 14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgpm_A-gick

  • Blood Drive S1* (Syfy – 10pm EST): Set in a near-dystopian future, the series features a former cop, who is forced to take part in a death race in which cars run on human blood as fuel.

Thursday, June 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Os0_2VTNo

  • The Tunnel: Sabotage S2 (PBS – 9pm EST): The Tunnel is a high-volume, geo-political, bi-lingual thriller moving between the coasts of Kent and Northern France via the Eurotunnel, against a backdrop of a continent in crisis. This intricately plotted series reveals how the vulnerable and powerless become mere commodities in an underworld of ideological predators, corrupted appetites and Machiavellian realpolitik.

Friday, June 16

Screen-Shot-2017-03-30-at-11.05.28-AM-e1490897254183

  • The Ranch S3 (Netflix – 3am EST): Colt is forced to face the new reality of his complicated love triangle with Abby and Heather; Rooster settles into relationship life with Mary after bitterly moving off the ranch; and Maggie and Beau navigate life as divorced friends. All episodes available today

Saturday, June 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp8mQeotF5w

  • TURN: Washington’s Spies S4 (AMC – 9pm EST): Notorious traitor Benedict Arnold (Owain Yeoman) takes his revenge on George Washington (Ian Kahn) by rounding up suspected rebel spies to impress his new British commanders. Meanwhile, Woodhull and the other members of the Culper Ring escape Arnold’s clutches, and unintended consequences compel Abe to seek revenge. For his side to prevail, he must forsake his bloodlust and turn his attention toward the one thing that truly matters: winning the war. Final season

Sunday, June 18

  • My Mother and Other Strangers S1 (PBS – 8pm EST): The series follows the fortunes of a rural family, the Coynes, after a huge USAAF airfield with 4,000 service men and women – complete with a handsome and charming liaison officer, Captain Dreyfuss – lands smack-dab in the middle of their parish in 1943.

  • Granchester S3* (PBS – 9pm EST): The crime-solving duo returns for Season 3 this summer. When we last left the sleepy village, Sidney faced a moral dilemma: be with the woman he loves, or take the moral high road. The vicar has never been a saint, but is this a step too far?

Tuesday, June 20

  • Queen Sugar S2* (OWN – 10pm EST): Moves to regular Wednesday timeslot with new episode tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfnwH2X8yFk

  • Wrecked S2 (TBS – 10pm EST): The Lost-inspired comedy about morons stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash returns for S2.

Thursday, June 22

  • The Mist S1* (Spike): Based on a story by Stephen King, Spike’s THE MIST centers around a small town family that is torn apart by a brutal crime. As they deal with the fallout an eerie mist rolls in, suddenly cutting them off from the rest of the world and, in some cases, each other. Family, friends and adversaries become strange bedfellows, battling the mysterious mist and its threats, fighting to maintain morality and sanity as the rules of society break down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGvETOg0klk

  • The Night Shift S4 (NBC – 10pm EST): Follows the overnight shift at San Antonio Medical Center.

Friday, June 23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw8_AZVKOO0

  • GLOW S1* (Netflix – 3am EST): A period comedy examining a unique bit of 1980s pop culture: the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Alison Brie stars as a struggling actress who turns to G.L.O.W. for one last chance at success.

  • Playing House S3* (USA – 11pm EST): Emma is diagnosed with cancer and treatment must undergo a treatment regimen (mirroring the recent real life experiences of star St. Clair). Back to back episodes. The entire season will be available on VOD June 24.

Sunday, June 25

  • Power S4 (STARZ – 9pm EST): Season 4 picks up on the heels of James “Ghost” St. Patrick’s highly publicized arrest by his ex-girlfriend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Valdes , for the murder of FBI Agent Greg Knox—a crime he did not commit. Ghost can’t outrun his past choices and mounting enemies this season, which threaten his freedom and his family’s safety at every turn. His fight for redemption brings him face-to-face with the Feds, the media, new allies, and old foes. But the biggest obstacle for Ghost remains himself and his internal struggle between the man he wants to be and the one he really is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziF6gvIGC3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkuZjswJnV8

  • Preacher S2* (AMC – 10pm EST): Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy embark on a wild road trip with a beast in pursuit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18gsaVeBtOU

  • Prime Suspect: Tennison S1 (PBS – 10pm EST): Behind every great detective is a backstory. MASTERPIECE dials back the clock to spotlight the influences that turned 22-year-old rookie policewoman Jane Tennison into the savvy, single-minded crime fighter beloved by Prime Suspect viewers over the course of seven seasons.

Wednesday, June 28

  • Okja* (Netflix – 3am EST): From visionary director Bong Joon Ho, this grand global adventure follows a friendship too big to ignore. Meet Mija, a young girl who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja. Following her across continents, the coming-of-age comedy drama sees Mija’s horizons expand in a way one never would want for one’s children, coming up against the harsh realities of genetically modified food experimentation, globalization, eco-terrorism, and humanity’s obsession with image, brand and self-promotion.

  • Younger S4* (TV Land – 10pm EST): The new season picks up in the aftermath of Liza telling Kelsey the truth about her age.

Thursday, June 29

  • Zoo S3 (CBS – 10pm EST): CBS’ summer schlockfest, adapted from the James Patterson novel, returns for another ludicrous season.

Friday, June 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFQnk1Nradc

  • Gypsy S1* (Netflix – 3am EST): This ten-part psychological thriller follows Jean Halloway (Naomi Watts), a Manhattan therapist with a seemingly picturesque life who begins to develop intimate and illicit relationships with the people in her patients’ lives. As the borders of Jean’s professional life and personal fantasies become blurred, she descends into a world where the forces of desire and reality are disastrously at odds. All episodes available today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DJ6AOUuAao

  • Killjoys S3* (Syfy – 8pm EST): Out of the ashes of Khylen’s death, Aneela and her army are preparing for battle. With Johnny on the lamb, Dutch and D’avin are down one member as they prepare for the fight of their lives.

——-

And that’s it for June! July brings a Will Shakespeare series (Will), a terrible-looking new CBS sci-fi series (Salvation) and a maybe not-terrible new NBC sci-fi series (Midnight, Texas), as well as the returns of The Strain (final season), Insecure, Ballers and the biggest series on TV, a little ditty called Game of Thrones. See you next month!