HBO comedy-drama “Entourage,” which showcases the glamour of Los Angeles, will begin its final season July 24.
Credit: HBO
Summer is a time for students to catch up on the TV shows they may have missed earlier in the year because they were studying for finals or doing homework. It is also a great opportunity to make new commitments to upcoming TV shows. Here’s a quick look at the TV series that are premiering this summer.
“Breaking Bad”
Season 4
AMC
July 17
“Breaking Bad,” cited by fans and critics alike as one of the best shows on television, returns to AMC this summer for its fourth season. Bryan Cranston won three consecutive Emmys as a lead actor in a drama series for his role as the high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook, and viewers can expect that the upcoming season will have equally laudable performances from him. Though the show is rooted in themes about depravity and the ills of the human condition, it still manages to attract widespread interest.
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Season 8
HBO
July 10
Larry David’s outrageous social dilemmas will give audiences that familiar feeling of cringing into laughter when David travels to New York for the eighth installment of the HBO comedy series. For the first time, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will take place in New York instead of in Los Angeles. Though Larry David will be taken out of a west L.A. aesthetic, avid fans of the show can expect the same type of unsolicited ranting and yelling that David was known for in previous seasons.
“Entourage”
Season 8
HBO
July 24
The HBO comedy-drama showcasing the glamour of Los Angeles begins its eighth and final season this July. Audiences may be unnecessarily distracted, however, by the promise of an “Entourage” feature film, possibly causing the ending of this upcoming season to be anticlimactic and unsentimental ““ two things that prevent a good end to the final season of a television series.
“Alphas”
Season 1
Syfy
July 11
Individuals with moral imperatives and superhuman capabilities are the premise of the new Syfy show “Alphas.” The concept is not new on-screen (“Heroes” ended its television run only one year ago) and co-creator Zak Penn (writer of “X-Men: The Last Stand”) does not seem to be experimenting with any new material. Nonetheless, it will be entertaining to see justice at work, especially when superpowers make the justice-doing that much more impressive.
“Rescue Me”
Season 7
FX
July 13
The final season of the drama about New York firefighters from the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse appropriately premiers mid-July, just as the scorching summer heat begins to set in. It will be a sad day when FX advocates won’t be able to listen to that catchy theme song by the Von Bondies (“C’mon C’mon”) after the season ends, but until then, viewers can look forward to watching Tommy Gavin grapple with fires and the redemption that he seeks.