15 hot summer TV shows: What starts when

Premieres June 18 on ABC

What fans can expect: “A new television drama series based on the book by Lily Koppel, The Astronaut Wives Club (written by Stephanie Savage) focuses on seven women who were key players behind some of the biggest events in American history. As America’s astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, the lives of their young wives were transformed, seemingly overnight, from military spouses to American royalty. As their celebrity rose, and tragedy began to touch their lives, they rallied together.”

Premieres June 11 on The CW

What fans can expect: “As season three begins, Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) are able to focus on their love, finally free from Muirfield, manhunts, and beasts. However, that love will be tested as new and more dangerous threats await. When they learn that innocent victims are being used to test the boundaries of the impossible, Cat and Vincent will uncover a deeper conspiracy, one which Vincent can fight only by turning to the beast he carries within. But unleashing the beast will risk Vincent’s life – along with his and Cat’s love – as they struggle to build a normal life together.”

Premieres August on AMC

What fans can expect: “What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in The Walking Dead? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.”

Premiered June 4 on NBC

What fans can expect: “After the shocking events of the Season 2 finale, Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) is on the run in Europe — accompanied by his psychiatrist Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) — sporting a new identity, but servicing the same insatiable appetite. As the lives of Will (Hugh Dancy), Jack (Laurence Fishburne), and Alana (Caroline Dhavernas) converge toward Hannibal again, each with their own motivations to catch him once and for all, their deadly dance turns in startling and unexpected ways.”

Premieres July 12 on Showtime

What fans can expect: “Season 3 of the series is set in 1966 when the famed duo Masters  and Johnson are dealing with the glare of the national spotlight as their sex study is finally unveiled. Masters and Johnson’s work will have a profound impact on contemporary relationships, especially their own evolving three-way ‘marriage’ with Masters’ wife Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald).”

Premieres June 24 on USA

What fans can expect: “Mr. Robot follows Elliot (Rami Malek, The Pacific), a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Christian Slater, The Adderall Diaries) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world.”

Premieres June 12 on Netflix

What fans can expect: “With a crisis of faith and their beliefs and loyalties being tested, each character must decide what and who to believe in.”

Premieres Aug. 4 on USA

What fans can expect: “The critically acclaimed comedy Playing House returns for a season 2, and childhood best friends Maggie Caruso (Lennon Parham) and Emma Crawford (Jessica St. Clair) are in store for one of their biggest adventures yet – raising a baby. This season, Maggie and Emma navigate their way through life as co-parents to Maggie’s daughter Charlotte. The colorful residents of Pinebrook, Connecticut, also return, including Emma’s first love Mark (Keegan Michael Key) and her eccentric mom, Gwen (Jane Kaczmarek).”

Premieres June 30 on MTV

What fans can expect: “After a cyber-bullying incident results in a brutal murder, the shocking violence stirs up memories of a killing spree from the past that has haunted some, intrigued others, and maybe just inspired a new killer. A group of teens — with two old friends struggling to reconnect at its heart — become lovers, enemies, suspects, targets, and victims of a killer who’s out for blood.”

Premieres July 16 on FX

What fans can expect: “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll centers on ‘Johnny Rock’ (Denis Leary), lead singer of a legendary early ’90s New York band called The Heathens. Known for living up to their name, the band partied so long and so hard that even Keith Richards thought they needed to slow things down. The Heathens were on the brink of becoming famous for their kickass live shows and the release of their highly anticipated first album. Until they broke up. The same day the album dropped. Because lead guitarist Flash (John Corbett) found Johnny in bed with his wife. So the band became legendary for all the wrong reasons — like self-destructing sooner than any group in rock-n-roll history. Twenty-five years later, the only thing bigger than Johnny’s ego is his prostate. The drugs he really needs now aren’t cocaine and marijuana — they’re Crestor, Cymbalta, and Cialis. He’s out of work, out of money, and out of show business options. That’s when a massively talented young singer named Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies) shows up — with a burning desire to be famous, a throwback appreciation for The Heathens’ only album, and a stack of cash big enough to bring the whole band back into the studio. Only this time, SHE’S the lead singer and Johnny’s just a behind-the-scenes songwriter. John Ales, Bobby Kelly, and Elaine Hendrix round out the rest of this dysfunctional rock and roll family. The race is on to see who gets famous first — and for what reason.”

Premieres July 10 on FX

What fans can expect: “As the second season unfolds, the transformation has begun. It can no longer be denied — New York City is rapidly falling to an evil epidemic, and no one is coming to its rescue. Its citizens must fight or die. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and his unlikely allies tried to take down the embodiment of this evil — the Master — and failed. Now Eph and Dr. Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) concentrate on creating a biological weapon to wipe out the creatures, while Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) searches for an ancient book he hopes will reveal the strigoi’s entire history…and possibly a way to kill them. Meanwhile, the Master is out for revenge, unleashing new and even more terrifying breeds of bloodthirsty creatures after our team. Our team must find a way to defeat him before the infection spreads too far and becomes irreparable…before they become monsters themselves.”

Premieres June 29 on MTV

What fans can expect: “On the eve of Senior Year, Scott and his friends find themselves facing the possibility of a future without each other, a next phase of their lives that might take them in different directions despite their best intentions. Little do they know that outside forces are already plotting to break the pack apart long before they ever see graduation. New villains that use a combination of science and the supernatural for a malevolent and mysterious purpose that will eventually pit Scott and his friends against their greatest enemy yet.”

Premieres June 21 on HBO

What fans can expect: “A bizarre murder brings together three law-enforcement officers and a career criminal, each of whom must navigate a web of conspiracy and betrayal in the scorched landscapes of California. Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in the all-industrial City of Vinci, L.A. County. Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life’s work, while his wife and closest ally (Kelly Reilly) struggles with his choices and her own. Rachel McAdams is Ani Bezzerides, a Ventura County Sheriff’s detective often at odds with the system she serves, while Taylor Kitsch plays Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and motorcycle cop for the California Highway Patrol who discovers a crime scene which triggers an investigation involving three law enforcement groups, multiple criminal collusions, and billions of dollars.”

Premieres July 31 on Netflix

What fans can expect: “The misadventures of campers and counselors at Camp Firewood.” (And the entire cast is back.)

Premieres June 30 on CBS

What fans can expect: “Zoo is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet. James Wolk will play Jackson Oz, a young, renegade American zoologist who spends his days running safaris in the wilds of Africa when he begins noticing the strange behavior of the animals. As the assaults become more cunning, coordinated, and ferocious, he is thrust into the race to unlock the mystery of the pandemic before there’s no place left for people to hide.”