Skip to main content

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 9/18/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - THE EMMYS ARE THIS SUNDAY!
The Emmys, in a very different form, will air this Sunday. Here's my official predictions & commentary on the major awards in drama, comedy and limited series:

Outstanding Drama Series
Will Win: Succession
Should Win: Succession
Should Have Been Nominated: The Morning Show

Outstanding Comedy Series
Will Win: Schitt's Creek
Should Win: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Should Have Been Nominated: Never Have I Ever


Outstanding Limited Series
Will Win: Watchmen
Should Win: Mrs. America
Should Have Been Nominated: Defending Jacob

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Will Win: Brian Cox, Succession
Should Win: Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Should Have Been Nominated: Justin Hartley, This is Us

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Will Win: Laura Linney, Ozark
Should Win: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Should Have Been Nominated: Mandy Moore, This is Us

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Will Win: Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Should Win: Kieran Culkin, Succession
Should Have Been Nominated: Tom Pelphrey, Ozark

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Will Win: Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Should Win: Julia Garner, Ozark
Should Have Been Nominated: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, The Morning Show

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Will Win: Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
Should Win: Ted Danson, The Good Place
Should Have Been Nominated: John Goodman, The Conners

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Will Win: Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Should Win: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Should Have Been Nominated: Kristen Bell, The Good Place

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Will Win: Mahershala Ali, Ramy
Should Win: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Should Have Been Nominated: Manny Jacinto, The Good Place

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Will Win: Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Should Win: Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Should Have Been Nominated: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, High Fidelity

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/Movie
Will Win: Hugh Jackman, Bad Educaton
Should Win: Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much is True
Should Have Been Nominated: Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/Movie
Will Win: Regina King, Watchmen
Should Win: Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Should Have Been Nominated: Reese Witherspoon, Little Fires Everywhere

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series/Movie
Will Win: Jim Parsons, Hollywood
Should Win: Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Should Have Been Nominated: John Turturro, The Plot Against America

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series/Movie
Will Win: Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Should Win: Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Should Have Been Nominated: Lexi Underwood, Little Fires Everywhere

#2 - CBS ALL ACCESS WILL REBRAND AS PARAMOUNT+
It's been known for awhile that CBS All Access is planning a rebrand but we now have more details. In early 2021, the streamer will re-launch under the name Paramount+. It will include content from CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network and Nickelodeon. This is an attempt to consolidate some of the IP from these networks but it will notably not include Showtime, which will continue to operate separately. Perhaps the biggest news from the expected announcement was some new originals in development including The Offer, a limited scripted series about the making of The Godfather and a revival of The Game, that was previously being developed at the CW. I understand wanting to consolidate the shows without the CBS label but streamers have had a hard time breaking through in 2020. HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi, not to mention 2019's Apple TV+, seem to have a hard time competing with the big guns like Netflix and Hulu. I'm not sure the re-brand will help but it's certainly worth a shot because CBS All Access was not a big name in the streaming world despite being around for five years now.

#3 - "STUMPTOWN" CANCELLED AS ABC REVERSES RENEWAL
After being renewed for a second season back in May, ABC has reversed course and cancelled Stumptown. This has happened to several shows in the pandemic but the Cobie Smulders drama is the first network one. What makes it surprising is there are plenty of shows that have delayed their filming schedules and won't be able to premiere until 2021 but ABC seemed to think that wasn't an option for Stumptown. I'm sure there are more reasons including cost (including a big salary for Smulders) and reported creative issues. If ABC really wanted to have the show, they would have just delayed it to a midseason premiere so I don't think the pandemic can be blamed much (plus, it didn't even get renewed until we were well into the pandemic). The ratings certainly didn't make a case for a second season but it was a high profile show for ABC so this is pretty surprising. I only watched the premiere of Stumptown and wasn't a big fan of it but it seemed to have more favorable responses from a lot of TV critics compared to other broadcast shows. On a less surprising note, ABC also cancelled summer burnoff United We Fall after one season.

#4 - "SNL" PROVIDES DETAILS OF RETURN
We got a lot of Saturday Night Live news this week as it prepares for its October 3 return to Studio 8H. First off, the entire cast will return including some who many thought might move on like Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant and Kenan Thompson. But instead we get the complete cast returning for Season 46 with three new featured players joining. Additionally, the show has pegged Jim Carrey to play Joe Biden at least through the election cycle, replacing Jason Sudeikis. Maya Rudolph will be returning as Kamala Harris and unfortunately Alec Baldwin will continue to sleepwalk his way through his Donald Trump impression. Finally, the show will also have a "limited studio audience" marking one of the first entertainment shows to actually film with any audience at all. I'm glad to hear that news!

#5 - ABC ANNOUNCES DRAMA PREMIERE DATES
After cancelling Stumptown as mentioned above, ABC has announced premiere dates for most of its dramas, making them the network that, as of now, seems most successful in returning to the air. NBC has announced a few dates while CBS has not announced much and FOX/CW pandemic-proofed their fall schedule back in the spring. The Good Doctor will return Monday, November 2. Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy will return Thursday, November 5. For Life returns Wednesday, November 18 and A Million Little Things returns Thursday, November 19. One of the lone new shows, Big Sky will premiere on Tuesday, November 17. Some of these premiere dates are odd (will episode two of A Million Little Things air on Thanksgiving?) but there's no denying that ABC has aggressively gotten their shows back into production and scheduled premiere dates. With Stumptown cancelled, the only show that doesn't really have a plan yet is The Rookie.

Check back on Monday for a new week of blog posts!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...
Post a Comment
Read more

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...
Post a Comment
Read more