Madeline Gearheart | April 23, 2018

Most Anticipated Summer TV Premieres 2018

Traditionally, big premieres and season finales hit the small screen in late spring as a last ditch effort to make the cut for Emmy nominations. However, companies like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon have pushed the industry to have a steadier flow of new content, freeing us from boring summers chock full of reruns. Now, even the older, established TV networks like HBO, Showtime, FX, and many others have emphasized summer TV premieres to try and keep up with the constant demand for quality shows.

Here’s a list with some awesome summer TV shows to look forward to, along with some springtime hits you can catch up on, and more big productions to look forward to before the end of the year:

Late Spring 2018

Handmaid’s Tale, Season 2, Hulu, April 25

The highly-anticipated second season of this series, based on the Margaret Atwood futuristic-dystopian novel of the same name, premieres just before summer. Elisabeth Moss stars as Offred, a member of the Handmaid class of society who are considered integral, but are simultaneously among the most oppressed classes in Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy that replaces the United States after a civil war.

Roseanne, ABC, March 27

Roseanne recently made its return to television, updating audiences as to what has happened with the Conners and taking a look at what is going on in their lives today. Just like the original series, this reboot attempts to honestly address the struggles of working-class Americans, as a result there is a lot of real, heartfelt drama that takes place throughout this comedy series.

Atlanta, Season 2, FX, March 1

Donald Glover recently lost a writing job for the proposed Deadpool cartoon series from FX and Marvel, but he still has a lot of work to keep himself busy. The highly anticipated season 2 of Atlanta is just one of many projects he has at the moment. Tune in to find out what happens to Paper Boi after he learns that fame and success aren’t exactly what he originally dreamed them to be.

Here’s a more complete list of spring shows that you can look back on when you have downtime in between summer premieres and new episodes.

Summer 2018

Little Women, PBS, May 13

PBS brings this classic story from Louisa May Alcott back in a three-part miniseries. This is a story of four sisters who struggle to support themselves and their mother while their father is away serving in the military during the civil war.

Fahrenheit 451, HBO, May 19

This is a series adaptation of the classic Ray Bradbury novel of the same name. Michael Shannon and Michael B. Jordan star, promising an interesting take on a dystopian future where firemen burn books and other relics of the past instead of putting out fires.

Luke Cage, Season 2, Netflix, June 22

Luke Cage continues to defend his neighborhood against the forces of evil, whether those forces are humans with supernatural powers or socialites with bad agendas. With ties to Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Ironfist, The Punisher, and The Defenders, this series is a must see for any fan of the Marvel Universe.

Castle Rock, Hulu, Summer

Castle Rock is a fictional town in Maine that serves as the backdrop for many events in Stephen King’s stories. The Castle Rock series on Hulu serves as a crossroads for many of these events and characters, telling new stories based on the huge canon of work from King’s library. The series starts off ten episodes strong as a collaboration between Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television. With quality studio backing and producers including both JJ Abrams and Stephen King, there is a lot of excitement built around this release.     

There will be a lot of shows for you to catch this summer, check this out for more complete listings and highlights.

Late 2018:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Netflix, 2018

Legendary writer and director brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are making their TV series debut in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It’s an anthology series consisting of six episodes and has a star-studded cast including: Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson, Stephen Root, James Franco, and more!

Kidding, Showtime, 2018

Jim Carrey makes his first regular appearance on TV in over two decades. Jim Carrey is Jeff, who is also Mr. Pickles, a beloved children’s television icon with a large merchandising operation. Things start to hit the fan when Jeff’s actual family begins to fall apart and he finds himself struggling to cope. The show is both thoughtful and funny, taking an intimate look at Jeff as he struggles to reconcile the events taking place in his real life and the image of his public persona.