With the new season launches of cable hits like “Dexter”, “True Blood”, “Top Chef Masters” and “Newsroom” plus the beginning of new series “Ray Donovan” already behind us this summer, does this mean that August will be a slow month? Fear not cable fans – there is plenty more to come! The late summer/early fall 2013 cable TV schedule is shaping up to be incredible!
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To start, The Discovery Channel has prepared more hours of underwater super-predator drama than ever before for the hugely popular “Shark Week,” which begins its 26th year on August 4th. This year’s “Shark Week” combines established classics and a robust online presence with brand-new primetime specials including “I Escaped Jaws,” “Return of Jaws,” and “Alien Sharks of the Deep.” So, what makes “Shark Week” so gripping?
Discovery Communications CEO, David Zaslav told the Daily Beast, “There is no exact formula for why some franchises grab the public consciousness and never let go, but with “Shark Week” it starts with great storytelling, cutting edge production values, and a fascinating character: the shark!” Educational and riveting, “Shark Week” continues to impress (and terrify) year after year.
If you prefer mythical and period dramas to “Jaws”, then you can’t miss the premiere of “The White Queen”, based on Philippa Gregory’s bestselling Cousins War series of historical novels. The ten one-hour episodes, produced by BBC and airing on STARZ in August, will follow the story of the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of the women involved, including The White Queen, the mother of the future King Henry VII and the eventual wife of King Richard III. BBC commends this mini series as one its most ambitious series produced to date, and we are sure to tune in for the premiere on August 10th.
But perhaps the most anticipated and exciting summer 2013 premiere is “Breaking Bad,” which kicks off its final eight episodes of the series on August 11. AMC and show creator Vince Gilligan have been tight-lipped when it comes to details about how this show will end and the fate of Walter White and his drug empire, but have assured fans that it will not disappoint. The final eight episodes of “Breaking Bad” are sure to be a bittersweet end to what some have heralded as the greatest television drama of all time.
Looking into September, we have premieres of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” Season four and FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” Season six. The exclusive “Boardwalk Empire Season 4: An Invitation to the Set,” reveals that the season will start in February 1924 at the height of the “Jazz Age” and still deep in Prohibition. And rumor has it that the new “Sons of Anarchy” season is going to the most violent one yet, “drawn-out and bloody,” as show creator Kurt Sutter put it.
From Great White Sharks to royal women to a drug cartel in Albuquerque, the late summer cable TV schedule has something for everyone. And that’s just August! We are truly in a golden age of television, and cable is producing extraordinary, original and diverse content. For a first look at some of these exciting premieres, visit NCTA’s trailer page.