Life is a tradeoff: for all the fun in the sun that summer brings, the season also ushers in several months of sub-par television. Gone are sexy doctors and superhero cheerleaders and what do you do with a life absent sexy doctors and sperhero cheerleaders? For all of you in prime-time withdrawal, here’s some quick fix viewing:
Top Chef, Season 3, Bravo, Premieres Wednesday, June 13, 10 p.m.
Bravo is home to some of TV’s best reality shows. (Yes, there is a spectrum of reality TV quality!) “Top Chef”— which is structured almost identically to “Project Runway”— follows aspiring chefs in challenges ranging from junk food cook-offs to sophisticated wine pairings. “Queer Eye’s” Ted Allen, a guest judge on several episodes last season, steps into a permanent role. With its drama, attractive contestants and eye-popping plates, it’s certainly better than anything on the Food Network.
The Closer, Season 3, TNT, Premieres Monday, June 18, 9 p.m.
Kyra Sedgwick returns to the role that won her a Golden Globe earlier this year. This season, Sedgwick’s Brenda Leigh Johnson faces new challenges, professional and personal, including problems in her relationship with FBI Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney).
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,
Season 3, Bravo, Premieres June 5, 10 p.m.
Bravo has another high-end (for real!) reality show on its hands with Kathy Griffin’s self-deprecating series, which chronicles her career and, in the latest installment, her post-divorce life. Griffin dishes on celebrities but she’s at her best when she’s trashing herself. She might not get into the trendiest clubs, she says, but “when I go to Applebee’s, I get a table whenever I want.”
Californication, Season 1, Showtime, Premieres Aug. 13, 10:30 p.m.
David Duchovny makes a return to TV— but his latest role is no Fox Mulder. This time Duchovny is tasked with making his sex-obsessed, insult-slinging character, Hank Moody likable. Taking a cue from “Sex and the City,” Duchovny’s character will blog throughout each episode.
Weeds, Season 3, Showtime, Premieres Aug. 13, 10 p.m.
The heat intensifies around Nancy’s (Mary Louise Parker) suburban pot-growing venture. Mary Kate Olsen joins the cast as girlfriend to Silas (Hunter Parish). The scene in Agrestic is getting, like, complex, dude.