Television doesn’t sleep. The sheer amount of content—over 450 scripted programs aired in the year 2017!—can prove overwhelming for even the most dedicated TV buffs. Television Academy voters make Emmy selections in August, and SAG-AFTRA members vote on SAG Awards in January, but their job requires tuning in all year long. Backstage is breaking down, month by month, the buzzy shows and performances that merit awards attention in the ever-growing landscape of the small screen. Mark your calendar and become a couch potato along with us!
As August brings high temperatures, we’re staying cool inside with plenty of new shows to keep us entertained. Netfllix debuts the latest season of “Dear White People” and a new prequel to Jim Henson cult classic “The Dark Crystal,” along with new installments of “GLOW” and “Mindhunter.” Amazon adds its newest fantasy, “Carnival Row,” with A-listers Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne, and CBS’ streaming arm premieres “Why Women Kill” starring TV veterans Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
Though streaming services traditionally rule the summer months, the cable networks are getting in on the game this year. Fox launches its meta-reboot of primetime soap classic “90210,” without the late, great Luke Perry; the rest of the cast will star as themselves on the cusp of their reunion. HBO’s critical darling “Succession” comes back for a second season on the 11th, and the network also premieres its newest comedy from “Eastbound and Down” creator and star Danny McBride. Check out the full list of premieres below.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon launches its newest original program, “Carnival Row,” on the last day of August. The fantasy drama stars Bloom and Delevingne in a city where both humans and mythological creatures reside, the latter arriving as refugees from their war-ravaged home.
AMC
The fourth season of DC Comics’ “Vertigo” inspired series, “The Preacher,” premieres Aug. 4. Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gigul, and Ruth Negga all reprise their roles in the show originally developed by Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen. On the 10th, the cable network launches the second season of horror anthology series, “The Terror: Infamy”; this season is set in a Japanese-American internment camp in World War II, with all 10 episodes directed by Kubota Wladyka. It stars Derek Mio, Kiki Sukezane, Naoko Mori, and George Takei.
CBS All Access
The streaming arm of the classic broadcast network debuts its newest delicious drama from “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry on the 15th: “Why Women Kill” boasts a solid cast including Liu, Goodwin, and Howell-Baptiste as wives in three different time periods—the ’60s, ’80s, and today—all of whom have experienced betrayal.
The CW
On Aug. 7, “Bulletproof” makes its stateside debut, originally airing on the UK’s Sky One in 2018. The action-comedy stars Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters as best friends and fellow police officers in London. On the 9th, the CW premieres its newest horror endeavor with “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” and on the 19th, musical comedy “I Ship It” returns to the network.
FOX
On Aug. 7, the original cast of classic primetime soap “Beverly Hills, 90210” will reunite for a new twist on the reboot. Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling all return; the actors will be playing fictional versions of themselves as they reunite.
HBO
Season 2 of BAFTA Award-winning and now Emmy-nominated “Succession” returns on the 11th. On the 12th, miniseries “Our Boys” premieres; the 10 episodes are based on true events that took place near the Israel-Gaza border in 2014. HBO’s newest series from McBride, “The Righteous Gemstones,” debuts on the 18th starring A-lister John Goodman. It follows a family of televangelists.
Hulu
On Aug. 2, this streaming network launches the newest iteration of horror anthology series “Into The Dark,” while on the 16th, time-traveling teen drama “Find Me in Paris” returns for its second season.
Netflix
Season 3 of Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed comedy-drama “Dear White People” debuts on the 2nd, boasting special guests Laverne Cox, Yvette Nicole Brown, Flavor Flav, and Blair Underwood. Also on the 2nd, Season 2 of British import “Derry Girls” joins the streaming service. Comedy “No Good Nick” comes back for the second half of its first season on the 5th. The third season of critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning “GLOW,” Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch’s series that follows the lives of a 1980s female syndicated wrestling circuit, will be added on the 9th.
READ: For ‘GLOW’ Star Betty Gilpin, It Pays to Stay Weird
Serial killer crime drama “Mindhunter,” starring Jonathan Groff, returns on the 16th, and on the 29th Canadian comedy “Workin’ Moms” launches its fourth season. Closing out the month, the series reboot of cult classic “The Dark Crystal” appears on the 30th. “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” from director Louis Leterrier and the Jim Henson Company, stands as a prequel to the original, and like the original uses only puppets as actors. It features the voices of Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nathalie Emmanuel, Mark Hamill, Andy Samberg, Simon Pegg, Keegan-Michael Key, Helena Bonham Carter, Caitriona Balfe, and Eddie Izzard, among others.
OWN
On the 14th, Oscar-winning “Moonlight” writer Tarell Alvin McCraney launches his series “David Makes Man.” This coming-of-age drama is set in Florida, and follows the life of a 14-year-old prodigy with a tumultuous home life. Oprah Winfrey and Michael B. Jordan produce the series that caught a lot of buzz at its SXSW screening this spring.
Showtime
The premium network has two premieres this month. “The Affair” starts its final season on the 25th without stars Joshua Jackson and Ruth Wilson, but is joined by film and TV veteran Anna Paquin. That same night, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” makes its debut. The series was originally developed for YouTube but found its way to Showtime back in June; it stars Kirsten Dunst, Mel Rodriguez, Beth Ditto, Théodore Pellerin, and Ted Levine.
Starz
The sixth and final season of beloved crime drama “Power” will air on the 25th.
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