The 2015-16 TV season is officially over, but someone must have forgotten to tell June. This month is packed with new and returning comedies, dramas, documentaries, and a new Netflix binge. Don’t forget to check out Amazon’s pilots on June 17 — the next Transparent could be in there! — and, of course, the best awards broadcast on TV, the Tony Awards on June 12.
June 6: UnREALer
Lifetime’s breakout hit about the backstage manipulations of a Bachelor-esque reality dating show is back for Season 2, with a twist that would startle a real-world reality-show producer: For the first time, the “suitor” for the new installment of Everlasting is black. Considering the real Bachelor has yet to cast a black man in over 20 seasons, UnREAL’s second season is likely to spark plenty of conversation.
June 6: Angie Tribeca Reports for Duty
Rashida Jones stars as the title character of TBS’s police comedy Angie Tribeca, which returns for a second season of hijinks, misunderstandings, and guest stars galore: James Franco, Heather Graham, Alfred Molina, Joe Jonas, Ed Begley Jr., Eriq La Salle, Busy Philipps, Kevin Pollak, and, somehow, even more pop up in Season 2 of this lovably goofy comedy.
June 11: O.J., Again
After the gigantic success of The People v. O.J. Simpson, it was clear that audiences are still captivated the story of O.J. Simpson. ESPN’s O.J.: Made in America ESPN’s new O.J. Simpson documentary, part of its 30 for 30 series, delves much deeper into Simpson than the FX series. Director Ezra Edelman has made a five-part, nearly eight-hour documentary that promises to reveal not only Simpson’s story but a larger narrative about race, class, and gender in America.
Michael Parmelee/CBS
June 13: Washington Gets BrainDead
Michelle and Robert King, the creators of The Good Wife, are back with a new political thriller for CBS. But BrainDead has a twist: Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Laurel, a young Hill staffer who realizes that bugs have been eating the brains of members of congress. She bands together with legislative director Gareth (Broadway’s Aaron Tveit) to figure out what’s gone wrong in the nation’s capital. Let us know when you find out, Laurel!
June 14: TBS Gets Wrecked
This new TBS comedy is Lost with laughs. Wrecked follows a random assortment of passengers whose plane crashed on a desert island. But don’t expect any mysterious monsters here — the main threat to the dim-witted survivors is their own ignorance. The show’s cast includes Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby, comedian Brooke Dillman, Asif Ali, and the very funny Will Greenberg.
June 17: Season 4 is the New Season…of Orange is the New Black
Season 3 of the Netflix mainstay ended as new management took over Litchfield Prison — and promptly installed bunk beds in order to double the facility’s capacity. Expect a whole whack of new characters in Orange is the New Black’s fourth season, plus answers to some lingering questions, like what will become of Piper’s used-panty business? Will she and Alex get back together? And what will happen to Daya’s baby?!
June 21: Let There Be Greenleaf
I’ve been craving a juicy family drama (besides Game of Thrones, of course), and Greenleaf may just hit the spot: This original series from Oprah’s OWN centres on Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge), the “prodigal daughter” of the Greenleaf family, who returns home to Memphis after her sister mysteriously dies and finds herself pulled back into the family business — running a mega-church.
June 21: Yas, Queen
TV has no shortage of stories about organized crime, but this one stands out simply because its protagonist is a woman (that’s at least the saddest sentence I’ve written today). Based on the 2002 novel by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen of the South follows Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), who flees Mexico when her boyfriend, a drug dealer, is murdered by a local cartel. Teresa ends up in the U.S., where she finds herself helping to take down the leader of that very same cartel.
June 23: BBC America’s Thirteen
Thirteen sounds an awful lot like Room: BBC America’s five-part limited series stars British actress Jodie Comer (Doctor Foster, My Mad Fat British Diary) as Ivy, a woman in her twenties who escapes from the cellar where she’s been held captive for 13 years. The series documents both the escape and Ivy’s reintegration back into society — and the family who believed she died long ago.
June 26: Cameron Crowe Hearts Roadies
Cameron Crowe’s first foray into television looks mighty promising based on the trailer. Then again, it could just be a great trailer, which opens with a Tom Petty quote celebrating the people who “make the show happen.” Roadies is another backstage drama, this time about the crew of a fictional touring band, starring Luke Wilson, Carla Gugino, and Imogen Poots.