15 TV series to check out for summer 2020

Arriving at a time when our admiration of frontline health care workers is off the charts, this documentary series takes an intimate look at four New York doctors as they navigate the day-to-day challenges of tending to their patients while struggling to balance their professional and personal lives. It is named for the Upper East Side hospital where the series takes place. (June 10, Netflix).

Author Eoin Colfer’s beloved kid hero (Ferdia Shaw) comes to life in this family adventure film directed by Kenneth Branagh. The story follows Artemis, a 12-year-old genius, as he desperately tries to save his abducted father. In order to pay his ransom, he must infiltrate an ancient, underground civilization populated by powerful fairies. (June 12, Disney+).

This wildly offbeat medieval stop-animation series, though full of cute, Lego-like characters, is aimed at adults. It follows a kindhearted peasant named Patrick who dreams of being a knight. Unfortunately, the kingdom is a cesspool of depravity. Even the queen has her own sex dungeon. (June 12, Hulu).

Viewers are whisked back to 1795 India in this lush six-parter. It’s a time before British rule, when the Mogul Empire was on its last legs and incredible wealth was up for grabs. Former East India Company soldier John Beecham (Tom Bateman) buys a grand mansion in Delhi. There, he and his extended family soon find themselves caught up in an intriguing mix of greed, treachery and romantic entanglements. (June 14, PBS).

Producers insist this six-part documentary series represents the most comprehensive examination — in a “visual medium” — of Charles Manson and the horrific crimes committed by his cultish followers. It features never-before-accessed interviews with former family members and journalists who were first on the scene and in the courtroom. (June 14, Epix).

The cookbook author, “Top Chef” host and producer takes viewers on a journey across America, exploring the rich and diverse food cultures of various immigrant groups, and seeking out the people who have so heavily shaped what American food is today. (June 19, Hulu).

This young adult dramedy follows a teen boy (Michael Cimino) on a journey of self-discovery. After his family moves from Texas to Atlanta, he finds himself adjusting to a new city and high school while exploring his sexual orientation and facing challenges at home. The series is set in the world of the 2018 groundbreaking film, “Love, Simon.” (June 19, Hulu).

This is not your father’s courtroom drama. Matthew Rhys plays the title character in an eight-episode limited series that follows the origins of Erle Stanley Gardner’s legendary criminal defense lawyer. Living as a low-rent private investigator in Depression-era Los Angeles, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences and a broken marriage when a major case comes his way. (June 21, HBO).

This six-part documentary series explores Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the violent world of the serial predator she dubbed “The Golden State Killer.” McNamara lived a quiet life as a writer, mother and wife. But at night, she indulged her obsession with unsolved cases, beginning her probe into the man who terrorized California in the 1970s and ’80s and is responsible for 50 home-invasion rapes and 12 murders. (June 28, HBO).

Couldn’t make it to New York to experience Lin-Manuel Miranda’s captivating, hip-hop infused stage sensation about one of America’s founding fathers? No worries. This “live capture” of a performance featuring Miranda and the original cast will put you in the room where it happened. It was filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June 2016 and the musical continues to reverberate now (July 3, Disney+).

Ann M. Martin’s best-selling books have been adapted for the screen before — via a short-lived series in 1990 and a feature film in 1995. But this fresh production looks to bring them to a new generation. The saga follows the adventures of a group of middle-schoolers who launch a babysitting business in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. (July 3, Netflix).

Phil Keoghan, host of “The Amazing Race,” celebrates everyday hard-working Americans in this competition series. He ventures out to real-world job sites, asking employees to engage in tests of strength, endurance, life skills and mental toughness. At stake? A prize of $200,000. (July 8, CBS).

Described as “an intensely romantic story,” this series from executive producer J.J. Abrams focuses on a talented young singer (Brittany O’Grady) in New York City who is struggling to fulfill her dreams while dealing with rejection, love and complicated family issues. The show features original music from Sara Bareilles. (July 10, Apple TV+).

Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian classic gets a 21st century update. It imagines a utopian society — New London — that has achieved peace and stability through the banning of monogamy, privacy, money, family and history. But it’s on a collision course with the citizens of the brutal Savage Lands. The cast includes Alden Ehrenreich, Jessica Brown Findlay, Demi Moore and Harry Lloyd. (July 15, Peacock).

Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown in this humorous and dramatic limited series based on James McBride’s acclaimed novel. It’s told from the point of view of “Onion,” a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown’s motley family of abolitionist soldiers battling slavery in Kansas, and eventually finds himself in the famous 1859 Army depot raid at Harpers Ferry. (Aug. 9, Showtime).