A Salute to Summer TV

Can you believe that it is already August? Summer is nearly over. The start of a new school year is close at hand. And, the beginning of the 2011-2012 TV season is only a little over a month away.

With that thought in mind, I wanted to take the time to salute the shows that have entertained all of us over the summer and give a shout-out to some of the summer shows that will be starting in a matter of weeks; or in one instance (the Lifetime series Against the Wall) just got its start this past weekend.

First of all, let’s take a quick moment to say thank you to the following cable networks for providing us with some great returning summer programs: A&E, ABC Family, BBC America, Lifetime, Syfy, TNT and USA Network

My favorite summer shows from these cable outlets include in no particular order: White Collar, Covert Affairs, The Glades, Pretty Little Liars, Drop Dead Diva, Burn Notice, Leverage, Royal Pains, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Haven, Doctor Who, The Closer and Rizzoli and Isles. (Yes, I really do watch that much TV in the summer.)

It would be much too hard to compile a list of my top 10 summer shows because it is simply too hard to choose among the shows on that list, but suffice it to say, I was chomping at the bit (as the old saying goes) to see the next new episode of each of the following each week: Doctor Who, Warehouse 13, Pretty Little Liars, Eureka and Haven.

The above list of shows cannot be complete without paying attention to the new summer shows that were introduced by many of the aforementioned cable networks. The new shows that took summer audiences by storm include: Switched at Birth, Falling Skies, Necessary Roughness, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Suits and The Protector.

As I mentioned earlier, there are still more summer shows that will be debuting in a few weeks, but the one new show that just had its debut this past weekend – Against the Wall on Lifetime – should not be overlooked either. This new series stars Treat Williams and Kathy Baker as the parents of a multi-generational police family whose newly appointed detective daughter takes a job in Internal Affairs is one that shouldn’t be missed.

In addition, make sure that you give your attention to the new Cinemax series Strike Back (based on the book of the same name and the BBC series of the same name) that stars Philip Winchester and Sullivan Stapleton as operatives out to stop an international terrorist group; the upcoming 1950’s spy series The Hour on BBC America that stars Dominic West and Romola Garai and the teen-oriented soap The Lying Game (from author Sara Shepard, the women behind the Pretty Little Liars books for which that series is based) on the ABC Family Channel that will star a bevy of young actors, including Alexandra Chando, Blair Redford and Kirsten Prout.

Regardless of what your taste in television might be, there has been something to whet your appetite all summer long with more entertaining shows still to come. What have been the stand-outs, for you, this summer? Please share?