Welcome to summer, which features the hottest and longest days of the year. With temperatures in many parts of the U.S. well above the triple digits, there's often nothing more enjoyable than staying inside with the air conditioning blasting cold air while sitting on the couch and watching a little television.
There's just one problem with that, though: there just isn't anything on TV in the summer. Summer is when most networks switch to reruns and really bad reality TV. Sure, certain networks, like AMC and Syfy, put up some good programming this time of year, but it's not enough to give viewers enough to watch during the course of an entire week.
Even the premium channels take a break in the summer and leave viewers in the dark: there aren't even any new episodes of Game of Thrones to which to look forward.
So, what's a television viewer to do? Sure, one could go outside and sweat it out at barbecue parties, but the internet provides a great opportunity to keep watching, even when there's nothing on.
Here is a list of shows you can stream now this summer:
The Path
Streaming On: Hulu
Although Hulu premiered The Path earlier this year, it only released a single episode every week. Now, viewers can go to the site and watch every episode available from the show's first season without having to wait. The series stars Aaron Paul as a member of a cult-like fictional religion struggling with his faith and how that affects his friends and family. However, it also throws in some mystery, romance and even supernatural elements.
"There's a lot to like about The Path, from the strong visual sense of place that director Mike Cahill established in the first two episodes to its theoretical take on faith, and of course the exquisite acting and deft writing," the Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.
Hulu made a mistake in releasing one episode a week of this show, because this is the kind of thing that is perfect for binge-watching the summer away. Now is a great time to catch up, especially with a second season confirmed by the subscription service.
Heartless
Streaming On: Netflix
For fans of supernatural dramas, the Danish import Heartless is a perfect fit for hot summer evenings. The show follows two siblings, Sofie and Sebastian, who have a dark secret: they're vampire-like monsters who must feed on humans to survive. Although they do not need to kill when they feed, they often have trouble controlling their hungers, and their victims often die anyway.
Sofie and Sebastian enter a private school to learn more about their mother and the curse that haunts them while dealing with the things that many teenagers must face, such as dating and bullying.
However, the school has dark secrets of its own: the headmaster's own family also has supernatural powers that begin manifesting themselves. Where does this darkness come from? How is a mysterious death that occurred at the school in the past involved?
The series does move slowly at times as Sofie and Sebastian begin to uncover details about the school, its history and their own pasts, but it's compelling to watch nonetheless.
Amazon Pilot Season
Streaming On: Amazon Prime
Why watch just one television show when you can watch many? Amazon Pilot Season is now on, and that means that the streaming subscription service that also gives you free shipping on items bought via Amazon offers a series of pilot episodes for shows that cover just about every genre. This year brings The Last Tycoon, based on the last book ever written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a period piece about 1930s Hollywood.
There's also The Interestings, which stars Six Feet Under's Lauren Ambrose. Also based on a novel, this show is about a group of teenagers who meet at an art camp in 1974. The show will chronicle their lives and relationships over the next 30 years.
Looking for something to please the kids? Amazon offers several pilots perfect for the young ones, including the highly-anticipated reboot of Sid & Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. There's also a show called Curious Kitty and Friends for cat lovers, as well as a show called Little Big Awesome about two friends who always land themselves in adventures.
There is no time like summer to pick the next few series greenlit by Amazon that you can watch in full in the fall and winter.
The Returned
Streaming On: Netflix
Although there's an American version of this series out there, the original French The Returned (Les Revenants) is about as creepy as it gets. A sleepy French town suddenly gets the wake-up call of the century when people who have died there start to come back to life, just reappearing one day as if nothing happened.
Although most of these "returned" individuals are as normal as their alive counterparts, season two introduces a group that seem marred by their resurrections: something is definitely not right with them. There's also the matter of the town getting flooded when a dam breaks, as well as a history about that dam that could hold the secret as to what's going on.
The Returned follows several characters and their families as they deal with losing and regaining loved ones. Two seasons are currently available on Netflix, so there's plenty of content to keep viewers busy during the long summer months.
Daria
Streaming On: Hulu
Welcome back to the 1990s, where sarcasm and wit is held in high regard. Hulu penned a special deal with MTV to bring this classic animated series back, reintroducing the world to Daria Morgendorffer and her struggles in the fictional suburban town of Lawndale. This series is a good satire of high school life and includes a lot of great references to the pop culture of its time.
Daria made her first appearance on Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-head, but spun off into her own series that ran from 1997 to 2002. It went on to become one of the highest-rated shows on MTV, with people still worshipping the wisdom of Daria today.
Now, Daria is back and better than ever, with every episode available on Hulu.
"The people of Lawndale just don't get Daria Morgendorffer," the official show description reads. "See, Daria was born alienated, and now she's just trying to make it through high school with as little human contact as possible. Daria lacks enthusiasm, but she makes up for it with sarcasm."
