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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 10/29/21

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

#1 - "SUCCESSION" RENEWED FOR SEASON 4
It was news that surprised no one but it was still news this week that FOX renewed Succession for a fourth season. The series, which has finally returned to the air after being off since Fall 2019, received a ton of buzz from critics and fans ahead of its October 17 season premiere. The 2020 Emmy winner for Outstanding Drama Series is considered a frontrunner again for the current season. It's rumored that this series won't go past five seasons but it's for sure going to get four. The third season has been great so far, at least the two episodes I have seen so far. I'm excited to continue watching Season 3 and then Season 4, which will hopefully not be another two years!

#2 - FULL SEASONS FOR "THE WONDER YEARS" AND "HOME ECONOMICS"
ABC handed out full seasons this week to two Wednesday comedies - freshman The Wonder Years and sophomore Home Economics. The reboot of The Wonder Years was one of the fall's best reviewed new shows and critics have continued to sing its praises (deservedly). It has done decently in the ratings and in delayed viewing but it hasn't been a breakout hit. Meanwhile, ABC has promoted the heck out of Home Economics and it really hasn't paid off in the ratings but creatively, I think it's been improved in its second season so I'm glad to see it get a chance.

#3 - SHOWTIME'S JOAN RIVERS SERIES NOT MOVING FORWARD
There was some interesting news in September that Kathryn Hahn would star in a limited series for Showtime about the live of Joan Rivers. Although I was never a big Rivers fan, I was excited about this project because of how immensely talented Hahn is. She finally got a lot of attention with her Emmy nominated turn in WandaVision but she has been entertaining for years and this seemed like a casting coup. But it won't happen because they couldn't get the blessing of Rivers' estate, handled by her daughter Melissa. Oh well.

#4 - PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS NOMINEES
Not a very exciting #4 on this list but the People's Choice Award nominees were announced this week. It's a bizarre ceremony with unusual categories but nevertheless, a lot of popular choices were nominated including Squid Game, Loki, The White Lotus, La Brea, Outer Banks, Only Murders in the Building and The Equalizer among others. Many of those shows wouldn't sniff Emmy nominations but the list of nominees seemed to represent the shows people were talking about over the past year.

#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Things are starting to slow down with the premieres after a busy September and October but here is this week's slate.

Today: Netflix premieres the limited series Colin in Black & White, about the young life of Colin Kaepernick. Considering Kaepernick is a divisive figure, this could be a divisive show though the people who don't like the QB will probably not bother to watch. Also in the sports realm is Swagger, a youth basketball drama on Apple TV+ that counts NBA star Kevin Durant among its producers. Amazon drops adult animated comedy Fairfax about a group of middle school friends.

Thursday: HBO Max has the series premiere of the reboot of Head of the Class featuring original cast member Robin Givens. The original series was a modest hit from 1986-1991 on ABC and the title doesn't seem like a major brand name but it's also a premise that would work even without knowing the original. HBO Max also has the second season of the animated Gen:Lock, which aired its first season on Adult Swim.

My pick for the week: Not a ton to choose from this week, but I guess I'll go with Colin in Black & White, which I think looks somewhat interesting though I sort of wish it was just a straight dramatization without the narration element. Head of the Class looks a little bit too much like a Disney Channel sitcom and Swagger doesn't seem very interesting to me. And a big no on the animated comedies.

Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
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