Summer Premieres 2007: Review of the Summer Television Line-Up

Gone are the days when Autumn was the designated television premiere season. Heading back to school and the end of summer days were always marked by the anticipation of new Fall shows. Now Summertime has become the second half of new television premieres. From reality shows to dramas series, summer has become as much the backbone of cable ratings as Fall once was.

What show premiere will bring you from the backyard to the television screen this Summer?
(Show times subject to change)

The battle of Promicin has begun or so USA NETWORK hopes it has. Beginning June 17th 2007 The 4400 will expose how on one given day 4,400 people who were once missing suddenly show up. The fbi, community, federal and local agencies then begin to uncover how each individual has changed and where they have all been. Tune in to find out he answer to 4,400 dollar question.

USA NETWORK brings the diary of a starter wife to cable television with the critically acclaimed The Starter Wife. Starring "Will and Grace" emmy award winner Debra Messing, this comedy/drama is already a hit. Molly Kagan (Messing) finds herself abandoned by her husband and group of friends after he abruptly leaves her. This Hollywood wife now must start over and learn to live a life that is her own and free of the Hollywood smoke she has been a part of. Catch Starter Wife starting June 7th, 2007.

The critically acclaimed Tyler Perry, known for his productions of Madea's Family Reunion and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, is hitting the cable wires this Summer. The premiere of Tyler Perry's House of Payne will air on TBS. The show is set to begin on June 6, 2007. The show centers around a chaotic household of family members who get through the hard times with faith, love, and humor. Tyler Perry claims the show will address subjects television has avoided for 30 years.

Fast Cars and Superstar premiers on ABC June 7, 2007. The show takes stars from sports, music, and television matching them against professional race car drivers. Some of the celebrity drivers will be Jewel, Bill Cowher, and Willima Shatner (to name a few). Tune in for drama that is said to erupt ON and OFF the track.

BRAVO will premiere Hey Paula, June 28th, 2007. Follow "American Idol" sweatheart and judge through the ups and downs of her personal and professional life. The seven episode reality series will air every Thursday 10pm Eastern Time. Tune in to find out if the calm and compassionate woman of the arts can balance the hectic schedules of her life.

Do you wonder why you can not connect in romance? Do you need a few dating do's and do not's? Tune into A&E's new reality based series Confessions of a Matchmaker to find out the secrets to romance and dating. Patti Novak is a matchmaker who pulls no punches to help her clients find better appeal. She does not shy away from ruthless honesty and brutal obsevation. Though she shoots from the hips and hits quite often in "low blows", her approach is all in good intentions. Tune in starting June 16, 2007 to experience match making through the lives of the brave souls who let there adventure be apart of your viewing pleasure.

John From Cinninatti will hit HBO the 10th of June, 2007. The story is seen from the eyes of the Yosts family. They are generational athletes who have met each decade with a series of bad luck. A stranger named John enters their life and what comes next hinges between the normal life and beyond.

Burn Notice, a new drama, will be a part of the USA network line up starting June 28th, 2007. A terminated spy returns to his hometown of Miami Florida to find the real reason behind his early termination. Agent Michael Westen then begins to use his skills to take on the cases and help the victims the police have left behind.

Saving Grace brings Oscar winning actress Holly Hunter to cable television. The much anticipated drama will premiere on on TNT July 18th, 2007. Watch while the fast living Detective Grace Hanadarko (Hunter) looks for help and hope after tragedy hits her professional and personal life.

Flash Gordon is back and this time the comic book hero stars Eric Johnson from Smallville fame. Flashing onto the SCI-FI channel August 10th, 2007, Flash Gordon will travel space to rest on Earth and along with his team of heros fight the earthy villain Ming.

Californication will show on Showtime starting this August, 13th, 2007. David Duchovny, best known for his leading role in the series "X-files", makes his return to cable in the leading role.Duchovny will play a edgy, sexual promiscuous, verbally assaulting novelist. Throughout the opening season he will begin a "Sex in the City" type blog and try to win back his wife while protecting his teenage daughter.

Meadowlands premiering June 17th, 2007 is another Showtime production. Follow the Brogan's who move to the Meadowlands and find a picture perfect town where everyone has a secret to hide.

Age of Love will join the cable line up this June 18th, 2007, on NBC. The show adopts a basic concept similar to tne reality show "The Bachelor". Tennis Pro Mark Philippoussis participates in a dating show that by his surprise consist of women in their 20's and 40's. How will age play out in this head to head showdown and find out what is the age of love.

The makers of Damages, hope to be a permanent fixture on Tuesdays, starting July 24th, 2007. With a leading lady as talented and known as Glenn Close, they are off to a good start. Damages is a legal driven drama. Glenn Close is the female litigator who takes on big corporations. In the process her manipulative and self serving attitude may push out the careers of young litigators on their way in. (She has a bit of a Meril Streep in "Devil Wears Prada" flavor.) Tune in to see a hard hitting legal pro and the corporations and aspirations she takes down.

Heartland will enter the heart of cable T.V. starting June 18th, 2007, on TNT. The series follows the story line of a heart transplant surgeon played by Treat Williams ("Everwood"), in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The series is set to replace the TNT drama series "Saved".

Shaq is back and he is offering up a new reality show called Shaq's Big Fat Challenge. The show is an attempt from Shaquil O'neal and his hand picked team of experts to battle obesity. They will try to transform 6 obese Florida teens into fit and healthy middle schoolers.. Look for Shaq starting Tuesday June 26th, 2007, on ABC.

LiL' Bush is a unique animated comedy that hopes to make a big splash on Comedy Central. Starting June 13th, 2007, a new kind of president will rule the comic television air waves. Donick Cary, one of the "Simpsons" writers will take you back to the childhood days of Lil' Bush and some of his pals like foul mouthed Lil' Cheney and Lil' Blair.

Flight of the Concords will fly into awarding winning cable channel HBO' s line up this summer. Premiering Sune June 17th, 2007, the show will follow the lives of a digi-folk band from New Zealand as they take on New York City.

Order up!!! Tune into Lifetime Channel this July 15th, 2007 for Side Order Of Life. The series will be one of the first three Lifetime will produce on their predominantly movie based channel. The show is about the life of a young female magazine photographer and her attempt to make everyday count.

American Body Shop is said to be a "Reno 911" style comedy. Comedy Central will premiere the show on July 8th, 2007. The show will take place in a Phoenix Arizona automotive shop. Cast: Jill Barlett, Sam Greene, Michael McCafferty, and Frank Merino.

State of Mind, July 18th, 2007, is the second of Lifetimes new series line-ups. This comical drama balances the problematic life of a therapist, played by Lili Taylor, and puts her patients in contrast with the people in her personal life. How does she provide therapy to patients that are only half as disturbed as her loved ones?

Mad Men is set in New York City in the 1960's. The AMC original series is written by Matthew Weiner of "The Sopranos". The show is said to pull the viewers into an unexpected new world.View this world through the lives of the men and women from the Sterling Cooper Ad Agency.

The Bill Engvall Show will bring the comedian who told America, "here's your sign", to family Television. Bill Engvall plays a family therpist who is good at his job, but can not seem to lead his own family into the right direction. The premiere is on July 17th, 2007, and airs on TBS.

Along with new summer series more than a few shows will be making their comeback this summer. Here are a few of the returning summer hits:
Football Wives, June 6th, 2007, BBC America.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, June 3rd, 2007, FOX.
So You Think You Can Dance, June 3rd, 2007 FOX.
The Loop, June 10th, 2007 FOX.
American Inventor, June 6th, 2007, ABC.
Ghost Hunters, June 6th, 2007, SCI-FI Channel.
Rescue Me, June 13th, 2007, FX Channel.
Top Chef, June 13th, 2007, BRAVO.
Entourage, June 17th, 2007, HBO.
The Closer, June 18th, TNT.
Doctor Who, July 6th, 2007, SCI-FI Channel.
World Series of Pop Culture, July 9th, 2007, VH1.
Who Wants to be a Superhero, July 25th, 2007, SCI-FI CHannel.
Weeds, August 13th, 2007, Showtime.
Biggest Loser, August 21st, 2007, NBC.

For more information on these shows and others that may be premiering or returning this summer check out your local listings, online T.V. guides, or specific channel web sites.

Enjoy your lazy days of summer and you lovely nights of summer viewing!