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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: November 2, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at Apple TV's Nocturne  plus the latest episodes of The Lowdown, Eternally Yours and Ghosts . I am also ranking my Top 10 TV shows starting with W and giving some NFL musings! WHAT'S NEW NOCTURNE Apple TV's newest drama is a slow burn serial killer drama that has some intriguing elements and some frustrating elements. To start with the intriguing episodes, this show has a great cast. There are some interesting parts with Zazie Beetz and the cast also includes Liev Schreiber, Chrissy Metz, Poorna Jagannathan and Bill Camp but what really got me was every scene with Stephen Graham and Rory Culkin. Graham plays Jurek Walter, a very dangerous serial killer in isolation while Culkin plays a nurse who is befriended/manipulated by Walter. Their scenes are by far the most dynamic in the series and they crackle with tension. Every time I saw them on screen in the first two episodes, I perked back up. Which brings me to my...
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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: October 26, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at Hulu's Phony and NBC's Newlyweds . Plus, the latest episodes of Cupertino, Abbott Elementary and 9-1-1 as well as my Top 10 Shows starting with U and some NFL thoughts! WHAT'S NEW PHONY I've been very curious about the new Hulu series Phony but was very unsure of what it would be like with little buzz and a trailer that didn't really convey the tone. I'm pleased to say that I was very engrossed in the first two episodes, which centered on teenager Sonny Cooke's (Sam Nivola) belief that his mother, Ellen (Connie Britton) is an imposter when he wakes up from a serious car accident. Unlike some mystery shows, I am really very curious about the resolution to this mystery. So many shows do a great job with build up and struggle with the payoff so I'm still a bit leery, but it's been awhile since I've really wanted to know "answers" when it comes to a show. Even a show like The ...
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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: October 19, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at the new seasons of The Lowdown and The Diplomat . Plus, the latest episodes of Elsbeth and Cupertino , my Top 10 TV Shows starting with T, some Week 6 NFL musings and more! WHAT'S NEW THE LOWDOWN Season 2 One of my favorite shows of 2025 returned on schedule a year later as The Lowdown premiered on FX/Hulu with its second season this week. While this was a favorite with critics, it didn't get much traction with viewers and was invisible to awards bodies so a second season was far from a sure thing. But boy am I glad it happened and that we get another season of Ethan Hawke's Lee Raybon and company. The second season introduces two major new characters with Betty Gilpin as public defender Ginger and Tommy Lee Jones as Lee's father, Lee Raybon Sr. Many of last year's characters have not been seen yet (though the trailer tells me some will pop up) and there really wasn't much of Keith David and Ryan K...
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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: October 12, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am taking a look at Cupertino and Eternally Yours ! Plus, the Season Finale of Ted Lasso , my Top 10 Shows starting with S, a look at the Oscar Race for Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay and more! WHAT'S NEW CUPERTINO For the last two years, CBS has aired Matlock and Elsbeth back to back on Thursday nights. While I don't watch them live, I usually watch both back to back or close to each other on the weekend that follows. It's been interesting because Matlock has had an intriguing overarching story (albeit one that has now gotten played out a bit) while the week to week cases have been lackluster. And Elsbeth has had many fun cases of the week but has struggled to have any sort of real compelling on-going story. Now, with Matlock waiting until midseason, we have the arrival of Cupertino from Robert and Michelle King, creators of Elsbeth and many other successful shows including The Good Wife, The Good Fight and Evi...
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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: October 5, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am taking a look at Netflix's East of Eden and HBO's War . Plus, the latest episode of Ted Lasso , my Top 10 Shows starting with R, the Oscar Race for Supporting Actor and Actress, some NFL Week 4 thoughts and more! WHAT'S NEW EAST OF EDEN I have never read East of Eden and actually knew next to nothing about it before diving into the Netflix limited series. But the positive reviews made me intrigued. While some have probably finished the series already, I am two episodes in and really enjoying the show. The first episode is the story of two brothers, Adam and Charles (played as adults by Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist) while the second episode focuses primarily on Cathy (played as an adult by Florence Pugh). I would imagine this is the last episode that is filled with flashbacks and the future episodes will start being told in a more linear fashion. While I don't always love back stories and flashbacks, these first ...
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BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: September 28, 2026

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Welcome back to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at Apple TV's new comedy Brothers and NBC's new drama Line of Fire ! Plus, a look at the most recent Ted Lasso , a few brief thoughts on the New York Times' list of 100 Best TV Shows This Century, my Top 10 TV shows starting with P, a look at the Oscar race for Best Actor and Actress and some NFL Musings from Week 3! WHAT'S NEW BROTHERS I think Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are both good actors. But their public personas leave a lot to be desired as far as I'm concerned. Look at the Emmys appearance as proof. I've never been into the "alright alright alright" side of McConaughey even when I've liked him as an actor, most recently Apple's underrated  The Lost Bus . And Harrelson often plays the same type of role in the movies but he's done it expertly for decades. And yet, I also tire easily of Harrelson's "stoner anarchist" shtick when it's not channel...
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