What you’ve missed on the TeeVee

Every summer, devoted TV viewers are faced with an appalling lack of new programming. At this point you have very few options. You could go outside and enjoy the summer, or you could revisit stuff you've missed.

Here is a roundup of the best lesser-known shows TeeVeeland has had to offer recently.

Animated television has become my favourite thing. Forget what you think of animation, technology has improved making it smooth and stylish. So the Simpsons and South Park have run their course and are hanging on, barely. That's okay, because fresh blood has arisen to take their place. Archer is slick, offensive and very, very funny. The show is about a small spy agency, focusing on the top spy Sterling Archer and his mother. The jokes come at you thick and fast, often referencing pop culture and building over the course of the episode.

Bob's Burgers is the best new(ish) thing around, really. It is set in a burger restaurant run by Bob Belcher and his family: wife Linda is a fan of porcelain babies and musical dinner theatre, daughter Louise stirs up trouble in her bunny-ears hat, son Eugene might be a xylophone prodigy, and eldest daughter Tina writes erotic friend fiction. Bob's Burgers has been described as 'the new Simpsons' but it's wrong to assume this is more of the same - BB is a new intelligent family comedy. It cracks jokes while building a unique family dynamic, it's heart-warming and hilarious.

Another 'not just for kids' animated series is Gravity Falls, which blends the mysterious and eerie with adventure. Twins Mfbel and Dipper spend the summer with their uncle in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls. This dynamic series has only run for one season but already shows tremendous promise with its bounty of charming characters.

The recently ended (rest their souls) 30 Rock and The Office set a precedent because they worked so well as long-running comedies. Parks & Recreation has picked up where they left off, presenting a softer comedy with fiercely loveable characters. Community breathes new life into the sitcom genre. Here the writing is really top-quality, and jokes are perfectly paced (remember when a pregnancy was shown in the background through an entire season ending with delivery in a van?). They even have themed episodes! Remember the western, the stop-motion, the 8-bit, the detective thriller, the zombies, the Dungeons & Dragons episode, the Glee parody, the Doctor Who parody, the documentary parody? And now that the creator, Dan Harmon, has returned after a disagreement with the network, fans are hoping for six seasons and even, perhaps, a movie.

Miranda - the protagonist in the eponymous show - is a bumbling 30-something owner of a joke shop, seeking romance. Her large stature is the source of physical comedy (the gym episode is brilliant), similar to John Cleese doing the silly walk from Monty Python. The BBC series is a little old-fashioned with its laugh track, but viewers will relate to its awkward humour.

Television drama has been booming lately with the undeniable success of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The Americans is a terribly underrated series about a Russian sleeper cell couple living in the USA and carrying out spy missions. The story is gripping because it focuses on both the espionage and the family life of the couple as it crumbles and threatens to fall apart.

Utopia is a British conspiracy thriller about a graphic novel manuscript, the secrets it holds and the people who try to keep it from getting into the wrong hands. Apart from a fascinating plot, Utopia boasts stunning visuals, especially the colours in the suburban British setting.

My Mad Fat Diary is brilliant, although the premise is dark. Set in Lincolnshire, it follows overweight teenager Rae as she returns to normal life after a suicide attempt. The series presents a perfect balance of anxiety and desperation from living with mental illness (body dysmorphia) and the reckless fun of being a teenager. It's also a showcase of the best 90s music. Rae's character is so human and vulnerable, but also remarkably strong.

Television critic Charlie Brooker's masterpiece is Black Mirror, a series where he examines society's paranoid obsession with the media. Each episode is unconnected, taking place in a different surreal future infatuated with some kind of media - usually reality TV and social media. Brooker has created an exceptional series, near-perfect in every aspect; the only tragedy is that there are only six episodes so far.

These are just a few of the really well-made lesser-known TV shows around at the moment. Others worth checking out include: Veronica Mars (movie soon!), Arrested Development, Bee & Puppycat (YouTube), Adventure Time, Stephen Universe (coming really soon), Workaholics, The Inbetweeners and My Name is Earl.