It’s clear that it’s the summer of supernatural when it comes to television this solstice. From vampires to werewolves to Halle Berry, there is really something for everyone upon returning from the beach, bungalow or tropical vacation. Television, dare I say it, may never have been so good for fans of frights and paranormal as it is today.
As we reach the halfway mark of summer and you begin to dread the cold of winter or the irritation of back-to-school season, make sure your television doesn’t suffer the same end-of-summer blues as you do and catch these goodies before your DVR becomes too full. So here it is, some of the best scary T.V. on this Summer.
(Ed. Note: Minor Spoilers for Previous Seasons of Shows May Follow, You Have Been Warned)
It’s clear that Sookie Stackhouse (X-Men’s Anna Paquin) is this generation’s Southern belle answer to Buffy Summers–and while we have enjoyed our time in the fang-filled town of Bon Temps for 6 years—the end is near. Social media enthusiasts have to admit that True Blood holds an important power on Sunday nights: it’s pivotal to avoid Twitter and Facebook (and, I don’t know, even walking outside) if you haven’t seen the latest episode of this shocking bodycount writers call the final season. And it’s all for good reason.
In True Blood, vampires co-exist with humans, and have for some time since “coming out of the coffin.” Last summer’s set of episodes provided a game-changer when vampires became infected with a deadly disease akin to rabies/HIV that drives them mad, sending the world into a post-apocalyptic bloodbath. Oh, and Sookie called it quits with both of her bedfellows (just as important). As the cast that viewers have grown so fond of fights off mass hordes of infected fangers, this season proves to be a nail-biter worth watching.
Michael J. Fox (Ed. Note. I’ll fix that, sorta.) still hasn’t made an appearance, but that hasn’t hurt the following for MTV’s cult werewolf series. Following the trend of two half-season spurts a year, Teen Wolf is sending ripples through Monday night programming, and it’s not just because of the half-naked cast.
This summer finds werewolf Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and his sidekick Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) dealing with the death of their close friend in the season prior and the disappearance of another in Mexico. Packed with new faces, new werewolves and new big bads, Teen Wolf will keep horror, supernatural and romance fiends howling for more.
Well, she’s no Catwoman (both a good thing and a bad thing), but Halle Berry is drawing in some attention for her new role in the sleeper hit show Extant. The freshman series follows astronaut Molly Woods (Berry) as she tries to reconnect with her family following a year long solo space mission. But her family isn’t normal: her son is the first of his kind, a prototype for the future line of human robots.
Family bonding has never been so creepy or scary, and television vets are likely to recognize Goran Visnjic of E.R. fame rounding out the cast of the show that takes the creepiness of space travel and combines it with the fear of unnatural children (i.e. The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby). CBS doesn’t generally cater to the spooky side of stories, but give Berry and Extant a space on your DVR this week.
It’s true, you don’t need to record this show in fears of missing it—all you need is a Netfllix account. Hemlock Grove was a surprising and fresh series released by the subscription powerhouse amidst political dramas and prison comedies.
The most recognizable face of the series, Famke Janssen, returns as Olivia Godfrey, the mother of an empire corporation that grows arms, legs, and even regenerates the dead. Roman (Bill Skarsgard) and Peter (Landon Liboiron) are back as Netflix’s favorite bromance upir-lycan duo as the area surrounding Hemlock Grove is littered with a series of strange murders. Of course, the main cast is dreaming of the deaths before they happen, because Hemlock Grove is a show too smart to understand and too scary to watch alone.
Syfy’s apocalyptic supernatural action series, based on the 2010 film Legion, is entering its freshman season with a bang. Set in a world where archangels are duking it out for the souls of humanity, archangel Michael (Tom Wisdom) sides with the humans to fend off the likes of the war-loving archangel Gabriel (Carl Beukes). A lot of good content here that fans of the original film will truly appreciate.
This new series comes as a breath of fresh air from those drowning in all the vampire and werewolf story-lines that are out there, and as an added bonus—there are a lot of surprise, horror-packed twists that really set a new standard. T.V. vet Anthony Stewart Head (of Buffy fame) serves as a central character as well, making the new series all the more enjoyable.
So whether you’re too busy to catch it live or are literally living on your couch this summer, don’t feel the need to kill your brain cells with repeats and reality T.V. Let your true geek flow with a surplus of genuinely refreshing television that is Summer 2014.