The Year In TV: June 2010

TV sports hit a record high, as the 2010 FIFA World Cup became one of the most-watched events in television history, with billions watching worldwide.

Also, over 28 million viewers made the Lakers championship win over the Celtics the highest-rated NBA game since 1998.

Hockey fans were also glued to their sets, as the Chicago Blackhawks snagged the Stanley Cup for the first time in over 40 years.

Many shows aired their season finales this month, including FOX’s Glee, Showtime’s Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara, AMC’s Breaking Bad, FX’s Justified, TLC’s Little People, Big World, Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, SyFy’s Stargate Universe, HBO’s Treme, and Starz’ Party Down.

Some series ended forever, though, like FOX’s Past Life and Til Death, ABC’s Happy Town, TNT’s Saving Grace, Showtime‘s The Tudors, and Cartoon Network’s 6teen.

Facing a summer of reruns, some networks turned to decidedly different “special presentations” in order to get viewers. Among these was NBC’s The Making of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Syfy’s The Phantom mini-series, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live: Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart and The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

June was also a big month for awards shows, including The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, The 64th Annual Tony Awards, and The 2010 MTV Movie Awards.

Summer replacement series came to fill up schedules, like ABC’s Rookie Blue, Downfall, Scoundrels, and The Gates, NBC’s Persons Unknown, ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Make It Or Break It, and Huge, CBS’ Flashpoint, USA’s Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and Royal Pains, Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, HBO’s True Blood and Entourage, TNT’s Leverage and HawthoRNe, FX’s Rescue Me, TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland and Comedy Central’s Futurama.

A bumper crop of reality shows dished out the competition, including NBC’s America’s Got Talent and Last Comic Standing, FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen, Bravo’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist and Top Chef, ABC’s Wipeout, and the Food Network’s search for The Next Food Network Star.

Among the celebrities who passed away this month include Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, theme song composer Allyn Ferguson, TV executive Robert Wussler, and Dark Shadows alum Vince O’Brien.