Summer TV: '60s, sci-fi and satire

IF YOU thought that you'd spend the indoor hours between now and September clearing through the backlog on the DVR, think again: TV doesn't take summer off.

Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" returns June 12 with more funny, tragic tales of women behind bars. HBO has a whole new cast and story for "True Detective."

And while "Mad Men" may be gone, the '60s aren't, as ABC's "The Astronaut Wives Club" and NBC's "Aquarius" offer different takes on a decade that changed more than advertising.

More than two dozen new scripted series and miniseries premiere before Labor Day, along with nearly as many returning ones. So, if you choose to watch "Sharknado 3" - raining down from Syfy on July 22 - it won't be because you lack choices.

Including these:

"Aquarius," premiered Thursday, NBC10. No need to wait till the January return of "The X-Files" to see David Duchovny working plainclothes again. Here he plays an L.A. police detective whose search for an ex's runaway daughter brings him face to face with Charlie Manson (Gethin Anthony, "Game of Thrones"). Maybe this is the show "Mad Men" conspiracy theorists thought they were watching?

"The Whispers," premieres Monday, 6ABC. Drama in which seemingly imaginary "friend" gets children to do Very Bad Things starts out ultra-creepy but quickly becomes complicated in a way that distracts from the horror of it all. Lily Rabe stars as child consultant to the FBI.

"UnReal," premieres Monday, Lifetime. Shiri Appleby ("Roswell") stars as as "reality" show producer whose job involves manipulating contestants on a dating competition show in this satire from Marti Noxon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce").

"Sense8," premieres Friday, Netflix. Sci-fi drama from the Wachowskis ("The Matrix") about eight strangers who somehow become linked from a distance has a "Heroes"-ish vibe but seems to be reaching for something deeper.

"Odd Mom Out," premieres June 8, Bravo. Fish-out-of-water socialite Jill Kargman plays a version of herself, swimming with Upper East Side sharks, in the "Housewives"-heavy network's latest venture into scripted programming. Written by Kargman and "Sex and the City" veterans (and Germantown Friends School grads) Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky, it could be your next guilty pleasure. Or the final impetus for the revolution.

"Deutschland 83," premieres June 17, SundanceTV. Fans of FX's "The Americans" should appreciate seeing the '80s from the angle offered by this German series - the first to air on a U.S. network. Jonas Nay plays an East German recruited to go undercover in West Germany to steal NATO secrets.

"The Astronaut Wives Club," premieres June 18, 6ABC. Based Lily Koppel's book, it covers some of the same ground as "The Right Stuff," but from the perspective of the women behind the men of the 1960s Mercury space program.

"Complications," premieres June 18, USA. No good deed goes unpunished in this thriller about an emergency-room doctor (Jason O'Mara) whose life is turned upside down after he intervenes in a gang dispute to save a little boy's life. From the creator of "Burn Notice."

"True Detective," premieres June 21, HBO. Same title, whole new story, now starring Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch. Haven't seen it yet, but HBO's touting another "bizarre murder" and "the scorched landscapes of California." Can we all just agree not to over-analyze it?

"The Brink," premieres June 21, HBO. Jack Black, Tim Robbins and Pablo Schreiber star in a satirical comedy set in the not-so-funny world of U.S.-Pakistani relations. Yes, really.

"Ballers," premieres June 21, HBO. Dwayne Johnson stars as a retired football star trying to achieve post-game success as a financial adviser in Miami, while helping out his friends. Turns out it's not as easy as he'd thought.

"Poldark," premieres June 21, WHYY12. I never saw the apparently beloved 1970s "Masterpiece Theater" original, but the remake, also on "Masterpiece," is delightful. Aidan Turner ("The Hobbit") stars as Russ Poldark, who returns from a stint in the British army to find the woman he loves pledged to another. Eleanor Tomlinson ("The White Queen") is Demelza, whose life undergoes a series of transformations after a chance meeting with Poldark.

"Mr. Robot," premieres: June 24, USA. Rami Malek and Christian Slater star in this quirky drama about a gifted programmer (Malek) recruited by an underground hacker group trying to level the economic playing field, one line of code at a time.

"Zoo," premieres June 30, CBS3. What ever happened to "When Animals Attack," anyway? CBS again goes the summer thriller route with an adaptation of a James Patterson novel in which man's position as the dominant species is no longer guaranteed.

"Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll," premieres July 16, FX. Denis Leary ("Rescue Me") returns to TV as creator and star of a show about a '90s lead singer trying to put his band back together.

"Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp," premieres July 31, Netflix. Haven't seen more than some promotional pictures, but Bradley Cooper's set to have a role in the series, a star-studded prequel to the 2001 movie in which many of the actors, including Cooper, were already older than their characters.

Blog: ph.ly/EllenGray