August TV Calendar

The following list provides the dates of the major and cable network dramas that are either debuting, returning or ending for the TV season, made-for-TV movies, streaming series and more that will air during August:

August 1 – The Discovery Channel scripted anthology series Manhunt: Unabomber will air a two-hour episode at 9 PM

Anthology Series Synopsis: The series depicts the true story of the FBI’s famed hunt for the Unabomber, the deadliest serial bomber in history. Sam Worthington stars as FBI agent Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a fresh-faced criminal profiler and newest member of the Unabom Task Force, who faced an uphill battle against the bureaucracy of the UTF as his maverick ideas and new approaches to forensic linguistics were dismissed. Paul Bettany stars as Ted Kaczynski, who was eventually captured 17 years after his first bombing in 1978 that to Fitzgerald’s unconventional work. The cast also includes Jane Lynch (Glee), Brian d’Arcy James (13 Reasons Why and Smash), Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider and Game of Thrones), Trieste Kelly Dunn (Blindspot) and Elizabeth Reaser (Twilight franchise).

August 2 – The series premiere of the new USA Network series The Sinner will debut at 10 PM

Show Synopsis: The 8-episode series follows a young mother (Jessica Biel) who, overcome by an inexplicable fit of rage, commits a startling act of violence and to her horror has no idea why. The event launches an inverted and utterly surprising crime thriller whose driving force is not the “who” or the “what” — but the “why” — as an investigator (Bill Pullman) finds himself obsessed with uncovering the woman’s buried motive.

August 2 – The series finale of the DirecTV series Kingdom will air at 8 PM

August 3 – The season finale of The Tunnel: Sabotage will air on PBS at 9 PM

August 5 – The Hallmark Channel original movie Love at the Shore will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: The movie tells the story of author Jenna Thompson (Amanda Righetti from Colony and The Mentalist), a mother of two young children whose summer vacation plans take a turn when the family arrives at their summer rental and meets the neighbor of the adjoining duplex: stubborn, unconventional, and attractive surfer Lucas McKinnon (Peter Porte from Baby Daddy and The Young and the Restless). Jenna is neat and methodical, while Lucas rolls with and revels in life as it comes. As Lucas and Jenna spend more of the summer together, he finds a softer side of himself while dealing with Jenna and her children and Jenna realizes she may have been too quick to judge a book by its cover.

August 6 – The season premiere of the 5th season of Ray Donovan will air on Showtime at 9 PM

August 6 – Chesapeake Shores will return to the Hallmark Channel for the start of its second season at 9 PM

August 6 – Twin Peaks: The Return will move to its new time slot of 8 PM on Showtime

August 6 – The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie Garage Sale Mystery: The Beach Murders will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Annie Winters is a long-time customer of Rags-to-Riches and her husband Garret is a wealthy internet entrepreneur. When Garret’s dead body is found washed up on the beach, it looks like an apparent surfing accident. But Annie doesn’t believe the death was accidental and pleads with Jenn (Lori Loughlin) to take a closer look. The movie also stars Sarah Strange and Kevin O’Grady.

August 9 – The new DirecTV series Mr. Mercedes will debut at 8 PM

Show Synopsis: Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, the series follows a demented killer named Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadway from Penny Dreadful), who taunts retired police detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson from the Harry Potter franchise) with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he is able to strike again. The cast includes Kelly Lynch (Magic City and the box office film Road House), Mary Louise-Parker (Weeds), Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men) and Scott Lawrence (JAG).

August 12 – The series finale of Turn: Washington’s Spies will air on AMC at 9 PM

August 12 – Orphan Black will air its series finale on BBC America at 10 PM

August 12 – The Hallmark Channel movie Summer in the Vineyard will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: In the sequel to Autumn in the Vineyard, Frankie (Rachael Leigh Cook) and Nate (Brendan Penny) are now a couple and gearing up for Summer Fest, the town’s largest event. They can’t wait to reveal their new wine and put the vineyard on the map. But when an issue with the wine puts things in jeopardy, both the relationship and the partnership will be put to the test.

August 13 – The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie Garage Sale Mystery: Murder By Text will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Famous country singer John Dalton’s concert rehearsal is stalled when the entire crew receives a suicide note from Lita, the band’s bassist. After discovering that a Taser was used to immobilize her before her death, Jenn (Lori Loughlin) is skeptical that Lita’s death was actually suicide. The film also features Sarah Strange and Steve Bacic.

August 13 – The UP Channel movie High-Rise Rescue will debut at 7 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Can a mother save her family from an inferno in the building she helped design? The film stars Catherine Bell (Good Witch), Greg Bryk (Bitten and Mary Kills People), Adrian Holmes (Arrow and the Canadian series 19-2) and relative newcomer Sam Ashe Arnold.

August 14 – The season finales of Shadowhunters and Stitchers will air on Freeform at 8 and 9 PM respectively

August 15 – The OWN series Greenleaf will air its second season premiere on a special night at 10 PM

NOTE: The series will then move to its regular timeslot on OWN on August 16 at 10 PM

August 16 – Broadchurch will air its season finale on BBC America at 10 PM

August 17 – The fourth season of Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce will premiere on Bravo at 10 PM

August 18 – The complete season of Marvel’s The Defenders will stream on Netflix today

Show Synopsis: The 8-episode series follows Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Finn Jones), a quartet of singular heroes with one common goal – to save New York City. This is the story of four solitary figures, burdened with their own personal challenges, who realize they just might be stronger when teamed together. The cast includes Carrie-Ann Moss, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Elodie Yung, Rachael Taylor, Rosario Dawson, Scott Glenn and Sigourney Weaver.

August 19 – The two-hour season premiere of Halt and Catch Fire will air on AMC at 9 PM

August 19 – The Hallmark Channel movie Eat, Play, Love will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Veterinarian Dr. Carly Monroe (Jen Lilley from Days of Our Lives) makes it a habit to stop by the local dog shelter as often as possible for two reasons: #1 She has a passion for animals and treats the resident pups pro bono and #2 she’s secretly in love with the shelter’s owner, Dan Landis (Jason Cermak from Zoo) – and those closest to them have taken notice. Unfortunately for the pair, Dan has agreed to marry his glamorous TV personality girlfriend and move to the Big Apple in 30 days. With Dan’s big move looming in the near future, his sister, Michelle, decides to take matters into her own hands by encouraging Carly to show him how she feels. The two arrange a local dog show to help promote adoptions in hopes of bringing Carly and Dan closer together. The question is: can Carly win over his heart before he disappears from her life (in 30 days or less!)? The film also stars Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man”) and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman).

August 20 – The Hallmark Channel movie At Home in Mitford will debut at 10 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Jan Karon, telling the romantic and inspirational story of best-selling author Cynthia Copperstone (Andie MacDowell from Cedar Cove), a woman who’s learning there is more to life and love than completing checklists. With her cat (and muse )Violet in tow, Cynthia leaves Boston to spend some time in her late uncle’s small town of Mitford, North Carolina, in hopes of alleviating some career-damaging writer’s block. Cynthia soon finds the heart and soul of the southern town in Father Tim Kavanagh (Cameron Mathison from the Murder She Baked movie franchise), a pastor in Mitford. As the pair works together to help a young boy Dooley (Nicholas Holmes) who has recently lost his family, Cynthia and Pastor Tim find solace, comfort, even romance.

August 20 – The two-hour season premiere of The Last Ship will air on TNT at 9 PM

August 20 – The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie Garage Sale Mystery: Murder Most Medieval will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Jenn (Lori Loughlin) finds the body of a local college history professor hidden in the 15th century suit of armor she purchased for a wealthy client. As she narrows down the number of murder suspects, Jenn finds herself caught in the killer’s web of dangerous lies. The cast includes Sarah Strange and Steve Bacic.

August 20 – The fourth season of the PBS series Endeavor will premiere at 9 PM

August 26 – The Hallmark Channel movie Sun, Sand and Romance will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Kate is a driven publishing executive visiting a summer resort with her boyfriend Eric. There she runs into Shep, an old high school friend and fellow camp counselor, who is now the Activities Director. Shep tries to convince her to take advantage of all the resort has to offer. She reluctantly caves when Eric is pulled away on business. As carefree Shep helps Kate rediscover her fun side; Kate helps Shep to stop hiding from life and realize his own potential. The film stars Tricia Helfer, Paul Campbell and Scott Elrod.

August 27 – The season finale of Game of Thrones will air on HBO at 9 PM

August 27 – Power will air its season finale on Starz at 9 PM

August 27 – The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie Garage Sale Mystery: A Case of Murder will debut at 9 PM

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Jenn (Lori Loughlin) buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe. The film also stars Sarah Strange and Steve Bacic.

August 29 – The season finale of Animal Kingdom will air on TNT at 9 PM

August 31 – The season finale of The Night Shift will air on NBC at 10 PM

Mark your calendars!