Warner Horizon Television
With the regular season now past, the major networks aired very little in the way of new programming between June and September, so anything between 1950 and 2000 will be a rarity. But with the advent of cable TV and new networks looking for ways to draw eyeballs to their channels, original summer programming was the way to bring them in and keep them once the majors rolled out their new Fall schedules. A handful of new shows premiere in 2000 and 2010, and pretty much all of them were on cable networks. Not all were successful but a couple did have loyal followings. Let’s take a look!
1950
- No new series premiered this week in 1950.
1960
- No new series premiered this week in 1960.
1970
- No new series premiered this week in 1970.
1980
- No new series premiered this week in 1980.
1990
- No new series premiered this week in 1990.
2000
- June 9 — Science fiction/action/comedy series The Invisible Man premieres on Sci-Fi. The series contained both stand-alone episodes mixed with a serialized story arc than ran throughout the series, similar to The X-Files. Vincent Ventresca starred as Darien Fawkes, a thief facing life in prison who is recruited by The Agency to help deal with assassinations or government experiments run amok. The first season’s nemesis to The Agency was Chrysalis, which was often behind the week’s conspiracy. Fawkes was given an implant in his head that produced ‘Quicksilver’, a substance secreted from his pores that covered his body and bent light to render him invisible. The Quicksilver gland was sabotaged before being implanted, releasing a neurotoxin into the bloodstream causing Fawkes intense pain, antisocial behavior and psychosis, requiring a regular does of ‘counteragent’ to keep him sane and healthy. The ‘mythology’ episodes centered on Fawkes’s quest to have the gland removed or to reduce his dependency on the counteragent using unorthodox methods such as reviving the mind of his dead brother or contacting the gland’s creator Arnaud DeFehrn. The Agency considered the gland to big an asset to remove so his quest usually brought him into conflict with those in power. Fawkes is given Robert Albert Hobbes (Paul Ben-Victor), or Bobby, as a partner, the most experienced agent for The Agency. With Fawkes being new to the business, his mistakes that often blow their missions early on cause friction between the two but they eventually become close friends. Other regular cast members included Eddie Jones as The Official, Shannon Kenny as The Keeper, and Michael McCafferty as Albert Eberts, The Agency’s bookkeeper. Brandy Ledford joined the show in Season 2 as Federal agent Alex Monroe. Recurring cast members included Joel Bissonnette, Spencer Garrett, Idalis DeLeón, David Burke and Armin Shimerman. The series was cancelled after two seasons due to costs and internal bickering between Sci-Fi and then parent company USA Networks, but producers were able to conclude Fawkes’ story by giving him a new counteragent that permanently cured him of Quicksilver madness. Fawkes did briefly return to thieving and an FBI stint but eventually returned to The Agency to continue fighting Chrysalis. 46 episodes were produced over two seasons with the first season running concurrently in first run syndication. The final episode aired on Sci-Fi on February 1, 2002. Only the first season has been released on DVD.
2010
- June 7 — Adult animated series Neighbors from Hell premieres on TBS. A family of demons, the Hellmans, are sent by Satan to Texas on a mission to destroy a drill that can dig to the Earth’s core. Satan fears humans will invade Hell if the drill reaches it. The Hellmans experience culture shock living among humans and realize Earth is really no different from Hell. The voice cast included Will Sasso, Molly Shannon, Patton Oswalt, Kyle McCulloch, Tracey Fairway, David Soren, Dina Water and Kurtwood Smith, with Steve Coogan as Satan. Mimi Rogers and Eric Christian Olsen provided voices for recurring characters. The series ran for just a single season of ten episodes, with the last broadcast on July 26, 2010.
- June 8 — Teen drama Pretty Little Liars premieres on ABC Family (later Freeform). Based on the novel of the same name, the series follows the lives of four high school girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader Alison. A year later, the estranged friends are reunited as they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure known only as ‘A’,and later ‘A.D.’, who threatens to reveal their deepest secrets and tortures them for the mistakes and lies they have made and told before and after Alison’s disappearance. At first they believe it is Alison herself, but when he body is found they realize someone else wants revenge. The main cast included Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Holly Marie Combs, Lucy Hale, Ian Harding, Bianca Larson, Laura Leighton, Chad Lowe, Shay Mitchell, Nia Peeples, Sasha Pietersem Janel Parrish and Andrea Parker. The series premiere was ABC Family’s highest rated debut on record and the second episode retained 100% of the audience. By the end of June, the network had ordered 12 more episodes for the first season for a total of 22 episodes. The second season in the Summer of 2011 was basic cable’s top scripted series. The show received renewal for 24-episode third and fourth seasons on November 29, 2011 and October 4, 2012. A fifth season was ordered on March 26, 2013 along with a spin-off series, Ravenswood, which lasted just one season. On June 10, 2014, PLL was renewed for two more seasons, making it ABC family’s longest running original series. On August 26, 2016, show creator Marlene King announce the sevenenth season would be the last. 160 episodes were produced with the finale broadcast on June 27, 2017. A sequel series, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, debuted March 20, 2019 but lasted for just a single ten-episode season.
- June 9 — Reality competition series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist premieres on Bravo. Up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. Two seasons were produced with a total of 20 episodes. The series was hosted by China Chow with judges Jerry Saltz, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Bill Powers and Simon de Pury. Season 1’s winner was Abdi Farah, an art teacher from Dover, PA, and Season 2’s winner was Kymia Nawabi, a waitress from New York City. The final episode was broadcast on December 21, 2011, although Bravo never officially confirmed a cancellation, simply saying a third season was unlikely. Producers had hoped to bring the show to a new network for a third season, but that never panned out. Sarah Jessica Parker was an executive producer of the series and appeared as a guest judge in Season 2.
- June 9 — Reality series You’re Cut Off! premieres on VH1. The series featured nine spoiled young women who thought they were cast on a series called ‘The Good Life’. Instead, they learn their families have cut them off and will be required to participate in and pass an eight-week rehabilitation program in order to be taken back. The show aired for two seasons, producing 16 episodes. In Season 1, all but one of the young women passed, with one expelled from the show in Week 5 for refusing to participate in the process. In Season 2, one participant dropped out after the first episode and another was removed during Week 4, leaving seven to officially graduate. The final episode was broadcast on February 28, 2011.
- June 10 — Reality series Bethenny Ever After premieres on Bravo. The Real Housewives of New York City cast member Bethenny Frankel was spun off into her own series which debuted as Bethenny Getting Married and was, at the time, Bravo’s highest rated series premiere. The first season focused on Frankel’s preparation for wedding and a baby, while maintaining her career as an author and natural foods chef. Season 2 focused on motherhood, marriage, her Skinny Girl brand and skating. The third season continued following the sales of Skinny Girl cocktails and Frankel’s new apartment, vacations, a larger staff, plus lawsuits and life in the public eye. Frankel made the decision to end the series after the third season saying she was done with reality television. The final episode was broadcast on May 28, 2012. In October 2014, it was announced that Frankel would return to The Real Housewives of New York City after a three year absence.
- June 10 — Game show Late Night Liars premieres on Game Show Network. Hosted by Larry Miller, the series featured ‘celebrity’ puppets created by the Jim Henson Company. Two human contestants had to try and figure out which of the puppets were lying and which were telling the truth. The regular puppet characters were Shelly Oceans, William A. Mummy, Cashmere Ramada, Sir Sebastian Simian and the show’s announcer Weasel. Real-life celebrity puppets included Mickey Rourke and Rosie O’Donnell. The series ran for just eight episodes, concluding on July 29, 2010.
- June 13 — Adventure series Unnatural History premieres on Cartoon Network, the second scripted live-action series on the network that aired as part of the CN Real block. The series is centered around teenager Henry Griffith, who has exceptional skills acquired through years of travel with his anthropologist parents. Henry’s biggest challenge is a return to the U.S. to attend Smithsonian High School in Washington D.C., a place stranger than any he’s ever lived in before. With his cousin Jasper and their friend Maggie, Henry uses his skills to solve the mysteries of high school. The series starred Kevin G. Schmidt, Jordan Gavaris, Italia Ricci and Martin Donovan. Recurring cast members included Wesley Morgan, Matt Baram, Jack Hourigan, Scott Yaphe and Robbie Amell. The series was cancelled after a single 13-episode season. Creator Mike Webb intended to shop the series to a new network but no deals were secured. The final epsiode was broadcast on September 21, 2010.
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