Summer is supposed to be hiatus season for television, but no one told cable that. Some of the industry’s best comedies (Key & Peele) and dramas (Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex) return this month, while Hannibal Buress, Jim Gaffigan and others try to get into the game.
Comedy Central
Key & Peele (Comedy Central, returns July 8)
Every month it seems like Comedy Central is churning out new and hilarious TV episodes, and July is no exception. Entering their fifth season, Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele make arguably the best sketch show airing today. They venture into popular and nerd culture — a recent favorite is a sketch where they play hotel bellhops talking about their obsession with Game of Thrones (it’s universal, people) — but political satire is where they make the biggest marks. Peele has repeatedly played POTUS on Key & Peele, and Key’s character Luther, President Obama’s “anger translator,” made a memorable cameo this year during Obama’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech. Key and Peele are legitimate masters at what they do and at the top of their game.
Comedy Central
Why? with Hannibal Buress (Comedy Central, premieres July 8)
After you’re done watching Key & Peele, stay on Comedy Central and try the new show from comedian Hannibal Buress. He’s most famous for bringing mass attention to the sexual assault claims against Bill Cosby in his standup routine. You might also know him as Ilana’s delightful dentist boyfriend, Lincoln, on Broad City or as a recent participant in the Roast of Justin Bieber. The new show will be filmed in front of a studio audience, and, according to Deadline, Buress will “answer the burning questions on his mind through standup, filmed segments, man-on-the-street interviews and in-studio guests.” The program has excellent potential because of Buress’ unique perspective as a comedian. Not only did he have the courage to bring to light allegations that had been dormant in the world of comedy, but his delivery is like no one else’s. Buress finds a way to consistently pack a punch with a combination of sharp words and drowsy delivery.
Watch the Why? with Hannibal Burress preview.
Showtime
Ray Donovan (Showtime, returns July 12)
This Showtime series starring Liev Schreiber returns for its third season. Schreiber plays the title character, a “fixer” who essentially helps criminals escape their punishments. The show couldn’t have a stronger team at the helm than creator Ann Biderman (Southland, NYPD Blue), the queen of crime drama second only in royalty to the king, Dick Wolf. Jon Voight and Schreiber play excellently off one another as father and son. Ray Donovan is proving to be one of Showtime’s strongest and most critically acclaimed series, but Schreiber alone is enough to get hooked.
Watch the Ray Donovan season 3 premiere for free.
Showtime
Masters of Sex (Showtime, returns July 12)
If you’re missing era dramas like Mad Men and are feeling frisky, look no further than Masters of Sex. Paired with Ray Donovan, Masters is entering its third season with a bang (all right, enough with the innuendo). It follows the relationship between partners in scientific study and in love, Masters and Johnson. The performances by Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) and Lizzy Caplan (the one-and-only Janis Ian from Mean Girls) are exceptional. The series is provocative, interesting and educational. This is your summer drama, people. Just don’t watch it with your nana.
Watch the Masters of Sex season 3 premiere for free.
TV Land
The Jim Gaffigan Show (TV Land, premieres July 15)
You won’t find a comic with a more jovially sarcastic delivery of anecdotes than Jim Gaffigan. He’s been steadily climbing the Hollywood ranks as a standup comedian with several successful specials, TV appearances and even a book goofily titled Dad Is Fat. Who among us has not seen his bit about Hot Pockets? When he’s not busy telling jokes on stage, he’s raising his five children with wife, Jeannie, all frequent points of reference in his act and now TV show. Aside from CBS, TV Land has really been the only platform where a multi-cam sitcom (aka one with a studio audience and a laugh track) has even had remote staying power. If The Jim Gaffigan Show can match the strength of his standup act (think successful programs that did so, like Everybody Loves Raymond and even Louie), this could be good.
Watch a The Jim Gaffigan Show preview.
FX
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (FX, premieres July 16)
Denis Leary’s new show finds him returning to FX, the home of his most known screen work, Rescue Me. This time around, Leary comes bearing rock ’n’ roll. S&D&R&R stars Leary as a middle-aged rock “star” still trying to achieve the excessive fame and fortune of the 1980s. The characters seem like a good balance between perfectly pathetic and appropriately nostalgic, and the supporting cast boasts interesting figures like the perennially handsome good guy John Corbett (Sex and the City) and the ultimate villain for ’90s girls, The Parent Trap’s Elaine Hendrix.
Watch Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll clips.
SyFy
Face Off (Syfy, returns July 28)
If you like the genre of reality competition but are looking for something with a little more substance, try Face Off. The Syfy series shows professionals hard at work on some of the most unique and transformative makeup and prosthetics in the business. The look and intensity of makeup is crucial to a film’s believability, especially in the fantasy genre. If you’re missing the likes of Project Runway and Game of Thrones, this is a hybrid you might dig.
Watch the Face Off season 9 preview.
Netflix
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (Netflix, premieres July 31)
If this series had buzzwords, they would be “cult classic” and “celebrity cameos.” This prequel to David Wain and Michael Showalter’s satiric film, First Day of Camp has the potential to capitalize on nostalgia as only Netflix can. Hands down, First Day has the best cast of any show this summer, with Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd and Kristen Wiig, to name a few. It also has the entire original cast reprising their roles. Expectations are high, but just in case, we should take a cue from Amy Poehler and “lower our expectations.”
Watch the Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp preview.
