Jersey Shore Family Vacation Returns to Save Summer (We Hope)

Here we are, nearly halfway through summer, and while the programming has been pretty good, how summery has it really been? Big Little Lies has been rather chilly this season, and it's set in Northern California besides. Shows like Years and Years and The Loudest Voice have been politically provocative, but not summery. Stranger Things definitely had the right idea, but that summer fun was somewhat obscured by the giant monster trying to eat everybody. Otherwise … Chernobyl? For summer? Uh, no.

Which is one reason why the Jersey Shore idiots could not be coming back at a better time. Especially since MTV has also revived The Hills to hugely diminished returns. It's time for Jersey to once again show the rest of TV how it's done. Right? Gym, tanning, etc. Except … wait. What is happening in the season three premiere?

SEASON PREMIERE: Tonight's Jersey Shore Family Vacation sees Mike (née "The Situation") on trial for tax evasion and Jenni contemplating divorce. These are not the things that summer fun is made of. As always, it's probably going to fall on Pauly D to save our mood. 8:00 PM ET on MTV

NEW EPISODE: Your attention, fans of The Good Place: THREE members of the cast (D'Arcy Carden, Jameela Jamil, and Marc Evan Jackson) are among the celebrity guests on tonight's summer return of Hollywood Game Night. Host Jane Lynch also welcomes Superstore's Nico Santos and American Ninja Warrior hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila and Matt Iseman. 9:00 PM ET on NBC

NEW EPISODE: Pop culture seems to be very mermaid-forward at the moment, what with casting for the Disney remake of The Little Mermaid in full swing. What better time for the second-season summer premiere of Siren., the Freeform series about sexy/dangerous mermaids in the Pacific Northwest? Our Aaron Barnhart called the first season a refreshingly non-cartoony look at the mermaid myth from a perspective closer to The Odyssey (where mermaids were deadly and wanted to wreck your ships!). 8:00 PM ET on Freeform

NEW EPISODE: Have you been watching ABC's nearly perfect Holey Moley? It's all the precision and frustration of miniature gold crossed with all the thick-padded knock-downs of Wipeout with a dash of NBA all-star Steph Curry and Step Brothers scene-stealer Rob Riggle thrown in. Our Tara Ariano recently had some suggestions for how to make the show even better, but it gets a big thumbs up regardless. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

ALSO TONIGHT

• The Outpost looks to satiate your need for swords-and-snow fantasy epics as it kicks off its second season. 8:00 PM ET on The CW
• Escape the Night is a murder-mystery web series hosted by Joey Graceffa. Kicking off its fourth season, Graceffa leads contestants to a mysterious town stuck in the year 1978. Streaming on YouTube
• The Real Housewives of New York City kicks off its sure-to-be contentious reunion episodes. Tune in to see what causes Ramona to walk off set (her annual tradition) this year! 9:00 PM ET on Bravo

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.