TVSquad

Fox has released premiere dates for their summer programming, and as one would expect, it will be a mostly reality TV season. On The Lot, from Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett, will kick off on May 16th. Joining them later will be So You Think You Can Dance on May 24th and Hells Kitchen on June 25th.

The lone scripted series in the announcement is the return of The Loop. The show will return for its second season on June 10th, apparently minus the Piper and Lizzy characters. And that is the only one that really surprises me out of this group. With Spielberg and Burnett, it's obvious why On The Lot is getting a shot. While no match for their big brother Idol, SYTYCD has been a solid summer show and it's up to the lighter competition the season provides. Ditto for Hells Kitchen.

The Loop, on the other hand, was not warmly received, and I think most of its debatable ratings success had more to do with the time slot than anything they put on the screen. Don't get me wrong, I actually really like the show, but I'm still not clear on how a second season ever came to be. The fact that it has now been shuffled from a possible mid-season slot to the summer probably signals that there won't be a third installment.

[ via the futon critic ]