Fall TV 2024: Broadcast shows are lackluster

The rest of the fall shows have premiered, but I’m not overly impressed.

Joan

Miniseries on the CW

There is way too much going on in the pilot of this show, but it’s only six episodes, so that’s by design I guess.

It’s so dark…literally. The crime thriller is so muted in greens and blacks, it’s almost muddy.

Unless you love the 80s, England, or Sophie Turner, don’t waste your time.

Skip it

George and Mandy’s first marriage

8:30 p.m. Thursdays on CBS

The tango intro for this spinoff sitcom is so ridiculous, and it has literally nothing to do with the show.

It falls a tad flat, and while it feels very 90s, which is the time period, there’s nothing new.

Skip it

Happy’s Place

8 p.m. Fridays on NBC

I didn’t watch “Reba,” but it feels a little bit of a rehash slightly updated for 2024. It does have two of that series’ cast members.

This sitcom feels a little feel “Cheers,” but with more family drama and ethnicities.

It’s kinda funny, but with it airing on Fridays, I’m not holding my breath.

Try it

Poppa’s house

8:30 p.m. Mondays on CBS

There are two pretty distinct storylines, and in a 30-minute show, neither is served well.

Again it falls flat, which is a bummer with two Wayans family members on screen. You’ll probably recognize a lot of other cast members but have zero idea why.

This sitcom is so old school, they put bloopers at the end.

Skip it

St. Denis Medical

8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC

This new sitcom with lots of heavy hitters is “Abbott Elementary” in a hospital.

I get people like “Parks and Recreation” and such, but this, unfortunately, falls flat, even with all the talented comedians.

Skip it

Fall TV 2024: Watch ‘Matlock,’ Skip Fox shows

Fall TV is back! Too bad the fall weather isn’t quite yet…

We’ve got a new batch of new shows, so here’s my latest edition of skip, watch or try.

Universal Basic Guys

8:30 p.m. Sundays on Fox

As part of Fox’s animation domination, this show fits right in.

I just can’t decide if it knows it’s ridiculous or just terrible.

Three minutes in, I was disgusted. It’s all irrelevant dumb “humor” that’s full of misogyny and anti-PC language. And the accents are terrible.

Skip it

High Potential

10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC

This series has a great cast and a good concept, focusing on a smart woman who is a tad flippant as she navigates being a police crime consultant.

It is still a procedural but with some spunk.

My biggest complaint is the music is cliche and overpowering.

Try it

Matlock

9 p.m. Thursdays on CBS (starting Oct. 10)

Kathy Bates is so good. That’s what you need to know.

While this legal drama doesn’t seem much like the original (it’s a gender swap even), the pilot took its shots at the name and generational divide of those who know the original show and today’s young adults.

The twist in the pilot, involving a crime mystery, got me very interested.

Watch it

Rescue hi surf

9 p.m. Mondays on Fox 

This hacky drama is “Baywatch” meets “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Fire Country” with surfers.

It’s nothing special, and it’s hard to imagine it’ll get interesting.

Skip it

Brilliant Minds

10 p.m. Mondays on NBC

If you miss “The Good Doctor,” this could be the replacement for you.

The medical drama focuses on what is alluded to as a cool, rebellious doctor (he has a motorcycle) played by Zachary Quinto. While he is the show’s focus, he falls a bit flat.

Greg Berlanti and Andy Serkis are among the 21 producers, but the show wasn’t marketed well. Quinto’s character has face blindness, and it’s a tough concept to grasp quickly.

They are trying for something different than just a medical show, but it still comes off a little too hokey.

Skip it

Murder in a small town

9 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox

A guy moves back home, becomes the police chief, and starts dating a librarian. Oh, and there are crimes to be solved.

That’s about it for this Canadian crossover crime procedural.

The show felt like it could’ve been a movie, especially with the longer-than-a-hour pilot, and it wasn’t interesting enough to press on.

Skip it

Doctor Odyssey

9 p.m. Thursdays on ABC

Joshua Jackson has aged quite well. But his newly appointed cruise ship doctor character is a bit flawed. Not quite antihero, but flawed.

Don Johnson and Phillipa Soo are also part of the cast, along with some other famous faces, and COVID is part of the pilot’s plot.

I give them credit; they worked on four patients in the pilot, which seems pretty fast-paced. It’s fun and frothy, but it might have been better to air in the summer.

Try it

I may be adding some of these shows to my weekly list, along with “The Golden Bachelorette.” What can I say, it’s so cute!

Emmys 2024: Yes, we’re at it again

Today, the 2024 Emmy nominations were announced. Sheryl Lee Ralph was having fun this morning, even though Tony Hale was straitlaced.

This year’s Emmy nominations seemed to spread the wealth more than past years. “Shogun” and “The Bear” led the nominations, as expected, but a range of shows were nominated, which I think could make the show more interesting.

There are always surprises and snubs, but here are mine.

Fun surprises

“The Gilded Age” came to play. The HBO drama got 6 nominations.

“Reservation Dogs” and “What We Do in the Shadows” got top-of-the-line nominations, giving them more visibility.

I’m glad all three leads for “Only Murders in the Building” were nominated, especially since Selena Gomez hasn’t been nominated in the past.

Bad surprises

I couldn’t get into “The Morning Show,” but wow it stacked up this year with 16 nominations. Now, 2 are in lead actress, 3 are in supporting actor, and 4 are in supporting actress, so it’s not like the drama will win a lot. But also don’t people mock this show, especially the rumored feud between the leads?

I’m sorry, but Meryl Streep is so bad in “Only Murders,” and I don’t get why she’s gotten awards attention.

“Baby Reindeer” got 11 nominations. It’s not exactly a surprise, but considering the discourse around the show, it feels like a zeitgeist moment instead of recognizing talent.

The 76th annual Primetime Emmys will air Sunday, Sept. 15, on ABC.

How to adapt awards shows in the age of streaming

Have you watched any of the awards precursors this season?

I made sure to watch the Golden Globes and the SAGs, but I missed the others, plus you can’t easily watch the BAFTAs in the U.S.

The Golden Globes are still airing on broadcast channels, while the SAGs officially moved to Netflix streaming this year.

The Academy Awards are almost 100 years old. They’ve only been televised since 1953. But TV isn’t the same anymore.

So how does the Academy adapt? What lessons can it learn from other awards shows?

Air all categories

The Academy fumbled at the 2022 Oscars, choosing to air acceptance speeches only from eight below-the-line categories. To be fair, a good chunk of those were for “Dune,” so it could’ve been repetitive, but it felt unfair to not televise them in full, especially since the show was still more than 3 hours long.

The Emmys have started to put chevrons at the bottom with a list of people the winner wants to thank. This streamlines the speeches and makes them more interesting. Seriously, listening to 20+ names is boring. Give us something inspiring.

The Academy will have to consider how this works for the 2025 season when the first casting Oscar will be awarded.

Learn what people want (or spread the wealth)

I love the fashion of awards shows. I get that it feels a bit sexiest to ask what a person is wearing, but give credit where credit is due … and don’t make that your first question on the red carpet. Also, men are stepping up their fashion game, and I’d love to know the designers.

But that’s not everyone’s MO. It’s important to bring variety to keep people interested.

Lately, the shows are getting stale because it’s a set of the same winners over and over.

Especially this year, when the Emmys and Golden Globes were so close together, I felt like I heard so many speeches from the teams of “Beef” and “Succession.” Those weren’t the only two shows out last year!

The Oscars are getting siloed, too. Even with 10 Best Picture nominees, the total number of nominated movies seems to be dwindling, as Best Picture nominees rule other categories. It’s rare to have a sole nominee for a movie these days, making the awards shows seem repetitive.

Go to streaming?

Look, I get streaming is a big huge juggernaut with some big problems.

But there’s something about the buoyancy of streaming live that seems to work.

The SAGs have been on Netflix for two years now, once on its YouTube channel and once on the app.

With it being on streaming, the winners seemed a little more free to say whatever they wanted, including swearing. Netflix means no bleeping out!

Now, I do think the lack of commercials makes for some awkward transition issues, but I bet that can be sorted out in time.

What would you change?

The 96th Academy Awards air March 10 on ABC.

Golden Globes 2024 vs. 2023 Emmys

Due to the writer and actor strikes, the 2023 Emmys were delayed by four months. In an odd turn of events, the 2024 Golden Globes will air eight days before the 2023 Emmys.

The Emmys hold more weight (hello, EGOT), but The Golden Globes honor more recent shows due to the year/season regulations by both awards’ bodies.

How do the shows stack up with nominees? Let’s see.

Best Series

In drama and comedy, The Emmys has eight nominees, versus six for The Golden Globes.

“The Crown,” “Succession,” and “The Last of Us” overlap, which makes sense based on air dates.

In comedy, they all overlap, though technically they differ by seasons.

For limited, I’m surprised to see the Globes didn’t nominate “Fleishman is in Trouble.” Otherwise, the two overlaps make sense based on the timeline of when the shows aired.

I have to say though, “The Diplomat” and “The Morning Show” being nominated for drama series Globes is so typical of the Globes.

Lead Actress

The Globes have six nominees instead of five, which expands the variety a bit.

For drama, I guess the Globes like “1923” and “The Crown” more than the Emmys.

The Globes nominated Selena Gomez, whom I think the Emmys snubbed, in comedy, and Rachel Weisz, who I’ve heard is great in “Dead Ringers,” for limited.

Lead Actor

For limited series, “Beef” is the only overlap, which makes sense because of the time of year it aired.

The cast of “Succession” dominates both awards shows in drama.

For comedy, it’s all the same, except because of the Globes nominating six, Steve Martin also got in for “Only Murders in the Building.”

Supporting performer

The Globes combines drama, comedy and limited for supporting roles, which limits the total number of nominees. The Emmys have them separated out.

With that, there is very little overlap. “Succession” dominates the supporting actor race.

If I had to guess, The Globes wanted some star power, so they nominated Meryl Streep for “Only Murders in the Building.” (The Emmys wouldn’t have nominated Streep because they are honoring season 2 not 3 of “Only Murders.”)

Frankly, I thought Streep was pretty bad and one of the worst parts of a substandard season 3.

It’s hard to say whether the winners will feel really repetitive since the shows are only eight days apart. They will air on different networks, and people are still a tad wary of The Golden Globes after the HFPA came under fire; the organization has since been dissolved.

Catching up with Emmy-nominated shows

The Emmys have been postponed, but fortunately only once after the writer’s strike ended this week.

In the meantime, I took some time to watch some shows I’d missed. Here are my thoughts:

Tiny Beautiful Things

2 Emmy nominations

This Hulu limited series is very loosely based on the Cheryl Strayed book. The book is just a collection of advice columns, hence the loosely based part. The story that Kathryn Hahn’s character handles seems made up based on Strayed’s other memoir, “Wild,” and for TV.

Neither the book nor the series were particularly riveting, but really, it’s not the most adaptable work. I think Hahn is a great (and underrated) actress, but she’s not given that much in her Emmy-nominated role.

I actually thought her younger self counterpart should’ve been nominated because she had more to do, and it was more interesting plot-wise.

Jury Duty

4 Emmy nominations

I really didn’t get this show, or the hype, at first.

It took me till episode 3 to enjoy it; maybe I just got the concept by then?

It’s pretty ridiculous, and it’s probably lightning in a bottle, only works once kind of thing.

But hey, enjoy it while it works. It helps they got super lucky in casting Ronald Gladden, an attractive, affable guy, for this “Office”-like “documentary.”

Welcome to Chippendales

5 Emmy nominations

So many people got nominated for this limited series, but I thought the overall concept wasn’t great.

A lot of plotlines were glossed over (Dan Stevens is in episode 1 and dies, but it’s glossed over), and it wraps up quickly overall because it’s only 8 episodes.

It’s well-acted, but with so many things left undone, the writing needed some help.

Daisy Jones & the Six

9 Emmy nominations

I hated every character in this show, but I think that was intentional.

Showcasing the tribulations of fame, this book to show adaptation was done much better than Tiny Beautiful Things.

The music was stellar, the costumes on point, but it was hard to root for anyone, which didn’t make it my favorite show. But the artistry was amazing.

Fleishman Is in Trouble

7 nominations

This miniseries starts slow.

I didn’t read the book, but plot lines seemed to drop off in the show, and the second half of the show is way better than the first.

The show explores change and how to handle it in life.

It’s well-acted, but it came and went. I don’t recommend bingeing it, because it covers a lot of subjects that may have you squirming in your thoughts.

Ted Lasso

21 nominations (this year)

This is a super binge-able show. It’s definitely a nice show where the good people win and the bad people are few.

I think three seasons work for this show based on the original conceit. Plus, I think the third season was uneven and had too many extra plotlines that were dropped or wrapped up too quickly.

But unpopular opinion, I think this show majorly benefitted from premiering during the pandemic. It gave me something happy to watch.

Schmigadoon

3 nominations (this year)

I really wanted to like this show. It’s a musical with a huge cast of performers I like!

But I thought it fell flat. The chemistry of the leads in season 1 didn’t work, and season 2’s Schmicago was not my taste.

Shrinking

2 nominations

I’ve burned through this show so quickly, but I wouldn’t say it was good.

It’s a horrendous representation of psychotherapy, breaking so many ethical boundaries.

It also wasn’t what I thought it would be based on the ads, so it felt uneven.

The acting, which is what it’s nominated for, is decent. Harrison Ford is pretty boring minus one scene where he sings in the car.

2023 Emmy nominations: The shows we forgot and remembered

The 2023 Emmy nominations were announced today.

Of course, we’re still in a writer’s strike, and an actor’s strike is looming. Not exactly the best time to announce television show nominees (including writers), but the Emmys honors those who are on strike, not the TV execs they’re fighting.

The presenters had to mention the Emmys are currently planned for September, because who knows if they’ll actually happen.

But for now, let’s discuss some observations from the nominations:

The shows people forgot

“The Crown” has been a big hit with the Emmys in the past, with 21 previous wins and 69 nominations to date. This year, there are only six nominations for the Netflix drama. It still managed to get Elizabeth Debicki a nomination, and the show is up for best drama, but it seems mostly ignored this year (Where’s the Queen?).

While “Only Murders in the Building” was recognized (11 nominations this year), Martin Short is the only actor in the main trio nominated, which seems odd. The show might’ve been hurt by not airing its third season, featuring Meryl Streep, quite yet.

The shows people remembered

“Dead to Me” and “The Diplomat,” both Netflix comedies, received nominations for their lead actresses, Christina Applegate and Keri Russell, respectively. Those are the shows’ lone nominations, but it’s nice to see their talent recognized.

Disney+ seemed to be on it this year, getting nominations for “Andor” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” two Star Wars shows I’ve forgotten about. (I’m curious how much money they spent on promotion; “Hocus Pocus 2” also got a nod.)

Also, I had no idea “Welcome to Chippendales” was going to pop up in the nominations; it received five. Guess I’ll have to watch it now.

The shows people will miss

Long-running shows “Succession,” “Barry,” “Better Call Saul,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” all aired definitive series finales.

“Succession” has 27 nominations this year, the most of any show this year. But three of its nominations are in best actor, four in best supporting actor, two in guest actor, three in guest actress and 3 in directing. Clearly, the show is well-acted, but it halts the overall number of wins. (Plus the debate of where Brian Cox should have campaigned seems moot.)

Can Bob Odenkirk finally win for a role he’s been playing for more than 10 years? We’ll see: He could pull ahead with the actors of “Succession” splitting votes, but the show finished last year, so it’s not fresh in people’s minds.

Overall, there are some great first-time nominees, and HBO didn’t dominate quite as much as I thought it would, though it does have half of the best drama series nominations and all but 8 of the main drama acting categories.

But at this point, I’m more curious about if the Emmys will actually air Sept. 18 or not.

Is continuity expert a TV job now?

Ever watched a show so many times you noticed errors?

For me, “Gilmore Girls” has many errors. The church bells work, break, then work again. Rory is a mustard person, then a ketchup person. Emily skinny-dipped, then Richard says she kept her clothes on. I could go on, but admittedly I’ve seen this show way too many times.

It’s the struggle with binge-watching; when you watch multiple episodes in a row (or a season in a week), it’s much easier to catch flaws in the writing.

Even recently when I watched “Full House,” I noticed Danny doesn’t have his compulsive neatness until the later seasons.

Before Netflix, we only had reruns. And you may not even catch them sequentially. If you missed a day, you missed the episodes. That was it…at least until the next time through.

Now with the Internet, people dissect shows to oblivion. You can watch episodes over and over whenever. We’re not stuck to the TV Guide or channel listings.

So when a show comes out, it has to be flawless. A show can’t afford to have mistakes that commenters will eviscerate the moment it airs.

When “The Good Place” aired, and then expanded its universe, the amount of continuity and work it must have taken was astounding.

I’d imagine writer’s rooms must have a crime-scene-red-string set of boards mapping out storylines, characteristics…anything to help keep continuity at bay.

In order to satisfy today’s viewers, shows have to nail:

  • Character traits, histories
  • Conflicts prior to airing, in the same timeline
  • When and where stories take place, in order
  • Dealbreakers for characters

And that’s the bare minimum.

So, yes, we still need writers. AI can’t solve this.

Writer’s strike means one long summer of bad TV

We’re in for a long rest of 2023 the way things are going.

Members of the WGA are on strike. From news reports, it’ll be a while before we get new scripted material, and actors may join.

Rumors of a strike circulated for a bit before it formally started May 2. And it feels like some networks were assuming it was inevitable.

Let’s take a look at what some networks are doing during this strike.

CBS

All new shows or seasons say “Coming Soon” at the end of the previews.

This includes “Young Sheldon” and “Ghosts,” which ended on a cliffhanger. There also looks to be a new “Matlock” starring Kathy Bates, and at least something has been written and filmed based on clips from the commercial.

Fox

Two reality shows flooded commercials on this broadcast network.

There’s “Food Stars,” another Gordon Ramsey competition show. Plus William Shatner will host “Stars on Mars” starting June 5.

No, they didn’t film on Mars, and the cast is an interesting hodge-podge (Ariel Winter from “Modern Family” and Tom Schwartz from “Vanderpump Rules”… and your social media feeds … are among the cast).

ABC

As if watching so many more game and reality shows this summer and potentially fall wasn’t enough, ABC has “The Game Show Show,” a docuseries about…you guessed it, game shows.

It’s actually interesting, but it’s only four parts.

There’s also “The Prank Panel,” which includes Johnny Knoxville. It looks like Punk’d for regular people.

And, ABC has finally got the ball rolling for its long-discussed senior bachelor show, though it’s called “The Golden Bachelor.” It seems to me the writers already left before a name was settled on. It’ll air in the fall, after this summer’s “The Bachelorette.”

the CW

the CW doesn’t really have a game show pull, nor does it do reality shows.

Now, they’ve done this before, but they announced (before the strike officially started) they are bringing a Canadian show, “Sullivan’s Crossing,” to the network.

I’m guessing it was an easy decision. The show has ties to “Virgin River,” and it stars Chad Michael Murray and Scott Patterson. The CW knows its demographic.

This is just what I’ve noticed; it’s not a comprehensive list. But overall, none of this particularly excites me, but this is what happens when there’s a strike.

Networks, if you want good TV again…pay your writers. And don’t use A.I.; it’s unnatural.

I’d suggest catching up with other shows, like “Not Dead Yet.”

A Streaming TV Casualty: Theme Songs

I binged the new musical show “Up Here” on Hulu last weekend, and I was surprised to hear a theme song with opening credits.

If I had to guess, they wanted to highlight the talent behind the Hulu show (it boasts the writers from “Frozen” and the director of “Hamilton”), but it threw me off. It didn’t help that the song is actually the big finale song, so it always felt out of place as the opening every episode.

But also because I thought we’d said RIP to the long theme song.

“Cheers,” “Friends,” “Full House”…all iconic theme songs, and all more than a minute long.

Nowadays, with streaming, lots of new shows, and the Skip Intro button, most TV shows don’t bother with an opening credits sequence.

We don’t need an intro to the cast that changes from year to year, season to season (Sidenote: It really bugs me that when you watch “Friends” on TBS, they only show the credits from season 7, regardless of what season is actually airing.).

With binge-watching, we’re not that dumb. We know the characters and don’t need a reminder of each one and their real name every 22-45 minutes.

The first time I remember being shocked by the lack of a theme song was “Glee.” Each show had a one-word note,”Glee,” with a black screen only. It was so simple, it was almost stark.

I miss the silly bops we got from theme songs, like “Scrubs” or “The Big Bang Theory.” What show can boast their theme song is by the Barenaked Ladies? Sure, they’re more retro now, but that’s pretty cool.

Or what about the heartfelt “Where You Lead” from “Gilmore Girls”? That’s an intro I don’t skip very often; I like the song so much.

Ultimately, longer theme songs mean less time to tell your story, especially on broadcast TV. On streaming, time isn’t as bound to a schedule, so you can play around, but let’s face it, people are probably hitting the Skip Intro button.

We want the story. We don’t want the theme song. We want to get into the episode without interruption.

RIP the theme song…another byproduct of streaming.