Benjamonster's TV

GOD FRIENDED ME Starring: Brandon Michael Hall, Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Javica Leslie, and Joe Morton Created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Winbrandt Written by Steven Lilien & Bryan Winbrandt,  Directed by Marcos Siega IN SHORT: Not as bad or lame as the title sounds THE PREMISE: Miles Finer (Brandon Michael Hall) is an atheist and podcaster who is on a mission to prove that God doesn't exist until one day he receives a "friend request" from God. Once he accepts, he starts getting suggestions to friend people he doesn't know but finds out they are oddly connected and he needs to get to know them for a reason. This includes Cara Bloom (Violett Beane), a writer at a magazine. Meanwhile, Miles is also estranged from his Reverend father, Arthur (Joe Morton). Rounding out the main cast is Miles' friend and computer guy, Rakesh (Suraj Sharma) and his sister, Ali (Javica Leslie). THE REVIEW: This is an interesting show and I'm not qu...

THE COOL KIDS Starring: David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan, and Vicki Lawrence Created by Charlie Day and Paul Fruchbom Written by Charlie Day & Paul Fruchbom, Directed by Don Scardino IN SHORT: The Golden Guys and Girl THE PREMISE: Hank, Charlie, and Sid (David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, & Leslie Jordan) are all buddies in a retirement home. When their buddy Jerry dies, they have a seat open at their table. Margaret (Vicki Lawrence) comes in and sits with them at what she proclaims the "cool kids" table and upends their way of life. THE REVIEW: There's so much of The Cool Kids that feels tired and not because it's set in a retirement community. This is just a throwback show through and through. It's not as cringe-inducing as some multi-camera sitcoms can be and have been in recent years, but it continues to bother me that we just don't have very smartly-written sitcoms in that format and haven't had them for qu...

A MILLION LITTLE THINGS Starring: David Guintoli, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Christina Ochoa, Grace Park, James Roday, Stephanie Szostak, Tristan Byon, Lizzy Greene Created by DJ Nash Written by DJ Nash, Directed by James Griffiths IN SHORT: I'm stealing this from somewhere else I read it because it's just so perfect... "Thirtysomething Reasons Why" THE PREMISE: As we are told at the beginning and during the episode, friendship is about "a million little things." This drama, clearly inspired by the success of This is Us , is centered on a group of Boston friends who met when they were stuck in an elevator together. They are rocked by the suicide of one of their own (Jon) while also dealing with their own problems. Eddie (David Guintoli) is unhappy in his marriage to Katherine (Grace Park). Gary (James Roday) has beat cancer and is seeing a therapist and fellow cancer survivor, Maggie (Allison Miller). Rome (Romany ...

SINGLE PARENTS Starring: Taran Killam, Leighton Meester, Kimrie Lewis, Jake Choi, Marlow Barkley, Tyler Wladis, Mia Allan, Ella Allan, Devin Trey Campbell, and Brad Garrett Created by Elizabeth Meriwether and JJ Philbin Teleplay by JJ Philbin, Story by Elizabeth Meriwether & JJ Philbin, Directed by Jason Winer IN SHORT: How has ABC's family comedy brand not done one about single parents yet? THE PREMISE: Single Dad Will Cooper (Taran Killam) and daughter Sophie (Marlow Barkley) are new to a school and Will is the new and overeager room parent. He runs into a roadblock with a bunch of other single parents who do not share his enthusiasm. Angie (Leighton Meester) is a cynical career woman. Douglas (Brad Garrett) is a wealthy doctor who was left with twin daughters (Mia & Ella Allen) following the death of his 26 year old exotic dancer wife. Other single parents Poppy and Miggy (Kimrie Lewis & Jake Choi) as well as more kids (Tyler Wladis & Devin ...

NEW AMSTERDAM Starring: Ryan Eggold, Janet Montgomery, Freema Agyeman, Jocko Sims, with Tyler Labine, and Anupam Kher Created for Television by David Schulner Based on the Book "Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital" by Dr. Eric Manheimer Written for Television by David Schulner, Directed by Kate Dennis IN SHORT: The Great Doctor THE PREMISE: New Amsterdam is a fictional version of Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in the country. Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) is brought in as the new medical director and determined to change the old ways of the hospital. No surprise, he gets some push-back and spars with a publicity-loving head of oncology, Dr. Hana Sharpe (Freema Agyeman). But he also finds a few allies including head of emergency, Dr. Laura Bloom (Janet Montgomery) and child psychiatrist Dr. Iggy Frome (Tyler Labine). Goodwin fires all the cardiovascular doctors, but retains one, Dr. Floyd Reynolds (Jocko Sims). Veteran neurologist ...

FBI Starring: Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Ebonee Noel, with Jeremy Sisto Created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk Teleplay by Craig Turk, Story by Dick Wolf & Craig Turk, Directed by  Niels Arden Oplev IN SHORT: Dick Wolf Meets His Soulmate (CBS) THE PREMISE: Dick Wolf has been making procedurals on NBC for decades and now he comes to the network that has been successfully churning out procedurals for close to 20 years. This one is centered on an FBI team in New York City. Special agents Maggie Bell and Omar Zidam (Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki) lead the team in the field while receiving assistance at the command center from Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) and Kristen Chazal (Ebonee Noel). The boss in the pilot was played by Connie Nielsen, but she will be replaced by Sela Ward in a similar role starting in episode two. THE REVIEW: I remember when I first started this blog in 2010, I felt like like I was much more generous that the TV critics reviewing for ...

MANIFEST Starring: Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur Created by Jeff Rake Written by Jeff Rake, Directed by David Frankel IN SHORT: No, I swear this one is different from Lost ! THE PREMISE: In 2013, flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City disappeared and was never heard of again until 2018 when the plane finally landed. Although it had been over five years on the ground, it was only a couple minutes for those on board. Although there were nearly 200 passengers, the show focuses on a couple of them. Siblings Michaela and Ben (Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas) were on board and now reunite with their families and their new lives. Ben's son Cal (Jack Messina) was on board and suffering from terminal cancer but now can do a new state of the art treatment discovered by fellow passenger, Saanvi (Parveen Kaur). Ben's wife and daughter (Athena Karkanis and Luna Blaise) were not on board and now ...

MAGNUM P.I. Starring: Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill Developed by Peter M. Kenkov & Eric Guggenheim Based on the Series "Magnum P.I." Created by Donald P. Bellisario & Glen A. Larson Written by Peter M. Kenkov & Eric Guggenheim, Based on a Teleplay by Donald P. Bellisario & Glen A. Larson, Directed by Justin Lin IN SHORT: Smaller Mustache, Same Action THE PREMISE: In a reboot of the classic 1980s Tom Selleck-led drama, Magnum P.I. centers on a private detective living in luxury in Hawaii as a security guard at the guest house of a famous author. Magnum's team includes friends Rick and TC (Zachary Knighton & Stephen Hill). The third friend in the original was Jonathan Higgins, but that has now changed to a woman, Juliet (Perdita Weeks) who is still British like the original. THE REVIEW: I've never seen a full episode of the original Magnum P.I., but I have a good idea of the kind of show it...

Premiere Week is here! Here's a look at this busy week on TV! ABC ABC really only has three days of premiere lineups as their Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday lineups are not premiering this week. ABC has seven new shows this fall, but only two premiere this week.. Comedy Single Parents and heavily promoted drama A Million Little Things will both premiere on Wednesday night. Elsewhere, Dancing with the Stars gets a two night premiere while  Grey's Anatomy has a two hour premiere. Perhaps the most interesting show to watch besides the newbies will be The Good Doctor , which was hot out of the gate last season and will be looking to avoid a sophomore slump. MONDAY 8:00 Dancing with the Stars (Edition Premiere) 10:00 The Good Doctor (Season Premiere) TUESDAY 8:00 Dancing with the Stars 10:00 20/20: The Real Rookies (Special) WEDNESDAY 8:00 The Goldbergs (Season Premiere) 8:30 American Housewife (Season Premiere) 9:00 Modern Family (Season Premiere) 9:30 Single Parents ...

I hope you enjoyed this week's Fall Preview! Check back regularly for pilot reviews! Here are my predictions for the season. Last year, I had an OK year of predicting. I correctly predicted The Good Doctor, SEAL Team, Young Sheldon, The Gifted, and Dynasty would survive. I mistakenly thought The Mayor, The Brave, and Law & Order: True Crime would join that list. I correctly predicted cancellations of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Marvel's The Inhumans, Ten Days in the Valley, 9JKL, Me Myself & I, Wisdom of the Crowd, Ghosted, and Valor . I mistakenly thought The Orville and S.W.A.T. would also be cancelled. Here are my predictions for this year! Shows I Think Will Make It to Season 2 The Conners (ABC) Kids are Alright (ABC) The Rookie (ABC) Single Parents (ABC) A Million Little Things (ABC) The Neighborhood (CBS) Magnum P.I. (CBS) F.B.I. (CBS) Murphy Brown (CBS) Manifest (NBC) All American (CW) Charmed (CW) Shows I Think Will Be One and Done Dan...

Here is my Fall Preview for Sunday! Check back later today for my Fall Preview wrap-up and all week for reviews of new shows as they air! ABC 7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (29th season) 8:00 DANCING WITH THE STARS JUNIOR 9:00 Shark Tank (10th season) 10:00 THE ALEC BALDWIN SHOW ABC is going all unscripted on Sunday nights in the fall. They are starting with the venerable America's Funniest Home Videos , entering its 29th season. It is followed by a junior edition of Dancing with the Stars. This is the first time that Dancing will do a junior edition and they'll be hoping it goes better than the ill-fated American Juniors edition of American Idol many years ago. It is followed by veteran Shark Tank in its 10th season. At 10pm is the new talk show The Alec Baldwin Show , which had a preview after the Oscars. Baldwin last attempted a talk show in 2013 on MSNBC and it was cancelled after five weeks when he reportedly used an anti-gay slur. We'll see if it goe...

Here is my Fall Preview for Friday! ABC 8:00 Fresh Off the Boat (5th season) 8:30 Speechless (3rd season) 9:00 Child Support (2nd season) 10:00 20/20 (42nd season) After an ill-advised year with Marvel shows and Once Upon a Time , ABC is going back to comedy on Friday night. They are even trying to re-start the TGIF moniker but they've moved some modest performers at best to kick-start the night. Leading off the night is Fresh Off the Boat . It has never been a big hit for ABC but has always done OK. ABC might be hoping that the smash success of summer movie Crazy Rich Asians might help since its star, Constance Wu, is the lead on Boat . Speechless follows at 8:30pm after two seasons on Wednesday. I think if ABC really wanted to carve out a comedy presence on Friday, they needed to bring over a stronger performer. At 9pm is game show Child Support , which had a quiet run last winter. 20/20 ends the night with its 42nd season. CBS 8:00 MacGyver (3rd season) 9:00 Hawaii ...

Check below this post for my review of I Feel Bad ! Here is my Fall Preview for Thursday! ABC 8:00 Grey's Anatomy (15th season) 9:00 Station 19 (2nd season) 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder (5th season) Despite Shonda Rhimes' defection to Netflix, ABC is going with TGIT and all Shonda shows again on Thursday nights perhaps for the final time. Grey's Anatomy leads off the night as usual, entering its 15th season. It is followed by spinoff Station 19 which had a so-so run in the spring but will be given another chance to try to become the heir apparent to Grey's . It no longer has to deal with that other fire show on Thursday nights, but it's going to need to start to find its own audience. At 10pm is How to Get Away with Murder in the only slot it has ever known. The plan for now is for it to give way to For the People in the spring. CBS 8:00 The Big Bang Theory (12th season) 8:30 Young Sheldon (2nd season) 9:00 Mom (6th season) 9:30 MURPHY BROWN 10...

  I FEEL BAD Starring: Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Madhur Jaffrey, Brian George, James Buckley, Zach Cherry, Johnny Pemberton Created by Aseem Batra Written by Aseem Batra, Directed by Julie Anne Robinson IN SHORT: This Show Makes Me Feel Bad THE PREMISE: Emet (Sarayu Blue) is a frazzled mother and career woman who spends each day guaranteed to feel bad about something. Whether it's something with husband David (Paul Adelstein) & kids or her overbearing parents Maya and Sonny (Madhur Jaffrey & Brian George) or her team of young, male co-workers Chewy, Norman and Griff (James Buckley, Zach Cherry, & Johnny Pemberton). THE REVIEW: Here's the problem with I Feel Bad : it is a very negative show and not in a smart way. I don't want to watch a show every week about a woman who feels terrible about herself for any given reason each episode. In general, I'm more a fan of optimistic sitcoms (hence why I like the ABC family sitcom...

Here is my Fall Preview for Wednesday: a night with some new entries on ABC and the CW, no changes for CBS & FOX, and the first all "Chicago" night on NBC. ABC 8:00 The Goldbergs (6th season) 8:30 American Housewife (3rd season) 9:00 Modern Family (10th season) 9:30 SINGLE PARENTS 10:00 A MILLION LITTLE THINGS ABC is giving its Wednesday night lineup a jolt with two new entries. The Goldbergs and Modern Family return as the comedy anchors. It is quite possible this could be Modern 's final season, but nothing official has been announced. American Housewife slides up an hour to 8:30pm. I think this is actually a timeslot upgrade for the show, which only did OK in the post- Modern Family slot. If it had been in this slot last year, they might have been able to move it to Tuesdays in The Middle 's absence. At 9:30pm is new comedy Single Parents , which has gotten buzz as the best new sitcom of the fall. On paper, it seems like a good match for Modern Family...

Here is my Fall Preview for Tuesday: a night with the most new shows of any night. ABC has some big changes while CBS and NBC are attempting to bolster their nights with new dramas. ABC 8:00 THE CONNERS 8:30 THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT 9:00 Black-ish (5th season) 9:30 Splitting Up Together (2nd season) 10:00 THE ROOKIE ABC's Tuesday nights were supposed to start with Roseanne . After its smash hit ratings in its return last season, things looked great for ABC Tuesday nights. Then just a week later, Roseanne was abruptly cancelled following star Roseanne Barr's bizarre and racist tweet. So now it is a much bigger question mark on Tuesday night. ABC is trying to move forward with the rest of the cast in spinoff The Conners . I'm sure the premiere will get a lot of curiosity tuning in, but it will be interesting to see where it settles, probably not where Roseanne would have. At 8:30pm is 70s-set family comedy The Kids are Alright . Its fate seems pretty tied to how The Con...