Once upon a time, summer was television's dead season. Granted, this was before many cable networks generated their own original content, and even before reality television – a cheap way to produce content year-round – was a thing. Once, network shows simply disappeared for a few months, only to reappear with new seasons every September.
Those days are over, to an extent. Summer is inundated with new and premiering shows, though it's still a time when many networks take a knee on showcasing their best and brightest shows. Fortunately, this provides a time to binge-watch any number of deserving shows. If anything, summer is no longer dead season as it pertains to original programming. Rather, we are now in the heat (no pun intended) of binge season, so here are ten programs to get you started.
10. MAN SEEKING WOMAN
Hulu
Good news and bad news. The bad? Man Seeking Woman was recently cancelled by FX after three seasons. The good news? You can now binge-watch it on the FXNOW app knowing full well that you’ll see it through to a nice resolution. This show about an unlucky-in-love guy and the family and friends who support him is so much more than standard rom-com fare. Man Seeking Woman is one of the more unique, weird shows ever produced by a cable TV network.
9. FLAKED
Netflix
This one isn’t going to be for everyone. If you like fast-paced, ever-changing plots, go re-watch Breaking Bad. Rather, Flaked – which stars Will Arnett as a recovering alcoholic living in Venice, California – is more a slice-of-life show that shines a spotlight on the importance of friendship and community. The show is a bit self-indulgent, and the romantic plot line is sorta unnecessary, but when it’s good, Flaked really has a way of tugging at one’s emotions.
8. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Netflix
Talk about consistency. Orange Is the New Black has debuted a new 13-episode season every summer since 2013. As for the seasons themselves, well, they have been far from static. Hell, the most recent season only takes place over the course of several hours. This show really has something for everyone. It can be funny. It can be poignant. It can veer into social commentary. The show, which follows the lives of various inmates at a women’s prison, is starting to show its age, but for those who haven’t tuned in, OITNB is one hell of a way to kill 65 hours.
7. COMMUNITY
Hulu
As most shows do, Community began to fade after a few years, particularly that final season that took place on Yahoo!. That said, for a time, this was unquestionably the funniest, most original comedy on television. Community takes place at a fictional community college, where a group of folks – of mixed age, race, gender and background – form a sort of quirky little family inside the school walls. The show also served as a launching pad of sorts for a number of talents who have since moved on to bigger things, including Donald Glover and Alison Brie (both of whom will appear later on this list).
6. THE RANCH
Netflix
Yes, when I first heard that Ashton Kutcher was launching a sitcom on Netflix, in which he would star as a washed-up former football star who returns to his family’s ranch in Colorado, to say I was doubtful would be an understatement. And yes, The Ranch – a sort of throwback to an '80s family sitcom – can be hokey in spots. But with a cast that includes Sam Elliott and Debra Winger, the show doesn’t lack for talent. Not only that, but The Ranch tackles a number of real-life topics – divorce, unplanned pregnancy, financial woes, even immigration. Most important, comedy aside, the show has heart. A welcome surprise from both Kutcher and Netflix.