Summertime's here, and with it the interminable boredom that comes from being in-between seasons of all your favorite shows. And it's not just television series that have gone on hiatus: Many of the most popular webseries need time to recoup during the summer months, whether it's to plan and write upcoming seasons, or to find a way to finance more episodes.
So while you're lamenting the wait for new episodes of The Most Popular Girls in School or for cool projects like The Incident to actually start, what's going to keep you occupied? Here are some tips for the best summer series you don't want to miss.
This teen drama is Hulu's first exclusive webseries to feature an all-Latino cast. We were immediately drawn to the realistic and relatable characters from this inner-city high school community in Los Angeles. 90210 this isn't. And that's fabulous.
This popular series follows the adventures of Racey as she struggles to make sense of society's everyday rules for navigating her career and her professional office environment, all while coping with society's everyday racism. Caustic and biting, this series delivers a storyline we love along with excellent satire—and the occasional punch in the gut.
3) LoveFail
Billed as a series about awkward online dating, LoveFail should be all too familiar to anyone who's ever tried to establish a real-life connection with someone they've met online. A brand-new webseries that manages to satirize gender relations, this is one we hope will stay this fresh and funny.
LoveFail is sitting awkwardly at the figurative bar counter of our dreams, nestled somewhere between Wigs and Awkward Black Girl and waiting for its audience. Hopefully we look as good as our profile pics.
4) Codefellas
The best thing about Wired's hilarious National Security Agency spoof? It was in production before the NSA scandal broke. This is the kind of laughter that hurts.
5) Summer Session with Mike Steidly
We're cheating with this one, but let's face it: Sometimes we don't want a good story. Sometimes we just want to watch an amazing all-terrain biker boulder-hop on a majestic coastline while inspiring music plays in the background. Get your zen fix with this series in which professional stunt biker Steidly treats us to scenic vistas and gut-swooping jumps.
6) Buffering
We love meta with our comedy, so a low-budget webseries about a washed-up actor trying to make a low-budget webseries is prime fodder for our amusement. It started in April, but this webseries seems to be taking it slow, which gives you plenty of time to catch up on episodes and follow the series this summer.
One of several smart summer offerings from Awkward Black Girl's Issa Rae, How Men Become Dogs is a darkly satiric look at three spurned nice guys who embark on a quest to give women what they think they really want—at any cost. Will they learn what it means to be real men? Or will they morph into dogs?
8) Squaresville
It's no secret that we love to “stay L7,” as they say on Squaresville. Matt Enlow's award-winning bored teen dramedy just keeps on delivering the awesome with everything from social commentary to fabulous geek parodies like the one in this week's episode:
Bonus: Two shows you missed
These shows recently wrapped their series finales, but on YouTube, it's never too late to catch up and find out what all the hype's about!
1) Easy Abby
This popular webseries about a girl struggling to just do casual in her dating relationships is a little wittier, a little racier, and a lot snarkier than most of what seems to be YouTube's glut of queer dating webseries. You had me at "we made out in the port-a-potty line."
This quirky sci-fi series about a friendly alien who turns himself into the U.S. government for research purposes just wrapped, but it's making an appearance at GenCon in August. Just enough time for you to watch it ahead of all your fellow geeks!
Screengrab via Hulu