TIME

The most anticipated summer TV shows

The sun is coming out, the days are getting longer, and life somehow just seems that little bit happier. But even as nature beckons us out of doors, the lure of the fluorescent blue-light box remains, especially as a season once associated with reruns and stagnation only seems to get more packed with appointment viewing.

The enticements include the return of shows like House of the Dragon, Bridgerton, and The Bear and small-screen debuts from the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, as well as fond and final farewells to beloved series like Cobra Kai. There is so much on the TV calendar between Memorial Day and Labor Day that there’s reason to believe the seat indent of our sofa cushions might never spring back into shape.

Whether you’re in it for the discourse or the dragons, here is a guide to summer TV for every kind of viewer.

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