What to Expect on TV in June

As the 2013-2014 TV season comes to a close on the major networks, there are plenty of programming options for which to anticipate coming to both the major and cable networks this summer. Let’s take a look at just some of the dramas and made-for-TV movies that will be hitting the small screen in June. Please keep in mind the following are not the only new dramas, made-for-TV movies or mini-series that will air in June, please check the monthly calendar that will be posted here at NiceGirls closer to the end of May for more specifics:

On June 1, the new AMC period drama Halt and Catch Fire will debut at 10 PM. This drama will be set in the early 1980s, roughly one year after IBM all but cornered the market with the release of its first major product: the IBM PC. It is also the same year people realize the IBM PC’s fatal flaw, which quickly makes personal computing anyone’s game. The cast includes Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) and Scoot McNairy (Argo).

That same night the new UP Channel movie Love Finds You in Sugarcreek will debut at 7 PM. This made-for-TV movie will star Sarah Lancaster of Chuck fame as Rachel Troyer, a policewoman in the small town of Sugarcreek, Ohio that is deep in the heart of Amish country. When a mysterious drifter (Tom Everett Scott from That Thing You Do) shows up in town with his five-year-old son, Rachel’s Amish aunts (including Kelly McGillis from Top Gun) take him in. But his refined ways put Rachel’s instincts on alert and she digs into his identity, leading his dangerous past to their quaint little town.

The remaining episodes of the second season of Beauty And the Beast will be back on The CW at 9 PM starting June 2.

NOTE: Surprisingly, the series has been picked up for a third season by The CW.

A few nights later on June 7, the Hallmark Channel original movie Looking for Mr. Right will debut at 9 PM. A struggling novelist gets her big break when a book she writes about her dream man finally sells to a greedy literary agent, who wants to market it as a true story. Suddenly needing to find a guy to promote the book with her as her perfect boyfriend, the writer tries to make a romance spark between her and a local realtor, only to discover she’s been ignoring an imperfectly true love all along. The cast includes Sarah Lancaster (Chuck), Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day), Kip Pardue (Remember the Titans) and Brandon Quinn (Against the Wall).

Major Crimes will return for its third season on TNT on June 9 at 9 PM followed by the gritty new drama Murder in the First will debut at 10 PM. This new drama follows homicide detectives Terry English (Taye Diggs from Private Practice) and Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson from Boss) as they investigate two seemingly unrelated murders. The mystery deepens, however, when they find both murders have a common denominator in a Silicon Valley wunderkind (Tom Felton from the Harry Potter franchise). The cast includes Mimi Kirkland (Safe Haven), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon A Time), Ian Anthony Dale (Hawaii Five-0), Nicole Ari Parker (Revolution), Currie Graham (Raising the Bar), Richard Schiff (The West Wing), James Cromwell (Babe, L.A. Confidential) and Steven Weber (Dallas and Wings).

The next night (June 10), Pretty Little Liars will be back for the start of its fifth season on ABC Family at 8 PM followed by the debut of the new drama Chasing Life will debut at 9 PM. This series follows April (Italia Ricci from Unnatural History), a smart, twenty-something, aspiring journalist who tries to balance her ambitious career with her family, which includes her widowed mom, Sara (Mary Page Keller), rebellious little sister, Brenna (Haley Ramm), and her grandmother, Emma (Rebecca Schull) while keeping the secret that she has cancer.

That’s not all for June 10, though, as the third season of Longmire will begin on A&E at 10 PM and Royal Pains will return for its sixth season on the USA Network at 9 PM.

The season finale of the new drama The 100 will air on The CW on June 11 at 9 PM. Meanwhile, that same night, Suits and Graceland will both return for new seasons on the USA Network at 9 and 10 PM respectively

On June15, David Tennant will appear in the two-part PBS Masterpiece Mystery The Escape Artist at 9 PM. This special movie event will focus on a brilliant defense lawyer (Tennant) with a storybook family and a potent nickname, “The Escape Artist,” for his ability to spring the obviously guilty. Then he gets a trial that changes his life forever. The film also stars Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda). The running time of this 2-parter is 90 minutes with the second, 90-minute part airing on June 22 on PBS.

Switched at Birth and The Fosters will both be back with new episodes on ABC Family on June 16 at 8 and 9 PM respectively.

The next night, June 17, Rizzoli & Isles and Perception will return with new episodes on TNT at 9 and 10 PM respectively.

Then on June 19, Defiance will return for its second season on Syfy at 8 PM followed by the 90-minute debut of the new drama Dominion at 9 PM. This new series is based on the 2010 film Legion that is set 25 years in the future after a war between an army of angels and mankind has transformed the world. The cast includes Christopher Egan (Kings), Tom Wisdom (300), Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones), Alan Dale (Lost), Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Merlin) and Luke Allen-Gale (The Borgias).

On June 22, the 7th and final season of True Blood will be start on HBO at 9 PM. That same night, over on TNT, the new drama The Last Ship will debut at 9 PM. The series opens with a global catastrophe that nearly decimates the world’s population. Because of its positioning, the Navy destroyer U.S.S. Nathan James avoids falling victim to the devastating tragedy. But now, Captain Tom Chandler (Eric Dane from Grey’s Anatomy) and his crew must confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they may be among the few remaining survivors. The cast includes Rhona Mitra (Strike Back), Adam Baldwin (Firefly and Chuck) and Travis Van Winkle (Hart of Dixie).

That debut will be followed by the start of a new season of Falling Skies on TNT at 10 PM. And, over on BBC America, the new drama The Musketeers will debut at 9 PM. This 10-part series is set in Paris in 1630 with Musketeers D’Argtagan (Luke Pasqualino from The Borgias), Athos (Tom Burke from The Hour), Aramis (Santiago Cabrera from Heroes and Merlin) and Porthos (newcomer Howard Charles) fighting for what is just and heroes in the truest and most abiding sense. The cast includes Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who).

The new night (June 23), Teen Wolf will air its season four premiere episode on MTV at 10 PM.

On June 24, the fifth season of Covert Affairs will kick off on the USA Network at 10 PM

A few nights later, on June 28, the Hallmark Channel movie When Sparks Fly will debut at 9 PM. Fireworks go off when Amy Peterson comes home to help save her family’s annual 4th of July celebration and discovers she really does love the man who she left to pursue her dreams of being a journalist. There’s just one problem: he’s engaged to be married to her best friend, and Amy has been asked to be the maid of honor. The film stars Meghan Markle (Suits), Christopher Jacot (Eureka) and Lochlyn Munro.

Then on June 29, the new drama Reckless will debut on CBS at 9 PM followed by the return of Unforgettable at 10 PM. Reckless is set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart. The cast includes Anna Wood (Deception), Cam Gigandet (Burlesque and Twilight), Shawn Hatosy (Southland), Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami), Kim Wayans (In Living Color) and Gregory Harrison.

That same night (June 29) will find the acclaimed 6-part mini-series Last Tango in Halifax starting on PBS at 8 PM (the series will run for six straight weeks, ending on August 3). And the over on HBO the new drama The Leftovers will debut at 10 PM. This new series is based on the best-selling novel of the same name that will revolve around the residents of a New York town who’ve been left behind after millions and millions of people around the world vanish mysteriously in a Rapture-like event.

Lastly on June 30, Under the Dome will be back with new episodes at 10 PM on CBS.

There are a lot of programming options throughout June so get your calendars and DVR’s set.