Friday, January 14, 2022

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 1/14/22

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

#1 - SAG/WGA AWARDS NOMINEES
We are well into the awards season even though the typical kick-off (the Golden Globes) remains deeply mired in scandal (more on that below). This week, the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and WGA (Writers Guild) announced their nominees. For SAG, the nominations were dominated by Succession and Ted Lasso, which is no surprise, but there was also a lot of love for Netflix phenom Squid Game and the messy second season of The Morning Show. There was also the first major nomination for Yellowstone, which is dominating in the ratings but has mostly been ignored by critics. It received a nomination for Best Drama Ensemble. There was also some love for freshmen like Only Murders in the Building and Hacks while The Kominsky Method inexplicably continued to take up some air with nominations for Comedy Ensemble and star Michael Douglas. The WGA had some more unique nominations with major nods for Loki, Yellowjackets and Reservation Dogs. Barring any COVID delays, the SAG Awards are scheduled for February 27 and the WGA Awards for March 20.

#2 - "MONARCH" PUSHED TO NEXT SEASON
There was a surprise move this week by FOX as they have pushed new country music drama Monarch to the 2022-23 season just weeks before it was scheduled to premiere on January 30 and after they have had tons of promotion for it. The network placed the blame on COVID delays and that could be true, but it also seems like a very surprising about face since they had it slated for a post-NFC Championship Game slot and were touting it quite a bit, especially star Susan Sarandon. It seems like there are also some behind the scenes issues that are not related to COVID, but I'm just speculating. The drama remains a "priority" according to FOX and will now launch next season.

#3 - MANY RENEWALS THIS WEEK
There were many renewals announced this week for some marquee shows. ABC renewed Grey's Anatomy for an unbelievable 19th season after star Ellen Pompeo closed a deal to return. ABC has said they will keep Grey's on the air for as long as the creative team and Pompeo want to keep going. They also renewed spinoff Station 19 for a sixth season. Netflix renewed Emily in Paris for a third and fourth season. Despite everyone loving to make fun of the show, it has been a big hit. Apple TV+ renewed The Morning Show for a third season that will see a new showrunner after mixed reaction to the second season. Hulu has renewed The Great for a third season as it has continued to see its critical acclaim grow. And finally, Epix renewed Godfather of Harlem for a third season. It's a show that doesn't have much buzz but seems generally well-liked by those who watch it.

#4 - GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS
There was no telecast, no celebrities and not even a livestream and none of that had to do with COVID, it had to do with the deep trouble the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has found itself in. But the Golden Globes still happened and there were actually some pretty good winners. Succession was the Drama winner of course but the Comedy Series award went to Hacks while The Underground Railroad, which had been given little notice from the Emmys, won Limited Series. In acting awards, MJ Rodriguez was a history making winner for Pose while Jean Smart, Jason Sudeikis and Kate Winslet followed up their Emmy wins with wins here. We'll see what happens with the Globes going forward.

#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premieres, it's a pretty quiet week.

Today: It's a pretty quiet Friday release day with Netflix releasing horror series Archive 81 and the third and final season of Ricky Gervais' After Life, which was last seen in April 2020.

Sunday: The CW launches the third season of Two Sentence Horror Stories

Tuesday: Hulu has the debut of its highly anticipated comedy How I Met Your Father, a series that has been developed multiple times since the departure of How I Met Your Mother from CBS in 2014. 

Thursday: Freeform premieres Single Drunk Female, its newest young adult themed show to go with shows like Cruel Summer and Grown-ish. Peacock launches a YA animated series called Supernatural Academy.

My pick for the week:
Easily it's How I Met Your Father, a show that made my Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2022 list. Other than that, I might check out Single Drunk Female. None of the others seem interesting at all to me.

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