Summer officially starts in June, and so does a lot of background TV. You know, the kind that keeps you company as background noise and a time-waster while you're waiting on the next cookout invitation.
Those types of shows once filled the summer schedule and there are still a bit; witness ABC's gang of game shows settling in for the season, umbrella drinks and all.
Take a closer look, though, and find some stiffer fare. Locally shot Queen of the South will return June 8 with more of the queen's rise to power. Hard-hitting dramas Orange is the New Black, Power and Orphan Black are returning.
So, too, will Preacher, which almost defies genre but provides just as many laughs as look-at-this moments.
As usual, there's something for everyone in this not-at-all comprehensive list of what to watch in June.
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June 1
This Week On, Crackle; Nashville, 7 p.m. CMT
June 2
Flaked, Netflix
June 4
I'm Dying Up Here: Jim Carrey is executive producer on this adaptation of a 2009 book by William Knoedelseder about comedians trying to make a career of it 1973. Big names Melissa Leo, Alfred Molina, Ari Graynor and Clark Duke star. 9 p.m. Showtime
Also: Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly, 6 p.m. NBC
June 5
Daytime Divas: Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) stars in this series with a window into five very different women who co-host a talk show, "inspired by Star Jones' book Satan's Sisters." 9 p.m. VH1
Also: Stitchers, 8 p.m. and Shadowhunters 7 p.m., both on Freeform
June 6
The Jim Jefferies Show: News from another point of view. 9:30 p.m. Comedy Central
Also: Tosh.0, 9 p.m. Comedy Central; Nightcap, 7 p.m. Pop
June 8
Queen of the South: Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) is taking charge of her drug-fueled destiny in Season 2 of the adaptation of La Reina del Sur. 9 p.m. USA Network
June 9
Orange is the New Black: What's Daya going to do with that gun? Either way, Lichtfield will never be the same as the inmates stage an uprising in the wake of (spoiler alert?) Poussey's death. Netflix
Also: Dark Matter, 7 p.m., and Wynonna Earp, 9 p.m. Syfy; Fear the Walking Dead, 8 p.m. AMC
June 10
Orphan Black: It's the last season to watch this brilliance unfold. 9 p.m. BBC America
Also: Idiotsitter, 7 p.m. Comedy Central
June 11
Steve Harvey's Funderdome: Grace from Plano and "The Airhook," a cellphone or tablet mount, will compete against Tanya from Georgia and her "V-Smart Bar," a holistic soap for private parts, in front of a voting studio audience to win funding for their dream. 8 p.m. ABC
Claws: Manicurists -- including a svelte Niecy Nash, an almost unrecognizable Judy Reyes and a happy Carrie Preston -- get into some shady business in this new comedic drama set in a Central Florida nail salon. 8 p.m. TNT
Also: American Grit, 8 p.m. Fox; Celebrity Family Feud, 7 p.m., and $100,000 Pyramid, 9 p.m., both on ABC
June 12
Superhuman: Three Dallas-area contestants -- puzzle solver David Millar, Rubik's Cube master Anthony Brooks and martial artist Kamen Casey -- will compete for the $50,000 grand prize. Kal Penn hosts. 8 p.m. Fox
Also: American Ninja Warrior, 7 p.m. and Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge, 9 p.m. NBC; So You Think You Can Dance, 7 p.m. Fox
June 13
FaceOff, 8 p.m. Syfy
June 14
Blood Drive: This one's really a Death Race. The cars run on real, human blood. That's all I need to know. 9 p.m. Syfy
Also: To Tell the Truth, 9 p.m. ABC
June 15
The Tunnel: Sabotage, 9 p.m. KERA
June 16
The Great British Baking Show, 8 p.m. KERA; The Ranch, Netflix
June 17
TURN: Washington's Spies: It's the fourth and final season of the series about "America's first spy ring." 8 p.m. AMC
June 18
Botched, 8 p.m. E; Grantchester, 8 p.m. PBS
June 19
Reno, Set, Go! Family members reward loved ones with top-secret room makeovers. 9 p.m. Discovery
June 20
The Haves and the Have Nots, 8 p.m. and Queen Sugar, 9 p.m., both on OWN; Wrecked 9 p.m. TBS
June 21
Little Big Shots: Forever Young: The older set is talented, too, and this variety show hosted by Steve Harvey becomes their showcase. 7 p.m. NBC
Also: To Tell the Truth, 9 p.m. ABC; Queen Sugar premieres in regular time slot, OWN
June 22
The Mist: Another Stephen King story gets the series treatment. In this one, a mist cuts the town off from civilization after a "brutal crime." 9 p.m. Spike
Also: Hollywood Game Night, 7 p.m., The Wall, 8 p.m., and The Night Shift, 9 p.m. NBC; Boy Band, 7 p.m. and The Gong Show, 9 p.m. ABC
June 23
GLOW: I didn't know how much I needed a show about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling on my to-binge list. Netflix
Also: Playing House, 10 p.m. USA
June 25
Power: Ghost is all orange is the new black in the season 4 premiere. 8 p.m. Starz
Also: Preacher, 9 p.m. AMC; Prime Suspect: Tennison, 9 p.m. PBS
June 26
Preacher, regular time slot premiere, 8 p.m. AMC
June 28
Big Brother, 7 p.m. CBS; Younger, 9 p.m. TV Land; Broadchurch, 9 p.m. BBC America
June 29
Battle of the Network Stars: ESPN veterans Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore co-host this reboot. Former Dallas Cowboy DeMarcus Ware will be a team captain. 8 p.m. ABC
Also: Zoo, 9 p.m. CBS
June 30
Gypsy: The streaming service knows how to get the stars shining. Naomi Watts is a therapist who gets too involved in her patients' lives. Netflix
Also: Killjoys, 7 p.m. Syfy; Masters of Illusion, 7 p.m. The CW
