‘King of Highwire’ to walk above Niagara Falls

As the traditional 2012 to 13 TV season comes to a close, fresh new summer programming is coming out, including new seasons of True Blood on HBO; The Killing on AMC; “The Borgias” on Showtime; and Falling Skies on TNT. 

At the same time, a number of new series are premiering, along with some special events. 

Here are just a few picks:

Secrets of the Earth – Wednesdays at 9pm on Weather Channel and Weather That Changed The World — Thursdays at 10pm on Weather Channel:

The Weather Channel has re-vamped its programming with some new series that look very promising. Secrets of the Earth explores our planet to “reveal new aspects of the world you think you know, from canyons of gravity that warp space and time to rain triggered by cosmic rays.”   

The nine-episode series Weather that Changed the World looks at how weather has impacted history, even to the point of displacing entire populations. 

The show makes use of extreme weather footage, reconstructions, expert opinions and evidence from historic battles and lost civilizations. 

King and Maxwell — Mondays at 11pm on TNT:

Based on the series of novels by New York Times bestselling author, David Baldacci, this new crime drama features Rebecca Romijn as Michelle Maxwell, a super-sharp investigator, and John Tenney as her charming sidekick, Sean King. 

Both are former US Secret Service agents who, after being discredited, team up as private investigators, going after only the biggest of the bad guys. 

Turns out, some of the worst bad guys are disguised as good guys in plain sight. 

The story will continue evolving, as Baldacci is scheduled to release his sixth book in the series this fall.

Off the Hook: Extreme Catches — Season premiere — Sunday, June 16, at 9pm on Animal Planet:

Join host and professional wrestler Eric Young on this ultimate fishing road-trip series. In eighteen half-hour episodes, expect to visit some extreme environments where even experienced anglers fear to tread. 

Young will be cod fishing in the dangerous sub-zero waters of the Bering Sea, dodging tiger sharks off far-flung islands in the Atlantic and trying new challenges involving alligators in the deep US south.

The Hero — Thursdays at 9pm on TNT:

Hosted by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, this new competition will lead to a prize of $1 million. 

Each week, the show’s nine contestants will be mentally, emotionally, physically and morally challenged. They will leave one by one until the winner remains and we see who has what it really takes to be ‘The Hero.’

Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda — Special Live event — Sunday, June 23, at 9pm on Discovery:

It’s hard to out-do his walk across Niagara Falls, but Nik Wallenda, ‘The King of the High Wire,’ is about to attempt it. 

Tune in live as he traverses the Grand Canyon without a harness. At 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River, this is higher than Wallenda, 34, has ever walked before. 

He will be paying tribute to his great-grandfather, the legendary Karl Wallenda, who died in 1978 after falling from a tightrope in Puerto Rico.

Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret — Premieres Saturday, June 22, at 9pm on Lifetime:

At this writing, Lifetime is rushing to release this movie version of the real-life drama that has captivated the US and international media, involving Jodi Arias and the brutal murder of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander. 

The film project has been in the works for months, but the script had to be re-written following Arias’ conviction on May 8. The two-hour film will be followed by a one-hour documentary called Jodi Arias: Behind The Deadline.