I’m pretty happy with TV right now. It’s summertime and that usually means less TV, but actually there’s a lot worth watching.
My new favorite show that premiered this summer is USA Networks’ new original drama In Plain Site. Mary McCormack (West Wing) really does a good job portraying the tough but caring U.S. Marshal Mary Shannon, and I love to watch her constant bantering with her partner Marshall (Fred Weller).
But In Plain Site isn’t the only show worth watching.
Here’s a list of some of the shows on the specialty channels (outside of the major networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) that have already started this summer:
• USA Network’s popular Burn Notice returned July 10 with its second season and airs at 9 p.m. CST on Thursdays.
• Be afraid, very afraid. Tracy Morgan is the new host of the third season of Scare Tactics, which premiered on July 9 on SciFi. New episodes air at 9 p.m. CST on Wednesdays.
• CMT premiered Mabe in America on July 4 featuring comedian Tom Mabe with his hidden cameras and pranks giving insight on the funny and sometimes annoying things we do. New episodes air at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on Fridays.
• ABC Family’s new hit The Secret Life of the American Teenager premiered on July 1 and airs at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesdays. The show starts Shailene Woodley as a 15-year-old teen who discovers she is pregnant. The show also stars Molly Ringwald, John Schneider and Josie Bisset.
• Spike’s new blue collar comedy The Factory premiered June 29 and airs at 10 p.m. on Sundays.
• Shear Genius premiered on June 25 on Bravo and airs at 9 p.m. CST on Wednesdays.
• SOAPnet’s sexy new drama MPV about the lives of a professional hockey team and the women who love them, premiered on June 19 and airs at 11 p.m. ET.
• Black Gold, a reality show about Texas oil men who risk their lives in search for oil, premiered on TruTV on June 18 and airs at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesdays.
• Showtime’s Weeds and Secret Diary of a Call Girl both premiered on June 16. Weeds airs at 10 p.m. ET on Mondays, with Secret Diary of a Call Girl following at 10:30 p.m. Penn & Teller: Bulls—t premiered on June 19 and airs at 9 p.m. ET on Thursdays.
• ABC Family’s “The Middleman” based on the comic book by the same name, premiered on June 16 with new episodes at 8 p.m. ET on Mondays.
• The second season of Army Wives premiered on June 8 on Lifetime. New episodes air at 9 p.m. CST on Sundays.
• USA Network’s breakout hit In Plain Site featuring Mary McCormack as a U.S. Marshall in the WITSEC program premiered on June 1. New episodes air at 9 p.m. CST.