Empire, Please Like Me & Shameless

I have been very busy in the lead up to that time of the year where everyone runs around mad, gets grumpy, looses there shit when they cant get a car park.

However I have been thrilled watching the final episodes, seasonal finales and potential last episodes of some shows.

EMPIRE has been a little average this series and maybe with the launch of the new Lee Daniels show STAR (which had just under 7 million live viewers on it's debut) he is a little distracted.

Like Ryan Murphy it's tricky with multiple projects all at once. Murphy struggled with AMERICAN HORROR STORY and SCREAM QUEENS and GLEE and out of the ordinary came the multiple award winning brilliance of AMERICAN CRIME STORY.

EMPIRE appears to be losing touch of it's signature hit music moments and becoming too much of a soap opera revolving around a completely over the top blended family.

PLEASE LIKE ME suffered a blow ahead of it's fourth series with Pivot the US network which loved it suffering closure. The show has never been a ratings hit in Australia and honestly I was surprised this show was continuing when shows like Miss Fishers Murder Mystery is out in the wilderness.

Josh Thomas is a star but the show is niche and when the ABC has to defend every little thing that goes to air, it's risky having a show like PLEASE LIKE ME on air. Not to mention some truly woeful ratings.

SHAMELESS made headlines for all the wrong reasons with a pay dispute with lead Emily Rossum holding up the eighth seasons green light. The show is the jewel in Showtime's crown lately with THE AFFAIR looking to wrap up and RAY DONAVON a Summer series the channel is quickly becoming HBO's poor cousin.

SHAMELESS has been truly fabulous this season and I really cannot imagine Monday (Australian time) nights without the Gallaghers. Thank god HOMELAND is still going strong which is the only other saving grace for Showtime with the series set to run until 2019 (with the series renewed up to season eight (expected to be it's last)).

So what can I recommend for Summer viewing? Come by tomorrow and I will award my hits of 2016, TV wise.