Tune in for a great summer TV lineup

By Larry Bonko
Correspondent

Remember when summer TV meant bummer TV? That's ancient history.

Summer television brings a feast of new comedies, dramas, talent searches, reality shows about mall cops, 7-year-old beauty contestants and cupcake bakers, plus quirky programs with characters named Sookie, Snooki and Jukka.

Here's a breakdown of what's coming to your screen:

ABC

 ABC launched its summer season Monday at 9 p.m. with the return of "The Bachelorette." Ali Fedotowsky searches for her soul mate.

"True Beauty" begins Monday at 10 p.m. Ten great-looking men and women try to show they have inner beauty, too, with $100,000 on the line.

"Scoundrels" premieres June 20 at 10 p.m. Virginia Madsen plays the head of a family of small-time crooks bent on going straight.

"Rookie Blue" starts June 24 at 9 p.m. Five rookie cops learn on the job.

"The Gates," a drama focusing on a family that moves to a gated mountain community where monsters lurk, premieres June 20 at 9 p.m.

"Downfall," a new reality series, features trivia game contestants atop a tall building. Premieres June 29 at 9 p.m.

"Bachelor Pad" focuses on 20 singles from past "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" shows who compete for cash. Begins Aug. 9 at 8 p.m.

CBS

CBS, not nearly as active in summer programming as the other networks, has a warm-weather heavyweight in "Big Brother." It starts July 8 at 8 p.m., giving the show exposure on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights.

FOX

Fox started May 19 at 8 p.m. with "The Good Guys," a noisy cop show with laughs set in Dallas. Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks play mismatched partners.

The first two rounds of tryouts for "So You Think You Can Dance" begin tonight at 8.

Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. with 16 chefs in the mix.

"MasterChef" starts July 27 at 9 p.m. Ramsay attempts to transform home cooking hobbyists into kitchen masters.

NBC

 The comedy "100 Questions" premieres at 8:30 tonight. Charlotte Payne, played by Sophie Winkleman, looks for love via an online dating site.

"America's Got Talent" returns for a fifth season Tuesday at 8 p.m. with Howie Mandel joining Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan on the judges' panel.

"Losing It With Jillian" premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. Jillian Michaels of "The Biggest Loser" moves in with families to get them to eat right and exercise.

"Persons Unknown," a new drama, starts June 7 at 10 p.m. Strangers are thrown together, but where? And why? And by whom?

Season 7 of "Last Comic Standing" starts June 7 at 8 p.m. Craig Robinson of "The Office" hosts.

Cable Channels

"Mall Cops: Mall of America" launches on TLC tonight with two episodes starting at 10. It was inspired by the movie "Paul Blart: Mall Cop."

MTV brings the 2010 version of "Sex and the City" - "Downtown Girls," with Shallon Lester of Glamour.com chronicling the adventures of her single friends in Manhattan. Starts Tuesday at 11 p.m.

"Jersey Shore" returns July 29 at 10 p.m. with Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola and friends in South Beach, a long way from Seaside Heights, N.J. MTV uncorks a "Jersey Shore" marathon starting Monday at 2 p.m.

"The Dudesons in America" airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on MTV. Four Finns (Jukka, Jarppi, HP and Jarno) see America while engaging in stunts and pranks not seen on the tube since the heydey of "Jackass."

TBS debuts two comedies. "Are We There Yet?" starts Wednesday at 9 p.m., with Terry Crews and Essence Atkins heading a blended family. The animated series "Neighbors From Hell" begins June 7 at 10 p.m. Satan sends his agents to Texas to destroy an oil drill that's about to expose hell.

"The Green Room With Paul Provenza," Showtime, premieres June 10 at 10:30 p.m. Comic Provenza sets up a roundtable discussion with other funny folk.

Showtime also begins "The Big C" on Aug. 16 at 10:30 p.m. It's the small-screen debut of Gabourey Sidibe from "Precious." Laura Linney stars as a wife, mother and teacher diagnosed with terminal cancer.

"True Blood" returns to HBO June 13 at 9 p.m. Sexy vampire Bill Compton tells all who are searching for him, including his love, Sookie Stackhouse, "I do not wish to be found. Do not try to find me."

"Entourage" returns to HBO on June 27 at 9 p.m.

VH-1's "You're Cut Off!" (June 14 at 9 p.m.) shows nine free spenders going through withdrawal after their credit cards were canceled.

The Food Network has two offbeat shows in "Cupcake Wars" (June 18 at 10 p.m.) and "Food Trucks," starting Aug 15 at 10 p.m. Seven teams of food truck cooks travel the U.S. on a selling and eating binge. On "Cupcake Wars," four bakers compete. Bring on the sprinkles.

"Hot in Cleveland," TV Land, premieres June 16 at 10 p.m. Three chic friends (Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick) end up in Cleveland when their Los Angeles-to-Paris flight develops mechanical trouble. They decide to stay in Ohio in a home that comes with a caretaker (Betty White).

TNT builds on its reputation as cable's top cop shop with the premiere of "Memphis Beat" on June 22 at 10 p.m., with Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard subduing bad guys in Tennessee. Then on July 12 at 10 p.m. Angie Harmon plays a Boston homicide detective assisted in crime fighting by a medical examiner (Sasha Alexander) in "Rizzoli and Isles."

"The Closer" returns to TNT on July 12 at 9 p.m.

"Covert Affairs," USA, premieres Tuesday, July 13, at 10 p.m. It's a peek inside the Clandestine Services Unit of the CIA, focusing on a trainee played by Piper Perabo.

AMC's Emmy-winning "Mad Men" returns at 9 p.m. July 25.

Awards shows

 "The 2010 MTV Movie Awards," hosted by Aziz Ansari of NBC's "Parks and Recreation." MTV, June 6 at 9 p.m.

ABC airs the 83rd "National Spelling Bee" at 8 p.m. June 4, with the best of 274 spellers onstage.

"The 2010 ESPY Awards" airs July 14 at 9 p.m. ESPN brings the planet's best athletes together under one roof in Los Angeles.

The "62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" airs on NBC at 8 p.m. Aug. 29.

- lbonko@cox.net