Swimwear trends are always extremely nuanced. It’s rare for silhouettes to change from year to year, but small changes — like contrasting trim, unique embellishments and loud patterns — separate each season’s top styles. This year, the hottest swimsuits are playful by design. We’re seeing plenty of patterns, including gingham and polka dots, that spark joy the moment you open your drawer.

The best part about summer 2026’s top swimsuit trends is that they’re more classic than of-the-moment, meaning each bikini and one-piece you buy will stand the test of time and be wearable for years to come. Below, you’ll find our favorite summer 2026 swimsuit trends with tons of shoppable options from Amazon, Nordstrom, Anthropologie and more. That cannonball into the pool has never looked cuter!

4 Major Swimsuit Trends to Wear for Summer 2026

Contrast Trim

1. Modern Retro: The iconic black and white one-pieces from the ‘50s got a 2026 upgrade with this flattering swimsuit that features a thin contrasting trim at the top and bottom.

2. All in the Details: Want a boho-chic swimsuit that will truly never go out of style? This triangle pick features dainty white lace trim that’ll still look incredible years down the line.

3. Feel the Rainbow: Go bright or go home! The trim on this magenta one-piece feels like a kaleidoscope, featuring bold colors such as blue, orange and yellow.

4. Take the Plunge: The deep-V silhouette makes this one-piece more daring, while the contrast bust panel also adds more support so you’ll always feel secure.

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Gingham Dreams

5. Extra Support: Beyond looking absolutely adorable, this gingham one-piece was expertly designed with a full cup, underwire and tummy smoothing technology to keep you comfortable whether you’re at the beach or pool.

6. Elegant and Elongating: This strapless gingham swimsuit hugs you in all the right places and makes your legs look miles long thanks to the high cut.

7. More to Love: Get two suits in one with this saucy tomato and gingham print one-piece that comes with removable straps.

8. Tankini Queen: Tankinis are making a comeback. Embrace the trend with this darling gingham suit that features a feminine ruffle neckline.

Beached Mermaids

9. She Sells Seashells: What if you were the treasure found at sea? With the golden seashell accents on this high-rise swimsuit, you certainly could be.

10. Little Mermaid: Embody Ariel with this fun bikini top shaped just like a shell. The black colorway even has pearl accents.

11. Coolest Texture: Knitted to look like fish scales, this metallic navy one-piece shimmers in the sun.

Dots Galore

12. Extra Cute: Polka dots and bows are a match made in heaven with this red and white tankini suit. The style reminds us of the ’50s and ’60s.

13. Ruffle Me Up: The expertly placed ruffles along the hips and neckline of this one-piece accentuate your curves and give the illusion of an hourglass figure.

14. Cut It Out: Just because you’re wearing a one-piece doesn’t mean you can’t show some extra skin. The front cutout on this dotted style lets you show off your chiseled abs.

15. Total Classic: You can’t go wrong with a polka dotted high-waisted bikini. The triangle top and full coverage bottoms on this one will earn you plenty of compliments.

Related: The Top 3 Slimming Swimsuit Styles You’ll Want for Summer Beach Days

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Summer swimsuit shopping can feel surprisingly overwhelming when you’re trying to find a style that flatters rather than fights your figure. Between bottoms that dig in, fabrics that cling in the wrong places and silhouettes that offer little support, it’s easy to end up frustrated before you even make it to the beach. The good […]

Gordon Ramsay shared his excitement over his daughter Holly Ramsay’s announcement that she is expecting her first child with her husband, Olympian Adam Peaty.

“Congratulations to you both, sending lots of love Dad,” the Hell’s Kitchen host, 59, commented on his daughter’s Instagram pregnancy announcement on Saturday, June 20. “I’m going to be a very over excited Grandad especially this Christmas 🤶 😍”

Holly, 26, unveiled her bump in a sweet Instagram post on Saturday, which showed her embracing the British Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer, 31.

“Baby Ramsay-Peaty coming December 2026,” she revealed. “We can’t wait to meet our baby girl 🩷”

The couple were showered in congratulations from many of the Ramsay family’s famous friends, including Victoria Beckham and her son Romeo.

Holly’s younger sister, TV chef and host Matilda Ramsay, heartwarmingly called her sibling’s baby announcement the “best news ever.”

Gordon has been a supportive dad through Holly and Peaty’s relationship. The couple went public with their engagement in September 2024 after ​​Peaty popped the question during a vacation in Greece.

“I am marrying my best friend. I truly cannot put into words how I am feeling right now. I still [remember] how big my smile was the morning I got home from my first date with you,” Holly announced via Instagram at the time. “Thank you for letting the little girl inside of me feel loved, seen and happier than ever. I love you & I cannot wait to be your wife.”

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Ahead of the couple’s wedding in December 2025, Gordon shared how excited and honored he felt to be a part of their nuptials.

“I’m truly so lucky being able to walk this beautiful bride down the aisle and gaining an incredible son-in-law @adam_peaty,” the chef wrote via Instagram at the time. “I love you so much @hollyramsayy and couldn’t be a prouder dad.”

Holly and Peaty tied the knot at the historic Bath Abbey in Bath, England, on December 27, 2025. Gordon wore a classic black tuxedo as he walked Holly — who was adorned in a white ballgown with a capelet and a flowing veil — down the aisle during the ceremony.

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Gordon Ramsay and Tana Ramsay have a full house of eight after recently welcoming their sixth baby. “What an amazing birthday present please welcome Jesse James Ramsay, 7lbs 10oz whopper!!” the TV chef, 57, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, November 11. “One more bundle of love to the Ramsay brigade!! 3 boys, 3 girls … […]

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Gordon later joked on This Morning in the U.K. that delivering a speech at his daughter’s wedding was a “tough gig.”

“It’s tough, honestly,” he recalled. “Being the dad with three daughters, you dream of that moment, and that moment arrives, and you’re just like a hot mess. But the speech was perfect, it went well … You’ve got to be warm, emotional … It’s a tough gig.”

Gordon and his wife, Tana Ramsay, have been married for 29 years and share six children: Megan, 28, Holly, Jack, 26, Matilda, 24, Oscar, 7, and Jesse, 2.

Million Dollar Nannies introduced the world to NannyTok, so does this mean they will cross over with MomTok from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?

“Actually, there is a video that Hulu posted about introducing all the cast and Taylor Frankie Paul — out of nowhere — commented on it,” star Taylor Hayward exclusively told Us Weekly. “She’s Team Taylor and I love her so much.”

Hayward already found herself relating to Paul, adding, “I would love nothing more than to do a crossover and nanny for her and just to meet her in general. She ended up following me so maybe something will be there for me.”

Hayward’s fiancé, Mitchell Bienvenue, also held out hope.

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“We met some of them at an event,” he recalled. “If we found ourselves in a situation down the road where there’s a potential crossover, I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Million Dollar Nannies, which is streaming now on Hulu, follows a young group of elite nannies as they head to Ibiza to launch an agency built for nannies.

“They’re promised VIP families, life-changing money, and a shot at something bigger than any of them could build alone,” read the official synopsis. “But fierce competition, personal drama, and a scandal from the past threaten to derail the dream before the summer sets.”

“I have watched a lot of reality TV before but [going into this I was concerned about] the vulnerability about being so vulnerable and alone,” Hayward shared with Us. “I just didn’t have high hopes for it. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect out of it.”

For Bienvenue, the hope behind doing the show was showing a different side to being a nanny, adding, “When you’re in this industry and you’re working with these families, you never know what requests might come through. But at the end of the day, you have to stay true to who you are and to not overextend yourself in situations you don’t want to.”

Looking ahead, Bienvenue teased where the cast stands now.

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“Things ended in a little bit of a rocky place in certain situations amongst us. There’s definitely tight friend groups within all eight of us,” he hinted. “Now, it’s been interesting to see new friendships form and we all stay relatively close. But I think there’s definitely stronger friend groups amongst the overall cast than others.”

He continued: “There’s a lot of things that are still to be spoken about and there’s a lot of things that can still find its way of clearing the air.”

Million Dollar Nannies is streaming on Hulu now.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo are publicly discussing the end of their nearly 10-year marriage — and they’re doing it together.

Us Weekly confirmed on June 15, 2026, that Jelly Roll quietly filed for divorce from Bunnie in Tennessee one month earlier, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Days later, the country star and the “Dumb Blonde” podcast host both broke their silence on the split, addressing everything from the Mother’s Day argument that triggered the filing to swirling rumors about new romances.

Scroll below for the most candid things Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have said about their divorce:

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Related: All the Signs Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo Were Heading for Divorce

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Jelly Roll Breaks Silence on His Divorce

During his Saratoga Springs, New York, tour stop on June 18, 2026, Jelly Roll told the crowd he wanted to set the record straight.

“I wasn’t going to talk about this tonight, but while we’re talking about liars… the internet is a liar,” Jelly Roll said at the time. “Me and my wife are best friends. We will always be best friends. We just got off the phone earlier today. Nobody cheated on nobody. She just did a whole podcast about it. You can go watch it. Every word of it is the truth.”

The singer ended his stage message by directly addressing his estranged wife, “Bunnie, I love you baby. Thank you for those 10 years. They were incredible. Thank you for the next 10 years of friendship and 20 beyond that.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo Broke Up After an Argument on Mother’s Day 

On her “Dumb Blonde” podcast, Bunnie explained that she and Jelly Roll had a fight before the singer filed for divorce.

“On Mother’s Day, we had a little bit of an argument, which I don’t think the details are necessary,” she alleged in June 2026. “And, in that argument, I was so fed up and so tired that I just looked at him and said, ‘Well, then file the f***ing divorce papers.’”

According to Bunnie, the couple stopped having difficult conversations over the past year and a half, which created a “recipe for disaster.”

“Was I blindsided? And was this divorce mutual? No, it was not mutual,” she said.

Bunnie Claims Jelly Roll Has Started Dating

While shutting down rumors that Jelly Roll is dating singer Jessie Murph, Bunnie confirmed that her estranged husband is back on the market.

“Daddy Roll is probably in his finest season. He looks so good. He is healthier than he’s ever been,” she said on her June 2026 podcast episode, referring to Jelly Roll’s 200-pound weight loss. “He’s even started dating, which is great. I love that.”

As for herself, Bunnie said she’s not interested in another relationship. “I’m sorry to break your heart, guys. I’m about to be a player.”

Bunnie Shuts Down Chad Kroeger Rumors

Elsewhere on her podcast, Bunnie addressed speculation that she is dating Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger after posting a throwback clip of him from a 2025 Las Vegas concert.

“I am not with Daddy Chaddy. There’s no f***ing way in hell that that would even be a thing. And no, I did not cheat on my husband and leave him for Chad, and like, none of that. Like, please,” she stated. “This is so wrong. I am not dating Chad Kroeger. I am so sorry to Chad and Nickelback for this happening. It’s embarrassing.”

Bunnie Xo Addresses Stepdaughter Bailee’s Reaction

Bunnie also spoke about Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee Ann, on her podcast in June 2026. (Bunnie helped raise Jelly Roll’s daughter, in addition to his son, both from previous relationships.)

“The only woman she has had consistently in her life, she feels, is being taken from her and it’s a weird transition that we’re gonna have to navigate,” Bunnie said of Bailee. “Of course she’s mad at me, because I was always the f***ing disciplining parent in the relationship because he’s f***ing fun dad all the time.”

She added, “That’s my baby. I love her. If she wants to be mad at me for f***ing two years, I’ll deal with it. But when she’s ready to come back, I will always be there for her.”

Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll Still Plan to Have a Baby Together

Despite the divorce, Bunnie revealed she and Jelly Roll are continuing their IVF journey.

“You guys are going to be shocked to hear this but we’re still having a baby,” Bunnie said on her podcast in June 2026. “We’re still having a baby together, we’re going to coparent together. J has been so great about us still having a baby together and he wants the same thing. We’re just going to raise little Nugget as one big happy family.”

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Jelly Roll’s ‘Divorce Vlog’ Plot Twist

On June 19, 2026, Jelly Roll posted a YouTube video titled “The Divorce Vlog,” in which he called Bunnie to plug her podcast episode.

“Yeah, y’all thought we were going to hate each other didn’t you?” Jelly Roll joked. “Plot twist, bitches!”

This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. 

Jennifer Aniston is mourning the death of legendary TV director James Burrows.

“Oh boy … 💔Papa Burrows. The hardest thing about writing this is that you spent a lifetime making people feel loved, and now it feels impossible to put all of that love into a few paragraphs,” Aniston, 57, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, June 20. “He called us his ‘kids’ —  ‘Where are the kids?’ ‘Let’s see if the kids can make the joke work.’ No pressure. ❤️”

Burrows died on Friday, June 19, after a brief undisclosed illness at age 85. James is survived by his wife, Debbie Easton Burrows, and their four kids.

“His own incredible children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,” Aniston added on Saturday. “He was a father figure to me. He always checked in on me. He worried about me, celebrated me, taught me, guided me and held me through the hardest times and the best of times. He spoiled us rotten.”

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She continued, “Most of all, he taught us — the kids — how important it is to love and respect one another. To take care of each other. To have each other’s backs and support each other, no matter what. And we did just that.”

Burrows, who co-created Cheers, also directed numerous Friends episodes during the late-90s, early-aughts TV series’ heyday. Aniston, for her part, notably starred on the sitcom as Rachel Green, opposite Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry. (Perry died in 2023 of an accidental ketamine overdose. He was 54.)

“On that show, [the test audience ratings] was through the roof,” Burrows said on the “Conan Needs a Friend” podcast in 2022, hinting Friends would end up a massive hit. “They loved those characters.”

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He added, “I [directed] the first, I think, three or four [episodes] and there’s a story about me taking the cast to Vegas because I knew there was something special about this show. You know that happened on Will & Grace, that happened on Cheers. You can sense, in doing the shows, whether the audience reacts to it and I knew then and there how good that show was.”

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As for Aniston, she will always hold her memories of Burrows dear.

 “I miss your voice. I miss your laugh. I miss your brilliance,” she concluded in her social media tribute. “Wherever you are, I hope someone is asking, ‘Where are the kids?’ ❤️.”

Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli both Looked for love on reality TV before sparking their romance off camera.

Bachelor Nation met Horstmann when he competed for Becca Kufrin’s affections on season 14 of The Bachelorette. After finishing as the runner-up on the 2018 season, Horstmann came under fire during season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise after his pre-show hookups with Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman were revealed on the beach. While the 2019 season was airing, Horstmann took to Instagram to share his text messages with Miller-Keyes.

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Gibelli, for her part, appeared on season 1 of Love Is Blind, and got engaged to costar Damian Powers. While the pair split on their wedding day, they reconnected after the cameras stopped rolling. The duo called it quits for good in 2021 after he was accused of cheating on Gibelli with Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago, which he denied.

Gibelli found love again by the end of the year, however, when she met Horstmann while filming season 1 of All Star Shore. In June 2026, the pair officially said “I do” while flanked by alums from their respective reality TV dating series.

Scroll through for a timeline of their relationship:

Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli have officially found their happily ever after beyond and away from the reality TV cameras.

The Bachelorette alum, 37, and the Love Is Blind alum, 33, tied the knot during an intimate wedding in Croatia on Saturday, June 20, surrounded by alums from both reality franchises, including Jason Tartick, Astrid Loch, Alexa Lemieux, Colleen Reed and Raven Ross.

Horstmann and Gibelli began dating in December 2021 after costarring on season 1 of the Paramount+ series All Star Shore. Us Weekly confirmed in January 2022 that the couple were officially an item, though they initially had to keep their romance under wraps since the reality show hadn’t premiered yet.

“We had to first keep basically six months of our relationship private, so that was fun in a sense because we didn’t have the public pressure, we didn’t have all the eyes on us, we could just kind of be ourselves,” Horstmann exclusively told Us in October 2022. “But it was hard too because it’s never fun to hide the person you love.”

Related: Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli’s Relationship Timeline

Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli both Looked for love on reality TV before sparking their romance off camera. Bachelor Nation met Horstmann when he competed for Becca Kufrin’s affections on season 14 of The Bachelorette. After finishing as the runner-up on the 2018 season, Horstmann came under fire during season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise […]

Horstmann also revealed one of the keys to his and Gibelli’s relationship was their ability to communicate.

“We both handle conflict incredibly well,” he explained. “I’ve never had a relationship where, you know, if you’re in a fight … or conflict, instead of holding grudges or doing whatever, we talk it out. Or even if it’s, we’re not able to talk [it] out now, we go to separate rooms, we cool down and we come back and we talk it out. It’s kind of the first time too where we don’t have the same fight over and over because we’re able to talk it out and we get over it and we come to a conclusion, if you will.”

After nearly two years together, Horstmann and Gibelli announced in November 2023 that they were expecting their first baby. The duo welcomed their son, Heath, in March 2024.

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Later that year, Gibelli hinted at the couple’s plans to eventually expand their family.

“I want the whole basketball team. I really do,” she exclusively told Us in August 2024. “I literally popped him out and I was like, ‘Let’s do it again!’”

Horstmann ultimately proposed to Gibelli during an October 2024 trip to Madrid, Spain.

“Our love story has been everything I’ve always dreamt it would be and more,” she told People the following month. “As soon as I met Blake, I knew he was my soulmate and I know the universe was always leading me to him. Being together forever and creating our family is literally the joy of my life.”

Related: Former Bachelor Nation Stars Who Found Love After the Show

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Horstmann, for his part, gushed: “We are over the moon and we can’t wait to be married in front of our loved ones.”

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Gibelli and Horstmann confirmed in July 2025 that they were planning a destination wedding for the summer of 2026.

“I’m a very small and intimate kind of gal. Also, it’s far away,” she exclusively told Us at the time. “So you know who your people are. Whoever’s going to show up, I know you’re my people!”

Horstmann chimed in, “I think we’re going to invite a decent amount, but I think it’s going to end up being kind of an intimate, intimate [thing], it’s going to be fun.”

Jack Osbourne is addressing online backlash over his decision to attend the controversial UFC fight at the White House.

“Alright, I want to address me going to the White House to the UFC fight. First of all, some of the comments I’ve been getting are completely insane,” Osbourne, 40, addressed the camera in a video shared via his YouTube page on Thursday, June 18. “Like, what the f***? I went to a sporting event. That’s it.”

Osbourne then showed various screenshots of fans and social media users letting them know how they felt about his decision to attend the Sunday, June 14, event, in which UFC heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit called former first lady Michelle Obama “a man” during his postfight interview with Joe Rogan and after defeating Derrick Lewis.

“So disappointed,” one person wrote of Jack’s decision to attend the event, while another post read, “Who would want to go… baffling… embarrassing.”

“This is kinda devastating not gonna lie,” another fan wrote.

“Your birth country would be disappointed to say the least,” another commented.

“I recommend you listen to ‘War Pigs’ one more time,” one user wrote, referencing Jack’s late father, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, and Black Sabbath’s 1970 anti-war ballad.

In his Thursday video, Osbourne argued that he didn’t attend the unprecedented sporting match as a political operative or potential politician — despite its obvious political location — but as a fan of the combat sport.

“I didn’t go and throw my hat into the ring for political office,” he said. “I wasn’t there going to endorse a politician or some kind of foreign affairs issue. Nothing. I literally went to the White House to go see UFC. I have been into combat sports my entire life. I started doing Taekwondo at 6. I used to go to Thailand every year in my late teens, early 20s to do Muay Thai. I have fought Muay Thai fights professionally.”

Jack continued, “In my 30s, I started doing Ju Jitsu. I have also attended UFC and Pride fights going back to the early 2000s. It is something that has been a part of my life since I can remember. So when I got invited by Dana White to attend the fight at the White House, of course I would go. Any person out there who would get an invite would have gone, I’m sorry. There is no one I could think of that would have been like, ‘Oh, no. I’m not going because I don’t approve of Orange Man.’ Or whatever the f***. That’s ridiculous. It was not a political event, or in my eyes it was not. It was a f***ing fight at the White House. Who gives a s***?”

Jack went on to claim that during the event he even asked his wife, Aree Gearhart, why the White House — also known as The People’s House — doesn’t play host to more sporting events on a regular basis.

“In fact, politicians back in the day used to do that, so just food for thought,” Jack continued, before adding people who evoked his father directly.

Related: White House Responds to Josh Hokit Calling Michelle Obama ‘A Man’ at UFC Event

The White House has responded after UFC fighter Josh Hokit called former first lady Michelle Obama “a man” during UFC Freedom 250. “He had a great win last night,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, June 15 about Hokit’s comments. “He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent […]

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“As far as the people bringing my father into this, saying, ‘Oh, Ozzy would not approve. He is rolling over in his grave.’ Shut the f*** up,” Jack said. (Ozzy died on July 22, 2025, of a heart attack following a public battle with Parkinson’s. He was 76.)

“You did not know my father. You did not know where he stood with things,” Jack continued. “Yes, he wrote a song called ‘War Pigs.’ Anti-war song. He wasn’t anti-UFC. He wasn’t anti-going-to-an-event-at-the-White-House. He’s anti-war. Sure, fair enough. But, at the end of the day, my dad still attended the Correspondents’ Dinner back in the day when Bush was president. George Bush gave him a shoutout.”

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Jack then played video of his father attending the 2002 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in which the legendary rocker stood on a table and gave the peace sign after president Bush introduced him to the crowd.

“Additionally, my dad did USO tours, he went to Korea to see the troops. He attended events at Walter Reed Hospital to see the wounded soldiers and Marines and Air Force pilots, so shut the f*** up basically,” Jack added. “To bring my father into this, to say he would or wouldn’t approve, is completely insane.”

He concluded, “I simply attended a sporting event for a sport that I have a great amount of respect for and something that has been a part of my life since I can remember, so deal with it and I’m sorry you weren’t invited.”

Superhero television may be a dime a dozen these days, but there was a time when that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t so long ago that shows like the Adam West-led Batman series from the ’60s or the 1977 The Incredible Hulk TV show were considered the most popular comic-to-screen programs, though that started to change come the 21st century. Now, we have everything from Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins to DC Comics prequels to comic book deconstructions like The Boys that have flooded the superhero-on-TV market, but that wasn’t always the case.

Before the Arrowverse erupted on The CW in the 2010s and the MCU moved from the big screen to the small with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it was slim-pickings for superhero fans. Smallville ruled (and still does) as the longest running live-action superhero series out there, but even that show wasn’t fully committed to tights and flights until the very end. Along the way, you’ve probably forgotten about some of the more unique superhero shows that aired for a brief time on television, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have potential on their own.

‘Flash Gordon’ (2007–2008)

Image via SYFY

After he was killed off on Smallville, Eric Johnson bounced around for a few years before landing a superhero role of his own in the short-lived Flash Gordon reboot. Now, admittedly, Flash Gordon has a rough first few episodes. The show struggled to find an audience because the quality of this 21st-century take on the retro space opera failed to live up to the hype. It wasn’t great at first, but as the show progressed, it actually grew into a capable superhero series with genuine potential — it’s almost a shame it was canceled.

Flash Gordon follows its title hero as he’s transported to the world of Mongo and pitted against the tyrannical ruler, Ming the Merciless (John Ralston). As Flash builds alliances with those on Mongo and the series slowly pivots from Earth to the alien homeworld, Flash Gordon eventually finds its voice. However, it was all too little, too late. Audiences stopped watching after a boring batch of initial episodes, and Flash Gordon was put down before it ever had the chance to soar.

‘Legends of the Superheroes’ (1979)

Image via NBC

If you’ve never heard of Legends of the Superheroes, that’s probably because DC has tried to bury the live-action debut of many of its superhero characters, including Green Lantern (Howard Murphy), The Flash (Rod Haase), Hawkman (Bill Nuckols), Black Canary (Danuta Wesley), and the Huntress (Barbara Joyce). This two-episode television special took place in the same world as Adam West’s Batman, as the Dynamic Duo appeared alongside the rest of this “Justice League.” And boy, is this a time capsule.

What makes Legends of the Superheroes “great” isn’t that it’s actually good, per se. It’s really not. But in addition to being a Batman reunion special (alongside Adam West and Burt Ward, Frank Gorshin also returns as The Riddler), the second part is actually a celebrity roast. It’s a superhero parody at its most strange, complete with the same flavor of humor that made Batman a national phenomenon — though perhaps not as grand as Batman‘s best TV heists. If that’s your style of superhero television, you probably won’t be disappointed.

‘Black Scorpion’ (2001)

Image via SYFY

Based on not one but two made-for-TV superhero comedy movies by Roger Corman (seriously), Black Scorpion was a single-season superhero series that briefly aired on Syfy (then Sci-Fi Channel) in 2001. As Angel City police detective Darcy Walker realizes that the badge isn’t always enough, she moonlights as the Black Scorpion to fight crime after dark. Though Joan Severance played the character in the previous TV movies, Michelle Lintel took over the role for the 22-episode television series.

Black Scorpion is a bit of a fever dream. It’s like if WB’s likewise short-lived Birds of Prey (a near-perfect DC show few remember) had an older cousin to learn from her poor choices. The titular heroine had a rogues’ gallery that included villains played by none other than Adam West and Frank Gorshin of Batman fame, as well as Cobra Kai antagonist Martin Kove. The bulk of the episodes were written by co-creator Craig J. Nevius, and serve as a largely enjoyable mix between the ’60s Batman series and Tim Burton’s ’80s Batman movie, albeit with a female protagonist.

‘My Secret Identity’ (1988–1991)

Image via CTV

Perhaps the most beloved entry on this list, My Secret Identity has been all but forgotten by everyone except those who watched the original program back when it aired on syndication (or the later Sci-Fi Channel reruns). Starring Jerry O’Connell as teenage comic book enthusiast Andrew Clements, the show follows his adventures after he suddenly gets superpowers from a beam shot by his friend Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoate (Derek McGrath). Knowing what he must do, Andrew chooses the responsibility of a hero.

As the title suggests, Andrew hides his secret identity from everyone in his life, save Dr. Jeffcoate. A fun blend of adventure, science fiction, and comedy, My Secret Identity ran for three seasons and 72 episodes. With a killer theme song that will stay in your head for hours (trust us), this show is the perfect binge for those looking for some superhero-lite superhero TV. Funny enough, O’Connell would later voice Superman in his career, and it all started back in ’88.

‘Who Wants to Be a Superhero?’ (2006–2007)

Image via SYFY

From the mind of Stan Lee, this superhero-centric reality television series is actually a competition show. Who Wants to Be a Superhero? pits several contestants against each other to discover whose idea for an original superhero character would win the heart of Stan “The Man” himself. The winner would not only get their character turned into a Stan Lee-penned Dark Horse comic book, but would also be included in live-action in a Sci-Fi Channel original movie — Mega Snake being the first.

Although Who Wants to Be a Superhero? only ran for two seasons, the concept itself was an ingenious way to capitalize on the growing mainstream superhero craze. Unfortunately, the show aired about a decade too early, with Matthew Atherton‘s Feedback and Jarret Crippen‘s The Defuser being the only superheroes created from this short-lived phenomenon. It may not deliver everything you want from the superhero genre, but it was a unique idea that could only come from the mind of Stan Lee. ‘Nuff said!

‘Automan’ (1983–1984)

Image via ABC

From Glen A. Larson, the mind behind the original Battlestar Galactica, came the Tron-inspired Automan. Somehow, this ’80s sci-fi comedy still holds up as it follows an artificial superhero, “the Automatic Man” (Chuck Wagner), created by police programmer Walter Nebicher (Desi Arnaz Jr.) to fight the crime that the cops cannot. Long before AI is what we know it as today, the potential seemed limitless, and the idea of turning a computer program into a superhero just made sense.

If you can get past the basic Tron comparison, Automan was loads of fun. However, the show only lasted a dozen episodes on the air before it was unceremoniously axed by ABC. Evidently, the program was too far ahead of its time — perhaps it would have done better in today’s market. (Call Ronald D. Moore, we have another Larson series he needs to update!)

‘Electra Woman and Dyna Girl’ (1976)

Image via ABC

If you’ve never heard of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, that’s not exactly a surprise. This superhero series was a part of the larger umbrella program The Krofft Supershow that was aimed specifically for kids. Deidre Hall played Electra Woman opposite Judy Strangis‘ Dyna Girl, as the pair of super-heroines fought crime when not working as newspaper journalists. Their bulky “ElectraComs” could do almost anything, and for 8 episodes (and 16 different 12-minute segments) they tackled some of the strangest villains.

The original Electra Woman and Dyna Girl series is a wholesome gem that has gone down in pop culture infamy. The WB even tried to make an “edgy” updated satirical superhero series in the style of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (albeit, in live-action) in the early 2000s, though the pilot was so terrible that the network ultimately passed. Likewise, a web-series revival made its way to screens starring a pair of YouTubers, but nothing quite beats the earnestness of the original ’70s program.

‘M.A.N.T.I.S.’ (1994–1997)

Image via FOX

Before Carl Lumbly would voice Martian Manhunter in the Justice League animated series, he starred in M.A.N.T.I.S. as the first black superhero on television. After Dr. Miles Hawkins (Lumbly) is paralyzed and disheartened by a criminal conspiracy targeting the black community, he utilizes his company’s superhuman M.A.N.T.I.S. exoskeleton to fight crime after dark, which grants him super-strength, speed, and paralytic darts. For a single 22-episode season, M.A.N.T.I.S. brought a new flavor of crime fighter to television screens.

Created by the combined efforts of Batman scribe Sam Hamm and future Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, it’s kind of odd that this series didn’t last more than a season on Fox. After a relatively grounded TV pilot film, M.A.N.T.I.S. goes a bit off the rails, but isn’t that the case for really all superheroes when you think about it? The show is an odd duck, but it’s a fun watch even now when looking back on it.

‘Mutant X’ (2001–2004)

Image via Tribune Entertainment

Despite the fact that it shares the same name with a ’90s Marvel comic series, and it was made with Marvel’s cooperation in mind, the Avi Arad-created Mutant X is only loosely connected to the X-Men franchise. Well, technically, it’s not connected at all, as this team of “mutants” received their powers not because of an evolutionary mutant gene, but due to genetic experimentation conducted by a mysterious government entity. With an ensemble cast, this X-Men-lite series ran an impressive three seasons in syndication.

“Protecting a world that doesn’t know they exist” was the Mutant X tagline, and under the leadership of Adam Kane (John Shea from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), that’s exactly what this group of rag-tag not-quite-mutants did. Clearly inspired by a combination of the Fox-made X-Men movies and The Matrix, Mutant X is the second-longest-running series on this list after My Secret Identity with an impressive 66 episodes. If only it were an actual Mutant X adaptation…

‘The Cape’ (2011)

Image via NBC

Probably the most infamous show on this list, The Cape was set up by NBC to be the next big “comic book/superhero”-inspired show after the end of Heroes, but it never quite lived up to the hype. For one thing, the show was canceled before its first season even finished airing (with the finale being released online instead), with the failure of The Cape eventually becoming a recurring joke on Community. But there was something about the premise that was actually quite interesting and, as strange as it was, may deserve another look.

The Cape took the superhero concept back to its roots when “good cop” Vince Faraday (David Lyons) is framed and supposedly murdered by a supervillain, only to be taken in by a traveling circus who teach him the theatrical skills necessary to fight crime as “The Cape” (still considered by many to be among the worst TV superheroes) and win back his family. Superheroes themselves were often inspired by circus acts, and so tying the concept back to The Carnival of Crime was a unique way to update the idea. It may not have been able to carry “six seasons and a movie,” but The Cape could have lasted at least a full network TV season.

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The Cape

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Release Date

2011 – 2011-00-00

Directors

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Deran Sarafian, David Jackson, David Straiton, Dennie Gordon, Ernest R. Dickerson, Karen Gaviola, Michael Nankin, Roxann Dawson

Writers

Tom Wheeler, William Wheeler, Craig Titley, Toni Graphia

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  Fernando Chien

  ARK Trooper

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