CL’s Summer TV to Watch

It’s summer, summer, summertime. Time to relax, read a book, work out, play around, etc. Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of good things on TV this summer. Most of them are reality television, but it’s great reality. A lot of great shows are returning and some shows are brand new, but there’s definitely plenty to watch this summer if you’re trying to beat the heat and (possibly) rain. Here are some popular shows to watch out for:

Show: So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD)
Channel: Fox, check the link for times.
Type: Reality/Competition
Synopsis: Dancers all over America compete to win the contest and $250,000, from the creators of American Idol. Each week, they do different routines. They (the routines) are much more complicated than on Dancing with the Stars, as they are actual dancers. Like Idol, the top contestants tour the country after the finale.
Why I’m Watching: These people are PHENOMENAL dancers. I get goosebumps watching them dance. It’s truthfully breathtaking. I started watching on accident one season and now I can’t stop. It’s truly hypnotizing and it makes me WISH that I was a fraction as good as they are. Absolutely mesmerizing.

Show: Bethenny Getting Married?
Channel: Bravo, Thursdays 10/9c.
Type: Reality
Synopsis: Bethenny Frankel, breakout reality star from The Real Housewives of New York City, has her own reality show! Once known as the “runaway bride,” the show follows Bethenny as she gets ready to wed her fiance, Jason Hoppy, while six months pregnant. She deals with these two life-changing events while continuing to build her brand and business.
Why I’m Watching: Um, if you follow me on Twitter, you know I. LOVE. BETHENNY. I love her books, I love her tweets, I just think she’s a little bit of heaven rolled into reality television. It’s really funny, she’s really funny and it’s really real, which is hard to come by in most reality television.

Show: Bert the Conqueror
Channel: Travel Channel, Wednesdays 10/9c.
Type: Reality
Synopsis: Bert goes around the country conquering the biggest thrills. In the first two episodes, he conquered the “Fearsome Foursome” challenge at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH and the Human Slingshot in Utah. Adrenaline junkies of the world unite! This is your show. Techies, this is also great for you because he finds out what makes the ride run and how it works.
Why I’m Watching: This guy is HILARIOUS. There were points when I watched that I literally laughed out loud. This definitely needs to be watched by one and by all! You will laugh and these are places you need to keep in mind if you’re an adrenaline junkie like I am.

Show: True Blood
Channel: HBO, Sundays 9/10c
Type: Drama
Synopsis: Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in Bon Temps, LA in a time when vampires don’t have to live in secret. She falls in love with vampire Bill Compton and is thrust in the vampire world. It’s definitely a breakout hit and starts season 3 this summer, picking up exactly where season 2 left off with (SPOILER ALERT!) Sookie finding Bill missing from the restaurant minutes after he asked her to marry him.
Why I’m Watching: Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Kristin Bauer van Straten, and Nelsan Ellis make this show for me. They are Eric, Jason, Pam, and Lafayette respectively. These characters are hilarious and complicated and interesting. They all are, those are just my favorites (it’s really hard not to love Pam, in general). This show is smart and witty and hilarious, but packed with adventure and action. As much as I tried to fight liking it season one, I just couldn’t help it!

Show: Pretty Little Liars
Channel: ABC Family, 8/9c (though for the past two weeks it’s been on replay 8-11).
Type: Drama/Mystery
Synopsis: Once upon a time, there were five best friends, aged 15. While sleeping at a barn, one of them, Alison, goes missing and is later found dead a year later. After her disappearance, the four friends fall apart. The show picks up a year after Alison’s disappearance, Aria returning from Iceland and all four girls begin receiving messages from the mysterious “A,” who knows secrets that only Alison would have known.
Why I’m Watching: I’m viciously intrigued. I want to figure out who A is and what’s happening and any more secrets A has up her sleeve. It’s pretty funny (maybe not intentionally, right Kaitlyn?), but I can’t stop watching it. My curiosity has definitely gotten the better of me!

Is there any show you’re watching this summer that wasn’t mentioned? Have you seen any of the shows mentioned? What do you think about them? Let us know!

Briana Simko is a senior English/Theater Arts major at Duquesne University and a proud sister of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. She loves TV in the summertime and doesn’t know how she’s managing to fit in all of these great shows around studying for the GRE.