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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 3/10/23

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

#1 - "BARRY" ENDING WITH SEASON FOUR
Shortly after announcing the end of Succession, HBO announced this week that the upcoming fourth season of Barry will also be its final season and will premiere on April 16 (airing after Succession on the linear channel). While the Succession news came as a bit of a surprise, it was much less surprising for Barry. The show seemed to be hurdling towards a conclusion and some of the actors have hinted at this being the final season well before the official announcement. The series, which has been nominated for an Emmy for Comedy Series in each of its first three seasons has gotten increasingly dark so it will be interesting to see what happens for the final season. The series finale is slated for May 28.

#2 - "TED LASSO" SPINOFF COULD BE IN THE WORKS
Unlike Succession and Barry, no official announcement has been made that the third season of Ted Lasso, premiering this coming Wednesday, will be its final one. However, star Jason Sudeikis has said from the start that he sees the show as a three season arc. While no one is committing to any definitive statements, there have been a lot of thoughts from the team behind the show about a possible spinoff or continuation in a different form. I have to think Apple TV+ does not want to lose its signature show after just three seasons so I'm still anticipating a fourth season, even if it's somewhat re-tooled.

#3 - MIKE SCHUR/TED DANSON COMEDY COMING TO NETFLIX
After their acclaimed run together on The Good Place, Mike Schur and Ted Danson are re-teaming for another comedy. The prolific creator and legendary star will team up for an untitled comedy based on the documentary The Mole Agent, about a retired man who becomes a mole in a secret investigation. This deal with Netflix comes after Schur's plans with Peacock seem to be fizzling. His Rutherford Falls was cancelled after two seasons and a planned adaptation of Field of Dreams was scrapped. 

#4 - "SHRINKING" RENEWED
Apple TV+ has renewed its new Jason Segel comedy Shrinking for a second season. We haven't had a lot of renewal news in recent weeks but there was this one coming in on Thursday. The series, currently airing its first season, has received mixed to positive reviews. I have enjoyed the first season so far but I don't know that it's all come together for me yet. I could see this being a show that really finds its voice in Season Two.

#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premieres!

Today: Hulu drops all ten episodes of UnPrisoned, a new comedy starring Delroy Lindo and Kerry Washington as a father and daughter. Both Lindo and Washington are reliable TV stars. This comes from Hulu's Onyx Collective initiative, which is still looking for its first successful show. Roku has the second season of Quibi castoff Most Dangerous Game.

Tuesday: The CW has the third season premiere of Superman & Lois followed by the series premiere of the new Gotham Knights. Both could be in jeopardy even before their seasons begin as The CW is changing gears and Gotham Knights was one of the last shows picked up under the old Mark Pedowitz regime.

Wednesday: Apple TV+ has the highly anticipated third season premiere of Ted Lasso. As mentioned above, here are rumors that this could be the final season for the two time Emmy Award winner. 

Thursday: Netflix has the second season premiere of Shadow and Bone. The fantasy drama last aired in April 2021. It did pretty well at the time but i'm not sure it's stayed in the public conscience. Freeform has the fifth season premiere of Good Trouble, a drama that's been part of the Freeform lineup for awhile.

My pick for the week:
Well this one is obviously. It's Ted Lasso. I loved the first two seasons (the first slightly more than the second, but they were both great). I hope this isn't the end for the series. I think it still has life left in it and three seasons seems too short for a show like this. Ted Lasso was an obvious choice but I also think the trailer for UnPrisoned looks good and I like Kerry Washington a lot so I'll be checking that out. Nothing else on the list really interests me.
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