The 25 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of Summer 2012

Take a look out the nearest window—you see that shining, blistering hot sun? Well, guess what? It’s even nicer when experienced outdoors, rather than merely glimpsed from a cozy couch or a workplace swivel chair. Now that summer is upon us, and the temperatures are steadily rising, it’s officially the season for beach trips, bathing suits, and extracurricular/sporty activities carried out amidst fresh air and warm skies. Meaning, it’s exactly the time of year in which we shouldn’t be wasting away indoors, watching hours of television with cans of soda and bags of potato chips in hand.

But why start practicing a healthy lifestyle now, especially since, we’re guessing, you drank gallons of booze and devoured tons of cheeseburgers during Memorial Day weekend. The summer months might mean it’s nicer than ever outside, but the span from June through August also brings forth an assortment of worthwhile TV programs, including returning favorites, classic shows beginning their swan songs, and new properties that either look brilliant or fascinatingly ludicrous.

So turn the air conditioner on, wear some comfy pajamas, forsake the sunlight, and fire up that DVR as we count down The 25 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of Summer 2012.

RELATED: The 25 Best Summer Vacation Movies

Written by Tara Aquino (@t_akino), Matt Barone (@MBarone), Tanya Ghahremani (@tanyaghahremani)

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Stars: Charlie Sheen, Selma Blair, Shawnee Smith, Michael Arden, Daniela Bobadilla, Derek Richardson, Noureen DeWulf
Premiere date: June 28

OK, blame us all you want for shamelessly continuing the increasingly ridiculous farce that was Charlie Sheen’s 2011 downward spiral of unaware self-parody. The shame partially remains, but something else also lingers: the memory of how funny Sheen used to be before the whole Two and a Half Men debacle.

Which is why we’re so willing to give Mr. Tiger Blood’s new FX sitcom, Anger Management (based on the amusing 2003 flick starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson), a no-questions-asked shot. On the cable network known for pushing comedy’s edges (see: Louie, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Sheen begins his comeback trail as a former minor league baseball star coping with his own temperament problems as he counsels easily irritable patients in professional therapy.

Look for (hopefully) livewire chemistry between Sheen and Selma Blair, the slept-on comedic talent playing his therapist here. But, mainly, give Anger Management a chance simply to see if 2011’s biggest joke can evolve into 2012’s most welcome revitalization subject. Think of it this way: If Anger Management fails, Sheen could very well go on another bender and take front-page headlines away from legitimately important world issues. You’ve been warned. —M.B.

Premiere date: July 9

Yes. Another reality show singing competition. But don’t worry, this won’t be like any Simon Cowell series, or even like NBC’s response to Simon Cowell’s success, The Voice. Though it is created by American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, Opening Act is setting itself apart by recruiting people who you may already actually recognize: YouTube stars. The lucky chosen ones are offered the opportunity to perform on tour with an A-list artists such as Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Rod Stewart, and more.

The judges—though they won’t be judging so much as they’ll be putting them through a “performance boot camp”—include Mary J. Blige and Rock Mafia’s Antonio Armato (from the band that sings the Mob Wives theme song). We know you’re probably skeptical about reality singing competitions by now, and trust us, we are too, but this sounds just the right amount of interesting for us to give it a shot. —T.G.

Premiere date: June 12

Looking for a show to satisfy the hole left in your TV-lovin’ hearts by Cops, which will be off the air until midseason? See Spike’s World’s Worst Tenants for comfort. It’s no Cops, sure, but it does feature a really burly guy going around from place to place investigating claims of tenants doing stupid shit. Physical altercations—that’s what we want from our reality TV. —T.G.

Stars: Shay Mitchell, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale
Premiere date: June 5

Forget the awkward parent-child sex talks on The Secret Life of the American Teenager and the unfunniness of the family sitcom Melissa and Joey—Pretty Little Liars isn't your typical ABC Family show. While the show's basic premise—high school friends must uncover their Queen B's murderer while dodging texts from a mysterious "A"—sounds as juvenile as the YA novel it was adapted from, the television series actually packs more of an adult punch.

The show itself is a less-gruesome version of I Know What You Did Last Summer, fueled by an intricate series of pulse-quickening plot twists and cliffhangers that never quite offer relief for a preferably mature audience that can handle mild spooks. Plus, each of its four leading beauties have the looks of Jennifer Love Hewitt in her prime.

If the prospect of hot girls-next-door catching killers excites you, then tune into the show's season three premiere, which picks up the summer after the enigmatic "A" is revealed. —T.A.

Premiere date: June 28

Russell Brand’s a funny guy, no doubt about it, but let’s be honest with ourselves right off the bat: The main reason we’re excited about his new half-hour, late night show, on which he'll riff on current events in front of a live audience, is because he just broke up with total hottie music superstar Katy Perry, and we want to see if he disses her in any of his jokes. Like we said, shame = nonexistent. You know you were thinking the same thing anyway. —T.G.

Premiere date: Late summer

This summer on Fox will undoubtedly be the season of the Ram…say. Along with the returns of his long-running yet still-fresh series, Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef, Gordon Ramsay is introducing a new series that is basically the same exact thing, only taking place in hotels.

It’s a hard formula to get wrong when it comes to Ramsay: People don’t know how to do their jobs, he yells at them until they cry and/or learn, they get their ass in gear and find success, then he moves on. We’re confident this show is going to be solid viewing when it begins airing later this summer. —T.G.

Premiere date: June 6

Clearly the folks at the Travel channel are huge fans of 30 Rock's Liz Lemon, who once said: “All anyone really wants in this life is to sit in peace and eat a sandwich.” This show, hosted by the enemy of arteries, Adam Richman, is, bottom line, about finding the best sandwich in America. There is absolutely no way that this show will not be awesome. And if you hate sandwiches, well, then we can’t be friends anymore. —T.G.

Premiere date: Late summer

When the Virgin Diaries special premiered last December on TLC, it was met with heaps of people criticizing both the network’s take on later-life virgins, as well as the virgins’ own decisions to abstain from any sort of sexual contact. It was also hilarious, because these people didn’t know how to kiss each other on their wedding day.

Luckily for fans of the series, the criticisms didn’t stop the network from producing more installments of Virgin Diaries, as there are reports that they’ve picked up two new episodes that are slated to premiere later this summer. Should we feel bad about finding this show so hilarious? Maybe, but we also stopped having any shame a long time ago, so that’s not really an issue for us anymore. —T.G.

Stars: Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Dylan O’Brien, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, Colton Haynes
Premiere date: June 3

Yes, all the signs point to an “foh” reaction: Based on a silly but enjoyable ’80s comedy, Teen Wolf is a darker and teen-skewering series that stars a bunch of young actors and actresses who probably occupied a Twilight casting call room at one point or another. Oh, and it’s on MTV, of all networks, a station that’s hardly laudable for any of its original programming that doesn’t star Rob Dyrdek.

So color us gob-smacked that Teen Wolf is actually must-see television. Despite all of its on-paper faults, the best show on MTV benefits greatly from a cast of youngsters who can all really act (well, at that) and well-handled senses of gravitas and edgy horror. Back for a second season this Sunday night, Teen Wolf deserves a fair shake. The highest praise we can give it is to say that, merely a few minutes into any given episode, you’ll say to yourself, “How the hell is this on MTV? It’s good!” —M.B.

Premiere date: June 18

There are two things that reality television viewers are addicted to: voyeurism and control. ABC’s The Glass House delivers both. The show sticks a group of contestants together in a house, films their every move, and allows audiences to dictate what happens next on the show. We don’t know about you, but we’re totally sold.

There are some obvious similarities to Big Brother—so many that CBS sued ABC for infringement—but the network maintains that the show is different enough to stand on its own. With so much controversy surrounding the series already, we can only imagine what it’s going to be like when the thing actually starts airing. —T.G.

Premiere date: June 8

Game shows can be a little old person-y, but we assure you, Bunk is not your mother’s game show. A panel of comedians compete in, as the network describes it, “inane challenges to win surreal prizes.” This is basically a more eloquent way of saying that they’re going to make people do stupid shit on television. Sold. —T.G.

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Jessy Schram, Maxim Knight, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Terry O’Quinn, Brandon Jay McLaren
Premiere date: June 17

Last summer, in quiet, inconspicuous fashion, TNT’s Falling Skies delivered some of cable television’s most addictive entertainment. But are enough people actually tuning in to feel the same way? Apparently so, since TNT felt confident enough to grant the Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi/action series a second go-round, and we couldn’t be happier.

Starring a commanding Noah Wyle as a college professor turned alien-hating freedom fighter, Falling Skies imagines a world full of battered civilians rising up to rail against fast, military-minded aliens with heavy firepower. The special effects are sharp (unlike Spielberg’s other high-concept 2011 show, the rightfully scrapped Terra Nova), the acting and writing are consistently on-point, and, in a bit of analysis that should make the angriest Walking Dead naysayers' ears and eyes perk up, the mayhem has gone down briskly and frequently since the pilot episode.

Having gained in quality with each subsequent hour last year, Falling Skies is primed for an knockout return. The question is, who shares our enthusiasm? —M.B.

Premiere date: June 27

Who wouldn’t like to see Hollywood’s high and mighty (Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Prince, R. Kelly, and Jose Canseco) get taken down a notch by their ex-wives? Seriously, point someone out to us, because we’re pretty convinced this show is going to be the most genius thing the Housewives format of reality TV has ever seen.

Though the official description is that the ex-leading ladies from these entertainers’ lives just “want to show the world that they are more than just a trophy wife with a pretty face,” we’re sure they’re aware that the key to big ratings is revealing their ex-hubbies’ dirty little secrets…so we’ve got high hopes for this one. —T.G.

Stars: Mat LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig, John Pankow, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Mircea Monroe
Premiere date: July 1

Of all the former Friends stars, Matt LeBlanc, prior to January 2011, seemed to be the most in danger of post-NBC nothingness. Hell, even David Schwimmer has those animated Madagascar movies to rely upon for success. LeBlanc, though? The stain of catastrophes like the Friends spinoff Joey has been devastating.

Well, until Episodes came long, that is. In a bit of Curb Your Enthusiasm-esque self-lampooning, LeBlanc plays a fictionalized version of himself, an unreliable Hollywood name who, without much assistance, ruins the stateside debut of award-winning British TV producers Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig).

Our one complaint? Frankly, there’s not enough LeBlanc. In season two, Episodes needs to focus more on its recognizable bread-and-butter and less on his less hysterical co-stars. It’s not like there isn’t enough in LeBlanc’s real-life filmography to spoof. —M.B.

Stars: Kelsey Grammar, Connie Nielsen, Martin Donovan, Kathleen Robertson, Hannah Ware, T.I., Jonathan Groff, Sanaa Lathan
Premiere date: August 17

It’s true, the Starz network has more to offer than just the bountifully flashed breasts and glowingly red fake blood seen on its Spartacus shows—who knew! Without much mainstream fanfare, Boss, the dark and heady political drama series anchored by an atypically dark Kelsey Grammer, landed on several top critics' best-of-2011 lists, and, after giving the program a gander, it’s easy to comprehend why.

With shades of early Breaking Bad, minus the gruesome homicide and crystal meth, Boss focuses on Chicago mayor Tom Kane, a complicated shotcaller who’s hiding his recently diagnosed neurological disorder from his family and advisors, all of whom have their own problematic issues. This year, Kane’s strife will also intersect with that of T.I., with Tip joining Boss as a onetime street gangster trying to reform his life in the political arena.

Don’t hold the Atlanta rapper’s acting woes (i.e., Takers) against the show, however—considering that Grammer won a Golden Globe for his work as Kane earlier this year (beating out Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Boardwalk Empire’s Steve Buscemi, no less), Boss should have no shortage of performance firepower. —M.B.

Stars: Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Common, Dominique McEligott, Tom Noonan, Eddie Spears
Premiere date: August 12

Patience, and a heavy deal of faith in AMC’s programming capabilities, led us to stick with Hell on Wheels last year, during its premiere season, even though the 1860s-set western drama started off slower than a derailed caboose. But as the vengeance plot of steely Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) progressed, and the violence got rawer by the hour, Hell on Wheels gradually proved its worth.

Now, we’re ready to see if series creators Joe and Tony Gayton have what it takes to not go the way of The Killing, AMC’s once-invigorating show that’s devolved into a frustrating mess. There’s also the intrigue surrounding the performance of Common, whose gritty and emotionally vibrant performance as a defiant former slave was a revelation last season. —M.B.

Will the Resurrection MC maintain his on-screen distinction? And will Hell on Wheels, as a whole, justify its placement alongside Breaking Bad, and, come October, The Walking Dead? Just keep the Gayton siblings away from Veena Sud and we should be in good shape?

Premiere date: June 21

Jersey Shore is stale but we still have hope for the series’ second spinoff, the aptly titled Snooki & JWoww, which sees two of the show’s most interesting cast members renting an old firehouse together in Jersey City with the intentions of getting into drunken hijinks together or something. The key word being “intention.”

Perfectly timed to the beginning of filming, Snooki announced that she was not only engaged, but also pregnant. The Snooki we’re promised on this series is completely sober, and that alone is enough to make us tune in for at least a few episodes. Have we ever even seen sober Snooki? —T.G.

Premiere date: June 9

CMT’s Redneck Island is being described as a competition series that takes 12 blue-collar men and women, plucks them “out of their element and away from cold beer” and puts them on a “remote tropical paradise” where they must participate in “a number of hilarious mental and physical challenges designed to celebrate the group's strengths and limitations in a quest for $100,000.” Not only will we suffer fools, we'll welcome them with open arms! —T.G.

Stars: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown
Premiere date: June 28

Wilfred, a dirty and bizarre comedy about a suicidal downer (Elijah Wood) who thinks his neighbor’s dog is a profane Aussie dude (Jason Gann) wearing a goofy costume, is undoubtedly an acquired taste. In fact, many critics panned it last year, criticizing Wilfred for its propensity toward jokes about canine sex and four-legged squatting—you know, the kinds of comedy targets that unashamed dumbasses such as ourselves laugh at uncontrollably. While partaking in an uncontrolled substance or two.

It’s not exactly high art, but Wilfred, which begins its second season in late June, is nonetheless comical, powered by the convincingly awkward and deranged rapport between Wood and Gann. Really, there’s no other way to describe a friendship that requires the human to hump a stuffed giraffe in order to rid an imaginary man-dog of his (or its?) sexual inefficiencies. Try waiting for that to happen on The Big Bang Theory. —M.B.

Premiere date: June 8

Based on Scott Aukerman’s award-winning podcast of the same name, Comedy Bang! Bang! is one of the most unique reality-esque shows on TV. The format is a bit of a show-within-a-show: It’s a late-night talk show that is actually within a sketch show, and it’s funny enough to get people like Amy Poehler to participate in an episode (it also features Reggie Watts doing music). Those of you missing a good sketch show should tune in. —T.G.

Premiere date: June 24

Before we describe this show, let us point out that it is executive produced by director Ron Howard. Keep that in mind. Now, The Great Escape will follow three teams of people as they compete for cash prizes by fulfilling challenges worthy of Hollywood blockbusters, like sinking ships or being trapped in prisons. Yes.

TNT’s first reality show is about people competing for money in action movie-esque challenges, and, again, is being executive produced by action movie director Ron Howard. Let that sink in a moment. Now, set your DVRs. —T.G.

Stars: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Joe Manganiello, Kristin Bauer, Deborah Ann Woll, Chris Bauer, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston, Todd Lowe, Christopher Meloni, Denis O’Hare
Premiere date: June 10

How disappointing was True Blood’s scatterbrained fourth season? Let’s recap: the once badass Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) was turned into a romance-novel-worthy chump, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) spent more time with corny werepanthers than cracking his hilariously dim-witted one-liners, the promising witch antagonist’s storyline went nowhere fast, and Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) ran afoul of some rather boring biker werewolves. Other than all of that, though, True Blood was a hoot.

Always an exercise in gluttonous storytelling over restraint, HBO’s trashy exhibition of sex, fangs, and guilty pleasures went overboard last year, juggling far more subplots than its creators could readily handle. Yet, we’re completely optimistic about season five—go figure. Or we put stock in last season’s balls-out finale, which laid the narrative groundwork a more streamlined and vampire-centric new year, one that’ll bring the wicked Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare) back while introducing a new undead authority figure named Roman (Christopher Meloni).

As long as showrunner Alan Ball (who’s set to leave the show after this season wraps up) and his colleagues keep the world of Bon Temps rooted in narrower, focused vamp lore, True Blood should triumphantly return to its pre-2011 glory. But Nosferatu help us if we see any more of those goddamn werepanthers… —M.B.

Stars: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, Dev Patel, Jane Fonda, Sam Waterston, Chris Messina, Olivia Munn, John Gallagher, Jr., Thomas Sadoski
Premiere date: June 24

Since winning the Best Adapted Screenplay last year for The Social Network, Hollywood scribe extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin has been rather ubiquitous in the public eye. He followed that excellent Facebook drama by co-writing the equally commendable Moneyball, and recently he signed on to pen the non-Ashton-Kutcher biopic about Steve Jobs. Yet neither one of those projects has us as enlivened as Sorkin’s big-deal return to the small screen, The Newsroom.

Clearly inspired by the cinematic classic Network, Sorkin’s intelligent dramedy series details the inner workings of a fictional cable news channel, where the traditionally safe anchor, Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), after snapping on the air, begins a truth-telling mission with his imaginary gloves off.

Like all of HBO’s series, The Newsroom surrounds its lead with a colorful and intriguing supporting cast, namely the underrated Emily Mortimer (Shutter Island, Hugo), the whipsmart Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Midnight in Paris), and Olivia Munn (your wildest fantasies). But it’s clear who the real one-two punch consists of here: Daniels, who finally has a dynamite role to own after years of second-tier work, and Sorkin, a snappy, brainy writer ready to unleash his scathingly funny brand of social commentary onto Sunday night audiences. —M.B.

Stars: Louis C.K.
Premiere date: June 28

There really is no other show on the tube quite like the FX masterwork Louie. Single-handedly overseen by stand-up comedian and writing powerhouse Louis C.K., the unconventional half-hour series follows a fictionalized version of Louie through seemingly random vignettes, on-stage routines, and various candid and often uncomfortable affirmations of his many insecurities and failings.

At times, Louie feels like an angrier, more revelatory Woody Allen production, and, in other cases, it’s nightmare territory for middle-aged men dealing with similar anxieties. No matter its tonal preference in any given episode, though, Louie is always fearlessly honest, brutally hilarious, and wholly original; in other words, we don’t have a fucking clue how it’s still on the air, let alone alive for a third season. Salute yourselves, FX brass. —M.B.

Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jesse Plemons
Premiere date: July 15

The great news: AMC’s Breaking Bad, otherwise known as one of the best TV shows of all time, will soon be back on the air and primed to routinely blow our minds. The bad news, though: Not only is the fifth and final season, but it’s going to be split up into two shorter, eight-episode runs both this summer and next year’s warm weather season. Yes, come the end of August, we’ll have to wait a full 12-month span yet again.

Of course, that’s a small price to pay for Breaking Bad’s caliber of superlative storytelling, courtesy of the venerable Vince Gilligan and his gang of top-notch writers. Heading into his last days (on the air, at least—not fatally…right?), cancer-stricken crystal meth mastermind Walter White (Brayn Cranston) is now, for lack of a better word, “the man,” having blown Gus Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito, who better get an Emmy nomination) face off and manipulated Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) into rejoining his side. Being that it’s Breaking Bad, though, Walt’s streak of good fortune will no doubt last about as long as Walter Jr.’s (RJ Mitte) screen time per season.

Recently, Friday Night Lights star Jesse Plemons was announced as the show’s newest cast member, playing Todd, “a dependable, innocuous, working-class guy… [who] may not be what he appears to be.” Meaning, he’s about to make Walt and Jesse wish they were still dealing with Mr. Chicken Man Fring? Hopefully so, since, as any Breaking Bad viewer knows, Gilligan and company are at their best when matters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are at their worst. —M.B.