Finals week is, unfortunately, right around the corner. That means writing papers last minute, cramming psychology notes into your head at E.S. Bird Library and far too many sleepless nights.

College students usually want to do the exact opposite of their necessary work. We will scroll through Facebook until there’s nothing left to absorb about each other’s social lives. Then, maybe it’ll be time for a Tumblr spree followed by a trip to Netflix.

But keep working. Don’t start binge-watching “Lost” in the upcoming weeks. Instead, wait for the summer television season. Let hours of mindless fun right around the corner motivate you through finals.

Whether you’re an ABC Family fan or an MTV lover, the next few weeks are about to be fantastic. Plus, watching your favorite series on a weekly basis — as opposed to marathon-viewing 60 episodes of “Breaking Bad” — is going to save a lot of time.

This past Sunday, the greatest of the great mind-numbing summer series debuted. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte opened up his life to cameras in the E! Network’s “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” Essentially, “WWRLD” is a nature documentary, the subject just happens to be human.

Last week, we were introduced to ridiculous things like the “Lochtourage” — the people who hang out with Lochte — and his dating habits. The 26-year-old takes his dates to the same sushi restaurant every time. Hey, “it might be the same place, it might be the same table, but it’s a different girl,” Lochte explains.

In the future, viewers will enjoy watching Lochte go to Washington, D.C., hit on more girls and go golfing. He might even fit some swimming into his busy schedule.

Fellow mindless E! reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” returns in June. Without it, the ridiculous romp that is “WWRLD” wouldn’t be possible. I never thought I would say this, but thank God for the Kardashians.

This week, MTV debuts two playful new shows. One stars tomorrow’s MayFest headliner, Ke$ha. Her docu-soap “Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life” premiered Tuesday, and features a no-holds-barred look at the pop star in the last two years. Her brother is the filmmaker behind the project, so prepare yourself for some raw emotions.

With a number of bro-y shows from channels like Spike, it’s good to have series around that are just for the girls.

“Girl Code,” the other MTV series that commenced this week, should be hilarious if it lives up to its trailers.

Meanwhile, “Pretty Little Liars” will be back in just a few weeks in early June. The first photos of the newest season were released Monday, showing the fab four main cast members reunited. “PLL” creator Marlene King also announced via Twitter that the fourth-season opener, scheduled to air June 10, is her favorite premiere yet.

Of course, it would be difficult to call any of these shows intellectual or envelope-pushing, which are both signs of a good series.

But it’s been a long year, hasn’t it? After more than eight months of classes, projects, papers and PowerPoints, we all deserve to give our brains a rest. It’s really the least we can do, and these shows are simple enough to accomplish it.

Ariana Romero is a junior magazine journalism and political science major. Her column appears every week. She can be reached at akromero@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @ArianaRomero17.

Published on April 25, 2013 at 1:19 am