The summertime doesn’t always have to be about repeats and movies you have seen 5,000 times. Sometimes the summer can bring new shows and new movies that you and I have never seen before. In the case of all the top network channels you might be looking for something to watch this summer - and I can help you! Listed below are some of the new shows and or mini series that will be featured for the summer of 09. Some of these are on channels like ABC, NBC and CBS whereas others are on Hallmark and Ion - which some of us don’t get. But just the same Ill list them to give a viewing to everyone. Some of these you may have heard about coming and others - not so much!

Harper’s Island -
(from CBS’s press release, December 2008) Harper’s Island, a 13-episode mystery event, premieres Thursday, April 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) and concludes Thursday, July 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). Harper’s Island is about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island for a destination wedding. They’ve come to laugh… to love… and, though they don’t know it… to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival. In every episode, someone is killed and every person is a suspect, from the wedding party to the island locals. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.

Southland -
(from NBC’s press release, January 2009) From Emmy Award winners John Wells, Ann Biderman and Chris Chulack comes a raw and authentic look at the police unit in Los Angeles. From the beaches of Malibu to the streets of East Los Angeles, “Southland” is a fast-moving drama that will take viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families. Michael Cudlitz (”A River Runs Through It”) plays John Cooper a seasoned Los Angeles cop assigned to train young rookie Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie, “The O.C.”). Cooper’s honest, no-nonsense approach to the job leaves Sherman questioning whether or not he has what it takes to become a police officer. Cudlitz and McKenzie are joined by other cast members including Regina King (”Ray,” “Jerry Maguire”) who plays Detective Lydia Adams. Adams lives with and is the primary caregiver of her mother.

The Unusuals -
(from ABC’s web site, March 2009) Like a modern-day M*A*S*H, The Unusuals explores both the grounded drama and comic insanity of the world of New York City police detectives, where every cop has a secret. It also helps to have a twisted sense of humor, since every day could be your last. Detective Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) has just been transferred to the NYPD’s Homicide unit from Vice and is instantly thrown into a setting of bullets and bodies. As she begins her new assignment, Casey finds that the force is full of secrets, which serves her well, since she’s keeping a few of her own. But her first case is not an easy one, as she’s assigned to investigate the death of one of the department’s own, the former partner of Detective Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner), who is now her new partner. As the duo seeks out the cop killer, the secrets and eccentricities of the rest of the department begin to emerge.

Surviving Suburbia -
(from ABC’s web site, March 2009) ABC announces the premiere of new half-hour comedy series, Surviving Suburbia, starring Bob Saget and Cynthia Stevenson, on MONDAY, APRIL 6 (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET), following Dancing with the Stars. In the family-centered tradition of Roseanne and Home Improvement, Surviving Suburbia opens the curtain to follow Saget (How I Met Your Mother, Full House) and Stevenson (Men in Trees, Dead Like Me) as Steve and Anne Patterson, a seemingly normal couple who have been married for 20 years, have two children and a cookie cutter house in the idyllic suburbs. But Steve maintains a rather cynical point of view on family, friends, neighbors, society — pretty much everyone and everything — as he tries to survive suburban life

The Storm -
(from NBC’s press release) In “The Storm,” also from RHI Entertainment, billionaire Robert Terrell (Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Treat Williams, “Everwood”) has fulfilled a lifelong obsession and made history with “weather creation” technology though his Atmospheric Research Institute. But during a test run, a blast of energy is sent into the ionosphere with unexpected results. The experiments hurtle the planet towards destruction-hurricanes change course, winds go instantly from hot to cold, torrential rains bring regions to a standstill, and buildings crumble into ruins under explosive lightening storms. It’s only the beginning. Only one scientist, Dr. Jonathan Kirk (James Van Der Beek, “Dawson’s Creek”), steps forward to demand that the system be terminated. Terrell is undeterred and continues to push his team to move forward. His motives for the initially philanthropic technology is in truth far more opportunistic.

The one I’m most interested in is the Southland one, only because I absolutely LOVE Benjamin McKenzie. He was Ryan Atwood on the OC. Anyway, these all sound pretty good. If you want to find out more then I would suggest visiting the ABC, NBC, CBS guides and the like online. The TV guides online are one of the easiest ways you can find anything coming to cable TV - this includes movies, TV shows mini series, features, specials, etc. So if you are looking for something to watch now or you want to check out some of the other movies and shows coming this summer, I would highly suggest taking a look at the schedule!