There are scores of TV shows out there, with dozens of new episodes each week, not to mention everything you can find on Hulu Plus, Netflix streaming, and HBO Go. How’s a viewer to keep up? To help you sort through all that television has to offer, Flavorwire is compiling the five best moments on TV each week. This time, summer TV gives us a suburban dad turned escort, naked singles, and gross, wormy vampires.
Satisfaction Guaranteed?
As Flavorwire TV editor Pilot Viruet wrote earlier this week, Satisfaction is a pronounced shift from USA’s typical MO of dude-helmed novelty procedurals. The premise (married dad goes into male escorting) is both gimmicky and has been done before. But USA’s take on it is subtle, well-acted, and filled with compelling characters, especially women.
The Strain Hits Patient Zero
Tired of vampires being all sexy and allegorical? Well, Guillermo del Toro and FX have the summer TV trash alternative for you. Starring Ernest Hemingway/the guy who killed himself in House of Cards’ first season, The Strain reinterprets vampirism as a virus caused by, um, worms. And its heroes aren’t stake-wielding Adonises, they’re a team of CDC scientists. A prestige drama it’s not, but The Strain fittingly debuts as True Blood is winding down.
Naked Strangers Go On First Date
The premise of Dating Naked is self-explanatory; so is its appeal. God bless reality television.
Reality Show Parody Indistinguishable from Real Deal
Hulu dropped its Real Housewives spoof Netflix-style on Tuesday, making all seven episodes available to stream. The most recognizable face in its five-woman lineup is Kristen Schaal, but for longtime devotees of Housewives, each character is a wonderfully apt, franchise-specific stereotype. A devout Christian housewife with a controlling husband; an Italian-American woman with an aggressive, budget-be-damned shopping habit; and a bottle blonde whose husband is far less attractive than her personal trainer all make appearances. The result is a loving tribute to Bravo’s best reality hate-watch.
Jon Stewart Almost Gets Hillary to Admit She’s Running
“Would you rather have a home office or commute?” So begins Stewart’s lighthearted, yet insistent push for Hillary Clinton to just admit she’s running for president already. She plays along, but the former Madam Secretary clearly isn’t as comfortable as when the interview follows the script.