11 Undersung TV Shows to Watch This Summer

Championing an underappreciated television show can be a joy, an inside secret you’ll share with other fans who have stumbled upon the same discovery. Sure, it’s no fun to feel like you’re the only person in your friend group watching, for instance, Veronica Mars—I certainly did back in the aughts—but as more people caught up and caught on over the years, finally getting to talk about the biggest twists and the best performances felt thrilling. Pushing a show, especially one that’s been canceled or ignored by most prestige award shows, can be an uphill climb, but I find the trek worthwhile.

This list is an effort to get you started on your journey. My colleagues and I have compiled some of our favorite recent series that we wished had gotten more attention—including a biting comedy about Hollywood, a surprisingly clever drama about artificial intelligence, and an engrossing docuseries about a once-beloved reality-TV family. One of them, we hope, will be your new favorite show to introduce to others. — Shirley Li

Tiny Beautiful Things

No show has made me sob harder this year than , an adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s essay collection that compiles her responses as the anonymous voice behind the advice column—with fictional scenarios that would come off as overly sentimental were they not anchored by the ensemble’s fine-tuned performances. folds the past into the present, and Strayed’s words into Clare’s thoughts, resulting in a moving and intimate portrait of heartbreak and healing. — S.L.