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" When the &amp;quot;prestige&amp;quot; television shows leave the air for the long summer, that aching sense of loss and Netflix indecision can creep in quickly. You can be left sitting on your couch scrolling through &amp;quot;Critically Acclaimed Dramas&amp;quot; on Netflix, not really knowing what to dig into next. There&amp;#039;s a whole host of options out there, and each involves a significant time commitment. So what&amp;#039;s worth it this summer? Down below we&amp;#039;ve collected a handful of new (and some older) shows to get you through your Mad Men/Game of Thrones/Louie/Hannibal/Veep/Girls/The Americans withdrawals. Orange Is the New Black Okay, we&amp;#039;re cheating on the first one because the second season has been out for a bit, but if you&amp;#039;re not already caught up with the Jenji Kohan-created series that tackles identity, the deeply flawed criminal justice system, and sexuality, then you&amp;#039;re missing out. The show boasts one of the most robust and idiosyncratic casts since the days of Lost and finds a beautiful balance between social commentary and gut-busting laughs. When and where: All episodes available now on Netflix  The Leftovers       Speaking of Lost, the latest from showrunner Damon Lindelof looks to escape the shadow of that mysterious and divisive show, this time on HBO. The hooky premise, in which 2 percent of the world&amp;#039;s population suddenly disappears, certainly has the potential to be disastrously bad, but early viewings of the season see the show reckoning with weighty themes of loss and morality. When and where: Premiered June 29 on HBO   Tyrant       Another recently aired show, FX&amp;#039;s Tyrant shows promise in its early going despite a bevy of issues that plagued getting the series to air. Gideon Raff, the writer behind the original Israeli version of Homeland, who also helped helm the American show before quitting, paired up with Homeland and 24 alum Howard Gordon to create this series, which has some serious potential. The show focuses on Bassam &amp;quot;Barry&amp;quot; Al Fayeed, who fled [insert generic fictional Middle Eastern country here] for California because he was appalled by the violent rule of his family. Now, 20 years later, he&amp;#039;s returned home. There are some early missteps here, but the show&amp;#039;s occasional look at poverty, corruption, and national identity contain tremendous upsides. When and where: Premiered June 24 on FX  The Bridge      The show&amp;#039;s first season was a rocky ride, losing sight of its initial creative vision only to (mostly) pull it all together again. There&amp;#039;s enough left on the table to leave us coming back for a second helping, and the show&amp;#039;s pulpy tones feel right at home during the muggy summer months.  When and where: Second season premieres July 9 on FX Masters of Sex If there&amp;#039;s a gigantic Mad Men-sized hole in your life, Masters of Sex may be just the show to fill it, and no, not because it starts telling its story in the 1950s. Instead, the show explores many of the same themes that Mad Men does. It&amp;#039;s about work, adult responsibility, gender, relationships, and power. It&amp;#039;s the closest thing we have to &amp;quot;prestige&amp;quot; television on this list, and its second season may just elevate it even further. When and where: Second season premieres July 13 on Showtime The Killing Every joke about this show not dying has been written, so instead of wasting your time, we&amp;#039;ll just tell you that the show is back to wrap up its gloomy, rain-soaked, indistinctly European narrative with a six-episode order on Netflix. When and where: All seasons currently available on Netflix, with the final season out August 1 The Strain Based on the books co-authored by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro, The Strain has a stable of talent to envy. Lost&amp;#039;s Carlton Cuse is the head writer, Cory Stoll finally gets another role after being unceremoniously axed in the first season of House of Cards, and Del Toro lends a hand behind the camera (at least for the pilot). The first book is a wonderfully paced epidemic novel, using horror genre tropes to tackle larger themes of filial responsibility, medical morality, and larger questions of life and death. If The Walking Dead continues to lifelessly lumber around, this show has the potential to be your new reckoning-with-dystopia favorite. When and where: Premieres July 13 on FX Plus: a handful of Netflix recommendations Terriers This critically acclaimed crime show was canceled after just one season, but it&amp;#039;s one of the finest standalone seasons of all time. Witty, tense, funny, and brimming with a sense of confidence right out of the gate, this FX show about two private investigators is more than the sum of its parts and its horrific marketing.  Justified With apologies to Deadwood, FX&amp;#039;s Justified may be the best vehicle for Timothy Olyphant. With its sixth and final season most likely premiering early in 2015, there&amp;#039;s plenty of time to catch up on this Southern-fried crime show. Few shows have such a solid sense of place, with the world of Harlan County so fully realized, populated by intriguing and complicated characters (including a quietly vicious Mags Bennet as played by Margo Martindale in season two). The show has had its rough spots, but seasons two and four are near-perfect creations, tensely plotted and beautifully shot.  Friday Night Lights Because nothing screams summer like being verbally degraded while running wind sprints in the Texas heat. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a29178/best-summer-tv-2014/>