Excelsior: Hello and Goodbye - Shows That Leave Us, Shows That Come Up

It’s finals season – for students as well as for TV executives; season finale time, that is. And while we are still in a limbo of uncertainty about our grades, many TV shows already know they failed, and that no new season will premiere in fall. TV audiences have to say goodbye to some of their favorites – and it isn’t going to be easy.
On the other hand, the summer has become TV’s “second year”: Long gone are the times when you would turn on the TV in July and all you’d see was a rerun from six months earlier. Quite a few shows will premiere or return this summer, and they are anything but second-rate.
The Excelsior presents five shows that will be (more or less) sorely missed, and five that will console us during the summer months.

Goodbyes…

1. LOST (ABC)

Probably the only show that is leaving us voluntarily: Three years ago, it was announced that this saga about the 48 survivors of a plane crash would end in 2010 so as to tell a well-rounded story. Now, the dreaded time is here: On May 23, all questions will be answered in a two-and-a-half hour series finale. Allegedly.
Ends May 23.

2. Scrubs (ABC)

After a somewhat weird resuscitation of this medical comedy last year, Sacred Heart is now closed for good. The new concept, including a completely different main cast, just didn’t work – and should probably best be forgotten.
Ended March 17.

3. 24 (FOX)

Finally, Jack Bauer will get some sleep: After eight days of real-time around-the-clock terrorist fighting, “24” is over. Maybe it’s for the best: America’s No. 1 badass was beginning to look exhausted – just like the show’s storylines.
Ends May 24.

4. Law and Order (NBC)

This one is the shocker of the year: Extremely long-running primetime show “Law and Order” has been cancelled after 20 (!) years. But no worries, the law will continue to rule: Besides the current spawn “SVU,” a new spin-off called “Law and Order: Los Angeles” is coming up next season.
Ends May 24.

5. As the World Turns (CBS)

This soap opera even beats out “Law and Order” – by a few decades, no less. After 54 years (!!!) and around 14,000 episodes, “As the World Turns” will end in September. 54 YEARS! Jack Bauer is a pussy.


…and Hellos:

1. 100 Questions (NBC)

This new show follows newly single Charlotte who signs up for an internet dating site. She has to answer a 100-question compatibility test – each of which leads her to reminisce about a specific adventure in her life. Promising – even if it sounds an awful lot like “How I Met Your Mother.”
Premieres May 27.

2. Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime)

Back for a second season: After a car accident, ditzy model Deb wakes up in the hospital in someone else’s body – she has become overweight lawyer Jane, of all people. Hilarity and a little bit of wisdom ensues.
Premieres June 6.

3. The Gates (ABC)

Big-city cop plus family move to a seemingly idyllic gated community. Soon, things begin to get weird and the supernatural comes a-knocking. Let’s bet there’s a vampire somewhere in there, shall we?
Premieres June 20.

4. Scoundrels (ABC)

A family of small-time criminals decides to go straight after their father is sent to prison. High hopes for former movie star and leading lady Virginia Madsen
Premieres June 20.

5. Lie to Me (FOX)

The show about a human lie detector (another former film star, Tim Roth) who uses his skills in analyzing facial expressions and vocal inconsistencies to expose crooks returns for a third season.
Premieres June 7.

Happy TV summer!