Even if you can’t make it to San Diego Comic Con this summer, you can get your fill of sci-fi, supernatural and fantasy watching summer TV.
As “Game of Thrones,” “Orphan Black” and “Penny Dreadful” finish their seasons, several new and returning series start their summer runs.
The options stretch from the Wachowskis’ Netflix mind-bender “Sense8” to the final battle for Earth in TNT’s “Falling Skies,” from Syfy’s return to space in “Killjoys” and “Dark Matter” to BBC America’s magical “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” and from CBS’s animals-gone-wild thriller “Zoo” to MTV’s canine caper “Teen Wolf.”
The first day of summer might be June 21, but summer TV got started with Fox’s “Wayward Pines” and Netflix’s “Between.” Here’s a look at the summer TV schedule for sci-fi, horror and fantasy series.
My picks are marked with an asterisk (*). All times are Central.
SUMMER TV SCI-FI
Wayward Pines
8 p.m. Thursdays, Fox (premiered May 14)
When Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dixon) goes to Wayward Pines, Idaho, to find two missing federal agents, he finds the sleepy town is keeping a big, potentially deadly secret.
Between
New episodes post Thursdays, Netflix (premiered May 21)
With elements of “Under the Dome” and any MTV show you choose, “Between” finds the townspeople of Pretty Lake facing a plague that kills only people over the age of 21. Apparently in TV land, you’re old at 22.
Golan the Insatiable
8:30 p.m. May 31, Fox
Banished to Earth, the demigod warlord Golan from the Gkruool dimension befriends a goth girl in this animated comedy that originated on Fox’s ADHA animation block.
The Whispers
9 p.m. Monday, June 1; ABC
Something evil is compelling kids to carry out dangerous missions, like luring their parents to their deaths.
Stitchers
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 2; ABC Family
A secret government agency recruits rebel college brainiac to be “stitched” into the fading thoughts and memories of recently deceased people to solve crimes. Throw “IZombie” and “The Big Bang Theory” into a blender and this is what might come out.
Sense8 *
2:01 a.m. Friday, June 5; Netflix
Eight people from around the world begin sharing each other’s thoughts, talents and experiences in the genre-bending thriller that ruminates on our fractured world and humankind’s inability to get along. It’s from the Wachowskis, so it’s both thought-provoking and highly entertaining.
Beauty and the Beast
7 p.m. Thursday, June 11; The CW
The long-awaited third season sees Catherine and Vincent move in together, which surely means they’re going to break up.
Defiance
7 p.m. Friday, June 12; Syfy
The two-hour Season 3 premiere picks up several months after the Season 2 cliffhanger finale. Defiance faces a military siege, but maybe the town can get help from a yet another race of Voltan—the vampire-like Omec.
Dark Matter *
9 p.m. Friday, June 12; Syfy
“Stargate” alums Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie turn their comic book into a TV show about six strangers who wake up on a space ship unaware of who they or their shipmates are and how any of them got there.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell *
9 p.m. Saturday, June 13; BBC America
The “last practicing magician in England,” Mr. Norrell, feels threatened by his apprentice, Jonathan Strange, whom he discovers wields more natural power and abilities. This trippy seven-part miniseries is set during the Napoleonic Wars, a time period that hasn’t been overdone on TV.
Killjoys *
8 p.m. Friday, June 19; Syfy
Aaron Ashmore, Hannah John-Kamen and yummy Luke Macfarlane star as wise-cracking, butt-kicking and secrets-keeping bounty hunters in space.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever
11:30 p.m. Sunday, June 21; Adult Swim
The animated characters Master Shake, Frylock, Carl and Meatwad say goodbye this summer when the longest running show in Adult Swim history ends its run.
Under the Dome
8 p.m. Thursday, June 25; CBS
The residents of Chester’s Mill discover who Chester really is. Oops, that’s not right. No, they’re trying to figure out why old people are dying. No, that’s “Between.” I think the residents have escaped the dome, but apparently they’re still hanging around for a third season.
Humans *
8 p.m. Sunday, June 28; AMC
Humankind is challenged by its latest creation: artificially intelligent servants called a Synths.
Falling Skies
9 p.m. Sunday, June 28; TNT
The 2nd Mass may have defeated the invading Espheni last season, but Lexi’s big boom could have drawn more aliens to Earth. Then again, humans can be assholes, too. But there will be one final battle in this final season.
Teen Wolf
9 p.m. Monday, June 29; MTV
Wolf-boy Scott and his Scooby gang meet their greatest enemy yet—a post high-school life. No, I have no idea what it is.
Zoo
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 30; CBS
Know those signs at zoos that read, “Please don’t feed the animals?” Well, everyone becomes a meal in this thriller based on James Patterson’s book. James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Billy Burke and more star.
Extant
9 p.m. Wednesday, July 1; CBS
Astronaut Molly had her mysterious baby last season, but now the little tyke has run off. Did the alien baby-daddy steal her offspring? Halle Berry returns for the second season as Molly, but not much of the original cast is back.
Dominion
9 p.m. Thursday, July 9; Syfy
The struggle between humankind and the archangel Gabriel and his army of angels rages as “Chosen One” Alex and human-loving angel Michael search for ways to save humanity.
The Strain *
9 p.m. Sunday, July 12; FX
Eph and the gang get some help in their way against The Master’s vampiric world order in the form of New York City councilwoman Justine Feraldo (Samantha Mathis). Although her declaration that they’ll “take back the city one block at a time” seems pretty naive.
Rick and Morty
11:30 p.m. Sunday, July 26; Adult Swim
After a long wait, the dimension-hopping duo return for more adventures in the animated comedy from Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
8 p.m. Wednesday, July 22; Syfy
OH HELL YES. And this time, Washington, D.C., the Eastern Seaboard and Florida aren’t safe.
Fear the Walking Dead
late summer, AMC
This prequel spin-off chronicles the early days of the zombie apocalypse in Los Angeles. So expect to see zombies with implants falling off their rotting corpses.
From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series *
8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, El Rey Network
With the showdown at the Titty Twister finished, our heroes and villains are spread out across Texas and Mexico. But the supernatural thriller is sure to bring them all back together again.