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The summer TV schedule continues to take shape: The CW has just added another lineup to the mix by announcing official premiere dates for a handful of shows. Unsurprisingly, not many of them sound all that promising, with the exception of the network's upcoming Whose Line Is It Anyway? revival.

The new version of the improv comedy show will be hosted by the lovely and amazing Aisha Tyler (Archer, The Talk) and will kick off The CW's warm-weather schedule on Tuesday, July 16 at with back-to-back new episodes starting 8pm. Former cast members Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady, and Colin Mochrie will all return, and the show's format will remain largely the same (the cast plays a bunch of improv games with prompts from the host and the audience; good times ensue). 

Okay, what else, what else? Actually, there are only three more shows to talk about: Perfect Score premieres the same night as Whose Line; it's a half-hour dating show hosted by Arielle Kebbel (The Vampire Diaries' Lexi) where contestants can win cash in addition to getting dates. Breaking Pointe, a docu-reality series set at a professional ballet company in Salt Lake City, returns for Season 2 on Monday, July 29. And finally, The Hunt rounds things out Wednesday, July 31; it's an hour-long "wilderness competition" series with elements of both Survivor and The Hunger Games (no murder, though!) that puts twelve two-person teams in "a fenced-in enclosure in the middle of the wild, where they must live for one month and compete against each other for scarce resources" for a price of $250,000 on the line.

That all sounds... well, it sounds mostly not noteworthy and partially terrible, but it's summer television on a broadcast network, folks. Cable's where it's at. 

THE CW's 2013 SUMMER SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, JULY 16

8:00-8:30pm                 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Series Premiere)

8:30-9:00pm                 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (All-New Original Episode)

9:00-9:30pm                 Perfect Score (Series Premiere)

9:30-10:00pm               Perfect Score (All-New Original Episode)

BEGINNING TUESDAY, JULY 23

8:00-8:30pm                 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Original Episode)

8:30-9:00pm                 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Encore)

9:00-9:30pm                 Perfect Score (Original Episode)

9:30-10:00pm               Perfect Score (Encore)

MONDAY, JULY 29

9:00-10:00pm               Breaking Pointe (Season 2 Premiere)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

9:00-10:00pm               The Hunt (Series Premiere)

Anything here sound good to you?

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A REAL IMPROV-MENT FOR THE CW?

... Whose Line is it Anyway? is coming back! But on The CW! The improv show aired for several years on ABC with Drew Carey as host, but it will return with Aisha Tyler behind the desk. Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady, and Colin Mochrie return as performers. The original was fantastic, but will it be as good this time around, and will The CW's audience like it? Look for the revival this summer. [CW via press release]

BUSINESS-TYPE DEALINGS

... Drop Dead Diva has undropped dead, rising from the grave of cancellation to earn a fifth season. The show had been canceled by Lifetime in January, but the network and studio that produces Drop Dead Diva agreed to new terms, which include a smaller budget. A big blow for divas everywhere, to be sure. [THR]

... TNT has ordered six episodes of the docu-drama (read: "reality show") Life Flight. Cameras and probably cameramen will follow real-life air ambulances in Texas as helicopters (technically the people inside the helicopters) save peoples' lives. Look for it in early 2014. [TNT via press release]

... NBC has set a date for Ready for Love, the latest terrible reality dating show to pollute our civilization. From producer Eva Longoria, a bunch of women will drool over a handful of guys. Anyway, Tuesday March 26 from 9pm to 11pm would be a good time to not watch NBC. After that, the series will move to its regular time of Sunday at 8pm starting on March 31. [NBC via press release] 

CASTING NEWS

... Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) has joined Showtime's new drama pilot The Vatican, a thriller combining religion, politics, and some of the coolest robes you'll ever see. Kyle Chandler stars as the Cardinal of New York, and Friel will play his faithless, hard-partying sister. [Showtime via press release]

... Parminda Nagra, who I last saw being really old but looking really young in Fox's brain-busting Alcatraz, has been cast in ABC's drama pilot Reckless. This show sounds pretty complicated, but it goes something like this: A guy tries to get his wife out of an international jail by bypassing laws. Nagra will play the guy's coworker. Honestly, I've read the pilot's logline 58 times and I still don't get it. [THR]

... DJ Qualls (Supernatural, Legit) will guest-star on TNT's Perception. Now you know. [TNT via press release]

SAD NEWS

... Bonnie Franklin, who played Ann Romano on the '70s and '80s series One Day at a Time, passed away at the age of 69 from pancreatic cancer on Friday. [New York Times]

NBC, STILL STINKING UP THE JOINT NEWS

... After the Oscars' In Memorium segment left Andy Griffith out of its montage of famous people who died over the last year, Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC decided to take matter into its own hands. Instead of airing Thursday's NBC 9pm to 11pm lineup of The Office, 1600 Penn, and Law & Order: SVU, WKYC aired a Matlock movie from 1992. Only 1600 Penn was an original episode, and the others were repeats. The station plans to air another Matlock movie next week in the same time period. [THR]

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