Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week!
The TV world was shocked this week when it was announced that Kirstie Alley died at the age of 71 after a brief cancer battle. Alley had a long and successful career on film and TV and ruffled some feathers in her later years with her political beliefs that she shared frequently on Twitter. But she is best known for stepping into a very difficult situation on Cheers in 1987. Fan favorite Shelley Long left the series and it wasn't a sure thing the show would ever be the same again. But Alley blossomed as the mess of a character that was Rebecca Howe. She made the character her own with a ridiculous yet grounded performance that earned her five Emmy nominations (and one win). Alley breathed new life into a show that had an incredible second act in its run. Alley's other TV credits included the starring role on a three year run for NBC's Veronica Closet as well as a one year run for TV Land's Kirstie. Alley is the first major Cheers actor to pass away besides Nicholas Colasanto, who passed away during the run of the show in 1985.
The Critics Choice Awards are not one of the major awards but they're trying to stake their claim in an era where the Golden Globes continue to be under siege. Nominations for TV were announced this week and it was a unique group of series with some shows getting some loved that get ignored by the Emmys (The Good Fight, Ghosts, and the final season of This is Us to name a few). But there was also some strangeness including only one nomination for The White Lotus (for Jennifer Coolidge), a fairly odd group of contenders in Limited Series with White Lotus competing as a drama and only one nomination for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Some other first year shows fared better including House of the Dragon, Andor, Reboot and The Bear. There was also posthumous nominations for Ray Liotta (for Black Bird) and Leslie Jordan (for Call Me Kat). The Critics Choice Awards will air January 15 on The CW.
One day after its season finale, FOX announced it has cancelled Monarch after one season. The country music drama was the only new show on the FOX fall schedule after getting delayed from a scheduled premiere date in January. Although the series got decent sampling airing after the first weekend of NFL games, it crashed and burned in its regular Tuesday 9pm slot. The series was crashed by critics and noted for using Susan Sarandon in all the promos only to have her character die in the pilot. It is the first scripted show to get an official cancellation by the broadcast networks this season.
#4 - SCRIPTED PREMEIRES THIS WEEK
This is my final "Friday Five" post until 2023 as I will be ending next week's blog posts on Thursday with my Top 10 Episodes of 2022. So, here's a look over #4 and #5 at scripted shows premiering from now through when the blog returns!
This Week and Next Week: Today, Apple TV+ has the second season of Little America. The show last aired way back in January 2020 while Apple TV+ was in its infancy. It didn't get into the conversation much but it's a wonderful little show so hopefully it can get a little more attention this time.
Next week has the premiere of the limited FX/Hulu series Kindred on Tuesday. It is based on the Octavia E. Butler novel. It could be an awards player if its well-received. Wednesday has the premiere of National Treasure: Edge of History on Disney+. It's based on the popular film franchise but is missing Nicolas Cage so that's a big piece missing and the property is fairly old at this point. Thursday has the second season premiere of the reboot of The Game on Paramount+. Friday has a pair of Netflix premieres: the fourth and final season of Paradise PD and spy drama The Recruit from Alexi Hawley.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES OVER THE HOLIDAYS
Week of 12/18 & 12/25: As we get close to the holidays, there are a few big premiere but less overall. On December 18, Paramount+ has the premiere of the highly anticipated Yellowstone prequel 1923, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. This will certainly be a show in the conversation over the holidays. December 21 has the third season premieres of Emily in Paris on Netflix and Jack Ryan on Amazon. Both have been popular for their respective streamers and both have already been renewed for fourth seasons (a final one for Jack Ryan). December 22 has the premiere of The Best Man: The Final Chapters on Peacock. It is based on the popular film franchise and returns much of the cast but Peacock struggles to get noticed. Christmas Day has the premiere of The Witcher: Blood Origin on Netflix, a spinoff of The Witcher.
Week of Jan 2: The blog will return January 3 but the next Friday post won't be until January 6. The first week of 2023 has the second season premiere of Fantasy Island on January 2 on FOX. January 3 has the premiere of special agent drama Will Trent on ABC following new times for both The Rookie shows. January 4 starts a new season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney+ and January 5 sees the premiere of Mayfair Witches on AMC+ and the second season of Ginny & Georgia on Netflix.
Whew, that's a lot. So what's my pick out of all this? It's definitely Little America. I loved the first season so much and wish it got more attention. I'm very excited to see the second season and hope enough people watch it to get a third season on Apple TV+. I am also ranging from curious to interested on 1923, Kindred and National Treasure: Edge of History. I'm not sure I'll return to Emily in Paris for a third season but I probably will and I'll probably sample Will Trent but I don't see that becoming part of my TV schedule.
Check back Tuesday for a new week of blog posts!
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