Twelve Hot Shows to Keep You Cool This Summer

Where once summer TV was made up almost exclusively of stale reruns – and perhaps a couple of new second-rate game shows that no one really cared about – there’s been a paradigm shift over the last decade or so in which the once-unadventurous cable networks started indulging in this little thing called original programming.

What’s more, many of them are now choosing to debut a slew of their original series during the warmer months to avoid competition from the “Big Four”, which can only equal happiness for a legion of loyal couch potatoes. I mean hell, who needs the outdoors anyway, right?

Here are twelve new and returning shows to keep you cool this summer. Before all you True Blood and Torchwood fanatics go bonkers on me, this list is highlighting shows AfterElton.com doesn’t already cover extensively. Hey, it might be summer, but you can still broaden your horizons some!

The Glee Project (Oxygen)

Premiere Date: Sunday, June 12th

The Glee Project contenders

Executive-produced and co-judged by series creator Ryan Murphy, The Glee Project is a new reality competition show in which 12 youthful contestants (ages 18-22) vie for a seven-episode guest arc on the hit Fox series’ third season.

Over 40,000 hopefuls auditioned, a pool that was narrowed down to the final twelve – a diverse group that includes Matheus, a 4’9” Brazilian who quickly mastered English after moving to the U.S. eight years ago; Alex, an 18-year-old gay choir singer from Lynn, MA; Hannah, an overweight redhead who raps under the alias “Rouge”; and Damian, a cherubic teen from Northern Ireland who performs with an all-male vocal group known as Celtic Thunder.

Oh yes, there will be tears.

The Glee Project cast performs "Firework"

Rocco’s Dinner Party (Bravo)

Premiere Date: Wednesday, June 15th

Telegenic, tantrum-prone New York chef and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Rocco DiSpirito is back with yet another reality show, this time hoping to score with a concept that each week sees three “highly-skilled” chefs competing to create the perfect meal for DiSpirito and a large group of his celebrity friends.

The notoriously polarizing (but, in this writer’s opinion, damn sexy) DiSpirito may not be to everyone’s liking, but given that the show’s first season will boast appearances by such fun personalities as Liza Minnelli (celebrating her 65th birthday on one episode), Sandra Bernhard, and Alan Cumming, even those who don’t count themselves as fans of the celebrity chef will have a reason to tune in.