I didn't have a Friday Five last week so here's a look at the top TV news stories over the past couple weeks!
As The Flight Attendant's second season came to an end, Kaley Cuoco said in an interview that she is ready for the show to be done. She told People.com "the plane had landed" and she's not interested in doing a third season though she also acknowledges that she is in the minority with that opinion. After a first season that saw Emmy nominations for the series and Cuoco among others, the second season has had more mixed reviews but continued praise for Cuoco. She also talked about the physical difficulty of filming the second season so it's not surprising that she might be looking at doing something else. But money talks too so I wouldn't rule a third season out if HBO Max wants it.
You always must take streaming viewership data with a grain of salt but both Netflix and Disney+ are touting the premiere numbers for their high profile Memorial Day Weekend debuts of Season 4 of Stranger Things and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Netflix said the newest Stranger Things season, with its very long episodes, beat Bridgerton for the "biggest premiere weekend ever" at 287 million hours viewed. Disney+ touted Obi-Wan Kenobi as the most watched Disney+ original premiere in its history but didn't provide any concrete numbers (not that Netflix's numbers give us a lot of information). It's obvious from the zeitgeist that both those shows had big debuts. But I just wish we could get more concrete numbers from streamers.
After being a surprise cancellation by CBS a few weeks ago, Magnum P.I. may get saved for a fifth season. It was reported on Thursday night that NBC and USA (which share a corporate parent) are looking into a possible renewal. One scenario has NBC running new episodes and USA airing reruns. But there's lots of details to be ironed out including cast contracts which are currently tied up with CBS. Still, this was the most surprising cancellation as it had pretty solid ratings and I think this is a pretty credible rumor.
#4 - ODDS & ENDS
A couple odds and ends worth noting. There were several departures announced in recent weeks. Anthony Anderson will not return to Law & Order next season after helping get the show back off the ground for its 21st season more than a decade after its 20th season. Alexis Bledel is leaving The Handmaid's Tale ahead of its upcoming fifth season and Matthew Morrison was let go shortly into his tenure of So You Think You Can Dance after alleged inappropriate communication with a contestant. There was also the news that the upcoming sixth season of The Good Fight will be its final one while HBO Max renewed Our Flag Means Death for Season 2 and Apple TV+ renewed Slow Horses for two more seasons, through season 4, before its second season even begins.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
We are officially in the new Emmy eligibility window. All shows that are premiering now will be part of the 2023 Emmys. Between that and Broadcast TV entering its traditionally slower summer season, there are less premieres though still plenty coming through the summer months.
Today: Amazon premieres the third season of The Boys. The second season was a surprise nominee for Outstanding Drama Series in 2021 and appears to be one of Amazon's most popular shows (though of course Amazon doesn't release viewing data). Starz has the second season premiere of P-Valley. The first season aired back in the Summer of 2020 to critical acclaim but it couldn't break through in the awards conversation. Apple TV+ has the second season premiere of Physical. The first season of the Rose Byrne dramedy earned mixed reviews with praise for Byrne.
Monday: HBO premieres limited series Irma Vep based on the pretty obscure 1996 film and starring Alicia Vikander. This sort of feels low priority for HBO given where it is premiering in the calendar.
Tuesday: OWN has the return of All Rise for a third season. The cable network saved the show after it was cancelled by CBS at the end of the 2020-21 season. The legal drama is notable for being one of the first to try to do a full fledged pandemic episode that was produced entirely with social distancing back in the early days of the pandemic.
Wednesday: Disney+ debuts Ms. Marvel, another limited Marvel series for the streamer. This one doesn't seem to have as much buzz as other Disney+ Marvel shows but we'll see.
My pick for the week:
This one is easy for me. It's P-Valley. A 2021 nominee for Outstanding Drama Series for my Benjamonster Awards, I think the show has a very unique voice if people can get past the subject matter. I'm excited to see what they do in Season Two. I wasn't a big fan of the first season of Physical but may check out Season 2 at some point. Nothing else on the list really interests me.
Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
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