Summer 2014 TV Preview

I’m a little late on this one, but better late than never, right? Set your DVRs for what is shaping up to be a great summer lineup.

May 19

The Bachelorette (ABC)

Andi Dorfman is kicking things off on May 19 with another season of our favorite show. This season will be interesting because one of the contestants, Eric Hill, has since passed away. Hopefully, it will give people a chance to get to know him and maybe he will inspire us. Here’s a little taste of what we have in store this season:

You can read about Andi’s previous adventures on The Bachelor here.

June 2

Mistresses (ABC)

So I’m going to be honest here, I never finished last season. I was going to finish blogging it and I was saving them to watch later. So I think I am going to have a guilty pleasure Mistresses marathon before the season starts. This might be fun as I have two big trips coming up and I could probably get through the rest of the episodes on the plane.

You can catch up on my previous Mistresses recaps here.

June 11

Suits (USA)

We just watched the Suits season three finale, but not to worry, season four starts on June 11. The hubs will be happy to hear that – we love this show. In the finale, Mike decided to leave Pearson Spector and go legit. That was a bittersweet moment, but it will be interesting to see what happens to the characters now. Here is a preview of season four:

Graceland (USA)

This is another show that I started blogging about and saved the last few episodes to watch later than never did. Right now Comcast is offering the entire season On Demand so you can get caught up before the new season starts. You can also watch all of season one online here. I will definitely be taking advantage of this if not only for Daniel Sunjata. Here is a preview of season 2:

Here are my recaps of the first half of last season if you want to check it out.

June 22

True Blood (HBO)

So sad that it’s the last season of True Blood, but there are a lot of questions to be answered in Season 7. What happened to Eric? We thought Sookie would finally end up with Warlow, but he turned out to be a jerk. Surprisingly, Bill and company saved her, is there still a chance for those crazy kids to work things out? But hold up – fast forward six months into the future and Sookie is apparently with Alcide (what a rip off if you had been waiting forever to see them hook up and they just glossed over it!). Sam is the mayor and Tara may have reconciled with her mother once and for all. The preview for the final season looks pretty good, I can’t wait:

For my previous True Blood recaps, click here.

Falling Skies (TNT)

Season three definitely delivered on the finale and as we thought the Volm were up to no good. The 2nd Mass’ saviors turned out to be their downfall. Karen finally bought the bullet, but we did find out that Anne and Alexis were still alive. It will be interesting to see how the 2nd Mass gets out of this newest challenge now that the Eshpeni are gone.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about but want to get into Falling Skies, check out my recaps from Season 3 here.

June 24

Covert Affairs (USA)

Annie went all the way last season and finally killed Henry. I’m not sure what that will mean for season 5, but here’s a sneak peek:

June 30

Under the Dome (CBS)

This is another show that I watch with the hubs. This show is so weird, but we keep watching it, go figure… I assume that since it is back for Season two, the network will step it up a bit. With Stephen King at the helm, this is bound to get interesting.

July 6

Witches of East End (Lifetime)

I forgot about this one until Kerry from Till Then Smile Often reminded me. I watched the first season and this really warmed up at the finale. The portal to Asgard was opened and something came out, who knows what…Killian and Dash got their powers, unbeknownst to them and it will be interesting to watch them learn to use them in season two.

August 4

Bachelor in Paradise (ABC)

I cannot wait for this show. I am actually more excited about this than I am for Andi’s season. I can’t wait to see who will be case and how this show will work. More to come on this one soon I hope!

bachelor in paradise

What shows are you most looking forward to this summer?

For more TV recaps, click here.


Graceland “O-Mouth” Recap

It seems like last week’s episode was a bad dream. Mike (Aaron Tveit) is starting to feel the repercussions of this job and is still disturbed by Eddie’s suicide. Johnny (Manny Montana) tries to cheer him up by inviting him to play football on the beach with Paige (Serinda Swan). Johnny mentions that Paige has a new bikini that will make it worth his while. Paige wears a leopard print bikini with turquoise accents. Victoria’s Secret has a similar bikini for $52.50:

Paige bikini

As Mike comes back into the house he is shocked to see Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) shooting up. It turns out that Charlie and Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) are going undercover and they have to practice at pretending to shoot up and acting high so they can keep their cover.

Once Charlie and Briggs are undercover things seem to be going fine until Charlie’s old contact Whistler shows up. Since he isn’t on the FBI’s payroll anymore she’s not sure how he will respond if he sees her. To try to keep her face hidden she starts making out with Briggs and they are able to get out of there without being made.

Mike and Johnny head up to the bar for a drink and run into Mike’s girlfriend, Abby (Jenn Proske). Mike never gave her a cover job so Johnny decides to tell her that he’s a pilot.

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Charlie and Briggs need to find out if Whistler blew their cover, so Charlie meets with him. He didn’t, but he is still using drugs and lies to Charlie about it. It is sad to see that he can’t get his life together.

Mike’s handler at the FBI finally reveals to him why he needs to investigate Briggs. Apparently, every time the FBI makes a bust they have an idea of how much heroin they will recover. With Briggs it is always less than the expected amount. Enough that make them question whether he is skimming off the top.

Mike is still training Bello’s army to shoot, but he isn’t moving up further in Bello’s ranks. He asks Briggs for advice and they decide that Mike could take over Bello’s number two position since Eddie is gone. Mike is able to bond with Bello over a movie, “City of Bad Men,” an old western. Mike is able to prove to Bello that he can be loyal and trustworthy so he agrees to let Mike be his bodyguard.

Bello

Charlie and Briggs are waiting in a hotel room for their meetup. Apparently, they used to date back in the day and Paige and Johnny have a bet as to whether or not they are going to sleep together. They almost sleep together, but then back out. Instead they still decide to give Paige the win and let Johnny think that they slept together.

Mike gets a look at Bello’s calendar and is able to bring back some big information to Briggs about a high profile drug deal Bello is planning.

Charlie’s deal isn’t working out so she has to work with Whistler to get him to vouch for her. The only problem is that he is unpredictable when he is using drugs. He vouches for them, but he is a little too eager. He ends up overdosing and dying in the bathroom before they can make the bust. Their mark doesn’t trust them and wants them to use his drugs with his needles. Since cops can’t use real drugs undercover it is one way for him to know if they are telling the truth. Briggs tries to leave, but Charlie goes ahead and shoots up with the dealer’s needle.

Charlie wears a vintage lips sweatshirt. I found a similar one on Etsy for $38:

lips sweatshirt

Wow! I can’t believe this is how the episode ended. I’m not sure how I feel about this show. It is a lot darker than I expected, but it definitely keeps you in suspense.

What did you think about this week’s Graceland?

For more Graceland recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Graceland “Pizza Box” Recap

This week’s episode begins with Paige (Serinda Swan) going undercover to make a drug bust. She gets arrested to keep up appearances and finds a new strain of marijuana on her bust. I smell a new case coming on. Paige wears a fur vest as part of her undercover persona. I found a similar one at QVC for $94.32:

Wendy Williams Fur Vest

Wendy Williams Fur Vest

Back at Graceland, Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) is telling the house the story behind her great-great-grandmother Francesca’s famous spaghetti sauce. It apparently takes three days to make and is amazing.

Francesca's Sauce

Francesca’s Sauce

Paige can’t get the DEA to approve her case so she needs to bring Jakes (Brandon Jay McLaren) and Johnny (Manny Montana) in to meet with the potential mark. Because they are working his angle with Latin gang contacts Charlie has to give Johnny some fake gang tattoos to look the part.

Mike (Aaron Tveit) is still flirting with Abby (Jenn Proske), his new love interest but Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) interrupts with a call and new assignment from Bello (Gbenga Akinnagbe). When they meet with Eddie (Sheaun McKinney) they find that he is seriously injured from the last encounter they had with Bello. The good new is that Bello still trusts them, the bad news is that he wants to speak with Mike alone. After his demonstration with the bears last week Bello wants Mike to teach his men how to shoot.

Jakes brings Johnny to meet his old contact, Ashika Pearl (Mia Kirshner). The initial introduction was a little dicey – Johnny almost blew it by going overboard on his Latin gang member impersonation. Ashika invites Jakes to come out the “the farm” where it is their job to get eyes on the illegal plants that she is growing.

Mike goes to teach Bello’s men how to handle and shoot their guns. The government has instructed him to stall, not really teaching them anything valuable. He has to convince them that they aren’t actually going to be shooting anything, but learn to understand their weapons.

Jakes, Johnny and Ashika meet at the farm to have dinner. Unfortunately, Ashika won’t show them the plants until the morning. Paige tries to call the sting off and Jakes wants to leave. Johnny insists on staying (mostly because he is trying to get laid) and stays for dinner with Ashika.

Eddie assaults Mike because he doesn’t trust him, but Mike is able to take him down. Eddie suspects that Mike and Briggs are the reason he got double-crossed in the last episode. They decide to bring Eddie in and play upon Bello’s trust issues. Charlie meets with Eddie and lays it out as if they are setting Eddie up to take the fall with Bello. They give Eddie the chance to walk away, we will see if he takes it.

Meanwhile at the farm, Johnny ends up sleeping with Ashika. She figures out he is a fake because his henna tattoos run off on the sheets.

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Ashika launches a shootout in the barn, but Paige ends up saving the day.

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Finally, Francesca’s sauce is ready, but before Mike can enjoy it he gets called away by Bello. Bello brings Eddie out to teach the rest of his men not to betray him. The irony is that Eddie was right all along but Bello doesn’t believe him. He gives Eddie Mike’s gun and Eddie takes his own life. Mike is so shaken up by this that he ends up bailing on his date with Abby. He tells her that he saw someone die in a car accident and she is sweet and tells him to go home.

When he gets back home all of the sauce night dishes are waiting for him. He is visibly upset by what he witnessed and doing the dishes almost seems therapeutic.

This was an interesting episode. It really highlighted the differences between Mike and Briggs. Mike showed concern for Eddie’s life and Briggs said that he signed up for it and didn’t seem to care. I hope that Mike continues to keep that vulnerable side of his personality because that’s what will keep him human throughout all of this.

What did you think about this week’s Graceland?

For more Graceland recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Graceland “Heat Run” Recap

We last left off with Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) holding a gun to Mike’s (Aaron Tveit) head. This situation is quickly resolved and the boys are confronted by Bello(Gbenga Akinnagbe)  and his men. Briggs was just playing along with Bello  and pretending like he thought Mike sold them out to place suspicion on Eddie (Sheaun McKinney). Their plan works and Bello blames Eddie for their misfortune by sealing his eye with lead (gross!). Mike takes this all in stride and ends up impressing Briggs with his cool head and ability to go with the flow.

Briggs confronting Mike

Briggs confronting Mike

Back at Graceland, Briggs and Lauren (Scottie Thompson) catch up and we find out that her partner, Donnie, got transferred to Miami. Lauren is still dead set on taking down the Russians and tries to get Briggs to help her. Lauren wears an all black look complete with a leather sleeved jacket. I found a similar one at Forever 21 for $22.80:

Forever 21 Faux Leather Sleeve Moto Jacket

Forever 21 Faux Leather Sleeve Moto Jacket

Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) goes to visit a contact of hers, a former meth addict/dealer, who has information on a big score coming their way. This was a side storyline – the contact almost ruins her deal and she ends up having to cut ties with him. Charlie gives him the final payout and tries to get him into a house, but he doesn’t take it and most likely blows the money on drugs.

Charlie & Whistler

Charlie & Whistler

The team assembles early in the morning to take down a shipment of Lamborghinis that the Russians are expecting. Lauren got played and Briggs aborts the mission. She doesn’t listen and blows her cover when she pulls over the decoy trucker.

After the mission, the group goes to a local bar to decompress and teach Mike about the rules of undercover dating. I didn’t even notice this on the first watch but when Mike goes back to the table, he presses his hand into Briggs’ credit card and takes a picture of the numbers imprinted into his hand. This was so fast I almost missed it.

Lauren doesn’t listen to Briggs and risks her life going back to the Russians to get more information. She comes back to Graceland with a black eye which seemed suspicious to me since we never saw it happen. She lies to Briggs and tells him that she saw the low-jacked cars in a warehouse.

Briggs assembles the team again and they go to take down the warehouse. Lauren has on a black leather moto jacket. Victoria’s Secret has a cute one for $298:

Victoria's Secret Leather Moto Jacket

Victoria’s Secret Leather Moto Jacket

There were a lot more men at the warehouse than Lauren said and when Briggs confronts the Russian boss he realizes that he never hit Lauren. At first he talks to Paige (Serinda Swan) and they think that the Russians might be tracking her and they check her car for a tracking device. Paige wears a tiger tank top. I found a similar top at Go Jane in salmon and black ($19.50):

Go Jane Strappy Tiger Tank

Go Jane Strappy Tiger Tank

Paige wears a green & white striped bikini to search for the tracking device.

Paige and MIke find the tracking device

Paige and Mike find the tracking device

I found a similar green and white striped bikini from Shoshanna for $23.37:

Shoshanna Green & White Bikini

Shoshanna Green & White Bikini

Back at the bar, everyone is celebrating and Mike ends up meeting Abby (Jenn Proske), a girl that he actually has something in common with. He ends up hanging out with her all night and walking on the beach (so cute!).

Briggs puts it together that Lauren never went to the warehouse. Briggs tells her she is done and reported her to the DEA because she put the team in danger. Lauren will get reassigned out of Graceland.

At the end of the episode, Mike is able to access Briggs’ credit card information. He discovers that Briggs bought a GPS tracker and planted it on Lauren’s car. Briggs is impressed that Mike figures it out and lets him know that Lauren got out of control, which is why he had to get her out of the house.

This episode was important because it let us know not to mess with Briggs, which could be foreshadowing upcoming storylines. What did you think about Heat Run?

For more Graceland recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Graceland “Guadalajara Dog” Recap

This week’s Graceland accelerated the storyline quickly. Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) begins training Mike (Aaron Tveit) by instructing him to figure out what his cover is going to be. I liked the premise of reinventing yourself. Who would you be if you had to start all over again?

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We learn right away that Mike’s FBI training is second nature to him when someone steals a bag of chips at a local taco stand. Mike goes running after him to make an arrest. He soon realizes that he has to let the small fish go so he doesn’t blow his cover while trying to get the big fish.

During his morning run, Mike runs into Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) on her way home. She has an all black sequin dress on from a night out. I found this cute Robbi & Nikki Sequin Dress ($134.99) that is a great match:

Robbi & Nikki Sequin Dress

Robbi & Nikki Sequin Dress

The first order of business in the house includes psych orders for Briggs and Mike following the shooting in last week’s episode. The second order of business is to get Mike on one of Briggs’ active cases. This doesn’t go over well as Briggs doesn’t think Mike is ready for a major case yet.

During one of Crazy Jakes’ (Brandon Jay McLaren) missions, he ends up with “cop killing” bullets that he has to take into evidence. This will come into play later in the episode.

We learn that Lauren (Scottie Thompson) is getting removed from her Russian undercover mission because it is too hot after last week’s drama. We also learn that her partner, Donnie isn’t coming back to the house. Lauren wears a white and orange embroidered sundress. I found a similar Chelsea & Violet Stretch Lace Dress for $98:

Chelsea & Violet Dress

Chelsea & Violet Dress

Mike heads in for his psych evaluation and soon realizes that it is not a psych evaluation at all. Juan Padillo (Pedro Pascal) is really Mike’s handler for his investigation into Paul Briggs. I was impressed that they moved this storyline along so quickly. Mike lets the group know that he needs to meet with the psychologist once a week which sets up the cover to meet with his handler.

This motivates Mike to get onto one of Briggs’ cases so he asks Charlie for help. She gives him some good advice on how to gain Briggs’ trust, but in return she needs Mike to stand in as her boyfriend for a mission.

The mission turns out to be delivering birth control pills to Paige (Serinda Swan) so she can use them to spike her target’s drink, who she is pretending to be a girlfriend to. This puts him out of commission so she doesn’t have to sleep with him but can still act as his girlfriend.

Charlie is wearing the Again Lawgiver Red Peplum Dress ($237.60):

Again Lawgiver Dress

Again Lawgiver Dress

Mike brings an idea to Briggs which uses Jakes’ armor piercing bullets. Mike’s plan is to have Briggs sell the bullets to one of his targets,  “Bello” and use them to find out where Bello is. Briggs has to think about this. In the meantime, he offers to help Paige with her case. It gets mentioned that Briggs owes Paige which might be interesting down the road. Briggs decides to go forward with Mike’s plan, but not without a few modifications which he doesn’t tell Mike about.

Mike’s cover is as a Marine from Camp Pendleton who has armor piercing bullets to sell. This gets them a meeting with Bello’s men where they have to sell the merchandise. Bello’s men test out the bullets, but they are so heavy that their aim is off. Mike goes out on a limb and impresses everyone with his amazing marksmanship. I almost felt bad for the cute little cop bears.

Aren't they cute?

Aren’t they cute?

Briggs’ plan starts to unfold and he has done a great job of working with everyone in the house to make it happen. He didn’t clue Mike into the full plan and there were a few times where I thought Mike was going to call it in and mess everything up. Halfway through the plan he did call his handler which made Briggs suspicious. I’m still not sure how he knew that Mike made a phone call, but maybe we will find out next week.

Here’s how everything unfolded:

Mike and Briggs sold the bullets to Bello’s men. Briggs had been following Bello’s men for weeks and learned that they did the same heat run any time they were carrying hot goods. This is where it gets interesting. Briggs uses his contacts from the group of thugs that Paige is working with to get them to intercept the bullets, stealing them from Bello’s men. Mike and Briggs then go buy the bullets back from Paige’s thugs with the money they made from the first sale. During the final sale the FBI busts the thugs and then Briggs and Mike get the bullets back. Everything is tied up in a nice little bow.

Everything seems fine, until Briggs asks Mike to meet him at the docks under the preface of meeting the elusive Bello. The episode ends with Briggs holding a gun to Mike’s head demanding to know who he has been talking to.

I did not see Briggs confronting Mike this quickly, I can’t wait to see how this unfolds! What did you think of this week’s Graceland?

For more Graceland recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Summer TV Preview Extravaganza

I love TV. Every fall I used to get a schedule together of all the new shows I was going to watch and what I could reasonably tape on my VCR. Many of the networks have changed this format so now I get Fall and Summer premieres. And I have a DVR which means even more shows to watch. It’s like Christmas!

Here are the shows that I plan to tune in for this summer. Some are returning and some are brand new:

FOX The Goodwin Games – premieres on May 20 at 8:30 p.m.

The show focuses on siblings who inherit a fortune from their father but only if they can play by his rules. It is the newest endeavor from the executive producers of How I Met Your Mother and stars Scott Foley who I have crushed on since Felicity. The pilot is currently screening on Hulu so you can check it out in advance. The reviews look promising so far.

ABC The Bachelorette – Season 9 premieres on May 27 at 9 p.m.

I am slightly obsessed with the Bachelor and Bachelorette so I can’t wait for a new season! Desiree Hartsock is this year’s bachelorette. You might remember her emotional exit during Sean Lowe’s season. If you want to know who Desiree picks and spoilers from the season make sure to read Reality Steve’s blog.

If you tune in on Monday night, Desiree will take live questions on Twitter from 8-10 p.m. @DesHartsock.

ABC Mistresses – Premieres June 3 at 10 p.m.

I don’t know too much about this one except that Alyssa Milano is in it and I heart her. I’m interested to see how make the characters likeable even though they’re mistresses. It should be a good soap to watch and I hope everyone will have fantastic clothes!

One of my favorite blogs, Possessionista, has already posted a fashion preview here.

USA Graceland – Premieres June 6 at 10 p.m.

Graceland follows a group of undercover FBI agents as live together in a beachfront house. It’s from the creator of White Collar, Jeff Eastin, which is another great show. I’m mostly just watching this one for the eye candy…Daniel Sunjata…yum!

TNT Falling Skies – Season 3 premieres June 9 at 10 p.m.

My husband and I have watched Falling Skies together since it premiered. It’s an action-packed sci-fi action drama starring Noah Wyle. We last left the 2nd Mass with Tom taking on the role of U.S. President and Anne finding out she was pregnant.

USA Necessary Roughness – Season 3 premieres June 12 at 10 p.m.

This show has really started to heat up! We last left Dr. Dani revealing all of her feelings to Matt, but it looks like Matt’s new girlfriend is pregnant. Rex came out of the closet and Nico might be gone for good. John Stamos is joining the cast so it could mean a third love interest for Dani!

HBO True Blood – Season 6 premieres June 16 at 9 p.m.

True Blood is back! Last season left off with Bill becoming possessed by Lilith, the first vampire, and ended in a cliffhanger. Will Bill kill Sookie and Eric? Who will Sookie end up with? Is Bill gone forever?

Lifetime Devious Maids – Premieres June 23 at 10 p.m.

Created by Marc Cherry and produced by Eva Longoria this show is gunning to be the next Desperate Housewives. The show follows five maids for the rich and famous who use their position to achieve their own dreams. The preview teases lots of different plot twists and if it’s anything like the first season of Desperate Housewives we should be in for a good show.

CBS Under the Dome – Premieres June 24 at 10 p.m.

From auther Stephen King, Under the Dome should be a great sci-fi survival show, after watching the preview it sort of reminds me of Lost. I anticipate lots of fun twists and turns along the way. I also like Rachelle LeFevre and thought she was great in Twilight and Off the Map. I think this will be a show that both my husband and I can watch together.

USA Covert Affairs – Season 4 premieres July 16 at 9 p.m.

Season three ended with some big cliffhangers – Auggie and Annie finally kissed and Annie was presented with a mysterious file from Henry Wilcox. I really liked last season’s arc with Lena and Simon, hopefully we will see Annie get challenged again this year. I think Auggie is great but I would really like to see Annie end up with Eyal because their chemistry is hot!

USA Suits – Season 3 premieres July 16 at 10 p.m.

At the end of season two, Mike finally revealed to Rachel that he never went to Harvard. This didn’t seem to bother her because they hooked up in a very steamy sex scene. Harvey and Jessica are back in control of the firm, but moving forward with the merger. My husband and I love this show and we have a little crush on Gabriel Macht who plays Harvey. It will be interesting to see if he ever gets together with his secretary, Donna. One of my favorite parts of this show are the clothes. The women are impeccably dressed every week and I would kill for their wardrobe.

What shows will you be watching this summer? What are you most looking forward to? Let me know if there are other shows you think I should check out.


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